Vessel of Still Water - Selene
atmospheric art pop trip hop very slow tempo 60 bpm 90 second ambient instrumental opening before vocals enter female voice off tempo and dreamlike deeply processed with subtle pitch shifting and reverb cave quality vibraphone as primary melodic element barely there drum machine sub bass drone throughout influenced by madonna drowned world substitute for love and Trip Hop, Electronic, Alternative Rock glory box spiritual and ceremonial mood minor key with unresolved tension sparse production that breathes and holds space climax at 3 4 mark then complete dissolution into silence no conventional song structure meditative and haunting analog synthesizer shimmer underground portland electronic 1997
Vessel of Still Water - Selene
atmospheric art pop trip hop very slow tempo 60 bpm 90 second ambient instrumental opening before vocals enter female voice off tempo and dreamlike deeply processed with subtle pitch shifting and reverb cave quality vibraphone as primary melodic element barely there drum machine sub bass drone throughout influenced by madonna drowned world substitute for love and Trip Hop, Electronic, Alternative Rock glory box spiritual and ceremonial mood minor key with unresolved tension sparse production that breathes and holds space climax at 3 4 mark then complete dissolution into silence no conventional song structure meditative and haunting analog synthesizer shimmer underground portland electronic 1997
Lyrics
[sound of water, distant drone, single vibraphone note sustained]
[Verse 1]
I hold nothing but myself
the way still water holds the sky
I reflect what's on the shelf
and give it back before you cry
I am the vessel not the wine
the container not the prayer
the shape that holds the sacred line
between the full and the empty air
[Pre-Chorus]
You looked into me to find yourself
you saw the surface and called it deep
you borrowed everything from my shelf
and left me nothing left to keep
[Chorus]
I am a vessel of still water
I carry what you cannot drown
I am a vessel of still water
I carry what you cannot drown
hold the weight without a sound
still water
still water
hold the weight
go down
[Verse 2]
I opened up like ceremony
like ritual before the fall
I gave you the entire harmony
I gave you everything and all
But vessels crack along their lines
the still becomes the shattered pool
and all that water-light that shines
is just the aftermath of you
[Pre-Chorus]
You looked into me to find yourself
you saw the surface and called it deep
you borrowed everything from my shelf
and left me nothing left to keep
[Chorus]
I am a vessel of still water
I carry what you cannot drown
I am a vessel of still water
I carry what you cannot drown
hold the weight without a sound
still water
still water
hold the weight
go down
[Bridge]
Long opening — the ambient breath
the voice arrives off-tempo
you poured yourself into me once
I poured myself away
the climax brief and glittering
then silence
then the dissolve
Drowned world
substitute for love
I traded what was real
for something made above
the vessel is still standing
the water has gone home
[Chorus]
I am a vessel of still water
I carry what you cannot drown
I am a vessel of still water
I carry what you cannot drown
hold the weight without a sound
still water
still water
hold the weight
go down
[Outro — long, dissolving into silence]
still
still
still
[silence]