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other voices s24e06
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00:03Ding, oh, have you a ding-a-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
00:06-la-la-la!
00:32Welcome back to another episode of Other Voices. We're in our 24th series and we have something
00:37really special for you tonight. May Kay, better days are coming. Oh, nice. That's a bad clue
00:43to tell you that this whole episode is dedicated to the Irish superstar now, Dermot Kennedy.
00:48He's had a really long journey with Other Voices. He's played pretty much every level of this
00:52festival. Yeah, he is what I believe you might call a dote. A dote. Confirmed. That's a good
00:58exclusive tracks from his brand new album. Welcome to the Dermot Kennedy special.
01:14We open up at the station on a freezing night. Said, honey, I can't do more than a brief goodbye.
01:28How could our farewell mean as much as our time? Honey, I'll be gone. It's better if I'm something
01:39that you leave behind. That you leave behind. See, what it was was a reason.
01:57To believe in life. What it was was a week spent under sleepless skies. But sometimes life ain't fair
02:11And a love has to die. Her sunny smile was gone. Started feeling like something that she needs to hide.
02:30Oh, what a beautiful feeling. To love and no love in return.
02:51Oh, what a beautiful feeling. To love and no love in return.
02:53Oh, but when time gets to stealing now. Two hearts and one love for one girl.
03:14She says I'm stuck in the spaces where the demons hide. I've got love and I've got patience. Don't I
03:26deserve to smile?
03:28I used to paint these trees. But now I just scream at the sky. Honey, I was wrong. Guess there's
03:39certain things you never, you never leave behind.
03:47You never leave behind. Oh, what a beautiful feeling. To love and no love in return.
04:13Oh, but when time gets to stealing now. Two hearts and one love for one girl.
04:35And so we jump to the theater in that same old town. She sees his face and he sees her
04:46as the lights go down. The life that they should have had.
04:51Sat between them that night. She left before the lights came on. Through the snow she saw. Already waiting outside.
05:07Could love outweigh the pain tonight.
05:17Could love outweigh the pain tonight.
05:21Oh, what a beautiful feeling. To love and no love in return.
05:41Derma Kennedy, hello. Welcome to Other Voices.
05:44Thank you very much. Delighted to be back.
05:46OK, you have a long old journey with Other Voices. Can you bring me through the chronology of you in
05:53this place?
05:53You've got that power over me. My, my, everything I hold dear is out to me.
06:00Yeah, I think it was just something I always, I always kind of dreamed of doing it.
06:05And it seemed very far fetched for a very long time. And then finally, I think I played on the
06:10music trail. And I think that was maybe 2015. And I played in Kennedy's pub. And there was truly about,
06:16I think there was my mom and my dad and maybe three or four other people.
06:19Right. But loved it. And then the church was obviously the thing that I was sort of like, that was
06:24the main goal.
06:24The Holy Grail.
06:25Yeah, of course. I remember when I did it, I felt so intimidated by it.
06:28Give me this piece with letting go. Said some things you never dared to say.
06:33And, and I don't know, it's just something I kind of, I had watched so many artists play there over
06:37the years, like Elbow and the Frames and all these acts that I loved so much.
06:41And so to be honest, this time to be back and to get to play again and maybe feel a
06:44tiny bit more at ease. I'm very excited for that.
06:46Yeah.
06:47�� singer
07:01Sitting out of Warwinds flexes unpainted on sea. You smiled and looked down when I told you it ain't bad
07:11to be me. Give me moonlight and a smile from you that I hold on.
