THE WEEDS

Good evening lovely patrons,

Hope you're gearing up for a good weekend... it is HOT in the UK.

I absolutely love it.

I am a cold, cold, skinny, pale, person with bad circulation who wears jumpers in the summer. One day I'll move to the desert. This kind of weather just makes me feel like doing things. New things, tidying up, decorating, sorting, exploring and... erm, recently, a bit of gardening.

Usually plants just wither and die in my garden, but I've been spending such an abnormal amount of time at home with my little concrete slab out the back to sit in that it appears some plants have finally taken root this year.

I've got some mint, a bay tree, oregano, lemon balm, thyme, coriander and (almost) some rosemary. One of my students gave me two black sunflowers because he knows I'm a goth. I'm guess for the first time I am here day-to-day with the time to tend and care to things. 

Weirdly enough fellow patreon-musician Holly Brewer also put out a song this month inspired by gardening. It's rhythmical, droney and kind of like a mantra. I loved it, it got me thinking about the concept for this first song off the new EP, "The Weeds"

A few times a year my neighbours bindweed (their garden is massively overgrown, and I don't mind it at all) sneaks over, under and through the fence and gets into my little patch of plants and I have to spend a good hour on a ladder cutting it all back, knowing full well it'll be right back again as soon as the weather is good. 

It got me thinking about maintenance, and how important it is, and sometimes how difficult it is to stay on top of everything. I often feel that our mental health can be like that too - like a garden that needs regular care and attendance to keep in check. To keep things from growing over, to keep our minds safe from toxic people or activities, and to nurture the things that we love and the things that give to us.

I struggle fairly often to keep my own "mental garden" healthy and happy, it needs constant attention, and each year I learn more about which signs to look for. Sometimes it feels like a losing battle and I'll never have balance. But, thank you to my friends and therapy, I always pull through. 

I've also witnessed many people in my life who have suffered greatly from diseases of the mind. It can be devastating on so many levels. Sometimes you can see the signs coming, there's the odd weed out of place, you forget to water or there is the odd aphid to deal with. If left unattended things will start to become more of a problem.

This song is about what happens when you let everything go and slowly over time, the wild, unstable part of your mind takes over...

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THE WEEDS

My name is madness, I come from the tree s

I built my sadness from the sands of the sea

Come into my little home, little house made with care

Peaceful are the ones who are never aware

The weeds are pushing through

The weeds are pushing through

Do you like it here?

Do you still want to stay?

Waking from a dream, the air is clean

A sweet perfume, my home, a tomb

Leave no more, my sweetest thing 

Beckoning the demons in

Thorns and twigs, decaying mind

Love is lost and love is kind

---

Words & Music by Mishkin & Steve.

Production by Steve.

Artwork by John.

This is the first song from my upcoming EP "What Will The Neighbours Say Now?" with Steve Johnson from Idle Bones. For more info on him and his band, you can watch the edited version of our Zoom Video webcast on the patron Facebook group.

IMPORTANT:

The rest of the EP will be released to all $3+ patrons as an official THING on Sunday. 

Thank you for supporting it's creation.

Love & Feathers & Plants,

x Mishkin x