| Behind the Music |
| An explanation of Nickel Creek's songs |
| Ode to a Butterfly- Chris was in one of the practice rooms at Murray State and he saw a butterfly outside that either wanted to get in to shut him up or wanted to get in to listen. So this song is dedicated to that butterfly. |
| The Lighthouse's Tale- Chris and his friend Adam wrote this depressing song in rebellion to their label of being "excessively happy." |
| Out of the Woods- Written by Sinead Lohan, E-mail me if you know anything else! |
| In the House of Tom Bombadil- Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Chris wrote this song about one of the characters named Tom Bombadil, convinced that he is secretly a mandolin player and if he wrote a song, this is what it would sound like. |
| Reasons Why- This song is subtly about Christian beliefs, lyrics written by David Puckett and melody by Sean. |
| When You Come Back Down- Written by Tim O'Brien, this is one of the few love songs that Nickel Creek sings. Chris had a picture of Natalie Portman in front of him while recording this track, in order to put real emotion into the vocals. |
| Sweet Afton- Chris stumbled upon Robert Burns' lyrics and they caught his eye because, unlike all other Celtic songs, the girl in the song was not dead. However, Chris later found out that the "sleeping" girl was dead in actuality. |
| Cuckoo's Nest- This is a traditional song that Nickel Creek enjoys to play. |
| The Hand Song- Lyrics written by David Puckett, and melody by Sean, this song is a beautiful comparison between a boy and Jesus. |
| Robin and Marian- Sean wrote this song and, having trouble figuring out a name, he went to his mom and she thought it sounded like Medieval and/or Renaissance type music. |
| The Fox- A traditional song that Chris's mom used to sing to him as a child, Chris decided it would be a good one to perform and record. |
| Pastures New- E-mail me if you know about the making of this song! |
| Do I have something wrong? Do you know more about these songs? Please don't hestitate to e-mail me and I'll make it right! |
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| o t h e r s o n g s |
| Ferdinand The Bull- Sean wrote this song and had trouble naming it, so he offered it up to the crowd at the Philly Folk Festival and someone came up with the name Ferdinand The Bull because it reminded them of the cartoon of that same name. Sean remembers having watched the show when he was younger and decided it would be a perfect name for the song. It is on Sean's solo album. |
| For All It's Worth- Chris's dad had acquired a 1-800 number for which he was never charged, so one day Chris started writing a song, he called Sean, and together they came up with this piece. It is on Chris's "Stealing Second" album. |
| Leaves Fall- When Chris first moved from California to Kentucky, he witnessed the beauty of autumn and was so awestruck that he sat outside on his front porch and put together this song. It is on Chris's "Stealing Second" album. |
| Not All Who Wander Are Lost- Chris Thile |
| Song for a Young Queen- This is one of the few melodies I've written that doesn't relax into any one-chord area. The song is in A and though it seems to rest in D, even that doesn't really feel like home. For the recording I wanted it to seem like we can always keep going and be happy doing so, knowing all the time that we probably won't find our destination if we ever had one. |
| Explanations by Chris Thile |
| Wolfcreek Pass- While we were figuring out what to do with this raging bluegrass tune, each idea that passes inspection was recorded to tape with my Walkman. I wish you could hear each layer separately as it exists on the tape so you could imagine how much fun it was to put them all together. A little bluegrass counterpoint never hurt anyone...nor, as Jerry would point out, have four dobros! Scratch all that, sometimes bluegrass should hurt. |
| Raining at Sunset- I was playing on the front porch of my parents' house one evening as the sun went down when...well, see the title. I tried to emulate the situation on mandolin and this is the result. For a long time I heard it as a solo piece but eventually, hearing how some of my favorite musicians could help me develop the simple melody became much more exciting. |
| Riddles in the Dark- I wrote this twisty fiddle tune in E for Bela and I to do as a duo, but shortly after we starting learning it we decided it would be more fun to write something together. I had a couple parts laying around that I played for Bela, who starting connecting and expanding them. We finished it over the course of a couple practices and then had to learn to play the darn thing! |
| Sinai to Canaan- Part 1 is from a long family road trip from Kentucky to California. Part 2 was another gift from that front porch. I hope that Part 2 acts as a huge sigh of relief after the darkness of Part 1. |
| Club G.R.O.S.S.- A tribute to Dictator for Life Calvin and First Tiger Hobbes, Co-Founders of Club G.R.O.S.S. The melody is the result of an experiment that consisted of using the notes under and over the ones I actually liked. Possibly that wasn't a very smart idea, but we sure had fun! |
| You Deserve Flowers- I've wanted to record a duo with Edgar for a long time and I've always thought this would make a good one. I taped it for Edgar at a rehearsal and by the next one, he had most of his counterpoint line written out. We finished it together that day, played it, and well...I'm happy, darnit! |
| Eureka!- A tweaked out little fiddle tune in D. |
| Big Sam Thompson- My great, great, great, great uncle Sam Thompson was an amazing major league baseball outfielder before the turn of the century. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame! Celtic instrumentals always remind me of baseball, so I named this set after my only relation to hit over 400 in a season. |
| Bridal Veil Falls- Named after the beautiful waterfall in Yosemite Valley. It gracefully falls hundreds of feet to the rocks that lead to the next riverbed. The mist that surrounds the base of the falls is very refreshing and playing this song with these guys reminded me of it. |
| Laurie De'Tullins- Written during a tour of France in a little town called Tullins. |
| Nickel Creek |