Title: Fireflies & Bedouins
Released: March 11, 2012
Format: CD Single, Digital Download
Recorded: Three Crow Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre: Alternative Rock, Acoustic Rock, Folk
Length: 5:16
Label: Chaos Records
Written By: Brandon Caulfield
Produced By: Brandon Caulfield, Sarah Jade Harrison

On 11th October 2011 Brandon Caulfield debuted a demo version of a new song titled, ‘Fireflies & Bedouins’ on his official website, it was later confirmed that his third studio album would be based around the themes of the song and would be named after the song, however after long and arduous recording sessions in Los Angeles with his original backing band and after the album was completed, Caulfield felt that the songs weren’t of the quality that he had anticipated and so the album was cancelled or at least put on hold for a short while, it was however later decided that the album would be scrapped and he decided to put any plans to record new material on hold for a short while, but always fond of the song claiming it to be his favourite song that he has written so far, Caulfield started to put together ideas for new material for a potential third studio album and therefore brought together a group of musicians in order to support his future work and in order to give a slightly different sound to his work, he then headed into a recording studio in early march with his new backing band to run through a number of his songs, this later led to a debut performance at the newly opened Grey Ghost Concert Hall although ’Fireflies & Bedouins’ wasn’t performed at the show, the song was recorded at Three Crow Studios in Los Angeles, California and was quickly sent to the Chaos Records headquarters in order for his label to approve the new track and a rare single from Brandon Caulfield who ordinarily has avoided releasing single’s in the past, but with ’Fireflies & Bedouins’, his new backing band The Midnight Runners and his recent marriage to Hannah Beth it seems like Caulfield is feeling enthusiastic about music once again and seems re-invigorated and inspired once more to create new music.

SONG DESCRIPTION

The song opens up with a powerful drum beat which is quickly added to by the inclusion of a harmonica introduction by Brandon, his first use of the instrument of any real note which leads into the song and as the harmonica introduction ends, he strikes the strings of his electric guitar three times, pauses for a brief moment before striking his guitar three times again, somewhat reminiscent to the quick-fire chords on Baba O’Riley by The Who, the guitars then begin to blend into the background of the song a little more as an almost dreamy like piano introduction is played by Sarah Jade Harrison, pushing the emphasis and melody of the song more to the forefront as the rest of the instruments serve more as a backing sound for the piano which becomes the most dominant instrument throughout the track, giving an almost dreamy like feel which matches the lyrics and the vocals from Brandon as he sings softly, “As these beautiful fireflies pass before my dreaming eyes/I gaze across this field of green and wonder what might have been/If my life had passed by the way that I planned/Maybe I’d never have conquered this promised land/I’ll close my eyes as I feel a tear drop/And think to myself ‘It’s lonely at the top”

The music progresses more dramatically as the song moves away from the dreamy and more into an urgent feel, Brandon’s vocals now sound increased in volume ever so slightly, feeling the urgency of the lyrics as he sings, “While some fathers return home to the smile of their children and wives/I’ll lay on the cold and empty floor thinking, ‘what happened to my nine lives’/I’ll wake in the morning with the sun as my only friend/I’ll set out on my day ahead and hope that this is all pretend” The main combination during the final stages of the song is the twinkly keys of the piano which almost serve as a metaphor for the hope and belief felt by the main character and the pounding drums which add to the intensity of the characters situation almost like the soundtrack to the fighting, matched by Caulfield’s vocals which are able to switch almost seamlessly between hope filled and beaten and bruised but it’s almost a haunted and regretful feel as he sings the final line of the song ” When I close my eyes, all that I can see are fireflies, you and me”

SONGWRITER’S ANALYSIS

“I wrote this song over a tree month period which first began in July 2011, I debuted it at a show a couple of weeks later but over the next two months the song took on a number of different forms, with writing and re-writing in order to make the song as perfected as I possibly could from a lyrical stand point. I’m not entirely sure where the songs title came from but I felt an instant connection with the songs title, I liked it because it suggested a grandiose and cinematic feel to me, the two clearly different subjects in my opinion of something beautiful and almost magical with ‘Fireflies’ and then something as the polar opposite of that, something slightly different with ‘Bedouins’ which is of course tribes associated with the desert, once I had painted that picture in my mind it was unknown where the song would go, but quickly it became clear that the opposing contrasts of the two things would be where the emphasis would be, Fireflies would be linked to his thoughts of the woman that he feels he’s fighting for and Bedouins of course would be linked to the here and now, the place where he’s fighting and the people that he would be fighting.

