We all seek connection – to feel rooted in something or someone; to be bound to this world by more than gravity alone. Without such an anchor, we can lose our sense of self – run adrift of our purpose and place on earth. Aching with inner turmoil and longing for something greater, Godwin’s passionate love song “Side” highlights our universal desire for connection.
When I see your face
Would I heave this pain?
Or would this feeling fade away?
Would every color turn to gray
Listen: “Side” – Godwin
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/427767588?secret_token=s-vUh5y” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Side,” Godwin’s majestic new song. The solo project of South India born, Massachusetts raised producer/artist Danny Godwin dips heavily into the layered, ethereal elements that characterize the dream pop genre. “Side” finds Godwin crafting a rich soundscape that invokes and projects the song’s lyrical message – emphasizing the importance of emotion in his music.
“Side” captures heartache and yearning, drive and desire in its emphatic, atmospheric upheaval. “When I see your face, would I heave this pain?” Godwin sings in his opening verse, desperately hoping he might find something to believe in. “Or would this feeling fade away? Would every color turn to gray.” Singing with a whisper that melts into the surrounding instrumentation, Godwin immediately connects his song to its single art: The image of him fading into his surroundings, like a fly on the wall – or perhaps someone who feels he simply isn’t there.
Yet Godwin does believe in one thing: The connecting, lasting power of love. He just hasn’t found his own love yet.
Love is only hard when you go slow
Love is only far when you can’t know
When I see your face in plain sight
Would I still fear the night, by your side?
“I wrote ‘Side’ in February of last year during a time of frustration with the uncertainties of life and relationships,” Danny Godwin tells Atwood Magazine. “My intention was to write about seeking constancy in loving someone even when the feelings of youth fades. This song embodies those questions I have for the moments I find myself lacking the love I had for God and those closest to me.”
To be fair, Danny Godwin is only 24 years old – meaning he doesn’t have to have found his purpose yet, but he is also embroiled in the quintessential twenty-something identity search. His experience, while unique in its own special way, is also a totally universal phenomenon – something each and every one of us can relate to, having experienced something similar ourselves at some point or other.
When I speak your name
Would my demons flee away?
And do the seasons change in vain
And would my spirit go to shame?
With an opening piano line that reminds one immediately of Bruce Hornsby’s work, Godwin builds up a mesmerizing, lush wall of sound that breaks in every chorus, only to build up again through mellow synth pads and, as the song progresses, an erratic guitar solo and a rich saxophone appearance that sadly gets lost in the heavy sonic clutter.
Perhaps that’s the point: When you’re lost, you can’t see the beauty in front of you; its importance feels diminished. The cloudy, cluttered turbulence of Godwin’s climax references that deep stress and brokenness he so carefully disguises in warm protest. “Would I still fear the night, by your side?” he shouts into the darkness.
Evocative and embroiled, “Side” is the love song that reminds us why love can make all the difference in your life. Stream Godwin’s new single exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
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? © Steven Schultz
