In agriculture, it’s common for farmers to burn grasslands intentionally — a controlled fire that revitalizes the soil, making it more arable for future growth. Yet, that practice comes with risk. A wrong wind, a moment of miscalculation, and the blaze can consume trees, harm livestock, or even destroy the very grain that was meant to be nurtured.
Bright Pastures takes that reality and flips it into a metaphor about human nature — how some people seem almost drawn to disrupting good things. Some do it without thought, others with deliberate intent. Like a fire started in fertile fields, their actions can spread, damaging not only what’s in front of them but everything connected to it.
Interestingly, this track follows my recent release Ocean Meadows. While that song pondered the space we make (or deny) for others, Bright Pastures almost feels like its opposite — a burning meadow finding immediate peace only in its aftermath. I didn’t plan it that way, but the thematic connection revealed itself after the fact.
Lyrics – Bright Pastures
bright pastures
people seem to burnbright pastures
people seem to burnthe arable, the land that fills
people people seem to yearnthe arable, the land that fills
people people seem to yearninstrumental
the pock, the flock, the driven nock
people people seem to churnthe pock, the flock, the driven nock
people people seem to churnbright pastures
people seem to burnbright pastures
people seem to burnthe butter wings flutter lings
of fowl, fowl, smokethe butter wings flutter lings
of fowl, fowl, fowl, fowl, fowl, smoke
The song layers rustic imagery over a deeper commentary — a reminder that even in the most fertile, vibrant spaces, there’s always the risk of destruction from within.
— Josh Montague
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