Fantasy, distorted memories, and reality converge in the latest single released by Hudson Valley‘s Sabrina Trueheart. The psychedelic folk singer/songwriter explores the loss of innocence that comes with growing up, citing verses from Lewis Carroll’s poem “A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky.”
Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, closes the sequel to the classic novel with the acrostic poem exploring life and death, while using imagery to convey that time is unstoppable. Within Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, “A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky” discusses the loss of a loved one and how people grow up to leave behind their youth, while imploring the reader to enjoy their youth before it’s too late.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
“A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky” by Lewis Carrol
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream —
Lingering in the golden gleam —
Life, what is it but a dream?
Trueheart enters a trance-like state to converse with Alice, the protagonist of Carroll’s fantastical creation, while using a run-down “Alice in Videoland” video store as her muse. The small chain that closed for good in 2007, surpassed by the likes of Blockbuster and Netflix, represents better days gone by and the longing for the purity of a visit into town to rent a VHS tape or DVD, as opposed to the “improved and more efficient” method in modern times, which has only led to more loneliness and isolation.
The song expertly weaves this conversation between Trueheat and Alice into the verses from Carroll’s poem. She wrote the song as an ode to “all the gullible, vulnerable girls like you and I,” a theme she returns to throughout the song as she floats inside the boat Carroll referenced. A hypnotic, droning guitar transports the listener into the singer’s dream world, interrupted intermittently by piercing distortion, while her voice rewinds and reminisces about better days past.
“Alice in Videoland” has gained traction in the Capital District from supportive local radio stations and their listeners. Trueheart has been featured on 97.7 and 106.1 WEXT, the Capital District’s listener-supported roots and rock radio station. As a listener-supported station available anywhere with an internet connection, WEXT champions musical discovery and fosters a vibrant cultural experience for all.
102.7 WEQX FM has been a completely independent, owned and operated radio station in Manchester, VT since 1984. The Real Alternative has been pumping out the jams from the top of a mountain into your ears to parts of four states (VT, NY, MA and NH). “Alice in Videoland” can be heard here as well, and you can request Trueheart and your other favorite musicians and stream their programming online.
Of course, you can also find all of Trueheart’s releases on all your favorite streaming platforms, if you prefer today’s on-demand music service, but that seems to run counter to the singer’s message and longing for community and connection to a lost time that local radio provides.
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