Single Review: ‘A Seed’ – Paul Sikes
12 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on Single Review: ‘A Seed’ – Paul Sikes
Songwriters: Paul Sikes, Trent Jeffcoat, Tonya Stout
Singer-songwriter Paul Sikes released his debut album, Craft, earlier this year and his new single is the interesting, ‘A Seed.’
The underlying idea explored on ‘A Seed’ is that something small can eventually lead to great things. ‘For centuries kids have cooled off in my shade / and climbed my limbs / I’ve been a home to little birds / I protect them from the wind’, the song starts out, before pointing to the many uses of timber in past events, great and small. The chorus closes out with the central message: ‘Don’t tell me you’re too small to do amazing things / I was just a seed’. By describing how the wood came from a mighty tree which started as a tiny seed the song also becomes, intended by the writers or not, about the sacrifice necessary to achieve great things.
Having started from a strong idea, there are a few issues here. It feels strange to hear such a soft vocal about something essentially violent as chopping up the tree that was protecting little birds just a few lines before (what about those little birds?). The aforementioned sacrifice is offered willingly in the bridge: ‘Cut me down / take my life / that’s when I’m at my best.’ I reserve the right to disagree and think a tree is at its best when it is left alone to be a tree.
It is rare for me to say this but this song could have used a little more music. This ultra-light production doesn’t provide enough of a frame to support the words. The final line of the chorus is the only line that gets a little bit of support from a handful of piano notes. There is a lot to be said for just an instrument or two and a great voice, but finding the music that underscores what you are saying is part of the art of making a record.
But ultimately, ‘A Seed’ is an example of what sets good songwriters apart: take an idea that has been written about many times and communicate it in a new way. And that is what pulls this over the line.
Liv Carter
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
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