A flock of jackdaws carrying various tools (string, screwdriver, boltcutters, lump hammer, pliers, etc.) is silhouetted against a painted sunset with a brooding cloudy sky. The title and artist are written in hand-drawn lettering at the top and bottom, respectively.

8. Easier to Write

Helen Bell

Liner Notes

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Easier to Write

3:34

Easier to Write

Helen Bell

lyrics

It should’ve been too cold to lie on the ground
But we did anyway
Would’ve been too awkward to say the things we didn’t
But I think we will one day
I like the way you pull me out into the world from in my head
I like it too when there’s nothing but big blank blue
and you come out of yours instead

And we slow down now, all the day birds are asleep now
The hawthorn hasn’t flowered yet, Mars is just about to set
There was an owl, and how we loved it
And now its absence has two bats flitting above it
And below them a wide space for all the words to explore
And I don’t mind how they find whatever they think they’re looking for
Slow down now, slow down, slow down now

Strange how the blackbirds always seem so alarmed
By the arrival of dusk
I think the gentle unfolding of the night
Might be quite like us
I don’t know why, but it kind of reminds me of the way
Some things are easier to write than they ever could be to say

And now we know it all by way of late night letters
We haven’t got to talking yet, but I think it will be better

credits

from Five Thousand Feathers, released October 4, 2024
Helen Bell: vocals, piano, EWI
Xenogon: EWI synth sound design
Words and music by Helen Bell

8. Easier to Write

Easier to Write

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