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To Keep Him Here

by Hello Emerson

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    Pre-order of To Keep Him Here. You get 5 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
    Purchasable with gift card
    releases March 29, 2024

      $10 USD  or more

     

1.
I was packing up the car, getting ready to leave about noon, And i got on the road and at... As i was driving, the wind was picking up And it looked like there was going to be a storm That kind of was blowing through. And, uh, it started to rain and i was, uh, About half a mile from i-94 -- Which would be the expressway i would take To head first to the east and then south to Dayton. and, uh, a tree limb had fallen in the road. And my last memories are two things: An suv climbed over the branches of the tree On the lane coming toward me, but the limb Was so large in my lane that there was no way I was getting over or around it. And so i pulled off to the side, Parked my car, Pulled the parking brake, And it was twelve-ten. And that's the last memory i have of that day
2.
I know i never call you on a work day And i'm gonna call your sisters after this We're not quite sure what happened We're calling it an accident for now There isn't more that we can do I'll call you back when we got A bit more news I only drink high fructose on occasion I traded all my tupperware for glass And that's all helpful stuff If we live long enough I guess we'll improvise the rest As it comes up They don't know how long He's gonna lie there And he's too weak to use the telephone It's looking pretty dire Could come right down to the wire And i don't wanna say goodbye alone So get some sleep make some coffee And hit the road Drive up tomorrow morning I pray to god it's boring but if not I'm gonna need to see my son I'm driving on the highway crying northward Praying you'll be there when i pull up And the campus parking nightmare Feels more corrupt than healthcare When i swipe my credit card To see my dad Hold my breath and echo down the hallway Right before my fingers touch the door I see every song unspooling Rearranging and retuning Til they settle on The only things we know We live and we die And in between we grow I only drink high fructose on occasion I traded all my tupperware for glass And that's all helpful stuff If we live long enough I guess we'll improvise the rest As it comes up
3.
In the Corner
4.
So I mean I think there's this Underlying investigation Of my memory And my knowledge And my decision making And in some ways it Felt over time as if I was always being tested Uh, like Tested Will I make The right choice Or Will I make Another wrong choice And the worst part Of the whole accident Was that I don't Even know what I did Wrong to have myself fall So I couldn't confirm Or guarantee to anyone That I wouldn't do it again Cause, I was Like Just trying to be helpful
5.
Church 03:53
When we go out to the church And we file in the pews So an older man With silk soft hands Can tell us what to do I try to fold my hands Like a good young catholic can And do my best to pray But that won't make him stay If today's the day When our loss makes us confused Our emotions melt down too And they run like watercolor inks In red and green and blue And I laugh when I should cry Cause I know we're gonna die But I never imagined it Would be by accident Is it happening But god can't keep you here If it's your time to go But he might sand the edges down And keep your soul at peace for now And I know the best case scenario Gives us eighty years or so There's just no way to know You built your kids a fort Out of screws and two-by-fours But halfway through it fell on you And it split you like a sword Your friend took you inside And your wife came home to find David on his back With a housemate stitching a crack With his air force first aid pack But love can't keep you here When it's your time to go But it might hold the cold at bay And fill the potholes in your way And I know the best case scenario Gives us eighty years or so I just don't want you to go Til we're all unbearably old Songs won't keep you here When it's your time to go But they can stand here in your place And keep some of your memories safe And I know the best case scenario Kicks the can on down the road But I just don't want you to go
6.
Sale Today
7.
Dinners I
8.
Sale Today Canon
9.
"so, why?"
10.
Couch Song
11.
Sticky notes By the basement stairs Tell him not to go down there Cause if he falls One more time He could vanish She drives them down In drywall with A slender old dark nail Doubtless picked up Some years back A steal at a yard sale It'll take some time Till he goes for a drive Hems and haws and haggles hard Til the price is right It could be years Of hopes and fears Doing everything we can To keep him here Lead him to the toilet for The first time in my life White knuckles grip my shoulders like A theme park safety bar When he sits down He looks so small A fragile hollow shell So we talk tiny Crack a joke Thankful he can't smell It'll take some time Til he skates on ice Shoots and scores And pumps his fist Comes home late at night It could be years Of hopes and fears Doing everything we can To keep him here It'll take some time Til he skates on ice Shoots and scores And pumps his fist and Comes home late at night It could be years Of hopes and fears Doing everything we can To keep him here
12.
Dinners II
13.
Tough Luck

about

After a purely random accident, my father got a life-threatening brain injury. We gathered as a family in the hospital, feeling the tension between rallying for him to pull through and steeling ourselves to say goodbye for the last time. He survived, and as a family, we exhaled.

Seven years later, reflections on this event became our third album. An interview with him carries us from song to song, attempting to build a story from something that my dad has no direct memories of.

It's a record of hope and fear, finding beauty in the kind of compassion which can only arise from disorder. I hope it serves you well.

credits

releases March 29, 2024

this album is the collective effort of eleven people who decided that songs are important.

// crafted with care by Hello Emerson //
sam emerson bodary | songs, guitars, vocals, synths, production
daniel lawrence seibert | percussion, synths, arrangements, production
jack keating doran | keyboards, production

// with chamber contributions from Knisely //
evan lynch | clarinet
helen cates | violin
shine robison | piano
zach koors | vibraphone

// and these thoughtful collaborators //
benjamin ahlteen | bass guitar
tony rice | recording, mixing production
glenn davis | mastering

// recorded at //
the annex in pinckney, mi
oranjudio in columbus, oh
tony's basement
sam's closet

// featuring the voice of david lawrence bodary //
recorded by StoryCorps on july 14th, 2019

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Hello Emerson Columbus, Ohio

indie-folk for journalers

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