You’re bouncing along on a remote Scottish road, not another vehicle in sight, trying not to be distracted by thoughts of getting your car in for service to get the shocks looked at, because there are various upcoming bends to negotiate and potholes to avoid.
You happen to look up into the Highlands.
Well, they draw your eyes to themselves – that rugged beauty has probably been the cause of more than one vehicle leaving the roadway. That, and those blustery winds.
Way up there, there’s a woman clambering about. She has long hair. It’s being whipped about her face, and she’s trying to get some of it out of her mouth. She seems to be carrying a little book, and a pen. She stops for a moment, the wind clears her hair from her face as she looks into the distance, and then she abruptly sets herself down on a rock and opens up the book.
You hit a bump on the road, and realize that you need to steer around a curve that’s coming up far too quickly. There’s a quick fishtail as one back wheel skitters along soft gravel at the very edge of the road, and then your mind is back on the job. You say some very mean things about yourself, by way of admonishment.
The woman you spotted may well have been Rosie H Sullivan. If so, she was likely taking some time to process her burgeoning career as an indie artist, and the implications for her relationships and her immediate future.
Or, she might be writing a song about all those transitions she’s experiencing – maybe a song like “Chapters.”
It’s a song of cheerful acceptance of the reality that life brings change, that new transitions in life contain both endings and beginnings, and that opportunity and growth emerge from each phase. The Edinburgh-based musician betrays a love of books and of writing in the metaphor of “Chapters,” but not in a heavy way. The song is like watching a flick that’s set as a light-hearted romantic comedy, and then realizing later that you’re thinking about it.
Acoustic guitar bounces you into the start of the song. Percussion and some banjo picking follow. Brass enters from time to time, like a marching band that precedes the start of a big American College football game before the players come out of the gates. Rosie’s tuneful vocals nonchalantly carry the melody through all its range, with just a touch of gravel.
If you’re unfamiliar with Rosie, and would like to know what you might expect, you can check out her song “Fragments,” where you’ll get a sense of the voice and musical arrangement that form Rosie’s musical nest.
Ready to discover a fresh voice, somewhat new to North American audiences? Might be time for a new chapter, or “Chapters,” care of Rosie H Sullivan.
