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Dear Lamp Love Moth (ALBUM)

by Ruth Theodore

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    This one has everything! You get the signed and numbered 12” Heavy Vinyl LP as well as the Compact Disc and immediate digital download. Plus button badges, and a signed black and white solo photograph, all packaged together in the screen printed fair trade cotton ‘Lonely Moth’ tote bag.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Dear Lamp Love Moth (ALBUM) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Signed and individually numbered Direct Metal Mastered 180g vinyl LP. A beautiful object in its own right.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Dear Lamp Love Moth (ALBUM) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 1 day
    edition of 30 

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Compact Disc in gatefold wallet with ‘Lonely Moth’ inner sleeve. First 50 copies signed by Ruth.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Dear Lamp Love Moth (ALBUM) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Bag

    Fair trade cotton tote bag screen printed with the ‘Lonely Moth’ illustrated by Samuel Mathews.
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  • Digital Album
    Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
Strings 09:56 video
“Oh where do the feelings go when they die?” Cries a marionette to a hole in the sky. “Will all I hold closest change before I notice? Like the stars alive in the past? Just like the stars alive in the past. Hanging on their strings. Poor things, poor things. Give me a length of time and a way with gravity and I will bind her hands and ask him to carry me, back to my old flame, my ball and chain, up to the stars alive in the past. ‘Cause either you remind me of someone or I’ve stared so long I’ve become one. Bolted and boarded, borrowed and haunted and hollow now as empty houses. A tooth for a tooth an eye for an eye!” Cries the marionette to the hole in the sky. “Make me part of the process ‘cause I’ve aged before I’ve noticed. Like the stars alive in the past. I’m just like the stars alive in the past. Hanging from my strings. Poor strings, poor strings. I’ve got a waistline and a date with gravity. I like his low notes and I go where they carry me, back to my old ways, my cool phase, up to the stars alive in the past - Where I’d ride the arcades too. When I’d dance to anything and be a fool for you darlin’. Back in my youth when I gave you eyes the size of balloons! balloons! But now what’s the use? To move we must balance and to balance move and balloons were made to stray and drift away, up to the stars alive in the past. Up to the stars alive in the past. Tugging at their strings. Wild things, wild things. Give them an inch and they’ll turn their backs to me. If I give them a mile and they’ll come around to me. So give me a rope and I’ll swing, give me a hope and I’ll scream to the stars alive in the past - That the child in me has a hand gun and she’s holding me for a ransom she says oh fuckin hell, you don’t look too well didn’t you know that empty houses have ghosts? And they don’t come out til after dark, and they don’t come out in my photographs. On one hand I can be pulling myself forward. On the either I’m just cutting myself slack. I’ve got to wonder what there is I can move towards, if everything’s moving back in time. Old flame. My old love. Keeps churning out a light that can never catch me up. Like a struck string kept shaking in its resonance, the echo of a love can love out live its presence. And the heart can race from the moment it is struck but a true feeling like a bruise is always slower to show up. Oh poor thing Wouldn’t change where it comes from. Not for all of the lights in London. So leave it undisturbed as dust for long enough cause thats my love. Still I’d like to pretend I have better friends, and ways to spend the early hours than to get some sleep”.
2.
Archimedes 03:11
this situation has no pulse but we keep barking up this fallen tree that old Hope returns us to telling us it will be different or somehow new but i’m on the scent of those two dead dogs digging at their own bones with their fingers crossed they’ll only dig deep enough down to feel their own heat through the hard ground and you can’t get anything past me (Archimedes eat your heart out) ‘cause you should know ‘cause blow by blow i’ve tried to tell you so but this situation has no pulse still we keep barking up this fallen tree that old Hope returns us to telling us it will be different or somehow new and you wouldn’t want to say what you wouldn’t give for a little less weight and a little more lift but yeah you can split a hair and make a big scene out of thin air but you can’t get anything past me (Archimedes eat your heart out) ‘cause you should know ‘cause blow by blow i’ve tried to tell you so i said: there’s always a catch and the tighter you grip to the time that you have the more fingers it slips through but that conversation had no pulse so we took it out into the street to set it free left to walk along the words and chose to tell us something different or somehow new but let off the lead it just slumped to the ground so we dug each other up and stripped each other down and found: exposed to my own bone i can go so cold i turn to stone and its like you can’t get anything past me (Archimedes eat your heart out) Archimedes
3.
every vein runs back to the heart i thought i could stand it i don’t stand a chance and i found you here while i was digging this hole the one where i keep things under control and you go to show that no-one can say that i won’t dig up what i bury today ‘cause every time blood runs back through my heart a part of me ends up back where it starts so shovel in tow i walk back to the road whose tunnels and channels i already know and while there’s always some new hoop to jump through every step that i take i can trace back to you ‘cause every vein runs back to the heart should i be apologetic or can i admit that i’m not asking the rules to change or getting the seasons to stop coming around but as happiness surges off on its course ambition will tempt it away from its source by the palm of its hand through the valleys and hills from the sound of the heart as it empties and fills so next time you’re out look up at the stars and know what you’re seeing is all in the past and if it’s never the time i’m asking how you can say it’s too late when it still feels too soon ‘cause every time blood runs back through my heart a part of me ends up back where it starts
