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about

Inspired by a blend of John Pine and a stream-of-consciousness note scribbled in an old diary, 'Taking the Wheel' tells a kitchen-sink drama of two people, Sarah and David, and the unsaid winding tension between them, inside the comfort and confinement of a rainy car journey. Quirke explains 'It sparked the feeling of being caught inside something without feeling in control, that’s not necessarily good or bad but just feeling the need to break free from it, the desire for an escape from the mundane. I suppose I resonated with those lines again at that time and so started weaving them into a song. I finished the song without much of an ending so that people could give it their own soap opera ending. What did Sarah actually say to David? We’ll never know.'

lyrics

Sarah sits in the passenger seat and
Ponders the thought of taking the wheel,
Being more than indulged or humoured navigation,
The comfort of feeling as though she's directing.

Gesturing left and gesturing right,
Turn around down here,
Pull in at the side of the road.
There's something you need to know.

The two of them there sitting side by side,
David driving and Sarah beside.
The splashing rain on the window screen,
The straining drain of nature's spleen.

Gesturing left and gesturing right,
Turn around down here,
Pull in at the side of the road.
There's something you need to know.

David dares his eyes to glance over,
But can already feel the heat rising off her.
Condensation closing in,
Makes it hard to see the road in front of him.

Gesturing left and gesturing right,
Turn around down here,
Pull in at the side of the road.
There's something you need to know.

Saved by the radio once again,
A song comes on to take them out of there skin,
And in love now as they listen to words,
That others have sung so that they don't have to.

Gesturing left and gesturing right,
The hum of the engine, a hum womb-like.
Daring feet upon the dashboard speak,
A sweet desire for more, rotting away from the core.

David resigns to indicate,
And the engine cuts at the edge of a lake.
The song is reaching its final refrain,
Their only wish is for it to remain.

Gesturing left and gesturing right,
Turn around down here.
Pull in at the side of the road,
There's something you need to know.

credits

from In The Half​-​Light, track released June 4, 2021

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Joshua Burnside Belfast, UK

Joshua Burnside was born in Northern Ireland, where he draws inspiration from the beauty, the ugliness and the rich musical and literary heritage of an often tormented corner of the world.

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