We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Portraits

by Rob Dickson

/
  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    12 " Vinyl Record with Printed Card Sleeve and Liner Notes

    Includes unlimited streaming of Portraits via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $24 CAD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12 CAD  or more

     

1.
Paper Plane 03:29
Paper Plane: Your baby was born out in the rain We talked in only whispers when remembering You sat and smiled and felt his gaze The distant love unfolding was a blank white page And as it floated along the hallway And through the door and down the driveway You told me hearts are just like paper planes You painted a lot and I was a fan Of the grey-gowned beauty, flute held in her hands I wanted to learn and I said it out loud But the practice only trapped you on your own dark cloud And as it floated over everything The family parted and I couldn't stay You threw your heart so hard it flew away I picture we're walking and whistling by And a gentle line of questions standing at your side When I found my love and went off to school You lent me your truck and I listened to you As you floated along the hallway And through the door and into the next frame I started folding up my paper plane
2.
Flowers 03:20
Flowers: Drove to city hall with my arms all wrapped in sun Sweat stains on my sleeves and my heartbeat like a drum I parked a block away by the market in the shade To feel myself go walking up to live out love's offered trade We never spent too much, found a dress for twenty bucks White leather thrift store boots on that your mother said she loved There was colour in your face, fished with your father yesterday You stood and we greeted, and I could not look away We were kids when you first saw me I had so much left to learn You call me out when I start falling Light me up and watch me burn Fresh and dry were done our crying Our ribbon’s tied and lets keep tying The flowers from the banks in bloom Our mothers' mothers in the ballroom I swear it's true, I wont stop trying No hesitation, no denying Tired bodies, limbs entwined We'll get fucked up and we'll be fine My friend
3.
Blanket 02:17 video
Blanket: A second heart arrived in you In the wake of our natural arrangement The news set off the fire alarm With a strange hum but my worrying erased it The day will come I'll take you in my arms When new eyes meet sun We'll pray with our blue blanket on you Oh you'll live to see another one The ghost in my heart's driving you On the way home, I'm trying not to face it I let your fingers grip my thumb Read the names on your little plastic bracelet The day will come I'll take you in my arms When new eyes meet sun We'll pray with our blue blanket on you Oh you'll live to see another one Blood red-coloured light in you When you wake up will lift your heavy eyelids And make you feel alive and new Whatever may come, it will follow you until the end
4.
Aaron & Rae 04:08
Aaron & Rae: Aaron got me high, it was like that every time He had a way with words, they would echo in my mind I met his older sister Rae before the mill shut down Before I knew their father was the richest man in town We'd stay up all night if we made it up past two We shared the sky those mornings, there was nothing else to do Rae'd be up alone, playing bass or on the phone Or listening to bands that only she would know I told all the boys in the caf before school that Rae took me home so they'd think I was cool And Aaron overheard me while walking on by His eyes turned toward me but he just kept quiet I was up one morning with Aaron sleeping in Rae came home excited and she asked if I would listen Her band had made a demo and she played it just for me It sounded like the ending of a movie or a dream And I told all the boys in the caf before school that Rae took me home so they'd think I was cool When the bell rang she stayed back and pulled me aside and my lie got so real, as I walked home I cried The next time I came over, Rae was at the curb I said, “I feel like shit” and she said, “that's what you deserve” I looked down at the driveway and she stared at the street And asked, "is this the kind of man you're going to grow up to be?"
5.
Left Open 00:46
6.
There's A Door: My body hides the signs of you The way it ducks a wave entirely and slides right through Tired fists and open palms, smoke to mend the songs And I don't know where this all belongs In the water there is truth From it everybody came, and that's where we all end up too So every dawn of every year you swim out past the pier Until you can just barely hear Turn the blinds up and tell myself that I can see you too But our minds won't tell us what we really need to do So I'm writing down the words that I can’t say That I'm stronger but farther from you each and every day The broken circles in your heart Linking together as you sit there writing in the dark Pictures from the bedside drawer thrown across the floor But in the darkness there's a door
7.
Sisters Talking: Sun painted stone blocks, long porch glasses turning Walking to your house and the leaves were burning Leaves were burning You signed me up for mornings out tacking up horses Laps under cold barn lights, steaming breaths and courses Wrapped in Scotland Sisters talking Every time I closed my eyes clouds would fill my mind when I said goodbye I still hear the sound of you reading to the room that adored you too You helped your sister's family enter the country Up from the south they drove six states on Sunday States on Sunday States on Sunday Swapping the plates at dawn just south of the border You packed the kids in your car and snuck them over Snuck them over Snuck them over You must have loved the paintings of the Glasgow four Your memories together all around Tell me Margaret, Frances, will you walk again In heaven fall down laughing on the ground On the ground On the ground On the ground Walking in the winter light clouds did fill the night St. Frances died I still hear the sound of you singing me a tune in a sun-lit room Every time I close my eyes clouds they fill my mind when I say goodbye I still hear the sound of you reading to the room that adored you On the ground Wrapped in Scotland Sisters talking Sisters talking
8.
It's You 03:45
It's You: Watch me drop down from the top of My hopelessness parade The broken cup that you swept up Was everything Still don't feel my heart beat pounding Your lips don't feel the same Empty body left me coming Back again To you in your love Just you is enough The sun is rising up for us I remember the first summer You drove me down to Maine On the drive one hand outside And one on me The wind that night, the moon igniting You dove into the lake Swimming out and back you showed me Everything It's you when you love Just you is enough The sun is rising up For you when you love Just you is enough The sun's still rising up for us When I get back on the train I'll lay my head to rest Let my mind stop subdividing All this mess What I wanted all along is To hear you say my name One last time to get me smiling Without shame It's you when you love Just you is enough The sun is rising up for us
9.
In The Fall 03:37
In The Fall: You come down in the fall, you said it straight to me When there's endless dark to sleep with, there are endless books to read When you come down in the morning and stare down at the screen There are endless faces smiling up but you can't stand to be seen When we ran out from the office to sound off the alarm You didn't move a muscle you were thinking of the farms The kids with suntanned faces, their mothers' solid frames You held all of their babies back before they had their names Will you come, will you come down, will you come down in the fall? Will you call me, will you call back, will you call me back at all? Will you come, will you come down, will you come down in the fall? Will you call me, will you come back, will you call me back at all? You went down to the basement and waited there for me Got your boots and jacket on and stood there with the keys You saw our fathers' portraits from the navy on the wall And as you stood you wondered, would we make it through the fall When you come, when you come down, when you come down in the fall Will you call me, will you call back, will you call me back at all? When you come, when you come down, when you come down in the fall Will you call me, will you call back, will you call me back at all?
10.
Breakfast With Me: When the wind blows in the window In the dark it pries the door Every morning something gentle Drifts across from the hall Like a strand of paper dolls Asking for an arm to hold We're passing gifts of attention We'll forget to find the time If every bowl's assigned a number Every day, there's one gone While I'm waiting to be drawn As I walk out and across the lawn With every tender moment passing by We're terrified of falling through, we're running off the ice Just try to take a moment to arrive For everything you wanted maybe you don't have the right So hold on Questions trade imaginations All your stories come alive When we listen and give affection Your minds kiss the sun Another day has begun Now don't you get up ‘till you're done
11.
12.
Soften 03:23
Soften: Leading to the bed on the carpet A trail of lights through the darkest night Now they're showing me the way to the screen Where I learned how to love like a gainful machine To the sound of a bird with no thoughts and no words Just like the end of a song that goes on too long And I turn to see the look on your face Unplugged on a drug, I can't remember your name Hold me close, I've forgotten Let me go, help me soften Now I've seen all there is to see And I often wonder "how hard can it be?" To stop relying on that simple release The kind of satisfaction that can put me at peace When I look down at the sprawl of my life From a mountain of memories unsold, and obliged I stumble to my knees and I crawl Just like a bag of old bones I won't remember at all Hold me close, I've forgotten Let me go, help me soften Hold me close, I've forgotten Let me go, help me soften

