Samuel came to Oxford last March and he gave me a lot of music, most of which I haven’t been able to organise and listen to. But I just came across the album I am a bird now (2005) by Antony and the Johnsons, and I’m truly impressed.
Antony’s voice has that blues timbre, that gospel sound that turns every song into hymn.
Isn’t Firstful of Love (mp3) the sweetest chant to masochist love?
Fistful of Love
I was lying in my bed last night staring
At a ceiling full of stars
When it suddenly hit me
I just have to let you know how I feel
We live together in a photograph of time
I look into your eyes
And the seas open up to me
I tell you I love you
And I always will
And I know that you can’t tell me
So I’m left to pick up
The hints, the little symbols of your devotion
I feel your fists
And I know it’s out of love
And I feel the whip
And I know it’s out of love
I feel your burning eyes burning holes
Straight through my heart
It’s out of love
I accept and I collect upon my body
The memories of your devotion
