Pencil Sketch

[altair]

As my first (read: delurking) post, I bring this lovely beautiful song:

http://hellyeahviennateng.tumblr.com/post/655681947/vienna-teng-pencil-sketch


And I have attempted to transcribe the lyrics below, but I'm uncertain about some parts, so feel free to correct me.

Pencil Sketch

Kitchen table piled with clutter
Loose thoughts, loose threads
One room merges with another
In our hearts and our heads
Notebook to an empty page
Acid free, archival grade

Studios in Brooklyn and in Venice
LAX, JFK
Stories from our time in Paris
Dans le coeur, du marais
Dreams that want to be set down
In charcoal and graphite
I fill in the shapes but leave the edges wide
There’s no worry
It’s just a pencil sketch tonight

Scattered toys and steaming pots
See her crawling at last
Fingers pressing on that spot
In the small of your back
Creases ‘round your eyes and mouth
When you smile down

Flocks of geese and ribbons bending south
I shade in the nightfall
The sound of you singing to her down the hall
But don’t you worry
It’s just a pencil sketch, that’s all

You don’t have to be part of this picture
Maybe someone else’s face could fit here
I could take the nub of this eraser
Crumple paper, start anew
But not ‘til you tell me to

Sunlight melting, river glimpse
Bodies framed in faded chairs
Lime and sugar, sprig of mint
Made the same for fifty years
An easy silence floating between our two mason jars

Oh sometimes when you look at me
I can see that far
And then the colors blur
The lines smudge
Oh, I’ll play it cool for now
And time will be the judge
There’s no hurry
It’s just a pencil sketch of us

[aaparallel]

Hi altair! Glad you decided to come out of the shadows
This is so awesome! Just recently, I saw this song title on the list of "Songs OK to Distribute" that VT posted, and thought "'Pencil Sketch'? What's that??" So I'm glad I didn't have to wonder for long.

What show is this recording from? Can I download it somewhere?

And some lyrics I heard that are different from what you have:

"Acid free or (chival graved?)" -> Acid-free, archival grade
"(don de coeur, du maie?)" -> dans le coeur, du marais

"Parties framed in faded chairs" -> Bodies framed in faded chairs

This song made me geek out, being an artist and a former French student. Thanks again!

[altair]

Hahaha, that's exactly why I went to find the song: because I saw it on the "OK to distribute" list and was "what's that song?".

Unfortunately I have no idea what show it is; I would surmise something before or on June 1, and distributed to the radio. And if anyone finds out where it can be downloaded, I would love to know as well!

Ah, ok, I'll go correct those lyrics. Thanks aaparallel! BTW, what do the French lyrics mean?

[aaparallel]

BTW, what do the French lyrics mean?

Dans le coeur means "in the heart." Du marais means "of/from the marsh." Had to look that up because I was sure she didn't mean any marsh. Turns out Le Marais is a district in Paris. Please confirm this, Walking Stranger, s'il vous plait

[stapper2]

I don't know where this version is from, but I can add that Vienna did play it at one of her Rockwood shows earlier this year. I think it was one in Jan when she played a last minute gig with Paul Freeman. At that show, she said that it's only the second time she has played it live. (She played off a laptop if I recall). Therefore, the recording you found must be from the first live performance of it.

Thanks for posting it. I have had a very tough time hearing all the lyrics in my (crappy cell phone) recording from Rockwood. This version is much clearer! What a treat after a long day!

[Reileen]

Eeee! So much love. <33333 Of course, as a visual artist myself, I lurve the motif she chose to use. Thanks for posting!

[Fred]

Brava! And thanks for de-lurking and posting. She says in the intro this is just some little song she kind of tossed off in a hurry last fall. I'll bet a lot of songwriters wish they could toss 'em off like that!

[tanthalas]

Thanks so much for posting. Do you happen to have a downloadable format of this song? Whether it's the original WAV recording or an MP3?

Thanks.

[aaparallel]

Thanks so much for posting. Do you happen to have a downloadable format of this song? Whether it's the original WAV recording or an MP3?

Thanks.

Someone comment on the tumblr post and ask that person for the recording

[micro]

Could be from thisperformance last year. Archive recording available here. Thanks to Scot, Paul, and mvyradio.

Managed to dl the audio from the tumblr link above; it's a 128kbps mp3 file.
The myvradio recording was also downloaded, as a 128kbps mpeg file. Paul also recorded so he's the best bet for a hq recording.

[tanthalas]

Mind sharing the download links? I haven't been able to find them, granted I didn't spend too much time looking. I managed to download a 21mb MP3 file from my Chrome cache last night for the Tumblr page, but it didn't actually play.

[altair]

micro, how did you manage to download the song from the tumblr link? I'm afraid I'm computer-challenged so I have no idea how to do it.
Also, thanks for the myvradio link; more beautiful Vienna recordings!

[Linus]

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jn24eg

@Michele: feel free to delete my post if sharing that way is not allowed

[aaparallel]

------------------------------------Deleted----------------------------------------

[Michele]

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jn24eg

@Michele: feel free to delete my post if sharing that way is not allowed

It's fine. Thanks for offering up and being OK with that delete option though. Originally Vienna actually didn't want a rip of the song out, but since it's been posted by the station and enforcing no rips to float around would be impossible, she is OKing it for this one song only. So enjoy it because she has learned her lesson