07:17can that I can barely believe baby those plans are grind but you don't mean to say
07:31when they ask you who you're living for that you'll drop my name I found a new
07:40courage that kills cowards I've been holding in and it took us back to times
07:48when real memory let me tell you no one ever got my soul right like she could
08:07amongst artists in heartlessness dealing in darknesses I know I know one time nobody ever
08:16got my soul right like she could now I'm close to what I'm needing
08:29now I'm close to what I'm needing
08:37one by one we made it all over that hill
08:44one by one they picked us off laughing still
08:51let me know let me know when I got room to run
08:59let me know let me know when that fool is clean it is gone and I let me tell you
09:07no
09:08no one ever got my soul right like she could
09:13amongst artists in heartlessness dealing in darknesses I know I know one time nobody ever
09:23got my soul right like she could now I'm close to what I'm needing
09:36and I hold on to your heart and I keep on coming round falling down this fire
09:52and I'll only grow lonely my darling when the silence starts
10:04let me tell you no one ever got my soul right like she could
10:11give my heart play my heart play my part in this deal with the darknesses I know I know one
10:19time nobody ever got my soul right like she could
10:26now I'm close to what I'm needing
10:34now I'm close to what I'm needing
10:36now I'm close to what I'm needing
10:44now I'm close to what I'm needing
10:47now I'm close to what I'm needing
10:57now I'm close to what I'm needing
11:21If you're so lucky that she lets you know her heart
11:26Be careful how you hold it
11:32If you're so worried that the afterlife is dark
11:38Then make sure that she knows this
11:43She is loved, she is loved, she is loved
11:49She is loved, she is loved
11:56At least I can always say that I told her how the only thing I know
12:00Is how to hold her long as I can feel her head upon my shoulder
12:04Will I never feel the nights getting colder?
12:07I can't relate to having a heart like that
12:10All your wonder and your trust intact
12:12I put the phone down and you call right back
12:15Put all my pieces back, if I deserve it or not
12:19Let me tell you how the sun rose
12:21How my heart dipped, how her eyes are all full up
12:24Love can leave you down a dirt road
12:27With a birth slip and your pride all cut off
12:30Let me tell you that it's worth it
12:32So protect it, I know it hurt you so much
12:36You know that I respect it, you retested
12:40And I saw how you stood up
12:42If you're so lucky that she lets you know her heart
12:48Be careful how you hold it
12:53If you're so worried that the afterlife is dark
12:59Make sure that she knows this
13:04She is loved, she is loved, she is loved
13:10She is loved, she is loved, she is loved
13:28I can't relate to having a heart like that
13:32All your wonder and your trust intact
13:34I put the phone down and you call right back
13:37Put all my pieces back, deserve it or not
13:40Let me tell you how the sun rose
13:43How my heart dipped, how her eyes are all full up
13:46Love can leave you down a dirt road
13:48With a birth slip and your pride all cut off
13:52Let me tell you that it's worth it, so protect it
13:56I know it hurt you so much
13:58You know that I respect it, you were tested
14:01And I saw how you stood up
14:04If you're so lucky that she lets you know her heart
14:09Be careful how you hold it
14:15If you're so worried that the afterlife is dark
14:21Then make sure that she knows this
14:26She is loved, she is loved, she is loved
14:31She is loved, she is loved, she is loved
14:37She is loved, she is loved, she is loved
14:43She is love, she is love, she is love
15:13Let me tell you about a good soul
15:15How my heart skipped, could have died that summer
15:19Love will leave you down a dirt road
15:21Till you curse it, silly God wouldn't belong
15:25Don't we know that nothing's perfect, we accept it
15:29Love is flawed just like all ours
15:31Every little thing the sun shows, it's worth it
15:34All the scars that you suffered
15:37If you're so lucky that she lets you know her
15:42Be careful how you hold it
15:48If you're so worried that the afterlife is dark
15:53Then make sure that she knows this
15:59She is love, she is love, she is love
16:02She is love, she is love, she is love
16:11She is love, she is love, she is love
16:16She is loved, she is loved, she is loved
16:22She is loved, she is loved, she is loved
16:28She is loved, she is loved, she is loved
16:34She is loved, she is loved, she is loved
16:39She is loved, she is loved, she is loved
16:47Dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum.
17:13You haven't just played here in Dingle, you've also played for us in Berlin when O.V. did Berlin.
17:28And a certain attendee at the time was Michael D. Higgins, who's also a big part of Other Voices this
17:34year.
17:35Tell me about you and him, because you have a bit of a relationship in that way.
17:39I guess Berlin was the first time I ever met him. Then I think shortly after that we played Electric
17:44Picnic.
17:44And so that was another huge moment for me and I was trying to figure out sort of how do
17:50I play on a stage as big as Electric Picnic like that and make it different in some kind of
17:53way.
