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Elephants

by Aaron Strumpel

/
1.
Procession 01:30
2.
my pride has been quenched by my failures i’ve been broken my mind has been stilled by these thoughts unspoken my eyes have been dimmed by my straining in the dark my strength has been faded these nights just don’t end my back has been broke by the help that i’ve refused my hands have been bloodied by walls i’ve punched through my voice has been worn by useless songs i’ve sung my heads always aching empty words, things undone i don’t trust myself who, who, who who can i hope in who, who, who who can i trust in i’ll lift my eyes up up to the mountains from where does my help come from from you oh father maker of the heavens i’ll find myself in you
3.
blow out the wick it's time to quit this circus it's a trapeze pinned down it's a carnival without clowns it's a town without houses a forest without trees it's the opposite of identity a world without sound we need you you step into town with a staff in your hand you're a shepherd with a word it's sharp like a sword you're a breath of fresh air you're a reason to look up a clean piece of dirt an electric chair unplugged we need you pull out the cork it's time to roll this parade you're a message in a bottle the drink in this song you're the red on the page the gold in the streets you're the soul's first stirring a lion that can sing
4.
Melee 02:23
5.
Fifty One 03:40
surely i was sinful from the day that i was born surely i was broken before i could even tell surely you don't want to leave me like this surely you don't want me to fall down in my mess i wanna be cleansed from the wrong that i've sown i wanna do battle on these weeds that have grown i wanna feel joy and gladness wash over me i wanna see my broken bones stand up and sing create in me a clean heart o god don't take your holy spirit so far from me restore to me the joy of your salvation grant me a willing spirit to sustain me
6.
Family 04:17
they’re the poor and the dead that we’ve ignored they’re the screwed in the head the ones knocking on doors the unpretty the undesired the undressed, the undone they’re the hungry the alone that we’ve ignored they’re kneeling on stone just begging for bones the unpretty the undesired the undressed, the undone come back and see with eyes of water clearer than streams come back and hear with ears less hollow ready to dream of days in gardens and time spent together of hours embracing safely held in warmth our father won’t forget the least of these friends torn and ripped and scraped, diseased he won’t neglect the raped and the wronged he won’t forget his kids he’s not gonna run
7.
Right Thru 01:43
heavy knocks upon my doorway there's no way the deadbolts can stay you might knock right through heavy steps upon my ceiling there's no thinking, there's no feeling you might fall right through heavy hits upon my forehead there's no rest there's no warm bed you might break right through
8.
In Babylon 03:38
if i forget you o jerusalem may my right hand forget its skill may my tongue stand still if i forget you if i can’t find joy in you o jerusalem may my mind shut down may my heart drop down if i can’t find joy in you in babylon i put down my harp in babylon i crushed my flutes in babylon i burned my drums in babylon i forgot who i was no one really knows the trouble i’ve seen
9.
Won't Stop 04:43
your breath it rushes in fills my lungs like a hurricane rushes and floods my home you won't sit back you never sit back you come in close you never hold back your light it comes and blinds my eyes like a blizzard it comes and takes my sight you won't sit back you never sit back you come in close you never hold back your fire it comes and burns my heart like an earth quake shakes my whole world down you won't sit back you never sit back you come in close you never hold back your hand it grabs and shakes my soul like a locomotive rumbling tumbling goes you won't sit back you never sit back you come in close you never hold back you just won't stop until you're done you can't just stop until you're done i'll never love you like i know i can until you're done but you just won't stop
10.
chains hold my hands i almost think they’re friends but my heart still can feel time marches in pretending to make me old but my heart still can feel worries rule my mind i almost think they’re right but my heart still can feel tremors rack my bones i think i might be broken but my heart still can feel this can’t last world goes round sun will rise in your arms i’ll be found
11.
After 01:08
12.
First Love 04:17
you are my first love

about

About Elephants:
Elephants won Calvin College's 2009 Festival of Faith and Art's Bandspotting Competition:
"This is the clear winner. The singing is heartfelt, honest and highly unique…a voice of earnest longing. The production is highly original and simultaneously melodic and aggressive when need be. It is rare that I hear such clearly communicated Gospel music that is soulful, articulate and adventurous." -Michael Kaufmann, Asthmatic Kitty Records and Andy Whitman, Paste Magazine and Christianity Today.

“The album title is fitting as most tracks are interlaced with deep drum stomps, rough-skinned backing loops and
Aaron’s own trumpet. The sound is experimental, but with purpose, folk rock based but uniquely integrated with
a variety of instrumentation; it carries an element of abstraction to it with soul that bleeds through the vocals...and with the strength of an Elephant, you were going to be moved whether you originally wanted to or not.”
-Justin Boyer, Relevant Magazine

"'Elephants' is an acoustic smorgasbord of spiritual musings with prophetic and operatic overtones that insist on being listened to again and again to be fully understood and appreciated. There is weeping and wailing-- literally--amidst shouts and cries of joy." -Kris Rasmussen, Beliefnet


About Aaron:
Aaron Strumpel lives in a bursted bubble. His heart drips empathy for the freedom and revelation of fellow saints and sinners. Elephants, his new self-released recording is the first in a series of song collections where he has devoted himself to singing in the voices of these forgotten people. So, muster up your courage and sit with them for a spell and let their groanings soften you. There’s life to be found in the passed-over cast-offs, and he won’t stop until you have heard them. These recordings chronicle a gathering strengh, a force to reckoned with, a rumbling preamble to coming stampede, a survival of the ones deemed unfit.

His past endeavors have informed his current direction: a collaborator with inspirational collective, Enter the Worship Circle, fellow songwriter/performer with Tracy Howe’s Restoration Project, a contributing artist to Brian McLaren’s “Everything Must Change” tour, fellow Agent of Future with Todd and Angie Fadel at the 2009 Greenbelt Festival and tourmate with John Mark McMillan on a benefit tour to help supply clean drinking water for people in developing nations.

credits

released April 2, 2009

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Aaron Strumpel Boulder, Colorado

Aaron Strumpel is a songwriter based in Boulder, CO.  A collaborator with Enter the Worship Circle, an avante-garde worshipper with his Elephants, Birds, and Vespers, he has been featured in Christianity Today, Relevant Magazine, and Paste Magazine.

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