I’m nothing but heart
Repetition is a tricky thing. Building an entire eight-minute song around singing a single lyric over and over and over again in theory probably shouldn’t work, but on their greatest song, Low slowly builds an entire tower of song around a single, slowly repeated phrase.
I’m nothing but heart
There are other lyrics on “Nothing But Heart,” and in fact, it opens up with Alan Sparhawk singing an entire verse by himself while a guitar groans in the background.
I would be your king
But you wanna be free
Confusion and art
I’m nothing but heart
At that point the drums slowly kick in, and establish the beat they’ll be riding for the rest of the song, and Mimi Parker joins Sparhawk with the usual gorgeous harmonies.
I’m nothing but heart
At first, there’s just the drums and an organ supporting them, but eventually a guitar comes arcing in, and eventually another, and eventually another, and at some point Mimi Parker splits into multitudes, and not only continues to sing harmonies with an entire heavenly choir backing her up, but also sings a counterpoint, which you can barely even hear through the chaos.
I’m nothing but heart
Said chaos, of course, is unfolding at the usual unhurried pace: call it apocalypse in 2/4, as “Nothing But Heart” isn’t interested in running you over as you cross the street, but rather crushing you with a gradual increase in gravity.
I’m nothing but heart
It goes without saying, of course, that you’re singing along by, say, the fourth repetition, and by the 10th or 100th or 1,000,000th, you’ve been reduced to nothing but heart by this amazing song.
“Nothing But Heart”
“Nothing But Heart” performed live in 2011
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