4.
The wind blows in the Willows limbs that stroke my skin and wake me. And though I do not mean to go I know he’s come to take me. He lowers his crook neck down to the deck where the buck stops, and with laughter drops a tow rope at my feet for me to tie it in to sailors knots. And then he weaves me a path of leaves that seems to beckon me in but as swiftly, I feel a cruel wind fill his sails as he lifts his veil as if to kiss me, and says: “I’ve felt you wander from my inches to my feet as I in turn have burned a hole in every single sheet that you have been beneath, but are we consciously discreet? Or just all the more perceptive in detecting our deceit? As the cold hearts of our body parts go hunting in the heat we pass each other in the dark but never seem to meet”. Now fingers first I climb his scales like I was blind and he was braille. And down my back the tow rope trails like a veil. ‘Cause its only when you’re trying to stay afloat that you find the cracks in yourself. I said it only when you’re trying to stay afloat that you find the cracks in yourself. A sound crawls from my open mouth that tries drown his voices out, but falls unheard into the dirty water. And around my throat the tow rope slacks and then tightens. And it all goes black ‘Cause I’m hung like a bat from a knot in his back and as he stirs he says “Can you hear the birds?” “Now left blinking in the blackness you must await the eager spurs of the hungry hunched and haunted landing lightly on my burns. A sure sign that soon enough this hunt will gather speed and digits deep as buried teeth will tear at chunks of meat. And every piece of eye or heart on which I cannot feast I’ll leave for the vultures and heavy bellied fall to sleep”. And then I wake to creases on my face and fingers full of splinters. How will I last another night? Never mind another winter.
5.
Slowdance 05:03
they’re playing love songs on the radio i stole you that i stole you in inch of snow and forecast full of rain that days ago had made its way into your stereo where virtuoso’s spill their guts over who climbs what and how high and how much it grates that i can make mistakes and i can break my strings and that aside from this song i sing i haven’t got you anything where are my hand fulls of roses? where are my promises that i’m yours? and where is my sense of adventure? seems i only ever climb your contours and i said its better to wait for the weather to blow us apart or throw us together cause i’ve read things about words like forever plus your plastered and pouring in at 4 in the morning saying don’t you want to get down to it in the bath i’m going to take you up to Greenwich to see the stars and the comets but your tying ribbons around an empty promise and you’re backing horses with your empty pockets all in vain and acting like its all the rage oh the rage ‘cause every picture fades in its offer as the plans we make get raided with the coppers if thats what you meant by pulling out the stoppers where are your hand fulls of roses? where are those promises of yours? and where is your sense of adventure? seems you only ever climb my contours and then in the morning i hear you creeping and then leaving for work in the clothes you sleep in oh how did i miss them? what was i thinking? those are your handfuls of roses and these are my promises that i’m yours and yeah its my idea of romance cause its a slow dance and of course step by step we’re at home in the weather as she blows us apart and throws us together like she’s read things about words like forever and if everyone’s scared if nobodies sure or good enough for anyone else anymore then what do i care? i don’t need to be cured or endlessly reassured and i’m so sure that i’m not sure i’m so sure i’m not sure what i upset myself for
6.
Algae 02:42
my algae doesn’t let my pond life breathe (pull your weight) keeps it cordoned and policed but since that ‘new moon’ is just the same one come on old Sun pull your weight pull your weight ‘cause i’m crawling out from the grey come to show you my beauty before its decayed to say i possess the pulse and plight of a parasite that grows towards the light (so pull your weight) my ancestors and me (pull your weight) born with more eyes than teeth were washed up on the sand like the first life on land so come on old Sun pull your weight pull your weight ‘cause i’m crawling out from the grey come to show you my beauty before its decayed to say i possess the pulse and plight of a parasite that grows towards the light stay the night fed in day starved in darkness i’ll take my time and my chances treasured or tarnished drenched in light drowned in daylight your problem is this: i was born short sighted i’ve never hit a target drenched in light drowned in daylight stay the night or i’ll get up in your face and throw my weight into your corners and shades ‘cause since that new moon is still the same one come on old sun pull your weight pull your weight ‘cause i’m crawling out of the grey come to show you my beauty before its decayed to say i possess the pulse and plight of a parasite that grows towards the light stay the night daylight spend the night
7.
Bull Fight 04:33
