Take Very Little (Ft. Chris Bernstorf)-Chris Bernstorf/Hotel Books

[00:01.73]The first time I met Sarah [00:02.53]She said that if I wanted to ever be an artist some day [00:06.51]I would have to learn how to dig deep inside myself [00:10.16]And create something of expression [00:11.35]And I remember telling her I already sold ten thousand records [00:14.40]And felt like I had put in enough time to [00:16.00]At least call myself an artist [00:17.96]And she said that creating entertainment [00:20.65]And creating art are very different things [00:24.25] [00:24.55]And she said that the only way that [00:25.95]You can really create art is if it's honest expression of something [00:29.29]You can't express yourself if you don't know who you are [00:32.43]I was upset that she said that [00:34.37]But there was still a part of me that was inspired. [00:37.52]And uh, looking back on the experience of creating music [00:41.60]And putting everything I can into it [00:43.70]I have learned that it wasn't worth... [00:46.59] [00:48.73]It wasn't worth losing the ones that I had to to get here. [00:52.33]And so she challenged me to write a poem [00:54.22]About the things I wish I knew how to say. [00:56.67]That-that's what this poem is: a response to that [01:01.64]I guess we can take shortcuts in the darkest corners [01:04.14]Because the highest earners scale the mountain [01:07.38]With the quickest and the thick of it [01:09.48]And I would give up any of it to slow down [01:11.07]Cause maybe the sound won't be quick [01:12.66]But we can at least make it painless [01:14.51]And this game is the distribution of weight [01:16.52]Angles lights trying to be a star [01:17.92]While getting hit by comets and vomit [01:19.71]Which we eat to keep down negative YouTube comments [01:22.38] [01:23.38]The spotlight isn't part of the skillset [01:25.61]The feel void of cohesive thought [01:27.48]When this love gives a lot and takes very little [01:29.83]It's brittle, so you have to love what you do and stay true [01:32.32]And find the right formula to not be bothered by the side effects [01:35.57]Hide your legs, hide your neck [01:36.97]Hide your tears, and hide your fears [01:38.57]And pretend I'm the fearless leader you want me to be [01:40.76]Because without this fake personality [01:42.70]I would be performing in the streets [01:44.75] [01:46.27]Watching friends turn enemies or even worse [01:47.97]Distant memories, or even worse [01:49.36]Love turned to apathy with a distant voice in my head whispering, [01:51.60]"This is the price you have to pay if you want to sell anything," [01:54.66]And no doubt any of us would sell out if only somebody was offering [02:00.34]It's not about the art, it's about the swallowing [02:01.98]It's about the hallowing [02:02.88]It's about the empty vessel you want me to be [02:04.57]So I can record at record speed [02:07.35]And I'm sorry [02:08.93]But to me it doesn't mean anything [02:10.67] [02:12.46]So please don't give up on love [02:13.83]And don't let your hopes fall up [02:15.34]And don't throw up every time you think about what you could be [02:19.69]Because the hope was real [02:22.42]And everything we feel is a legitimate experience [02:27.57]I just wish you didn't put your faith in me [02:31.00]Bank notices or selfishness [02:32.71]Alcohol or somebody's death or somebody's words [02:35.29]By birth or by choice: [02:37.13]We will all someday find ourselves shaking [02:40.09]And barefoot before our lives collapsing [02:43.08]Our homes lying like dry bones in heaps of plaster and broken beams [02:48.03]Despair can route us there [02:50.14] [02:50.29]Let us calcify our bodies [02:51.44]Stunted into a petrified forest [02:53.79]Poisoned and frozen by tragedy [02:56.03]Or we can choose perspective [02:58.78]Let suffering run off like the rain into the sea to reveal the truth beneath [03:03.22]The rock below, the peace and the floods of pain, the process [03:07.26]The promise that every scrap of our lives will be redeemed [03:11.15]And reused as the builder makes us new [03:13.60]That every ounce of tragedy and ash will water [03:15.94]And fertilize a garden of unimaginable beauty and fruit [03:19.09]That all of this goes somewhere, yields something [03:22.44]That perseverance will produce character [03:24.69]And character of hope that every tear really will be wiped away [03:28.58]That we will one day be complete [03:30.61]And that therefore, along the way, we can sing