You can always rely on Resmiranda to come up with something thoughtful, and occasionally at least mildly provocative. The quality of her writing and strength of resolve belie her soft visual image and homely nature.
Her main concerns are the environment and especially the trees but on this occasion she turns her attention to a highly topical subject, the ‘Cease Fire’; internationally one of which seems, surprisingly, to be holding while another sits on the backburner awaiting the outcome of the love affair between the protagonist and the bloke across the ocean purportedly trying to arrange it while missiles continue to rain down.
Resmiranda says, “I started writing it after seeing a photo of a bombed playground, a place once filled with play and laughter, now reduced to rubble and silence. The song comes from that tearing feeling when I witness the cruelty of the world, and from a deep, aching longing for a future where peace on Earth, and peace with the Earth, is something we can take for granted. Maybe it’s just a naive dream…But what, if not dreams, plant the seeds of a better future?”
There is probably no photographic image more pointed and heart freezing than a bombed playground with only smashed, blood soaked rides and toys remaining, but how many times have we seen them in the last few years?
One thing I’m always wary of, though, is that songs like this can be maudlin and lose their focus to the overwhelming emotion in them.
But Resmiranda is a seasoned writer and performer and doesn’t permit such distractions. In fact the song is surprisingly upbeat musically once past the brief opening organ chord; perhaps representative more of her “dream” than the contemporary reality. It even has some low level trap beats incorporated.
And in the first bridge the tempo goes up further still and is even danceable. I suppose that’s what kids do in playgrounds.
Then in the outro it takes on a military beat as if to represent the forces of reason gaining strength to combat the protagonists with words rather than bullets and bombs.
You might propose that Resmiranda is taking over where The Cranberries left off with ‘Zombie’ and I think Dolores O’Riordan would have been more than content to hear it.
Lyrically, it isn’t a surprise that the trees soon make an appearance, to spread the happy sound of the children who overcome the pain by singing of love. The trees pick up on it, spreading it to the birds and the sky. “From the Earth to the Sky hear their voices rising high.”…”A mighty choir, singing the cease fire”
From the mountains to the shore and from the desert to the forest floor, she describes the ever mounting call for peace. Bloody marvellous. And not a river or sea in sight.
And Åsa Larsson has earned how to amplify her voice dramatically without sounding like she’s calling the cows home. At times here she has the sound of a genuine 1970s protest singer, and there is a distinct gap to be filled in 2025 where they are concerned.
In last year’s Eurovision Song Contest a young woman that had survived a massacre at a music festival sang a song of hope for a cease fire and peace and was pilloried for it.
It came second. It should have won it.
It would do Sweden no harm at all to select ‘Cease Fire’ as its entry this year. Let’s perpetuate a theme.
In the meantime, Åsa should replace UNWRA as the aid distribution agency In Gaza and join Trump’s negotiating team. And I’m not being facetious.
(Incidentally, AI kindly informed me that “Resmiranda has contributed to at least one compilation aimed at raising money for humanitarian aid in Gaza.”)
(Continues after the Spotify link)
Find her on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/resmirandamusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resmiranda/
Bandcamp: https://resmiranda.bandcamp.com/
Artwork by Moa-Lisa Fransson.
