A 30-year veteran of the Canadian music scene, Richard Moody has toured the world with such luminaries as The Wailin’ Jennys and Steven Fearing. Tobacco & Rose is his solo project: a collection of songs, inspired in part by experience with psychedelic and medicinal plants from the Amazon and the Pacific Northwest. The self titled album is out on April 25th, but Americana UK can provide an early listen to a key song from the collection. Asked by Americana UK to describe his music Richard Moody disclosed that “I like to think of my music as heartfelt, inspirational. Most of the music was inspired by experiences with plant medicine, so I joke that it’s “plant–based music.” It’s lyrically very much about describing a path of growth, embodiment, and reverence of the natural world. Musically, I draw from some of the great singer-songwriters of the ‘60s and ‘70s, like Joni Mitchell, Dylan, etc., and I would say the the arrangements and harmony are subtly influenced by the classical music studies of my youth.”
Richard Moody told Americana UK about the genesis of the song and its significance: “lyrics for this song came in that way that makes a writer feel blessed: verse after verse flowing rapidly from pen to page. The music is a fairly simple repetitive minor key progression, with no chorus, that reminds me of a mournful early Leonard Cohen type of song. From a broad view, “Bride of Suffering“ is about our tendency to attach to patterns of suffering that are familiar and ingrained, and that much of our emotional distress comes from the story we tell ourselves after the fact.
More specifically, it refers to a friend of mine, who though beautiful, talented, and loved, seemed perpetually stuck in a dark place. One calamity after another seemed to afflict her, and she would get caught up in the subsequent re-telling, while her friends and family looked on, unable to help. The story is told from the point of view of these friends and family. And I think the metaphor of relationship in this case is poignant: our subject is married to her “bridegroom of woe.” We all know someone who is stuck in an unhealthy relationship, unable to leave it because it’s familiar, habitual, and somehow safe. We are forced to be patient, compassionate, and hope they find a way to end the relationship and move on.”
Speaking of the song’s place within the album he added: “With regard to music and arrangement, this song draws from a similar palette as the rest of the record. Lyrically and thematically it’s different. I usually get inspired to write about more joyous topics, such as the beauty of nature or spiritual epiphanies. So I actually laughed at these lyrics, as they seemed almost comically mournful. Initially I didn’t think I would even record and release it, but friends told me they really liked it, and I hope there is a sense of empathy in the song that I can offer to the listener. I also like to trust a song when it comes that quickly and easily.”
