ELYSIAN FIELDS
Interview with James Shumway. Keyboardist and one of the main song writers of the Utah band Elysian Fields, who also wrote all of the lyrics for the album “Definition.”
Q: Looking back on Definition today, what do you feel connects all the songs as one complete lyrical journey?
A: I would say a sense of hope, a belief that no matter how bad things are, they can always get better. There are repeated themes of putting the past behind, healing, and moving towards a brighter future.
Q: Many of the lyrics explore movement, change, and new beginnings. Was this a theme you consciously planned for the album?
A: It wasn’t something I consciously planned. It turned out that way because those are themes that are dear to me as a lyric writer in general.
Q: “When the Days Get Hot” presents the open road as a path toward a better life. What inspired that sense of freedom and determination?
A: I wrote those lyrics before the band got together. At the time, I was planning on leaving Utah for good and seeking a better life elsewhere. I literally imagined myself getting in my car, hitting the open road, and never looking back.
Q: “Desert Sky” describes nature as something that can guide and restore a person. Did personal experiences inspire its lyrics?
A: They absolutely did. Growing up, I was an avid hiker and spent a lot of time out in nature. Those were incredibly emotionally cathartic experiences for me.
Q: In “Waves,” the sea has a mysterious and healing presence. Why did you choose the ocean as a symbol of emotional recovery?
A: The few times I have been to the ocean, I have felt such a sense of peace. There is something about the movement and sound of the waves that is soothing to a damaged soul.
Q: Both “Waves” and “Wings to Fly” use images of boats, sailors, and the sea. Was that lyrical connection intentional?
A: It actually wasn’t intentional because I wrote the lyrics to “Waves” a couple of years after “Wings to Fly.” I just have such an emotional connection to that imagery, it was bound to manifest itself again.
Q: “My Fantasy” captures the uncertainty of wanting a friendship to become something more. How did you approach writing about hidden feelings?
A: There was someone at the time I had a secret crush on, so it was actually a very easy song to write. I just basically expressed everything I was feeling in that moment.
Q: “Staying with You” expresses complete confidence in lasting love. What do you think makes its message connect so strongly with listeners?
A: The experience of finding your soulmate or dreaming about finding your soulmate is one almost everyone can relate to. It’s an almost universal desire to experience that level of connection with another person.
Q: “Eternal Flame” also presents love as a source of warmth, healing, and stability. How is its idea of love different from “Staying with You”?
A: “Staying With You” is about arriving at that moment of certainty when you know a person is your soulmate and starting your life together. “Eternal Flame” is about looking back on the journey you have had with that person and how they have changed your life.
Q: Several songs suggest that love can help someone rediscover hope. Was emotional renewal one of the main ideas behind Definition?
A: Absolutely. Healing and new beginnings are themes that are featured prominently throughout the album.
Q: “Wings to Fly” describes love as something that restores confidence and freedom. What inspired the image of broken wings being healed?
A: I imagined a bird with a broken wing, how helpless it is, and how that relates to people who have been emotionally damaged. Having someone heal you emotionally is very much like a bird regaining the ability to fly.
Q: “No Matter What” shows someone willing to surrender pride to recover a relationship. What interested you about that emotional struggle?
A: It’s very easy to let a relationship be destroyed by any number of things. It takes much more effort to swallow pride, give up the need to be right about everything, and make keeping the relationship together the number one priority.
Q: “Take My Hand” offers a more reflective view of reconciliation, with both people accepting responsibility. Do you see it as a companion to “No Matter What”?
A: Very much so. It actually spends more time dwelling on the solution, that both people need to unite in the common goal of repairing their damaged relationship.
Q: How important is forgiveness within the overall lyrical message of Definition?
A: It isn’t a theme that comes up often on the album. But it is an important enough topic that I felt the need to have a couple of songs that dealt with it specifically.
Q: “Here You Come, Here I Go” takes a firmer approach to a relationship that needs to end. Why was it important to include that perspective?
A: I absolutely felt it was necessary to include that perspective to balance out songs like “No Matter What” and “Take My Hand.” Sometimes relationships are toxic and need to end, and you have to have the judgement to know which ones are worth saving and which ones aren’t.
Q: The album celebrates devotion but also recognizes that some relationships cannot be saved. How did you balance those different views of love?
A: The balance was intentional. I wrote the lyrics for “Here You Come, Here I Go” and “Shattered Lives” after “No Matter What,” “Staying With You,” and “Eternal Flame.” I absolutely did not want an album that made it sound like every relationship can or should be kept together, because some do need to end.
Q: “Shattered Lives” is one of the album’s darkest and most emotionally direct songs. What led you to explore the lasting damage caused by betrayal?
A: I really felt we needed a song that dealt with love’s darkest chapter to balance out the happier songs on the album. It was an emotionally riveting song to write because I put myself in the position of someone whose dreams of a life together with another person had been torn to pieces by emotional abuse and betrayal.
Q: The lyrics often move from fear or loneliness toward courage and hope. Was it important for the album to leave listeners with a positive feeling?
A: Absolutely. That was a main reason for making “Wings to Fly” the final song on the album, and it’s the reason why the majority of songs, even the ones that deal with desperate situations, end in a hopeful direction.
Q: After revisiting Definition so many years later, which lyrical themes feel most meaningful or relevant to you now?
A: The theme of never giving up on your dreams from “When the Days Get Hot” is still incredibly resonant to me. I’ve been able to achieve a lot of things recentlybecause I never gave up. I also still feel the same emotional connection to nature I felt when I wrote the lyrics for “Waves” and “Desert Sky.”
Even the songs that aren’t as relevant to my current situation are still meaningful to me trough, because they contain messages that are timelessly important.
