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LISTEN: Thorp Jenson, ‘Odessa’

Jul 20, 2017

LISTEN: Thorp Jenson, 'Odessa'

Artist: Thorp Jenson
Hometown: Richmond, VA
Song: “Odessa”
Album: Odessa
Release Date: TBD

In Their Words: “I finished writing ‘Odessa’ after watching the Coen Brothers film No Country for Old Men. It was the only song not written before the initial sessions, so I when I brought the tracks home to work on overdubs, I also needed to finish writing the words to what, at the time, was titled ‘new tune.’ 

For whatever reason, the movie helped open the levee so I could finish the song. I remember being inspired both by the film and the name Odessa, which is a town referenced in the film. The song is told from the point of view of a soldier returning home to find his hometown has endured the changes of war. He is struggling to find his way and canā€™t seem to shake the war, and dreams of his hometown the way it used to be. Thereā€™s an element of hopefulness in the story, too, as he tries to reconcile everything but still find the courage to listen to the signs along his path. Thatā€™s the part of the story that intersects the most with my own. It has taken my whole life, but I think Iā€™m starting to at least see when Iā€™m on the right path, despite all my best efforts to typically go a harder way.” — Thorp Jenson


Photo credit: Melissa Brugh

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LISTEN: Thorp Jenson, 'Odessa'
LISTEN: Thorp Jenson, 'Odessa'