Day 3: The mountaintop
Song of the Day: The Final Night
Activity of the Day: Upside Down Drawing
A gentle fog settles in as the trees begin to thin.
The dirt gives way to rock under your feet as the branches part and… what the heck?
Did we just climb a mountain by accident?
Falling for the final night
Let’s pretend that we won’t kiss
Pretend that we won’t kiss… goodbye
– The Final Night
Day 3: The Mountaintop
Over the cliff edge, the tips of trees are beneath your feet.
Large birds call to each other and fly from branch to branch beneath you.
A thick fog dampens your breath, and you can see you’re at the top of a mountain with a glorious view that fades into whiteness.
That whiteness quickly darkens.
“Hey, what time is it?” Nobody brought their phone.
Winston takes a deep, tranquil breath with his eyes closed and smiles… “It’ll be dark in fifteen minutes,” he says.
You close your eyes, turn your head up to the sky and smile with the trust that we’ll all make it back to the cabin together.
Over the cliff edge, the tips of trees are beneath your feet.
Large birds call to each other and fly from branch to branch beneath you.
A thick fog dampens your breath, and you can see you’re at the top of a mountain with a glorious view that fades into whiteness.
That whiteness quickly darkens.
“Hey, what time is it?” Nobody brought their phone.
Winston takes a deep, tranquil breath with his eyes closed and smiles… “It’ll be dark in fifteen minutes,” he says.
You close your eyes, turn your head up to the sky and smile with the trust that we’ll all make it back to the cabin together.
the final night
“I’m not allowed to listen to this while driving… I always break down into uncontrollable sobbing.”
Well, that fan quote sums it up…
However you listen to music, you should be covered here…
Whether you like to stream with Soundcloud, download high quality from Google Drive, or watch on YouTube, you have it!
However you listen to music, you should be covered here…
Whether you like to stream with Soundcloud, download high quality from Google Drive, or watch on YouTube, you have it!
the story of the final night
This is the part where you get to learn the story behind The Final Night, its songwriting and lyrics, and more…
Today, it’s combined with the Studio Behind the Scenes because I have a special treat for you further down this page!
The final night Lyrics
You know this ain’t the first nor the last ‘till death
I’ve got your pheromones on my breath
So come what may, let’s drink it all away
Oh, wouldn’t that be best?
In another world where we both could hide
I’d stay with you all my life
I say “don’t be afraid,” but my eyes betray
Tomorrow means goodbye
Tomorrow means goodbye
Let’s leave no trace
Let’s drink it all tonight
Let’s forget why you stayed
Falling for the final night
Let’s pretend we won’t insist
Falling for the final night
Let’s pretend that we won’t kiss
Pretend that we won’t kiss goodbye
In another world where we both could die
In each other’s arms every night
Grown kind with age, no more shallow rage
Oh, wouldn’t that be nice?
Wouldn’t that be nice?
We could fall in love again
If we forget where and when we lost our
Truth, truth, truth
Falling for the final night
Let’s pretend we won’t insist
Falling for the final night
Let’s pretend that we won’t kiss
Pretend that we won’t kiss goodbye
The Art of this ep
I teamed up with two artists for the art on this EP, and am STOKED to share the process…
I took some photos with Daria Meyer and teamed up with artist YouTuber Robin Sealark to create these funky altered photographs for the EP.
There are 4 pieces of art made for this EP. Each starts with a photograph that’s sanded down with weird textures, and sometimes layered with paint or other manipulation.
And if you’d like to join in, here’s a tutorial that Robin made!
You can see the album cover, and also a cute pic of baby me on my dad’s shoulders 😊
Activity of the day
Upside Down Drawing
This is a fun one. Today, we draw. Upside down.
Whether you’re an experienced artist, or have only ever drawn stick figures, this exercise is for you. If you’re more on the stick figure side of things, this will be an especially rewarding exercise.
When we create, the two hemispheres are constantly wrestling for control. The left hemisphere, that of math, symbols and reason is often dominant. The right hemisphere, that of creativity and “drawing that thingy that kinda curves like that,” is often overpowered by the left hemisphere. We’re going to trick the left hemisphere into taking a break.
The left hemisphere sees a nose, and often causes us to draw the symbol of a nose. In reality, what we want to draw is the nose itself – a deceptively complex set of curves and angles that our right hemisphere is really good at reproducing intuitively.
Conceptualizing this with the left brain will cause it to melt down. So let’s turn it off.
Print out this page. It’s upside down. Don’t flip it over. When it’s upside down, the right brain down’t see a nose. It sees some lines that don’t make a lot of sense. Same with everything else. Let the right brain take over.
On another page, you’ll draw a copy of this line drawing. A pencil could be a good idea, but pen will work if you’re being bold! Start wherever you’d like, but don’t draw an outline of the whole thing. Just draw lines connecting to each other. Focus on the curves and angles. Is the line that attaches to that one around half the length? Does this line fit into this other right? How about the angle? Try not to see the meaning of your drawing. And don’t flip it right side up! Just get into the flow and enjoy this weird exercise.
Once you’ve finished the whole thing, flip it over and see what you’ve done! If you’re stoked about it, I’d love to see a picture, and I’m happy to share mine too. Just send it to taylor@taylorbradshawmusic.com
This exercise is from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. I first did this in junior high school and it rocked by world. Most importantly – have fun!
Art by Robin Sealark
tomorrow
We’ll be lost in the dark woods together.
But our friendship will get us home.
And We’ll witness some forest magic only seen by those lost at night…
Evergreen travelers
We’re family now. Travelers together on the same trail.
We may be scattered all over the world, but this is where we meet and share our stories and emotions.
And I want to make sure you’re part of the conversation.
So click the button below to join our group of Evergreen Travelers on Facebook, where you’re encouraged to share your journey and follow the journeys of other Evergreen Travelers.
I’m so excited to see you in there!
