Nova Scotian folk duo The Strange Valentines ended 2020 with a single that sounds like it could have been a not-so-fond farewell to a year gone wrong, but really just marks the beginning of a lot of work to come. “Burning House Waltz” is an acknowledgement that civilization took a wrong turn somewhere along the way and it’s time to address some of these issues before the whole thing goes up in flames.
The Strange Valentines, David Farrell and Janet Mills, wrote “Burning House Waltz” on the edge of a lockdown. With their previous album, Forks, already released and finding themselves in the relative safety and solitude of River John, Nova Scotia, the pair were presented with an abundance of time for creativity and reflection. What they witnessed was a world changing of its own accord.
Rather than the madness of toilet-paper runs and ill-advised Spring Break shenanigans, they watched “the smog drift away from cities, the animals come out of hiding, and some rebound in population.”
It provided a moment of stark contrast again the usual pace of modern living and a wake-up call for what was at stake. The result was this maudlin apocalyptic rally song; “The Tennessee Waltz” turned on its head to usher us out of existence.
“While humans have been busier than ever (at least up until the plague) working towards their continually escalating goals, the world has been suffering,” says the duo.
“As much as many of us think we care about the important environmental issues that are wreaking havoc on our beloved planet, the reality is that many of us humans are so busy keeping the pace up on our own personal treadmills, that we barely give it a glance other than remembering our reusable shopping bags when we go out or maybe separating our home recycling. What else could any one person really do anyway?
“No matter. ‘Burning House Waltz’ is a dance for humans, unaware as they are of the destruction around them, they dance the dance.”