17:53And so again, and this is definitely Farfetch'd, but we kind of reached out and was like, would you write
17:58an intro for the set?
18:00Just a brief thing and we could kind of play it over the speakers.
18:04Because that's for me like, do you think some people kind of come running on stage as fireworks and all
18:08that?
18:08Like I've never been that artist and so we're always trying to create that feeling without me having to do
18:12it.
18:12Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:13And so it was ideal and yeah, he just kind of was so kind about it and sent back the
18:19most beautiful kind of written piece.
18:21I have it framed on my wall now.
18:22Yeah.
18:23And I just don't know if there's many countries in the world where the president could come over the speakers
18:27and everyone would be absolutely thrilled.
18:30And so and all these young people just kind of sprint towards that voice.
18:34And I just I don't know. I think that's very powerful thing. So, yeah, we've had some nice interactions.
18:38Yeah, it is such a great thing to have had a president who is a poet and who like values
18:46the arts in the way that he does.
18:48And that must have some sort of subconscious like trickle down effect where it means that the whole country feels
18:55assured in the fact that art and literature and music is important to who we are.
18:59Yeah, to be an artist in your country and feel appreciated. Yeah, just counts for a lot, doesn't it?
19:05I wish I was, I wish I was, In Carrickfergus, Only four nights, In Ballygrand.
19:25I would swim over the deepest ocean, the deepest ocean for my love to find.
19:44But the sea is wide, and I can't swim over, and neither have I wings to fly.
20:06Ah, come and find me, a handy bold man, to ferry me over to my love and die.
20:50¶¶
20:51¶ My childhood days bring back sad reflections of happy days.
21:21¶¶
21:22¶ So long ago, my boyhood friends and my own relations have all passed on now, like the melting snow.
21:45¶¶
21:47¶ So I'll spend my day in endless roaming ¶¶
21:57¶ Soft the grass, my bed is free ¶¶
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23:08And in Kilkenny, it is reported on marble stone as black as ink.
23:28With gold and silver, I did support her.
23:38But I'll sing no more now, till I get a drink.
23:48I'm drunk today, I'm rarely sober.
23:58A handsome rover, from town to town.
24:10Oh, but I'm sick now, and my days are numbered.
24:19Come all ye young men, and lay me down.
24:26Come all ye young men, and lay me down.
24:30Thank you very much, thank you.
24:37And the song, this song is kind of important to me.
24:40I think sometimes there's certain songs kind of act as anchors.
24:45And that's what this was for me.
24:47It's about two parts of life that I feel like one I'm lucky to have, and then one was kind
24:53of inevitable.
24:54And I had to figure both of them out, so it's called Innocence and Sadness.
25:00Never felt alone till the late night.
25:04Never knew she was my home till the tears dried.
25:09Working on the karma but it takes time.
25:12Innocence and Sadness was a fine line.
25:17Better savor every moment as it flies by.
25:21Every minute, boy, better live it, boy.
25:25Maybe someday you'll be happy for me.
25:28Oh, I, heavy minutes, boy.
25:31Steady rhythm, joy.
25:33The reason I stay, I need you today.
25:39Baby, I would believe in your name.
25:45I'm trying to be who you need me to be.
25:48I would've waited for you all night to talk for a minute.
25:52I'll sing into the cold, dark night.
25:56You listen, some people spend their life heads down, souls hidden.
26:01I'm trying to be who you need me to be.
26:23Never felt alone till the late night.
26:27Never knew she was my home till the king cried.
26:32Lost inside the forest but it feels fine.
26:36Innocence and Sadness in the same night.
26:40All the love that just got stolen out your wide eyes.
26:45Every minute, boy, better live it, boy.
26:48Let your tears roll my shoulder like a cliffside.
26:53Heavy minutes, boy.
26:55Steady rhythm, joy.
26:57The reason I stay, I need you today.
27:03Baby, I would believe in your name.
27:08I'm trying to be who you need me to be.
27:11I would've waited for you all night to talk for a minute.
27:16I'll sing into the cold, dark night.
27:19You listen, some people spend their life heads down, souls hidden.
27:25I'm trying to be who you need me to be.
27:47I'd do anything for smiles, I'd move heaven and earth.
