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Sweetness And Pain (The St Buryan Sessions)

from Sweetness And Pain (The St Buryan Sessions) - Single by Sarah McQuaid

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about

“Sweetness and Pain” is the fourth single from The St Buryan Sessions, filmed and recorded live (with no audience due to COVID-19) on 1 July 2020 in the beautiful church of St Buryan, Cornwall, parts of which date back to the 11th century.

Please do check out the YouTube video of this track to see the gorgeous work done by Cornish filmmaker Mawgan Lewis of Purple Knif with the help of veteran camera op John Crooks. There’s a link to my YouTube channel in the profile section of this page.

Heartfelt thanks to the 184 individual contributors whose voluntary donations made this recording possible. Your kindness and generosity will not be forgotten.

lyrics

The sweetness of the berry
Doesn’t take away the pain
Of the briar when it stabs you
In the hand
But the power of your craving
For the fruit among the thorns
Is driving you to risk
Another chance
Sweetness and pain
Summer sun
And autumn rain

The bramble does not seek to harm
It merely seeks to live
It injures without malice
Or intention
There’s no question of forgiveness
No apology, no pardon
For minor wounds too numerous
To mention
Sweetness and pain
Winter winds
Return again

Sharp black thorns
Concealed and smoothed
By softly falling snow
Drops of blood
Like bright red flowers
This hurt will pass
Just let it go
Sweetness and pain
Shake it off
And start again

credits

from Sweetness And Pain (The St Buryan Sessions) - Single, released April 2, 2021
Words and music by Sarah McQuaid
Sarah – vocals
Production and recording by Martin Stansbury
Mixed by Martin Stansbury at Cacophony Cottage Studio – cacophonycottagestudio.co.uk
Mastered by Stuart Bruce

Many thanks to the St Buryan Male Voice Choir for generously allowing their Yamaha concert grand piano to be used for this recording

The St Buryan Sessions were filmed and recorded live (with no audience due to COVID-19) on 1 July 2020 in the beautiful church of St Buryan, Cornwall, parts of which date back to the 11th century. The idea was to recreate the energy, heart, soul and magic of a live performance in a quality production that would stand the test of time.

Thanks to the generosity of the 184 individuals who contributed to my crowdfunding campaign, to Canon Vanda Perrett and the St Buryan Parish Council, to the immense skill of the team I had the privilege of working with, and most of all to the church itself, whose glorious natural acoustic we captured with the help of ambient microphones placed around the soaring space – I believe I’ve achieved that aim. I hope you think so, too.

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Sarah McQuaid Penzance, UK

“One of the most instantly recognisable voices in current music … Shades of Joni Mitchell in a jam with Karen Carpenter and Lana Del Rey.” —Neil March, Trust The Doc

“Captivating, unorthodox songwriting … layered satin vocals ... enthralling, harrowing arrangements … a gateway into a true innovator’s soul.” —PopMatters

See sarahmcquaid.com/about for more info.
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