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

Randy Houser

Randy HouserSongwriter Interviews

The "How Country Feels" singer talks Skynyrd and songwriting.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Subversive Songs Used To Sell

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Krishna Das

Krishna DasSongwriter Interviews

The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.