Wide-Open from Skyline by The Starlight Darlins
This song was the result of our final assignment for John McCutcheon’s masterclass camp in 2023: everybody put their name in a hat, drew, and then had to write a song for that person. There were ten of us total, and I was hoping to get anyone but a Darlin! For me at least, writing for someone you know intimately is somehow harder than writing for someone you just met. Of course, I drew Sage’s name—the person I knew best out of everyone—but I am SO GLAD that’s what ended up happening.
During the two weeks we had after camp to write our songs, Sage started their move from the Pacific Northwest all the way to their new home in Appalachia. “Wide-Open” is many things—an exploration of the excitement & trepidation of moving, a love letter to a dear friend & the region they chose to make their home, and a promise that our friendship and love for each other will always be there, no matter what. It’s also the first song I wrote FOR the Darlins, and it wasn’t truly finished until the four of us sat down and worked out the harmonies and instrumental bits together.
Tracklist
| 4. | Wide-Open | 5:42 |
Lyrics
your life is covered up with blankets
in the backseat of your car
just enough to travel easy:
some clothes and your guitar
left behind your loves, your house, your friends
the world you’d built so far
does the light of where you’re going
cast a shadow where you are?
you’ve got wide-open eyes
to hope, to seek, to find
wide-open hands
cradling all your plans
a wide-open mind
always asking why
a wide-open heart
the well that feeds your art
soon you’ll be smiling at the colors
that paint the masterpiece of fall
and in the winter, you’ll be happy
when the trees stand bare and tall
‘cause when you get to where you’re going
you will be answering the call
of the music that always felt like home
and the place that holds you in its thrall
with its wide-open eyes
to hope, to seek, to find
wide-open hands
cradling all your plans
wide-open minds
never asking why
wide-open heart
the well that feeds your art
your life is snuggling under blankets
in the backseat of a car
with too much stuff to travel easy:
banjo, fiddle, drum, guitar
‘cause the light of where you’re going now
is joined by three more shining stars
and every mile is a promise:
wherever you go, here we are
with our wide-open eyes
to hope, to seek, to find
wide-open hands
cradling all our plans
wide-open minds
answering your whys
wide-open hearts
the headlights in the dark
Credits
Written by Lauren Oxford
Lauren Oxford: rhythm guitar, vocals
Emily Johnson-Erday: banjo, vocals
Gray Buchanan: fiddle, vocals
Sage Christie: lead guitar, vocals
License
All rights reserved.Tags
The Starlight Darlins are a queer Appalachian folk band featuring singer-songwriters Gray Buchanan (they/them) on fiddle, Sage Christie (they/them) on guitar, Emily Johnson-Erday (she/her) on banjo, and Lauren Oxford (she/her) on bodhrán. Their trademark four-part harmonies, powerful original songs, and intricate arrangements create something rare and special with an arresting, undeniable magic.