MP3: The Bear Quartet - Roads home
Musically, this one's definitely a b-side. Reminiscent of plenty of other fine Bear Quartet tunes, but unfocused; too many notes left hanging. Lyrically though, "Roads home" is something different. It's the oft-visited theme of resignation and loss, but with a tinge of defiance.
All my friends / all those rapid losing ends can't show me
how I should be wearing my coat / against the cold
where good intentions croak
I walk a road and it's called home
To me, that says "I'm taking my ball and going home." A conscious choice, not ostracization. "And the part of me that's about to die / would never tell you a cruel lie." Better to suck it up, eh? It's only after the second chorus that the music rises up and offers payoff. A solo, trading bars with a weird, out of place synth smudge, performed with Jari's deft feel and a patient touch. A short, but sweet coda to a difficult song.
The Bear Quartet - Roads home