The first time I heard Carl Broemel’s “Carried Away” I thought it was a My Morning Jacket song. Broemel has been an on and off member of My Morning Jacket and has also played some with Futurebirds—two of my favorite bands. “Carried Away” shows off his songwriting talents.
The song has a familiar feel to it, like you’ve heard it somewhere before. I remember thinking, “is this a cover?”
The song is both contemplative and proverbial. Yes, there’s the catch and hook of the chorus, but there’s also the motherly tone of the third verse—
Turn it off, get sleep
Watch the company you keep
And stay swift on those feets
—and, in the best way, the lines get stuck in your head.
Sometimes you just want to hear a song . . . Do you ever look forward to driving just so you can listen to a song or an album? “Carried Away” has that kind of effect on me.
Don't get carried away,
In the past its not there
Don't get carried away,
In the past it’s not fair
“Carried Away”
You were riding the waves
And now you're coming up for air
And the sky it looks fake,
But you must be somewhere
Don't get carried away,
In the past it’s not there
Don't get carried away,
In the past it’s not fair
Just another walk on the pavement
Leaves no tracks and no trails
I saw in other hands and my own
All the things that can't be held
Don't get carried away,
In the past it’s not there
Don't get carried away,
In the past it’s not fair
Turn it off, get sleep
Watch the company you keep
And stay swift on those feets
How close can you be?
Don't get carried away,
In the past it’s not there
Don't get carried away,
In the past it’s not fair
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.