Album: Life On Earth (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Hurray for the Riff Raff's Life On Earth album ends with a recording of frontperson Alynda Segarra's favorite pandemic tree. A century-old giant oak in New Orleans' city park, local artist Jim Hart hung wind chimes of varying heights within its branches. They are all tuned to the pentatonic scale with each painted black to hide them from view. Segarra recorded them for the song and gave the singing tree a writing credit.

    During her daily run in the pandemic, Segarra would stop and look up at gnarled branches, realizing it made a music of its own. "It really was the best part of my run, so I recorded the sounds and even gave the singing tree its own songwriting credit," she laughed to Uncut magazine.
  • Life on Earth has a theme running through it of survival in an unstable world. Mojo magazine asked Segarra why she wanted a tree to have the last word on the record. "Because that's who I went to for healing and for wisdom," she replied. "People got very called to the natural world, got into gardening, Saw the world in a new light, and that was certainly my experience. I looked around and thought, 'Why do I feel so lonely and afraid when there's all this powerful plant life around me in New Orleans?' And it's survived so much - it's survived pummeling hurricanes, or it dies and it's reborn. It just keeps going. And I think that's a theme of the album - death. I think it's a part of life and I don't think it's the end."
  • Want to listen to more songs that include the sound of wind chimes in the mix? Check out:

    "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" by Santana

    "YYZ" by Rush

    "Close To The Edge" by Yes

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Melanie

MelanieSongwriter Interviews

The singer-songwriter Melanie talks about her spiritual awakening at Woodstock, "Brand New Key," and why songwriting is an art, not a craft.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.