27:51Nobody told me at the start, heaven can hurt.
27:55I'll be waiting on the street like Bowery and Third.
28:00No, I was waiting on you.
28:01No, I was waiting on you.
28:04Darling, don't spend a fucking second wondering what you're worth.
28:08Don't you ever get affected by the ways of this world.
28:12Wouldn't say my soul's protected.
28:15There's something at work.
28:17I was waiting on you.
28:19Yeah, I was waiting on you.
28:38Like, if you asked me to make an album when I was 18, I wouldn't hesitate.
28:41And I would just be so confident.
28:43And I feel like a journey through the industry can kind of, damage is the wrong word,
28:47but just threaten that confidence a little bit.
28:49And maybe it's not a bad thing, because you become a bit more balanced
28:51and you learn a lot.
28:52But for me, in my own experience, this whole journey has been about getting back to that point
28:59of the confidence I had when I was playing in my mom's sitting room when I was 18, truly.
29:04But I'll save her every moment as it flies by.
29:09Every minute, boy.
29:11Better live it, boy.
29:13Return me safely.
29:15Turn me homeward at the right time.
29:18Every minutes, boy.
29:20Steady rhythm, joy.
29:22Better savor every moment as it flies by.
29:26Every minute, boy.
29:28Better live it, boy.
29:30Return me safely.
29:32Turn me homeward at the right time.
29:35Every minutes, boy.
29:37Steady rhythm, joy.
29:40Better savor every moment as it flies by.
29:44Every minute, boy.
29:47Every minute, boy.
29:47Every minute, boy.
29:47Better live it, boy.
29:48Return me safely.
29:50Turn me homeward at the right time.
29:53Every minutes, boy.
29:56Steady rhythm, joy.
30:05So, let's talk about this album.
30:07Yeah.
30:07So, The Weight of the Woods.
30:09Yes.
30:09When did it start in your head and these decisions that you made, as in, you know, the making in
30:15Ireland, were they conscious?
30:16Did they just happen?
30:17Like, tell me about the inception of it.
30:19Yeah, I feel very lucky.
30:20I will, like, the sort of, when you say how did it happen, the first person that comes to mind
30:24is Gabe Simon, who I made the album with.
30:26Right, great.
30:26Who is the producer.
30:27And, to be honest, following on.
30:30And you worked with him before?
30:31Sorry to interrupt.
30:32But sometimes you're chasing after these big name producers and you just don't get the same level of enthusiasm.
30:37But the only reason I say that is because with Gabe, it was just immediate.
30:40And I think you tour so much.
30:42You do so much promo.
30:43You get so busy doing everything.
30:45You kind of forget that the only thing that matters is the music you're making.
30:49Do you know what I mean?
30:49And I think he brought me back to the right place perfectly.
30:52And so I feel very lucky to have kind of bumped into him.
30:54Yeah.
30:55What is the significance of the title?
30:57And The Weight of the Woods.
30:58To me, the intro to the album is, I recorded it with the chamber choir from Maynooth, where I went
31:06to college.
31:08And the lyric is, if I should fall down under stars, I can't call out.
31:13Get me back to my home ground.
31:14Let me add to The Weight of the Woods.
31:16And there's this forest behind where I grew up and where I live now.
31:19And I don't feel like a celebrity in any way.
31:23But I would say, like, it's that cliche thing of, like, I can go in there and get lost.
31:27And I feel like I'm just detached from everything.
31:29And I feel like there's not many places in the world I can really feel like that.
31:32And that forest is like that.
31:33And I just like the idea of passing through.
31:37And, like, yes, I care so deeply about everything I do.
31:40But I don't think it's the most important thing in the world.
31:42Do you know what I mean?
31:43And so that let me add to The Weight of the Woods.
31:45I just like the idea of, like, when I die and when I'm gone, I'll just kind of put me
31:49there.
31:49And I'll just add to that slightly and I'll just sort of dissolve.
31:54If I should fall down under stars I can't call out.
32:02Get me back to my home ground.
32:06Let me add to the weight of the woods.
32:11Tether my bones tight in view of that coastline.
32:20And bury this soul of mine.
32:23Give it back to the weight of the woods.
