Nick Engbers sings lead vocals and plays guitar in the unique and up and coming rock band Amos Slade. The band from South Dakota released their debut full-length album, Hungry Earth, on May 21st and Engbers has chosen to share with us the details behind their song “Down the Map.” This song has a deep and interesting story that is worth reading about. Check out the background of the song below as well as the lyrics, and take a listen to the song here.
Background
I have said that our new record, Hungry Earth, is about living life in light of death, and it is. It is about savoring each and every moment of each and every day. It is about drinking it in, sloshing it around on your tongue, and indulging each hidden, flavorful note. It is about the importance of thinking about the fact that our hungry earth will eventually catch up and prey on us all. When our minds go there, when we, as Ray Bradbury suggested, “write our obituary daily,” we live hungrier more productive lives. We cherish the important things and shrug off minor stresses, we trade in adventure for the mundane, we create rather than constantly consume, and in doing so, we make a name for ourselves, living on beyond the short time that we have to stand upright on this insatiable orb.
“Down the Map” plays into this concept and is about putting certain earthly things to death, in order to live the hungry life described above. The first verse of the song hones in on careers, the second on religion, and the third on relationships, as there are certain aspects of all three of these areas in my personal life that I have a strong desire to put behind me. The song has no ties to reality, though, and should be thought of more as a daydream. The verses and choruses are essentially saying, “here’s what I’d like to do,” but then when you get to the bridge you hear, “here’s what will really happen.” I have always had a restless soul, and I love that this song really captures that part of me.
Also, I think “Down the Map,” along with a few other songs on the record, stem from my experience living in South Dakota. I love South Dakota, but there seems to be a general consensus amongst us Midwestern-folk that everything good is happening somewhere else, namely, on the coasts. With this said, I think South Dakota will always be home for me, because it fits my personality perfectly. I have always been the type of guy that dreams of being in a different place at a different time with different people. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I think this song sums that sentiment up in a cool way.
Lastly, I was inspired to write this song while reading John Updike’s Rabbit Run. Updike’s protagonist, Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, attempts running away from his home life, including his pregnant wife, with one thing in mind–going down the map. This song is basically my attempt at singing from Rabbit’s perspective, with a hint of my personal life peppered in here and there, too. I wanted to put myself in Rabbit’s shoes, because there are certain aspects of his character that really resonate with me. Also, I just love John Updike’s work so much. I wanted to take his point of view, as well, and sort of flesh out this little moment from his book with another medium and in greater depth. I hope I did it justice.
Lyrics
The concrete river comes to life twice a day.
Its current never changes, filled with anger both ways.
Today, I merge into the right lane like a floating stick.
The city breathing down my neck, I wave goodbye to it.
Cathedral spires hang long faces shadowed overhead.
The choir ringing in my ears, lullabies I put to bed.
For all these years I’ve tried to live this life on bread alone,
but open roads and empty hearts turn loaves back into stone.
Down the map, down the map, I go.
Down the map, down the map, I go.
Down the map, down the map, I go
Down the map, to the Gulf of Mexico.
Guitar and pen and ink and polaroids from this life I’ve left.
Two sticks whose friction froze our hearts now warm my steaming breath.
I watch your picture as it blackens on these red, hot coals.
Its melting frame as it gives up your lonely ashen ghost.
You can be sure that I am bored with you.
Also, that I will go ahead and see this through.
If there is one thing we humans do,
it’s stick to something because it’s something to stick to.
