Lift Me Up
I am proud and happy to share this video, Lift Me Up. Lift Me Up is a song from my second full length album, Night Sky, to be released March 2018. This is the first piece of that album to be shared, and I feel like I am opening a door just a crack, the light pouring out, sharing a piece of something that is so meaningful to me.
In this song, I am singing to my younger self. I'm saying "You don't know this yet, but it's going to be ok. You are strong. You are beautiful. You are good." In this song, I surrender my imagined control over life and things, I listen, and I trust.
This video was a collaborative effort, incorporating and documenting the creative process of three Winnipeg artist pals: Quitin Bart, Sarah Thiessen, and Callen Froese. Each of these powerful artists created a companion piece to the song, tapping into its message and meaning, and expressing that in their own way. A fourth collaborator, Winnipeg film maker Julie Epp, directed, shot, and edited this video, using time lapse to capture the patient creation of these pieces.
These pieces are so beautiful. I am so moved by this work, and by what the artists have to say about them.
The artists offer these thoughts on their pieces:
Quintin:
I've been working with Raine on the musical development of Lift Me Up for a few years now. While recording with Raine, Nat, and Lloyd this past winter, the song matured with a groovy, reggae-tinged arrangement with plenty of levity and light. It was an interesting experiment to try find a visual expression of this music, and I knew right away I wanted to focus on light and cosmic themes. The idea of looking back to our past selves with kindness, compassion, and wisdom made me think of impermanence, destiny, and mysticism, thus the reference vintage tarot card artwork. While filming the time-lapse video with Julie, the light from the setting sun was blasting onto my page, constantly shifting the hue, contrast, and intensity of the image. Impermanence, light, and enlightenment are the main themes here.
Callen:
Listening to "Lift me up" and hearing a bit of it's background story, reminded me of a talk I had just had with a friend. We had gone on an urban forage, wandering around and identifying plants, when we crossed paths with a large patch of skullcap, a local plant. He mentioned using it for anxiety, and our conversation was swept away to the phenomenal world of plants and the many holistic remedies to ease our worries. The underlying feeling that "it's going to be ok" in the song gave me the image of a figure eating these healing plants. The flowers are based off of passionflower, pasqueflower, and the leaves of hops. All being known for aiding with anxiety, the plants also tie in to the larger picture of our symbiotic relationship with the natural world. The well-being of humanity impacts the earth, as the earth impacts us.
Sarah:
Raine's song "Lift Me Up" is one of great depth and serenity, it offers comfort and encouragement, focuses on growth and patience. We are all reaching blindly forwards in time, perhaps nervous or anxious about what we might find, and this song calmly reassures us that we musn't worry, that we can "erase the doubt". I tried to embody these concepts in my piece, those of of reaching onwards, upwards, somewhat hesitantly but gracefully. Between the hands exists a "change[able] orbit", implying the power to create one's reality. Raine has woven a masterpiece with this album and I am truly honoured to be a part of it.
Huge thanks to Quintin, Sarah, Callen and Julie, for their beautiful, hands on work on this project! Thank you to FACTOR and Manitoba Film and Music, for their grant support on this video, and on the recording. Thank you to the musicians who played on this recording, and to producer/engineer Lloyd Peterson for his masterful work! Thank YOU for listening and watching <3
Lift Me Up was written by Raine Hamilton, and recorded at Paint Box Studio in Winnipeg MB, Canada. Raine Hamilton: Voice, Guitar. Quintin Bart: Double Bass. Natanielle Felicitas: Cello. Lloyd Peterson: Producer/Engineer. Arrangement by Raine, Quintin, and Nat.
Prints of the art available soon!
Thank you to FACTOR, and Manitoba Film and Music for their financial contributions to this recording and video.
Lift Me Up
Don’t you worry now
And don’t you cry
You can wait it out
Don’t you fret my love
Don’t you shed a tear
You can erase the doubt
Lift me up stand me tall
Hear the voices both great and small
Give me wonder give me grace
Grant forgiveness in the darkest place
Follow your heart down
Lift your spirit up
Touch the stillness with your tongue
Write the words down as they come
Light the candles I’ll count each one
Light them with moonlight light them with sun
Follow your heart down
Lift your spirit up
Follow your heart down
Lift your spirit up
Change the orbit of every part
Make them wider and farther apart
Some see night time some see the day
Look on both sides see more that way
Don’t you worry now
And don’t you cry
You can wait it out
Don’t you fret my love
Don’t you shed a tear
You can erase the doubt