32:28Oh, Jesus.
32:29Oh.
32:32Oh.
32:34Oh.
32:40Oh.
32:45Oh.
32:48Oh.
32:57She said, I love the way you see me
33:05Like I could ever see her any other way
33:13I write these songs instead of sleeping
33:21Still there's so much that I won't get a chance to say
33:26The only time I prayed was in my bedroom
33:34And I never got the sense anybody heard me speak
33:42It's funny how the dark can make us all believers
33:49I bet he watches down and says this is when they'll ask for me
33:55Sweet memories, sweet memories
33:57I loved you in the evening
34:07On every other second of the day
34:15I know my heart was always breaking
34:23When you laughed, all of the pieces found a place
34:27At this point, I should say
34:30I can recall her perfect
34:35Scenes of where we're from
34:38And dreams and feels
34:42And on that autumn day
34:45Those curtains see through
34:50Paris in the background
34:53And her swaying on the balcony
34:55Sweet memories, sweet memories
35:02I love you in the background
35:06I want to see how the dark can feel
35:11At this point, my heart was always breaking
35:12The only time I was at this point
35:12I didn't see how the dark can feel
35:12Oh, I'm afraid, no, I need to think
35:28I just gave up the real dark can feel
38:19Can I ask you about 2026?
38:22Yeah.
38:22So you've put some huge shows on sale.
38:25You're doing a Biva Stadium.
38:26I think two shows at a Biva.
38:28You're doing a big arena tour of the UK.
38:30How are you feeling about it going in?
38:33The tour we just did in the autumn was sort of 2,000 cap, 3,000.
38:39And why did you want to do that?
38:42Truthfully, they're just my favorite, I think.
38:44I think, say, if I get to play with my guitar standing on a wooden stage in a big ornate
38:52theater, in my mind, that's what the dream kind of looked like.
38:55And so, yeah, I think there's value in all size and theaters and warehouses and everything.
39:02But it's just, I think those are my favorite, maybe.
39:04And to be honest, I love the big shows because I get to hide in it a little bit, you
39:08know what I mean?
39:09Like when the visuals are going nuts and all, you feel tiny and it's lovely.
39:12And so that is nice.
39:14But I'm trying to take that feeling from this smaller tour we just did.
39:17Yeah, it's like how can you make a big show feel intimate?
39:20Yeah, yeah, yeah.
39:21And I think that's when talking about acts like Bon Ivera, I know they played sort of like the Wembley
39:25Arena and they played the Three Arena in Dublin a couple of times, I think.
39:28And they did create that feeling.
39:30So I think it is doable.
39:31And I think it depends on who you're kind of attracting to the room as well, right?
39:35Like it depends on who wants to go to a show like that.
39:37So, yeah, all these things kind of, whatever type of fan base you cultivate, it all plays a part.
39:42But, yeah, it's all a balance.
39:44It's true.
39:45Yeah, yeah.
39:46And are you ambitious for the album?
39:48Like are you, do you think about how you want it to do and how you want it to be
39:52received?
39:53Not how I want it to do.
39:54Yeah.
39:55And I think that's a lovely feeling.
39:56Yeah, that's lovely.
39:57Yeah, definitely.
39:58And I can say that honestly, you know, like I probably would have said the same thing to you a
40:02few years ago.
40:02I would be lying completely, you know, like I like I've always been ambitious in that sense.
40:07And I think maybe there's an argument there, like as an Irish person to sort of play the O2 in
40:13London or stuff like that.
40:13You have to kind of think in that way to some degree.
40:16But I would say thinking too much like that, it doesn't necessarily serve the creative process very well.
40:21Like I've been afforded that grace to kind of maybe be the guy that went too far in terms of
40:27like I'll work really hard and I'll try and make it work and I'll just kind of pound at it
40:32until it finally works out.
40:34And I just I don't necessarily think that lines up with who I am as an artist or a person.
40:39And where you are now in life.
40:41Like there's other people to think about now.
40:42Exactly.
40:42Yeah.
40:43And I just think, yeah, there's just I don't know.
40:45I just I'm at a point now where I've been reminded very like time and time again that the music
40:52is the most important thing.
