﻿Behind the Song: Stand

Behind the Song: Stand

3/25/2017

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

'That sounds like a bit of old Bilbo's rhyming,' said Pippin. 'Or is it one of your imitations? It does not sound altogether encouraging.'

'I don't know,' said Frodo. 'It came to me then, as if I was making it up; but I may have heard it long ago. Certainly it reminds me very much of Bilbo in the last years, before he went away. He used often to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: its springs were at every doorstep, and every path was its tributary. "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door," he used to say. "You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to."

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Lyrics + Credits
Thoughts
Notes
Pairings
Etc.

The road, it goes ever on, they say;
And if you're not careful, it'll sweep you right into the fray,
Where all that you know isn't all that you thought it would be.
You're looking for home; could that really be where this road leads?

The road, it goes ever on, they say;
And if you're not careful, it'll sweep you right into the fray,
But don't give up hope; I'll be standing right here by your side.
No, don't you let go, 'cause this road may yet lead us to life.

Brother, will you stand with me?
Will you lift me when I fall, lift me when I fall?
Brother, I will stand with you, when there is no hope at all;
When all hope is lost, brother I'll stand.

The journey is long and the end isn't near.
We're only beginning;
Who can tell us what triumphs and tears
We'll find on our way as we wander the caverns inside?
But we'll stand together today,
'Cause this dark may yet lead us to light.

Brother, will you stand with me?
Will you lift me when I fall, lift me when I fall?
Brother, I will stand with you, when there is no hope at all;
When all hope is lost,

Brother, I'll stand with you through everything,
'Til everything is made new.
Brother, I'll stand, I'll stand with you
Through all of this darkness,
'Til the light breaks through.
As brothers we'll stand.

Brother, will you stand with me?
Will you lift me when I fall, lift me when I fall?
Brother, I will stand with you, when there is no hope at all;
When all hope is lost, brother I'll stand.

Performers:
daniel couper - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Ukulele
Gabriel Couper & Valerie Couper - Harmony Vocals
Zach Ross - Electric Guitars
Jason Hardy - Bass Guitar
Justin Short & Jonathan Anderson - Percussion

Gang Vocals:
Jonathan Anderson, Anna Butler, David Butzu, Katie Cachiaras, Joel Carillet, Philip Connors, Michelle Couper, Mike Couper, Nathaniel Couper, Catherine DePriest, Roger DePriest, Emily Hand, Kaitlyn Harville, Andrew Hicks, Megan King, Lindsey Kyker, Angie Lee, Benjamin Lee, Rebecca Miller, Megg Rapp, Justin Short, Ryan Starr, Bryant Thurman, John Thurman, Wiley Thurman

Full liner notes

As is the case with several of these songs, this one ended up being something rather different than the original intent and inspiration. What started out as Bilbo's old familiar walking song from The Lord of the Rings took a shift in tone when I got a call from an old friend who was beginning to question everything he'd grown up believing―everything he and I had talked about with passion when we were high school seniors, baring our souls and trying to figure our lives out together. He was looking for something solid to hold on to while his world fell down around him. And he was looking for answers.

I didn't have any answers for him. I only had myself to give―a sad smile and a listening ear for a friend in need.

And so, this song grew from a song about journeying into a song about journeying together. It was still Bilbo's old walking song, but now it was being sung by Frodo and Sam. And, in a certain way, it was inevitable. This is, after all, what it looks like when paths and errands meet, and we are swept off together to God knows where.

In honour of the ringbearer and his gardener, a bonus quote:

FRODO: I can’t do this, Sam.

SAM: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened.
But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.

FRODO: What are we holding on to, Sam?

SAM: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.

― The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (film)

The following are the notebook pages whereupon I first scribbled out the semblance of this song.

Below are just a couple songs that complement and contextualize "Stand" in my mind. If you use Spotify, click the link below the videos to listen to a full playlist with pairings for the entirety of Bienvenu.

Listen to the pairings playlist on Spotify

We had some fun with the percussion on this song. Again, the Nerds Gumball (from "Be Yourself and Love") was used as a shaker. Justin played the basic beat using stomps and chair-smacks, and if you listen closely, you can hear the change jingling in his pocket in perfect time with the music (thanks be to God, who set earth's gravitational acceleration at approximately 9.8 meters per second per second). Pay attention, too, to Jon's chair squeak at 2:14. I love it so much.
My literal brother and sister provide the harmony vocals for this track. It was especially important to me to include my sister as a representative of all the women in my life to whom and with whom I also sing this song. (It still irks me that "siblings" doesn't carry the same weight of intentionality and purpose that "brothers" does.)
The group who sings at the end of the song is comprised of a great number of wonderful people who have influenced my life in beautiful and important ways. All of them have lifted me when I have fallen, and I hope to be there to lift each of them in times of need.
The friend for whom this song was originally written can be heard among the crowd in the final chorus. He alone sings the low melody, providing a firm foundation for the rest of us, as he has done in my own life.