East Village resident and GRAMMY Award-winning songwriter
and vocalist Susan McKeown tips her cap to her longtime hometown of NYC with
several songs from the stunning new album 'Belong' (November 13), which marks
half of her life in the States.
"On The Bridge to Williamsburg" depicts two lovers
crossing the bridge as obstacles thrown in their path threaten to stop them
from reaching their destination together. McKeown says, "Some things are
obvious – it’s the not knowing that’s challenging." She poignantly sings
to both town and lover, "I've been here for long enough."
McKeown is joined on the song by "captivating"
(All Music Guide) Irish singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke, who scored a double
platinum album in Ireland and has been covered by Eddie Vedder and Josh Groban.
Evoking Whitman in McKeown's writing, O'Rourke sings,
"Underneath the Brooklyn sky
Hand in hand just you and I
The ferry racing on the tide
The broken sugar factory sign"
Of the haunting "Lullaby of Manhattan," McKeown
says, "Broken delph, broken dreams: a domestic tale from the city that
never sleeps. Old Irish lullabies were rarely sugar, spice and all things nice,
and this urban one is no different."
"City of the Roses," featuring McKeown's East
Village neighbor Ray Santiago on piano, references Staten Island and New York
Harbor, discusses how we hold onto things for a long time: people, places,
events, keeping ourselves stuck.
Fellow New Yorkers: McKeown will play the Living Room
November 7 for a broadcast on SIRIUS XM The Loft.
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