40:53And to be at a point now where I'm just very proud of the album and I don't have to
40:57worry too much about what it does or what it doesn't do.
40:59And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
41:01Yeah, amazing.
41:02Well, listen, have an amazing year.
41:04Congratulations.
41:04Thank you very much.
41:05Such a wonderful album.
41:06And it's a real pleasure to have some time with you.
41:07Thanks a million.
41:08Yeah.
41:09We can't know the end until it's over.
41:18Show your scars and let me hold you closer.
41:27Watching your silhouette.
41:29Dance off the lake.
41:31I promise I won't let you break.
41:34I know the dark shows up more than we'd like.
41:39Carve it in stone so the story survives.
41:43Try to stand tall.
41:45Try to get you to smile.
41:47Fight off what's sensible.
41:50Say I'm invincible.
41:52It's all a lie.
41:54Cause darling, I'm shaking tonight.
41:59Chasing a dream but I'm tired.
42:05If we never make it, at least we can say we die trying.
42:14Then at least the memories of you and me don't have to be perfect.
42:39I know the dark shows up more than we'd like.
42:44Carve it in stone so the story survives.
42:49Try to stand tall.
42:50Try to get you to smile.
42:53Fight off what's sensible.
42:55Say I'm invincible.
42:57It's all a lie.
43:00It's all a lie.
43:01Cause darling, I'm shaking tonight.
43:04Chasing a dream but I'm tired.
43:10If we never make it, at least we can say we die trying.
43:19Die trying.
43:27If we never make it, at least we can say we die trying.
43:56Trust these words, my heart is true.
44:00Love let me be your refuge.
44:05Trust these words, my heart is true.
44:09Love let me be your refuge.
44:13Trust these words, my heart is true.
44:17Trust these words, my heart is true.
44:25Love let me be your refuge.
44:32Cause darling, I'm shaking tonight.
44:35Chasing a dream but I'm tired.
44:39Die.
44:39Die.
44:41If we never make it, at least we can say we die trying.
45:01I feel very lucky to be part of other voices whenever that opportunity comes around and
45:06yeah, it's just, it's a very special thing and I, we all know that and that's, that's
45:11great, but it's worth saying, you know, and so yeah, just one more time.
45:14I just want to say thank you so much for having me, appreciate it, thank you.
45:30We were staring down disaster, that night we almost called it quits.
45:38You said that you were changing chapters, I said this can't be where it ends, not even poetry
45:49can fix this, right now we both need more than words.
45:56If we give up, we're gonna miss this, can we remember who we were, standing on St. Bridget's Road, where
46:10we finally let it go, held a funeral for heartache, we buried trouble in the grass, we didn't bother
46:23buying roses, just we ain't ever going by.
46:30I don't know nothing about tomorrow, I barely know about today, we set a fire to our sorrow,
46:43and watch the hurt go up in flames.
46:50Grief is such a solid promise, joy just leaves you in the rain.
46:55Sadness waits down in the lobby, stood you up again.
46:59I'm thankful for the darkness, everything it let me see.
47:03So much beauty in the storm, like how you turn to me.
47:07If I'm honest, you're the reason that the light gets in it all.
47:12You're the song that breaks the silence, the smiling curtain call.
47:17I'm scared of who I'd be without you, much more than you know.
47:21If I seem strong, it's just a show.
47:23Standing on St. Bridget's Road, where we finally let it go.
47:31Held a funeral for heartache, we buried trouble in the grass.
47:40We didn't bother buying roses, we ain't ever going by.
47:48I don't know nothing about tomorrow, I barely know about today.
47:57We set a fire to our sorrow.
48:02Watch the hurt go up in flames.
48:10We ain't ever going by.
48:19We ain't ever going by.
48:23We ain't ever going by.
48:26Whip y'all gonna hurt to our body.
48:27We heard a fire be with those kingdoms,
48:29We buried trouble in the grass.
48:32We dominated, we buried trouble in the grass,
48:33We didn't bother buying roses, we ain't ever going by.
48:41I don't know nothing about tomorrow.
48:45I barely know about today.
48:50Set a fire to our sorrow.
48:54Watch the heart go up and slay
49:28Thank you so much. Have a good night. Thank you.
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