Boom is the first track on indie pop singer/songwriter
Little Wings's (
K Records) album
Light Green Leaves.
I had the opportunity to see Little Wings perform live at a small venue in Myrtle Beach, SC called The Lazy i, with about twenty people in attendance. To open this song, he pulled out a furry lion mask made for a child, something he picked up in a thrift store. He also had a large hunting cap. He put both on together, which gave him the appearance of a long-bearded hermit.
He said, "This is what I used to be. Then I changed into something new. I became this..." and he removed the mask and the hat and became the Little Wings he is today, and began this song:
BOOM! (Boom)
My voice says, "Make room." (make room)
Wave my hand, combat the gloom
When the ache comes creeping up
I spread my arms so that soon
my best starts to bloom
with the breath that I consume
and I grow light grass on a hillside
it's the way I leave my tomb.
Was it dark in there at all?
It was dark, I must admit.
Was it you that I heard call?
It was me from yonder pit.
Was it what you thought was you?
It was me as someone else.
I was crying out for you in high and girly swells.
Is the gleam you thought was gone
beginning to return
when you lay down on the lawn,
can't you feel its fiery burn?
See the rooftops in the sun
see the fading afternoon
feel the tangle come undone
hear the doobiedoo
BOOM!(Boom)
My voice says, "Make room."
Wave my hand, combat the gloom.
When the dark slips in
I spread my arms so wide that I consume
the depth of its doom
with the brightness I resume
And I grow green leaves on my branches
it's the way my blossoms bloom.
Wasn't I the wind that blew?
It was that what you allow to come wildly whipping, true.
You became the gale that howled
Was it finally coming true?
It had never ceased to be.
Wasn't I the light that grew?
Wasn't that light born in me?
It was that which you had touched
when you weren't trying to.
It was how you made so much by forgetting what was you.
See the rooftops in the sun,
see the fading afternoon,
see the tangle come undone
hear the doobiedoo.
And like a mountain's peak real high and stout
I blew my lid and blew my guts about
so I'm tall, I've always been
with flashing flood and whipping wind
I live with everything that I can't do without.
This song is copyright 2002 Starkville Music
It is plain to see that the album is a conceptual album analyzing change, and this is the most excellent song to start off with. He also beautifully marked this metaphor by attaching a twig growing bright green leaves to his headstock.
Throughout the song, he is asking himself questions, to which he answers. For the sake of difficult, on his tour, he has K Records frontman Calvin Johnson do the retorts, which some might say detracts from the idea of the song, but I think adds to the listening experience.