Tele Novella
Album: Merlynn Belle
Release date: 2021
US
Tele Novella is a project out of Lockhart, Texas; a small town, lost in time. It’s in this lost and mysterious place that they weave their classic pop songs and then process them through a loner, medieval-tonk machine.
What is the backstory of the song?
I’ve always wanted to write a song that can capture that feeling of just wanting to affect the world and be a part of it so bad that you’re practically exploding! It’s a feeling usually associated with youth, and I admittedly felt it more often from my teens into my twenties. But it’s still there and when it comes to visiting, it’s so exciting and overwhelming. So, Paper Crown is my attempt at capturing that unbridled, purest enthusiasm and love for the world and for the moment.
How did it come together?
I wrote a little snippet of the lyrics while I was cooking at a Thai restaurant about 9 years ago! Haha. It just kind of stuck in my head this whole time, and I ended up finishing it when we were making Merlynn Belle. That’s the thing about songwriting, is you just don’t want to throw away ideas that don’t quite work, because they might later down the road. In my early twenties, I used to throw song ideas away all the damn time and I really regret it now. Old ideas can fit in new songs easily when the time is right, and Paper Crown is a cool meld of old and new.
Significance for you?
It was the very last song that we recorded, and it’s kind of the most upbeat one I think. We weren’t originally planning on putting this one on the record and Jason had to talk me into it because I was not in favor at first! But then it made such perfect sense that it’s hard to imagine it not being there now.
Thoughts on Merlynn Belle?
We are just so so excited that this record will finally be out circulating in the world! It’s the best thing I have personally ever made and been a part of. I think we really hit our stride with the sound of this record, and when it was done, we didn’t stop working. We’re almost done with a weird covers record, and then we’ll be getting to work very soon on the next full length, which will hopefully be out in 2022.
We really love to describe the sound as medieval-inspired pop songs through a 1950s western lens. It doesn’t always apply, but it mostly does. Our two favorite musical inspiration reference points when recording are Marty Robbins and Pram.
Lyrics: Paper Crown
I want to be the key that locks a suitcase packed
Never to come back, from a faraway town
I want to be the jewel in a paper crown
So tell the city councilman and birthday clown
Oh, if you get beyond it you will never come back
Like a penny placed on a railroad track, you can hit real hard
It will hit right back. You have to really mean it just to leave a scratch
I know, your heart, is filled with fire. You’re burning out
I know, we’re lost. So are the stars in space
I want to be the clue that was right under your nose
Like a funny rose
That you cannot smell
I want to be the secret you can’t help but tell
Oh, let me be your penny in the wishing well
I want to be the hand that tells the minute not the hour
Take as many turns around as I can get
I want to serve the supper at a table set
With crystal and with silver they will never forget
I know your heart, is filled with fire, you’re burning out
I know, I’ll find what I wished for that night
I want a love I can make with scraps on the floor
Watch as I make one better than before
When I am high
When I am low
I’m sure to find love wherever I go
I want a love I can make with scraps on the floor
Watch as I make one better than before
When I am high
When I am low
I’m sure to find love wherever I go
I’m sure to find love wherever I go
I’m sure to find love wherever I go
Tracklist: Merlynn Belle
1. “Words That Say”
2. “It Won’t Be Long”
3. “Never”
4. “Wishing Shrine”
5. “One Little Pearl”
6. “Paper Crown“
7. “A Lot to Want“
8. “Crystal Witch“
9. “Desiree”
10. “Technicolor Town”
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