The Avalanches & David Berman - A Cowboy Overflow of the Heart (2021 Remaster)

Year: 2012 (remastered in 2021)

words from Robbie Chater of the Avalanches:
"The Avalanches and David Berman.
A Cowboy Overflow of the Heart.
David passed two years ago today. Knowing him is still something too sharp and tender to put into words.
Around 2011/12 were some dark times for me. I would be in another hospital, another detox. I would pick myself up and try again. A world away at the end of a dial-up modem, David would always be there. Sometimes profound, often practical ; ‘Drink more water and try to eat something’.
This piece came out of that time and correspondence.
Previously existing only as an mp3 on YouTube, here is a newly mastered version in the hope that it may connect more people with the beauty in David’s heart.
Today we send all our love to those who knew and loved him.
Robbie"

Lyrics:
We inaugurate the evening
Just drumming up a little weirdness
It gets late so early now
The waves come in in mountain phases
Linked impossibilities
Branching possibilities
I’d see fire where it's not supposed to be
In the empty library at suppertime
By the respirating basement door
The dog eats out of an old tambourine on the floor
I’ve been told you can live a long, long time on the love of a dog
And that things get bitter and bad
When the people are wrong
And sleep can be had for the price of a song
Late in the day
When the options are gone
When the seatbelt’s the only hug you’ve felt in weeks
When wrong numbers are the totality of your social life
The obscure strategies of wildlife
Only flummox the hell out of you, kid
I first saw her in a megastore
The Day-Glo raven
Born into a free fall
Like plastic Easter basket grass
Falling from an overpass
The fulfillment of a tenth grade prophecy
A motel masterpiece
Blind to the branching possibilities
Blind to linked impossibilities
Teardrops were standing in my eyes
Like deer before they bolt
It was like I was stretching my arm through the cat door to heaven
I was thinking I could lick the frosting off these summer days if nights were half as sweet
Me like a banged up dog walking half sideways
I adored the way she modified my mornings
When I’d wake up in the calm shoals of her bed
Somersaults and smoke and a universe of sleep
Before she slipped into her heritage
And disappeared
Now every second thought is out of control
I guess in a way I long to be rad
When I was with her it felt wrong to be sad
Did I tell you an angel finally came and shut my mouth?
There was a smile and a tear in her voice too
And she taught me
To relight
Relight and relight again
They tell me you can live a long, long time on the love of a dog
Things get bitter and bad
And sleep can be had
Late in the day when the options seem gone
Please let your eyes be a friend to me again
It’s just malfunctioning teardrops
A cowboy overflow of the heart

[Petit]

This is probably the best we'll get.

[samdodge]

Goddamn I miss this man, the gentleness of his spirit and the quaver in his voice. I wish I coulda met him

[parkerknowles]

I don’t know much about David Berman, I am here from listening to the Avalanches, but this speaks to me in a way that no other poem that I have read. I listen to it everyday before bed, still finding out new interesting things about it, he even inspired me to write a poem. I love this.

[thierry]

Always loved this demo. I find the sparseness of the instrumental gives it a fleeting beauty and enhances Berman's voice greatly. And now, in a world where he's passed, its glory has only continued to develop. A special song. Much love.

[Blastoise_M]

gone 4 years today and it still hurts. thanks for all you gave us, david, we miss you.

[perspii]

the obscure strategies of wildlife

only flummox the hell out of you, kid

[Andrew-wmfq]

anyone else weeping hysterically while listening to this on repeat? you're not alone.

[randomaccess]

Holy god. Every single time i hear this it makes me cry. RIP david. U where a different breed.

[Metaporphsycosis]

I don't know how Ive never heard this before

[SecondWizards]

4:50 if you normalize this part, there’s a hidden Easter egg of the song’s ending. ✨