Sparkbird — Arboretum [Official Audio]

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Lyrics:

Toeing a trench
In the mulch between
Your patch and mine
I stubbed myself on a treacherous thistle
And I cried out
If it were merely
A matter of a stray thorny bristle
A barrier screen could be laid
And I wouldn't miss you

We could go the distance
Were there more disease resistance
On your part
Nothing lasts forever
When you never
Let it start

Every day I pass this way
I expect to find you
Waiting for me
Beneath the branches
Of the buckeye tree
Waving a palmetto frond
Siphoning orange juice
With a barber pole-ish wand

Red horsechestnut?
Clever disguise
I, of course, guessed, but
Said you'd never naturalize

Species zag as seasons zig
Tough to keep plants in one place
Any chance they get, they diaspore
Or else transmutate
Traipsing looping garden paths
Chasing floodplain Tupelo
Tracing roots to Ponderosa
Tangling with a Strangler fig

Now in an old growth Bald-cypress stand
Knees locked in the strand swamp
Black- and yellow-crowned Night Herons
Abound in colonies
Conferring on me collective memory
My eyelids flutter
Orbits fill with water
Hemlock in my hammock
Limbs thrash, I spit and sputter
Alligator drags me under
Into the solution hole

To protect me from
Elements of fantasy
That thrive in shady reality
To offer respite from
The demands of gardening
To show me
Trees are just the fruit
Of an even bigger tree

Credits:
Produced by Josh Frigo
Co-produced by Stephan Nance
Stephan Nance - keyboard, vocals, backing vocals
Josh Frigo - banjo, guitar, backing vocals
Mathias Kunzli - percussion, drums
Josh Plotner - flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, bass clarinet
Yoed Nir - violin, viola, cello
Percussion arrangement by Mathias Kunzli
String arrangement by Yoed Nir
Strings recorded at Yoed Nir's Studios
Woodwinds arrangement by Josh Plotner
Woodwinds recorded at Josh Plotner's Studios
Lead vocals engineered by Adam Sweeney at Opal Recording Studio in Portland, Oregon
Vocal coaching by Nevada Jones and Adam Sweeney
Mixed by Josh Frigo
Mastered by Alex Dobbert
Artwork by Rebecca DeMoss
Graphic design by Chad Lowe
Animation by Miuranga D

[Soup_flavouredsoup]

THIS IS GOING STRAIGHT ONTO THE PLAYLIST I DONT CARE THAT I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT IT AOUNDS LIKE. SPARKBIRD IS SO PEAK

[Thelxie_Tricyrtis]

Arboretum showed up on a playlist I was listening to while doing homework, and I completely lost track of my math problem because this song is too beautiful and needed my full attention. Sparkbird will never be background music.

[Luna-ejmi]

Love it how the 'out' part kind of sounds like 'ouch', which is fitting because you just stubbed yourself on treacherous thistle

[whistle_me]

“Nothing lasts forever when you never let it start” MAN THIS SONG IS SO GOOD

[bludraws]

i keep hearing "i cried out" as "i cried. ow" and it keeps cracking me up

[solmisate]

My favorite part is when sparkbird said “it’s arboretuming time” and then arboretumed all over the place

[QueenCami_]

You knowing what dessert duo is is actually giving me life AGHHHH

[moss]

A new song to replay as I picture my dnd. characters to it

[salad]

Unironically some of the most unique and wonderful music I've come across. Couldn't imagine any over voice over this beautiful composition

[doodle-the-bug]

This scratches my brain in all the right places! Oh my god this is so pretty. Visually, too- I love the way the album covers are drawn! The solid color looks so rich against the cross-contour on the bark/roots, pure eye candy. So proud to be apart of the sparkflock rn ❤️

[nathanwilbrink]

You might be one of the most underrated musicians of all the underrated musicians i know

[TobyLove]

I’m so happy to be alive the same time this was made

[mochataite]

i can already tell i’m gonna be making so much art to this song. thank you sparkbird for feeding us artists and oc creators and storytellers and creatives of all kind

[ijdragonfly]

I showed this song to my mother and she adores it <3

[aaronlopezlinares]

2:37 to 3:18 is perfection, the entire song is but that part is just so *chef kiss*

[infodumpers]

this song is so full of whimsy and joy right from the get go man i love it already

[exquisitechaos]

banger banger banger banger i am SO GLAD i found these songs i WILL be listening to ALL OF

[boogerohgravy]

To throw out this music when rap is near its peak is a crazy move, this is some mystical type music that i'd listen to everyday (only reason i dont is that i lost my earbuds)

[ginaturn]

I. HAVE. FALLEN. IN. LOVE.
Spark bird NEVER. STOP.

[Tk_Sorainu_Atlas]

I love the way you layer your rhythms! The cadence of your vocals play off the rhythms in the instrumentals really well, and as a former percussionist I like it a lot!