about

These songs were written by Rob Dickson between the spring and fall of 2020 in Whitehorse, YT. Songwriting process revisions were made with the help of James Bunton and Bry Webb via correspondence. The album was recorded and produced in Toronto, ON by James Bunton in winter of 2021.

credits

released June 17, 2022

All songs written by Rob Dickson SOCAN 2021

Produced by James Bunton

Performed by, in order of appearance:

Rob Dickson Vocals and Guitars
Nicolas Hyatt Piano (1)
Mika Posen Arrangement and Performance of Strings (1)
James Bunton Drums and Percussion, Bass (2,3,8,9), Piano (3,6), Synthesizer (1,2,8,9), Solina (9) and Backing Vocals (9)
Ansley Simpson Backing Vocals (2,8,9)
Bry Webb Electric Guitar (4) and Backing Vocals (4)
Micah Smith Bass (4)
Drew Jurecka Arrangement and Performance of Strings (7)
Mike Feuerstack Steel Guitar (8)

The voices of Alena Puskas, and Ruby, Marisol and Oleander Dickson in and around our house are heard throughout the album.

Recorded by James Bunton at Dream Date Studio (Toronto, ON) and Chris Stringer at Union Sound Company (Toronto, ON)

Strings recorded by Mika Posen at Mika’s Place (Ottawa, ON) and by Drew Jurecka at Small Dog Sound (Toronto, ON)

Additional recordings by Rob Dickson at Takhini Cave (Whitehorse, YT) and Nicolas Hyatt at Hillcrest Loft (Whitehorse, YT)

Mixed by James Bunton at Union Sound Company – Studio B (Toronto, ON)

Mastered by Heather Kirby at Dreamlands Mastering (Prince Edward County, ON)

Album Cover Photo by Alena Puskas

Cover Art Direction and Layout Design by Nico Paulo

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Rob Dickson Whitehorse, Yukon

A song-writer and song-singer living in Yukon. Plays guitar, sings to get the melody to match.

contact / help

Contact Rob Dickson

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Rob Dickson, you may also like: