Dar Williams releases stop-motion animation video for “Today and Every Day” from new album, ‘I’ll Meet You Here,’ due Oct. 1 on BMG Renew Records. Appealing to people of all ages, video illustrates how we can help heal the Earth.
COLD SPRING, N.Y. — Singer-songwriter Dar Williams, known for her work with many environmental organizations, including Riverkeeper and Hudson Sloop Clearwater, has put her passion into music and words. Her second single, “Today and Every Day,” from her upcoming album I’ll Meet You Here, is a directive to each individual.
Together with the beautiful stop-motion animation video created by fellow musician/artist Antje Duvekot, the song celebrates the everyday actions that can heal the Earth in every way. Dar’s faith in the mosaic of personal and community solutions also inspired her 2017 urban-planning study book What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician’s Guide to Rebuilding America’s Communities — One Coffee Shop, Dog Run & Open-Mike Night at a Time. Dar says she knows countless people who wake up every morning with a new line for a song, a new way to build a stronger society, and a new idea to help the planet on its way. She celebrates the people around her with “Today and Every Day.”
The track and video begin with the lyrics: Hey there, polar bear, it’s quite a mess we found, Life is one heavy trip, our paws are sinking in the ground, I see you out lumbering at the break of dawn, How can we survive and save the day before the day is gone? I know I’m going to find a way, I know I’m going to light the way, ‘Cause if I’m ever going to make it, then I’ve got to say “I can save the world today and every day.” She continues: Some say the smallest things don’t count, Then say the big things don’t amount to any answers either, Man, there is no break or breather. There’s no time for this smug frustration, I say everyone, EVERYONE’S a power station. And we’ll light the way, But we got to say we can save the world a little every day. Regarding her first new album in six years, the musician notes, “At some point, you have to meet life where it meets you … I think what the songs all have in common is the willingness to meet life as it arrives.”
The closing track, “You’re Aging Well,” carries special significance. It appeared on Williams’ first album, then Joan Baez recorded it with her and invited her to tour Europe and the States. By anointing Williams as a folk artist worthy of attention, Baez launched her career.
“I’m the same age now that she was when she took me on the road,” Williams marvels. On this version, she meshes her elegant soprano with Bryn Roberts’ beautiful piano playing, contrasting her delicate singing with her forceful push against conventional expectations for women. When she finally rejects them and finds her own voice, she revels in its power. “Good and bad things happen, and it’s not necessarily a reward or indictment. I’ve just got to meet it.” Williams observes. “Like, I’m bringing my whole life to this moment; it will surprise me, challenge me, show me where I was wrong, even make a fool out of me, but my job is to show up and not take adversity personally. Real happiness doesn’t have to feel like Snoopy dancing with Woodstock; it can just be knowing you have the resilience to meet whatever comes to you. I will call that a good life.”
Tour Dates:
Thurs., Sept. 30 FALL RIVER, MA Narrows Center for The Arts **
Fri., Oct. 1 BROWNFIELD, ME Stone Mountain Arts Center
Sat., Oct. 2 PUTNEY, VT Next Stage Arts Project **
Sun., Oct. 3 NATICK, MA Center for Arts in Natick**
Tues., Oct. 5 HAMDEN, CT Space Ballroom **
Thurs., Oct. 7 NEW YORK, NY Symphony Space **
Fri., Oct. 8 ITHACA, NY Hangar Theatre **
Sat., Oct. 9 SELLERSVILLE, PA Sellersville Theater 1894 **
Sun., Oct. 10 STATE COLLEGE, PA The State Theatre **
Tues., Oct. 12 KENT, OH Kent Stage **
Tues., Oct. 19 SAINT LOUIS, MO Delmar Hall ^^
Thurs., Oct. 21 LAWRENCE, KS Lawrence Arts Center ^^
Sat., Oct. 23 FORT COLLINS, CO Fort Collins Armory ^^
Sun., Oct. 24 BOULDER, CO Boulder Theater ^^
Wed., Oct. 27 IOWA CITY, IA Englert Theatre ^^
Thurs., Oct. 28 MINNEAPOLIS, MN Cedar Cultural Center ^^
Fri., Oct. 29 MINERAL POINT, WI Mineral Point Opera House ^^
Sat., Oct. 30 CHICAGO, IL Old Town School Music Store ^^
Tues., Nov. 9 SEATTLE, WA Neptune Theatre ^^
Wed., Nov. 10 PORTLAND, OR Alberta Rose Theatre ^^
Fri.-Sat., Nov. 12-13 BERKELEY, CA Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse ^^
Sun., Nov. 14 SACRAMENTO, CA Sofia Center ^^
Tue Nov. 16 LOS ANGELES, CA The Hotel Cafe ^^
Wed., Nov. 17 LOS ANGELES, CA The Hotel Cafe ^^
Fri., Nov. 19 PHOENIX, AZ MIM – Musical Instrument Museum ^^
Sat., Dec. 4 ANNAPOLIS, MD Rams Head On Stage ==
Sun., Dec. 5 ALEXANDRIA, VA Birchmere ==
Tues., Dec. 7 RICHMOND, VA The Tin Pan ==
Wed., Dec. 8 CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA The Southern Cafe & Music Hall ==
Fri., Dec. 10 PITTSBURGH, PA Club Cafe ==
Sat., Dec. 11 NEWARK, OH Thirty One West ==
Sun., Dec. 12 ANN ARBOR, MI The Ark==
Mon., Dec. 13 SPRING LAKE, MI Seven Steps Up ==
With Crys Matthews **
With Heather Maloney ^^
With Emily Scott Robinson ==
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