Three years after the release of his last album Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song, Amos Lee shared a new song, “Vaporize,” in May. Lee wrote that tune, the first off his forthcoming sixth studio album, in the shower, and now he’s returning with another new song, this time penned in a Louisiana hotel.
Videos by American Songwriter
“‘Spirit’ was written in a New Orleans hotel room, on a loaner guitar, after a night wandering alone in the French Quarter,” Lee says. “I connected to this fellow, standing in the shadows on Royal street, singing his songs behind his open guitar case. Despite very few people paying him any mind, he was there for that moment, for the spirit of creation and connection. Maybe it was also for beer money, but in my mind, this guy was there to play for people and to be heard.”
The soulful piano ballad adopts the perspective of the anonymous street singer, who, as Lee imagines him, plays music to “feel the spirit.”
“In my journey, I’ve had lots of luck, and great people to help guide me and these songs, but at the core, it’s always about connection, and trying to share souls, to share burdens and joys, and to feel less alone even though we fully know that we are,” he continues. “With music, I’ve found a muse, a home, a ship to sail, a tormentor, and, most importantly, a vessel of connection. I imagine that this street singer had no idea how much his songs meant to me, but from those shadows, in the midst of that chaos, he changed my life. I wanted to pay tribute to him, and to the friends of mine who persevere through the static, the pain, the disappointment, the self doubt, the lost dogs and mixed blessings, and keep creating, singing, and connecting.
“When I made my first album, James Gadson, who is a legend, stopped me in the hallway when we were in between takes, looked me in the eye and said, ‘Never let them break your spirit,’ and I want to embody that message in this song, this album, and every performance that I give, because even in the shadows, the songs can send the light.”
Listen to the premiere of “Spirit” below.
