Ballad of a Thin Place Lyrics - RF Shannon

Song Facts:

• Album: Featured in the soundtrack for the "Invincible (TV Series)".


• Genre: "Ballad of a Thin Place" from RF Shannon is really very delicately nuanced work that marries touches of psychedelic folk subtleties with infusions of Americana and desert blues to create a chilling, haunting atmosphere.

Lyricists & Composers: RF Shannon has emerged as a master at the evocative telling of stories through creating lush, expansive soundscapes that craft songs with themes such as the questions of identity and longing experienced throughout the metaphysical journey of self.

Annotations and Meaning:

"Ballad of a Thin Place" is a transformative and meditative reflection by RF Shannon. Borrowed from the Celtic spiritual idea that there are certain places where the veil between the physical world and the realms of spirits really is thin—suggesting moments of deep connection or revelation—a name for the song, "Thin Place.
The words beckon the listener to follow down a path of slow, deliberate observation ("Follow me down and now take your time / Oh, and watch it pass through the windowpane"), hinting to witness the passage of time and self-evolution, perhaps in ways not fully explained. If using the windowpane as a metaphor, one gets a perfect tool with the clear and non-lying thinnesses between one's inner self and the outer world, which appears to supply a clear image of the character of the ethereal identity and the character of desire.

The line, "Who you wish I was, I could never be," is a recurring one, meaning that it points out a recurring theme in the song: the tension that exists between who someone really is and what others may expect or want from them. The feeling that reflects through the song is, after all, it is the journey that bears the trial of reconciling these disparate identities.

The chorus, "I've been down this road / I've been down this road before," gives a resigned, peaceful sense of embracing this cycle of a journey. It has to do with a good deal of the time fruitlessly yet essential process of self-examination and the consolation that one might have from the fact that, in case everything is lost, an essential part of who he is might be found again or re-created.

"Serpentine daydream of a trickster scene" gets at that serpentine, deceitful path the self has to tread over and over again to express the elusive and multifaceted nature of identity and reality. This mention of the medicine's lingering 'in the haziness' reveals, therefore, the means through which possibly pain and confusion are dulled, possibly hinting at different means of coping that individuals need to survive the self and existence complexities.

"Ballad of a Thin Place" is a meditative inquiry of pursuit into these spaces between who we are, who we dream of being, and who others perceive us to be. It is a journey that promises no destination or clarity but offers at least the solace of recognition and a bittersweet comfort that comes from knowing that in the finding of self, the journey itself is the destination. Its haunting melody and thoughtful lyrics of the song make the listener actually think about the paths, identity, and even thin places in life.