Even though 2011 was a Rugby World Cup year, most New Zealanders couldn’t name the date of the final. But many will remember the significance of February 22nd. A day when our hearts were with Christchurch, when the nation was stopped with them.

Solid Ground is about finding your strength in community; about putting hope in the things that matter – whanau, friends, husbands and wives, your faith; about standing tall with others when things are hard. It’s about renewal and hope.

In the middle of writing the song, another tragedy struck with the tsunami and earthquakes in Japan. Naomi was born in Japan, so it was shock upon shock for us. Love, Spread Your Wings came through tears and heartache – that Naomi felt far away from her homeland and friends who were there. You can especially hear this in the Japanese lyrics – a poetic transliteration of the English that means “Spread your wings and fly. Let the voice of love resound.”

We wrote the songs as catharsis from what had happened, and initially didn’t intend to record them. After awhile, though, we decided that it was better to offer them up and let people take them for what they are – a cry for community and togetherness, a rendering of the events, a hope for something better.

Here are Solid Ground and Love, Spread Your Wings: raw, honest, broken … and hopeful.

Love, Spread Your Wings; come take me home.








Lyrics:
Here I stand,
Tears fall down
Tears fall on the solid ground
As pages turn,
Walls falls down
While I stand on solid ground

If the tide turns, if the mist lifts
We’ll strike at the waves and break through the rift
Lines will be drawn, we will stand tall
We’ll rebuild our lives, rebuild it all

The armour’s on, the wheels turn round
Soldiers turn towards the sound
The master speaks, a slave is born
The battle lines marked and drawn

The board has been set, the traps have been laid
The game is up, the debt’s been paid
We will never give up the ghost
We will never forget the lost

Here I stand,
Tears fall down
Tears fall on the solid ground
As pages turn,
My walls falls down
But I stand on solid ground