Title: Nightbirds Are Flyin’
Release Date: August 11, 2013
Format: CD Single, 12” Single, Digital Download, Weekly Airplay
Recorded: Three Crow Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genres: Folk-Rock, Americana, Alt-Country
Length: 5:44
Label: Independent
Writer: Brandon Caulfield
Production: Brandon Caulfield

‘Nightbirds Are Flyin’ is a song written by American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist ‘Brandon Caulfield’, it is expected to be taken as the second single to officially be released from his next studio album ‘Some Roads Lead To Nowhere’ which is rumoured to be released in the new year but still remain unconfirmed. This track follows the previous single ‘Arizona’ which continued to surprise music industry insiders as it became the fourth single from Caulfield to reach the number #1 spot on the singles charts, a surprising feat in an industry dominated by mainstream pop acts. It follows the storyteller theme that Brandon has become somewhat known for as a songwriter and features a string of elements that have now become synonymous with Brandon Caulfield’s music, from the tender plucking of the acoustic guitar strings to the gentle vocal delivery to the trademark country wail during the chorus, it is abundantly clear that this is not only another addition to the ever-growing Brandon Caulfield back catalogue but it is one of his best efforts.

The track was written by Brandon Caulfield in mid-July 2013 and recorded within a couple of hours of being written, it was an entirely solo effort from Brandon Caulfield as its primary elements hark back to the days of his first album, rooted in emotion and a stripped-back nature, it is simply a voice and an acoustic guitar. A change from recent Caulfield releases that have involved a collection of session musicians to create a rambunctious Celtic-folk sort of sound, whereas this new single is very much reminiscent to the likes of Bob Dylan and even more so, Bruce Springsteen’s seminal acoustic effort ‘Nebraska’. Both of those artists remain the two biggest influences on Caulfield as a musician and that influence has been noted regularly throughout Caulfield’s rise as a well-respected folk-rock champion. According to a review of the song “It best bares an influence from a line from Springsteen’s ‘Atlantic City’, “Everything dies baby that’s a fact/Maybe everything that dies someday comes back”, and it’s the influence of the great American songwriters that has been hugely evident throughout Caulfield’s early career, whether or not he’ll end up in that sort of company in many years to come remains to be seen, but the industry at this moment in time needs more artists like this”.

The song was written entirely by Brandon Caulfield and was recorded in what he recently described as ‘Solitary confinement’, it was recorded at his own studio in Southern California called ‘Three Crow Studios’, he also recently described the difference from recording with a band to recording solo, “It had been a while since I had last recorded anything on my own, it was a bizarre experience because you really start to feel the silences. In the past, when we finish a song and we play it, it usually gets a reaction, this time around it was dead silence because I was the only person there, it was difficult to judge how other people would react to the song, so there’s an element of the unknown with ‘Nightbirds’”.
The single will be released as a CD Single, 7” Single, Digital Download and will be made available for Weekly Airplay, it will be released independently by Brandon Caulfield and will be released on August 11, 2013.

SONG DESCRIPTION

‘Nightbirds Are Flyin’ is an acoustic song, the plucking of the strings provide the tender and bleak backdrop for the lyrics throughout and Brandon Caulfield’s vocal delivery tends to have been reverted back to the quiet and emotive side that we heard from his first two records, the opening lyrics of the song set the scene, “There’s a wind blowin’ along the distant highway side/It brances out across the entire state tonight/There’s a family, cold and homeless/And a father that has lost all of his pride/But it’s his only duty to keep them all alive tonight/Although it’s tough, he’ll continue fighting the good fight” all provided with an eerie quietness, the lyrical bleakness tells the story of a young family that has lost everything and the second verse then highlights what they have lost “The storm passed through here almost one year ago/And it took from this young family/It took everything they had come to know/Friends and loved ones/Photographs and memories/Plans and dreams/Just blown apart at the seams.” while the next verse continues in the same vein, Caulfield sings about the strength and togetherness of this family as they “All travel endlessly with each other” and “They stand together hand in hand.” adding a little sense of belief and strength to the song.

As the chorus arrives Brandon’s voice rises triumphantly with that trademark country wail as he powerfully sings “Roll on, roll on, roll on/Nightbirds are flyin’/Hold on, do they belong where hope is slowly dyin’/Come on, come on, come on/Nightbirds are flyin’/Nobody wants to hear the sound of children cryin’” the last line of the chorus a notable line perhaps considering Brandon recently became a father for the first time, the start of the next verse could once again be influenced from this recent change in his own life as he sings, “The father spends all of his days hunting/Hunting for something for his children to feast upon/It gets harder and harder as almost all of the wildlife has gone/But he manages to feed his family/And although he’s just as hungry he takes none” of course not quite as literal as the lyrics mean but it could have certainly had an influence in the writing in some way and with another emotive verse the song ends with the powerful delivery of the chorus once more.

LYRICS

“There’s a wind blowin’ along the distant highway side
It branches out across the entire state tonight
There’s a family, cold and homeless
And a father that has lost all of his pride
But it’s his only duty to keep them all alive tonight
Although it’s tough, he’ll continue fighting the good fight
~
The storm passed through here almost one year ago
And it took from this young family
It took everything they had come to know
Friends and loved ones
Photographs and memories
Plans and dreams
Just blown apart at the seams
~
But they all travel endlessly with each other
They stand together hand in hand
Hoping that they’ll find their way back home
Sleeping under palm trees
But never alone
All caused by a cold wind that has blown
~
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Nightbirds are flyin’
Hold on, do they belong where hope is slowly dyin’
Come on, come on, come on
Nightbirds are flyin’
Nobody wants to hear the sound of children cryin’
~
The father spends all of his days hunting
Hunting for something for his children to feast upon
It gets harder and harder as almost all of the wildlife has gone
But he manages to feed his family
And although he’s just as hungry he takes none
~
The storm passed through
It ripped apart everything they’d ever knew
Former friends now laid to the ground
He said ‘forgive me father, how I must have sinned’
As he saw the bodies thrown to the wind
He couldn’t fight back the tears
But he tried to hide his fears
As his children grasped onto his fragile hand
In those moments he vowed to stand
~
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Nightbirds are flyin’
Hold on, do they belong where hope is slowly dyin’
Come on, come on, come on
Nightbirds are flyin’
Nobody wants to hear the sound of children cryin’
~
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Nightbirds are flyin’
Hold on, do they belong where hope is slowly dyin’
Come on, come on, come on
Nightbirds are flyin’
Nobody wants to hear the sound of children cryin’”

PERSONNEL

Brandon Caulfield – lead vocals, lead guitar, harmonica, lyrics, composition, production
Haley Caulfield - artwork