Initially the song was written as a piano song, like a lot of my music I tend to create the basis of the songs melodies and progression at the piano, it’s where I feel most comfortable when it comes to writing new songs but once I had what I considered to be the base of the song I tweaked it a little and try it out on an acoustic guitar in order to get a feel for the songs best approach, it’s a weird one to be honest with you, it’s a song about the contrast between love and war, I feel that it is a wildly romantic song of course interpretation is up to the listener but I find it to be a romantic piece of work, in my opinion it’s about a man who is forced to fight, while at times he struggles to understand what he’s fighting for or why he is fighting he realizes that it’s not a large entity that he’s fighting for, he isn’t necessarily fighting for his country or for his land but instead realizes that he’s in fact fighting for his love, in order to prove himself, prove that he’s worth something to the one person that holds a strong place within his heart.

As the song progresses it becomes clear that he’s fighting for a love that perhaps doesn’t exist anymore, he’s fighting for a woman who won’t be there when he returns and although he comes to the realisation of this fact, it doesn’t stop him from fighting, is it pride? Or is it the thoughts and dreams of that romantic love coming true when he returns? However you interpret the characters decision to fight and unwillingness to back down is entirely up to you but the way that I see the song as songwriter is that of a wildly romantic love that runs deep within someone who is struggling with the fact that those hopes and dreams that he once possessed are slowly falling away, does he resent the woman in the song for no longer being with him for whatever reasons? No but instead it spurs him on to prove himself, will the woman ever see what he is doing or what he has become or even what he has proven? Most likely not, but it’s that hope and belief that I found endearing with the character, that’s what makes the song, the fact that he’s at war doesn’t necessarily play a major importance within the song but it’s the thought of proving yourself and having that belief that there’s something bigger on the horizon, I feel like the song can be divided into two questions regarding the character, the first half of the song asks, ‘What do you do when your dreams come true? And the second half of the song asks, ‘What do you do when they don’t?’ The answers, well that’s an entirely different matter.”
- Brandon Caulfield

LYRICS

As these beautiful fireflies pass before my dreaming eyes
I gaze across this field of green and wonder what might have been
If my life had passed by the way that I planned
Maybe I’d never have conquered this promised land
I’ll close my eyes as I feel a tear drop
And think to myself ‘It’s lonely at the top’

And I’ll lead my men into battle as the Bedouins back down
And the fire that we caused will slowly rise upon this humble town
I’ll just close my eyes for the element of surprise
Yeah, I’ll close my eyes for the element of surprise

So this war will be won, the damage will be done
Our land is ours once more my friend
But let’s not be blind sighted, let’s not pretend
That everything is perfect, when nothing ever feels right
We’re lonely and we know it, we need love to save us tonight

While some fathers return home to the smile of their children and wives
I’ll lay on the cold and empty floor thinking, ‘what happened to my nine lives’
I’ll wake in the morning with the sun as my only friend
I’ll set out on my day ahead and hope that this is all pretend

As the beautiful fireflies fade and the Bedouins make their way
This scene turns from a blue sky and it’s turning into grey
But the sun is now replaced with the beating of the rain
As we face our battle and face a whole world of pain

I’ll lead my men into battle as the Bedouins back down
And the fire that we caused will slowly rise upon this humble town
I’ll just close my eyes for the element of surprise
Yeah, I’ll close my eyes for the element of surprise

So it looks like the end is nigh and there’s nothing left to do
I could put my weapons down again but I remember I’m still fighting for you
A spark will ignite in my empty soul and the thought of you will be enough to break my fall
So I won’t back down until the very end and I may be alone now
But I know that our love will transcend

Suddenly there was silence and the scene was empty and dark
It seems like enough was done and I thank you for igniting that spark
I know I’ll never see you again when my memory of you is all that remains
No matter how much I try to move on, it feels like your pulling the reigns

And now all that I see, are fireflies, you and me
And I’ll still close my eyes for the element of surprise
I’ll still close my eyes for the element of surprise
When I close my eyes, all that I can see are fireflies, you and me

PERSONNEL

Brandon Caulfield – lead vocals, lead guitar, harmonica, lyrics, production
Sarah Jade Harrison – piano, backing vocals, production
Jakob Francis – guitar, backing vocals
Tom Lokám – bass guitar
Anthony Browne – drums, percussion