“Far” by Canopy Climbers, Friday, January 8, 2021(partial repost)

Back in college and a little after I used to get a bunch of free music from NoiseTrade. This song was on 2012 Holiday Road Trip Mix. In the mix there were artists from different states. None of the songs in the mix are tailored to a particular holiday, and I find that this song works just as well in the spring or fall as much as the winter. Canopy Climbers contributed to the mix with the song “Far” from their debut album, Distances. 

THROUGH ALL THE NOISE AND THE LACK OF SILENCE. Canopy Climbers’ debut album Distances was released in 2011. Besides the NoiseTrade sampler 2012 Holiday Road Trip Mix, they were featured on JesusFreakHideout.com’s 2012 compilation Songs We’ve Been Trying to Tell You About (And Others We Haven’t), Volume 2.  The band’s most recent EP Fever was released in 2017. Today’s song, “Far,” is the band’s second most-streamed song. Like many NoiseTrade samplers I acquired in college, I didn’t take the time to look up the artists I didn’t know. However, 2012 Holiday Road Trip Mix was released my first holiday season in Korea. It was a hard time before I made friends and I felt that I was struggling as teacher. Somehow “Far,” in particular was a song that I imagined myself as the subject of a film montage. The sequence shows me walking home from school every day as the seasons change. I think that the reason for the sequence is to show me enjoying a moment of solitude after the chaos of teaching school—elementary at the time. It's quite arrogant to think that my life is worthy of a movie, but I'm going to recount this montage. Maybe “Far” is a montage for you and your story is more interesting.

IF HOME IS WHERE MY HEART IS SAFE, WHY DO YOU LEAD ME AWAY? I'm walking home from work under the shade of the ginkgo trees. First it's spring. The warm sunlight filters through foliage on to the sidewalk and the air is fresh. Traffic is crazy around me. Next it's later spring. I'm carrying my jacket in my hands. The light is stronger. Next it's summer and I'm in a short sleeve shirt button shirt, clean. The next shot I'm covered in sweat because it's bloody hot, even though it's six in the evening. Next, the light begins to shift and weaken. Fall is coming. The ginkgoes start turning yellow and the awful smelling fruit begins to drop. I play a game to avoid stepping on them. I lift my dress shoes to see if I stepped on any. The leaves start to thin more and more. Soon the trees are bare. The song slows down. Snow begins to fall. I shiver in a thin coat. "Where you lead, I will go" comes in. I'm in a thicker coat more sure of myself. "Where you go, I will follow." I'm looking at my phone and I slip on the ice. I catch my footing. A middle aged store owner is sweeping the sidewalk in front of his store. The snow starts piling up. —Yes, in Korea, they sweep snow away.  

Read the lyrics on Genius.




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