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A Breath She Took

from A Breath She Took by Frances Livings

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about

Jazzoetry Recording of A Breath She Took

For the poem A Breath She Took, I chose the cello for its warm and resonant sound and its associated features: the softly swung curvatures of a female body. Albeit loving the piano, I have a very close relationship with the cello. It was my first instrument as a child. I was extremely proud that our music teacher chose me to be trained for the school orchestra. When we moved to Germany, however, I was completely heartbroken: the cello was a school instrument and I consequently had to give it up.

Ironically, later, my mother bought herself one and started taking lessons, which obviously brought up a lot of feelings. The cello therefore mirrors perfectly not only my longing for that instrument and the close relationship I was developing with it, but my longing for an empathetic, nurturing and loving mother.

I asked the cellist Matthew Cooker to provide his improvisational talents. He is one of Los Angeles most prolific cellists and has played in many orchestras and for diverse live artists (like Barbra Streisand and Luis Miguel). I first met him on a studio session for a few tracks on my fist solo album The World I am Livings In, which consists of very sparsely instrumented songs, surrounding themes of loss. Matthew's playing has, in equal parts, the right amount of tenderness, fierceness and edginess a cellist. He moreover, possesses a sheer endless inventory of resin, ego, musicality, creativity and elbow grease.

lyrics

A Breath She Took

I savoured that little drop of ink
hoping it would spread
and weave dainty letters
curling into loops of loving words
pretty like lace doilies
in symmetrical perfection
I hung on to those words
cupping them in my hand
lightly weighing them
hoping, in protection
they would grow and blossom
and magically unfold
into cashmere coves.

I jumped upon that breath she took,
in between kitchen table ramblings
spreading like weeds, a mile a minute
I pounced like a cat –
straight out of that cupboard
onto that slot of discarded time
swatting that tic of the clock with my claws
and pulling each iron bracket
bookending that second
like an expander apart
A slot of vacant space
allowing me a cradle
allowing me for once
to simply speak my mind

But I just lost her
where was she going?
always confusing
I would follow –
I had to pay attention
into the labyrinths of her mind
I simply needed Ariadne’s thread
hoping for once just to understand
should I slip under her skin
or prop up a ladder and open her skull?

But perhaps, perhaps it was me –
perhaps I just didn’t understand

Perhaps I was the over-sensitive one
the ungrateful one
the difficult one,
the trouble-maker
the instigator
just too much imagination
always simply over-reacting?

So – I watched.
And I watched.
I watched the bread go stale
on that very tablecloth
a heavy clump of grains
a mould-riddled monument
for Demeter on her chariot
holding not a sceptre
but a sword in hand
still hoping it was me
who just didn’t understand.

That I had misread
her attempts
to nurture
perhaps.

She, who is said to love us before she meets us?

Frances Livings © 2011

credits

from A Breath She Took, released January 20, 2019
:
Credits:
Artist: Frances Livings
Label: Moontraxx, 2019
Frances Livings - vocals
Matthew Cooker - cello

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Frances Livings Los Angeles, California

The London-born artist Frances Livings can be heard on a variety of recordings. Besides music, she has worked as a designer, has earned a PhD in art history and is the founder of the music production company Moontraxx.
Drawing from these different life experiences has made her ability to both craft and tell a story very unique.
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