Song of the Day: 11-13-2023

The Halo Benders: "Virginia Reel Around the Fountain"

The Halo Benders’ “Virginia Reel Around the Fountain” is our doppelganger of Built to Spill’s “Velvet Waltz.” The Halo Benders is a great band name. I love the theological musings of these band names—Built to Spill, The Halo Benders. One of The Halo Benders best albums is God Don’t Make No Junk.

The Virginia Reel is an old folk dance (see below). The Halo Bender’s song has a religious/spiritual connection that seems to riff off of the Virginia Reel. The lyrics seem to play upon the euphoria of the dance and the interplay between the mundane (“solid state”) and the sublime (“unreal”) corresponds with the spiritual intimations. Doug’s high yelping voice contrasts beautifully with Calvin Johnson’s bass deadpan (which sounds every bit like the caller in a square dance).

I could go on and on, but the song is just fun, and beautiful, and has been one of my favorite songs for years. I first came across it on Built to Spill’s Live album, which I bought after hearing Keep it Like a Secret (one of my top five all-time favorite albums). Inevitably such things become nostalgic; I remember wondering, at that time, how such music could exist in the world without my knowledge of it up to that point? It made me wonder about other things that I might have no knowledge of—it was both thrilling (the possibility of discovery) and bothersome (the idea that I might not ever find them).

On a side note, The Smith’s song “Reel Around the Fountain” was also an influence upon The Halo Benders song.

“Virginia Reel Around the Fountain”

(Doug)

You told yourself something funny the other day
You said you can make you laugh
How can that be in your solid state?
How can that be in your solid state?
Don't say no
Just say you don't know
No don't say no
Just say you don't know

How can that be in your solid state
As you make it unreal
I'm reeling around the fountain
I'm reeling around the fountain

I still confide in you almost everyday
Even though you're not around
How can that be in your solid state?
How can that be in your solid state?
Don't say no
Just say you don't know
Don't say no
Just say you don't know
Don't say no
Just say you don't know
Don't say no
Just say you don't know
Don't say no
Just say you don't know
Don't say no
Just say you don't know
Don't say no
Just say you don't know

(Calvin)

Fill me up to the brim
And then learn to dance my hymn
Pull me apart limb by limb
Limb by limb
Wrestle that bull heart from the grass
Pack my head and make it last
Do a little dance on the kitchen table
Rub your tummy and kill your navel
Big city mouse with the factory wife
Do a little dance with the carving knife
Rub your tummy and stand apart
Negotiate a full-service apple cart
All the others are cutting their hair
You keep it long and let them stare
Rub your tummy at the county fair
Innie, outie I don't care
Do-si-do to the head of the class
Do-si-do to the head of the class
Do-si-do to the head of the class
Virginia reel come around the mountain
Virginia reel around the mountain

You're savage
You're savage
Your savage cabbage leaf
Your savage cabbage leaf
You're savage
You're savage
Your savage cabbage leaf
You're savage
You're savage
You're savage

Riding in a steel rain
Shimmering erasers in the passing lane
Shape of your navel is preordained
Antelope roaming through the bullet train
Throw a curveball through my mask
Ghost of a black wooden baseball bat
Here come the bunnies drinking sugar water
Do a little dance with the farmer's daughter
Clear the room with a difficult task
Recite haiku; step on the gas
Big city mouse with a hell of a mortgage
Wipe your tummy and crank up the Orange
Do a little dance with the carving knife
Wipe up the floor with my civil rights
Pull me apart; make me pay
Innie, outie whatever you say

Virginia reel come around the mountain
Can you reel around the fountain?
Do-si-do to the head of the class
Do-si-do to the head of the class
Virginia reel as savage as you feel

About the Song of the Day:

Another form of my favorite form of cycles are song-cycles—song-cycles of great albums, and of course song-cycles of mixes. I have made cycles of mixes for friends for years—Mix-tapes in high-school and college—Mix-cds in grad-school and beyond. Now that cds have lost a bit of their shine in the wake of streaming services, I’ve struggled to find my footing with sharing mixes with friends. My goal here is to share songs that culminate in mixes—one song a day until a mix is completed. I will then post the complete mix and then begin a new cycle.