Mix Tape Monday: The Lion's Roar

My friend posted the song "Emmylou" by First Aid Kit on Facebook last week and I was immediately hooked. First of all, I've always been a sucker for woodsy and melodic folk music. Second of all, these two sisters are so refreshing and lovely and wonderfully Scandinavian. (Go Sweden! Seriously, though, one of these days I'm going to do a family tree post and I'm going to dig down to my svenska roots). Third, their lyrics are unbelievably mature, especially considering the sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg are only 21 and 18 years old, respectively.

Can I also just pose a question to you all? How in the world do two non-native English speakers write more poetic and meaningful verse than I could ever hope to write? It astounds and confounds me.

Anyways, here is one of their newer songs, "The Lion's Roar." It gives me major chills.

"The Lion's Roar" - First Aid Kit
Now the pale morning sings of forgotten things
She plays a tune for those who wish to overlook
The fact that they've been blindly deceived
By those who preach and pray and teach
But she falls short and the night explodes in laughter

But don't you come here and say I didn't warn you
About the way your world can alter
And oh how you try to command it all still
Every single time it all shifts one way or the other

And I'm a goddamn coward, but then again so are you
And the lion's roar, the lion's roar
Has me evading and hollering for you
And I never really knew what to do

Well I guess sometimes I wish you were a little more predictable
That I could read you just like a book
For now I can only guess what's coming next
By examining your timid smile
And the ways of the old, old winds blowing you back 'round

And I'm a goddamn fool, but then again so are you
And the lion's roar, the lion's roar
Has me seeking out and searching for you
And I never really knew what to do

Sometimes I wish I could find my Rosemary Hill
I'd sit there and look at the deserted lakes and I'd sing
And every once in a while I'd sing a song for you
That would rise above the mountains and the stars and the sea
And if I wanted it to it would lead you back to me

And the lion's roar, the lion's roar
Is something that I have heard before
A children's tale, the lonesome wail of a lion's roar