Berkeley Cat Records is very proud to release this new song from Russ Ellis, and this one happens to be the first song he ever wrote! A year ago. Eliza is a Bossa Nova, and if you’ve been following this adventure, you’ll notice that each of the songs in this garden has its own style and genre. I invite you to have a listen, read Russ’s thoughts below, and share as you like. Thank you.
-Eric Din
Liner notes from Russ:
My wife and I are in our eighties. We live in, for us, a large house that we keep in cleanly order with the help of a Brazilian couple with whom we are uncommonly close. After the husband of the couple was injured, his wife arrived one day with an assistant, a young Brazilian woman who did not speak English.
I had no emotional space to include the assistant and effectively rendered her invisible. Soon thereafter, I read a newspaper article by a woman writer, down on her luck, who turned to cleaning peoples’ houses to make ends meet. Upon completing the article, I reminded myself that my father’s mother was born a slave, and that I had the right to invisibilize no one.
The next time she came, I asked her name and vowed to remember it by singing, each time she came, the three notes that wound up at the beginning the song. From the moment I sang those notes, a song crowded itself into existence behind them. This was a new experience for me. Not only did “Eliza” volunteer itself into existence, it opened me up to singing again, and — newly—to song writing. I have thanked Eliza for the gift.
Credits:
Lyrics by Russ Ellis
Music by Russ Ellis/Jason Martineau/Dave Ellis
Performed by Russ Ellis and Jason Martineau; Jay Lane – Drums
Produced by Russ Ellis/Jason Martineau/Dave Ellis
© 2019 Zadell Music, ASCAP
