What a beautiful piece of heartache

I’m not one of those indie-loving hipsters who has been following the why-aren’t-they-more-famous band Over the Rhine for a long time. But ever since someone introduced me to this husband-wife duo about 1.5 years ago, I’ve known that OTR would plant themselves firmly into my regular listening rotation. Their music is deeply personal, yet timeless. Mostly, it is honest.

One of my favorite OTR songs is “Latter Days,” from their 1996 album, “Good Dog, Bad Dog.” It’s a heartbreaker, but not in an depressingly emo kind of way. There’s an acceptance of broken dreams — of difficulties and uncertainties that are part of every life. But even as the song captures the pain of an ending, you also get the feeling that it means now something new and better can come.

Songwriter Linford Detweiler comments on this song:
“[Latter Days has] become an important song for me. It was written in my bedroom, I was just scratching some things down. When it’s happening, you never know at the time that something is going to be that essential to your work. It’s just very informal. And that’s just one of the purest things I’ve ever written.

I was questioning another one of those periods where I felt like I was done with music, that I didn’t have what it took. So the whole bit about “dancing without me” is to other musicians . . . “You go on ahead and do it. I’ll get there eventually and I’ll be okay.” The lines about, “I just don’t have much left to say”… that’s very literal. “I’m supposed to be writing these songs, but I’ve been dashed on the rocks and I’ve got nothing left.” . . . To me, there’s something about that sadness that is ultimately joyful.

You try to tell a story on a record. “Latter Days” is the first song on “Good Dog Bad Dog”, but by the second song ["All I Need is Everything"] this person is already starting to realize that this place of brokenness is one of immense strength and renewal. Now that I realize that I’m completely shattered, I’m at a place where good things can happen.” (source)

Latter Days

What a beautiful piece of heartache this has all turned out to be.
Lord knows we’ve learned the hard way all about healthy apathy.
And I use these words pretty loosely.
There’s so much more to life than words.

There is a me you would not recognize, dear. Call it the shadow of myself.
And if the music starts before I get there dance without me. You dance so gracefully.
I really think I’ll be o.k. They’ve taken their toll these latter days.

Nothin’ like sleepin’ on a bed of nails. Nothin’ much here but our broken dreams.
Ah, but baby if all else fails, nothin’ is ever quite what it seems.
And I’m dyin’ inside to leave you with more than just cliches.

There is a me you would not recognize, dear. Call it the shadow of myself.
And if the music starts before I get there dance without me. You dance so gracefully.
I really think I’ll be o.k. They’ve taken their toll these latter days.

But tell them it’s real. Tell them it’s really real.
I just don’t have much left to say.
They’ve taken their toll these latter days.
They’ve taken their toll these latter days.

(Words & Music by Linford Detweiler)