Edge of the World

Edge of the World

Written and Recorded 2013

This song has seen a lot of stage time over the years and has undergone some instrumentation changes as well. Written in the second half of Of the North's time, "Edge of the World" was one of my more catchy songs at the time. I remember sending this demo off and getting a reply from Kent that was something along the lines of "Thanks for getting this stuck in my head all day." I felt it had great energy  and broke up our setlist nicely. We still play this song in Whiskey Doubles and recorded it on our first EP, Honey Creek. Nowadays, I use it as a positive song to insert into a setlist. I see a lot of smiles from first-time listeners on this one.

• The song is pretty simple, using just four chords. I wanted it to be a straight forward folk tune that anyone could play. It captures the feel pretty well at this tempo.
• The extended, solo intro that you hear has since been axed. It made the already long song, much longer. Truth be told, I didn't practice it that much so I tended to biff the opening in some way. Cutting that section helps the song move along significantly better.
• There are two instrumental sections. The first was intended to be a drastic change of dynamic after the first big chorus. I don't know if we've every fully captured that effect, but I do enjoy the extra section there. The second instrumental section was intended to be (if you'll forgive the expression) balls to the walls. It's hard to go from fortissimo to fortissississimo and have it be any sorts of effective. Perhaps some revisions are in order after analyzing this!
• I thought the multiple instrumentals would also give it more of an old timey folk feel to it. Kent does a nice cello line in there that is complimented by flute (formerly trumpet.) I think it does the job, mimicking a fiddle interlude you'd find on an old Irish tune.
• Lyrically, I would describe this as "pleasant." It's a very positive message about moving through life and that hard times make us stronger. I have similar messages in many of my songs, but this song's narrator is a bit happier than others.
• I've always like the line in the second half of the second verse. It is a complete play on "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and while nobody has ever mentioned to me that they recognize the connection, I think internally people hear those words rearranged and know it's something familiar. It's a bit cheesy, but I though it was clever!
• If you'd like to hear the current version, see us live and buy one of the last copies of the Honey Creek EP or buy it on iTunes.