Note: This is somewhat of a lengthy post, not incredibly long, but give yourself some time

After championing someone as talented of a song writer as Hayden for over 10 years and still seeing him simply "get by" record after record, I'm pleased to hear of his recent success after touring with fellow Canadian, Feist. Hayden writes some incredibly simple and facinating songs. I'd like to feature my top 5 songs by Hayden from a lyrical prospective. Rarely will you come accross a storyteller who is this unknown, yet so very engaging in each song he writes. The first three songs on the list come from Hayden's debut album Everything I Long For, easily his darkest and saddest record for reasons you'll know in a few minutes.

I'm going to try to post my favorite song (a 7+ minute cut) from this album titled Skates. It's easy to read the lyrics and not follow along by listening to the song but most of these songs have a better impact when you're listening to them as you read the lyrics. After that, I'll post the lyrics for When This is Over, Stem and then top it off with a cut titled Bass Song from Skyscraper National Park, while finishing w/ Wide Eyes from Elk Lake Serenade. I'll try to preface each song with neccesary information but some lyrics just are better off left to be heard without any sort of preview.

This one is a sad one that tells a straight up story.

Skates by Hayden

When I was younger, a part-time job worker

Department store center, I saw a man enter

He was middle-aged, deep lines on his face

Tight mouth and eyes glazed

Eyelids just half-raise

An I looked at him he looked at me

He looked so sad, I had to see

What did he want? What could it be?

What had he been through be fore me seeing him

In the store I worked for that year, that year

Ice skates he asked for, In the middle of summer

He wanted a good pair, the price he did not care

I looked for his size, our best pair he tried

Custom back and sides, excitement in his eyes

Chorus (And I looked at him...I worked for that year, that year)

I asked "Are you a pro?" He looked sad and said "No"

"These skates are my last hope

Without them I cannot cope"

And he said "My wife, she drowned this summer

Behind our house, the river took her

I cannot swim, I need to find her

I will wait till it freezes over

And then I will skate, as far as it takes

I will skate as far as it takes, to bring her back home"

To bring her back home, to bring her back hom

Back home

Intense, eh? My wife cries everytime she hears it. This next story has some back history. You may have heard the story about a woman named Susan Smith who was convicted of murdering her 3 year old and 14 month old sons by drowning them in a Mazda Protege back in 1995. The news was a big story. It's a very sad story and the lyrics for the next song comes from the prospective of one of the boys in the car. It's a little disturbing and sad, so be aware if you're a little sensitive. It's a daring song which ultimately empathizes with and pays tribute to the children whose lives were taken away.

When This is Over by Hayden

I wake up

Beside you, in mom's car

I try to get you out,

You're strapped to the backseat

I am too.

the car is rolling down to water.

Why are we

Strapped to our seats,

Trapped,

What did we do?

I cleaned my room just as she asked me to.

Filling up, dirty water,

My chin's up, going under.

You're still asleep, baby brother.

I'll wake you up when this is over.

The car is rolling down to water.

Why are we

Strapped to our seats,

Trapped,

What did we do?

I brushed my teethjust as she asked me to.

This is it, baby brother,

One more breath together

We're almost underwater

Where is mom?

I miss her.

the car has rolled into the water.

Why are we dying in this way,

Waht did we do?

I was nice to him,

Her boyfriend, this is stupid

When people come to search the lake

We'll be found in our pajamas

They will see

A big mistake is all that this must be

Now, for a sweeter song that actually inspired an art piece we have in our bedroom (see photo above). The song is straight-forward and tells the story better than I could. It's also much shorter and to the point.

Stem by Hayden

I bought a rose

To give to you

A windy day

The petals flew

From the stem

To the street

I tried to catch them

With my feet

I got to your door

You looked to see

Through the peep hole

Right at me

You let me in

And I just froze

I gave you a stem

That was a rose...

That was a a rose

This next song is another story. It's dark but not as dark as some of the other ones. It's a song about isolation (in my opinion).

Bass Song by Hayden

The day after the storm

I didn't leave the house at all

They assumed from the lack of prints in the snow

that I had been away for some time

But I was upstairs

And I couldn't hear them

With my headphones on, recording a song

They broke my windows

And walked inside, beneath me as I played on

Unaware of what was going on

As my song began to fade

I heard whispering and then I couldn't breath

They were walking up the stairs

Towards me as I looked for something to try and scare them away

And I couldn't find shit

So I grabbed my bass guitar by the the neck and held it above me

And hid by the top of the stairs and taht's where I was found

5 days after I hit the ground

This last song was a toss up between Killbear, a song about a person who witnesses their ex-lover get attacked by a bear while the persons current lover just watches in fear, and Wide Eyes, another somewhat unrequited love song about a person who sees their ex-lover from a distances and tries to hide the fact that they're still lonely. It's a good one, so I'll go with Wide Eyes.

Wide Eyes by Hayden

I'm getting off at the next stop

Will you leave with me so that we can be seen

By my old love who's standing over there

She left me so stunned that I walk around scared

Wide eyes, I think that I've seen you

And I need you to do this for me

Wrap both your arms around me

And act like I'm all that you need

And so it went like that and she agreed to get off

With me by her side, 3 blocks from her stop

And we stepped to the street and she kissed my cheek

And whispered words that I won't repeat

Wide eyes, I think that she saw us

But I didn't look up to see

Wrap your warm arms around me

And let's go get something to eat

All lyrics retieved from www.lyricsmode.com

I hope I turned someone on to Hayden today.