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about
This single is being released in advance of the EP "The Protest Songs" which comes out on October 14th 2023!
Written at the beginning of the Me Too movement, "The Camera Lies" is a self-reflective song about the role of bystanders in industries and institutions which are known to be exploitative and of which we are often beneficiaries.
NOTES ON UPCOMING EP:
"My new record "The Protest Songs" gives a direct and unsentimental voice to different issues affecting our society in the early 21st Century, from the Me Too movement, gun control, and war, to domestic violence and inequality.
The songs were mainly tracked and mixed at producer Brandon Wilde’s Studio 76 in Kingston, NY with additional recording from collaborators Dylan Wissing (drums and percussion), and Tony Lauria (piano) who both played on my first two albums- Threshold and Wide Awake Dream.
Kingston, NY was the perfect area in which to record this project. North of New York City, it was prominent in the protest movement of the 1960s, not far from Woodstock, and Beacon where Pete Seeger made his home from 1949.
Despite the seriousness of the issues, I have tried to write songs which challenge the listener to understand them from new perspectives, to get involved, and ultimately to campaign for change."and percussion), and Tony Lauria (piano) who both played on my first two albums- Threshold and Wide Awake Dream.
Kingston, NY was the perfect area in which to record this project. North of New York City, it was prominent in the protest movement of the 1960s, not far from Woodstock, and Beacon where Pete Seeger made his home from 1949.
Despite the seriousness of the issues, I have tried to write songs which challenge the listener to understand them from new perspectives, to get involved, and ultimately to campaign for change."
- Cordelia Stephens
lyrics
THE CAMERA LIES- Lyrics
We see them rise and fall from grace. Fall way, way down.
Working so very hard for the good of this town. For the good of this town.
We know the camera lies. We know that portrait is framed.
The lighting’s rigged but we’re entertained.
We saw that sleight of hand, we know which news is fake.
The stage is raked but we’re entertained.
Truth loves the light. It's a moth to a flame.
Me too includes you as well. Who’s to blame?
Are we to blame?
We know the camera lies. We know that portrait is framed.
The lighting’s rigged but we’re entertained.
We saw that sleight of hand. We know which news is fake.
The stage is raked but we’re entertained.
You’re abusing your power, you’ve nothing to offer so beat it.
You can’t have it both ways though you may want your cake and to eat it.
You can keep your advantage, I’m so disenchanted,
Your fame and success brought you no happiness and you’re cruel.
We know the camera lies. We know that portrait is framed.
The lighting’s rigged but we’re entertained.
We saw that sleight of hand. We know which news is fake.
The stage is raked but we’re entertained. We're entertained.
credits
released September 27, 2023
Cordelia Stephens- Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Brandon Wilde- Bass, Electric Guitar, Backup Vocals
Dylan Wissing- Drums, Percussion
Tony Lauria- Piano
Written by Cordelia Stephens
Produced by Brandon Wilde
Recorded and mixed by Brandon Wilde at Studio 76 in Kingston, NY
Drums and percussion were recorded by Dylan Wissing at Triple Colossal Studios in Hoboken, NJ
Additional recording by Len Monachello at Soundtronics Studio, Queens, NY
Mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering, Brooklyn, NY
Cordelia Stephens is an Anglo-American singer-songwriter whose voice combines power and vulnerability, and whose incisive
songwriting explores the contradictions of modern life and love drawing on her musical influences such as Aimee Mann, Gillian Welch and Brandie Carlisle. Her third record, an EP called "The Protest Songs" was released in October 2023....more
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