Matador are you calling my bluff? And why wait until now to start pushing your luck? You know I’ll still want what you wave when I’m very old. And I’d fall apart in your hands and profess my pounding heart in its heaving chest but you are only human, and after all, its a Bull Fight. But call it what you like its the last thing I wanted. Where I try and I try like any moment I could be just what you needed. But alright Matador lets give them what they came for. I have the hunch of a lifetime to play for. Go on prove me wrong be unstoppable. ‘Cause they may love you now but this crowd will go home whilst the centre of attention is always alone. Beware what you wish for out there they do miracles. And they talk in tongues and are unimpressed by my pounding feet and I could care less! They are only human and after all its a Bull Fight. But call it what you like its the last thing I wanted. Where I try and I try like any moment I will be just what you needed. drive one home grown fish blood and bone short dress front row she’s nice I know that you won’t if you don’t try so throw like the crow flies... Bulls Eye. That one got me right where I’m haunted. Where I cry and I cry ‘cause I feel left behind, and like the last thing you needed. So Matador are you calling my bluff? And why wait ‘til now to start pushing your luck? You know I’ll still want what you wave when I’m very old. And they say you don’t half choose them, and if only I’d see it was all an illusion ... Looks like I am only human after all.
8.
I remember it got heated more than any one remark. A mute scene stifled by the sound of breaking glass. I remember wishing you away and getting thrown out in the dark. Being half way up the motorway and still breathing in the shards. And from then we’ve gone our separate ways. Shaken up and shocked. Floating out on different planes. Slowly cooling off. But i remember it got heated and getting thrown out in the dark. 900,000 years i’ve drifted to the sound of breaking glass. And since then everything’s been running from everything else. Gradually the Galaxies have been loosening off their belts. Seems they too would sooner replace one strangers face with another, than be made to face those parts of themselves they recognise in each other - And i remember it got heated and the sound of breaking glass. I remember wishing you away and getting thrown out in the dark. And now if only there were snakes to take! But I am bound instead for those who otherwise would have only turned my head. And with every step I take the more uncertain I become, now I know the gap between them widens with each rung. Though only relative to me do natures rules keep changing, when relatively, I always have been aging. 900,000 years I’ve drifted! and still I cannot fathom, for the life of me, how this could have happened - I just remember it got heated and the sound of breaking glass now I’m halfway up the milkyway and still breathing in the shards.
9.
Pinocchia 06:18
Pinocchia, your mum and me are sick with worry. So fair play you got away, now say you’re sorry for taking all of the gold and the silver. Without a fish bone or a cherry stone hunger is a terrible illness. And honestly Pinocchia, I don’t know how it happens, or what cuss makes us so afraid of fierce dogs and mad men, when it’s wearing a brave face that kills us. And when the future knows what we don’t know oh fear can be a terrible illness. she says: It’s very late! I am going forward. The night is dark! I am going on. It’s a dangerous road! I am going forward alone. And she says it’s alright for me, I have my hands and my feet. My gull and its wings. My heart and its beat. But I say: Pinocchia, you and me are not so different. We both twist and turn our words until they listen. And either one of us could have blown the whistle, but we didn’t, so we will never completely be forgiven. So hold at bay those you’ve betrayed and hope those birds of prey all just fly away. At every halt that you grind to your insides will find you all alone and with no-one to lie to, believe, believe, believe... that Pinocchia, your imposter he has a guilty pleasure. A poppy mixture up to which you’ll never measure. And the cravings are cruel and contagious. His fists are tight in its grip and its whispers are a terrible illness. But Polendina personally I’d curb your temper, keep the peace, slack the leash, and she’ll remember, how you swept her brow and told her how much you loved her. How you took her by the hand and taught her how to put one foot in front of the other. she says: It’s very late! I am going forward. The night is dark! I am going on. It’s a dangerous road! I am going forward alone. Oh Emily, you move us like pieces, around a truth stretched as far as it reaches. And though she buys the lies you tell her in front of me, still the truth does not come from me, come from me, but grows like the threat that it poses you. It grows and it grows so suppose that you hold at bay those you’ve betrayed. Suppose those birds of prey all just fly away! At every halt that you grind to your insides will find you, all alone and with no-one to lie to, believe, believe, me. ‘Cause Pinocchia, your mum and me are sick with worry. And we lose a life-line every time you change your story, so we stay and we stay in the stillness. Without a telephone or a letter home oh love can be a terrible illness. And she says: This time I’m coming clean squeaky, squeaky. All is as it seems I told you, told you. Are you looking at me? want some, want some? Who goes there, goes there?
10.
Heavies 03:11
according to all of the clocks i am older than when i set off but sure as each hand feels its way around i will not be put off i will not be stopped so send in the Heavies i’m ready for anything and you started it so i will have to finish you i will hold you to it if i have to be the first to emerge as when the dormant awaits its rebirth it savours its skin binding and silken looks all the way down and then pleads to the sycamore seed and says “this is my chrysalis my own my metamorphosis” and covers it in the biggest kisses says “you know i’ll keep imagining that you’re all around me like a silver lining a light defying that anything is down to timing” ‘cause throughout life i have sought things that straighten but never pull taut things that coil in the hand things that understand that there are things to see through and there are things to abort so fuck it fuck it and its time limit i was only just getting into it and short lived as life is i like it and best for its rough edges

credits

released June 10, 2013

All words and music by Ruth Theodore

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Ruth Theodore UK

'Original folk voice' Ruth Theodore is described as 'one of the UK's most exciting artists'.
Her highly anticipated forthcoming records is the fruits of another collaboration withTony and Grammy award winning US bassist/producer Todd Sickafoose and percussionist Mathias Kunzli.

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