365 Days of Songs (2012)

Am I sucker for the epic? For the majestic? Mmmmmaybe. And epic/majestic doesn’t get better than “This Ladder Is Ours,” a song with a huge sound that tells a seemingly small, intimate story of a long overdue walk.

It’s got a powerfully simple riff, a propulsive rhythm track, and of course, those opening strings that return in the song’s crescendo to bring things to a soaring conclusion. That simple walk is clearly a lot bigger than the words on the page would suggest. That’s the power of putting words and music together; it doesn’t have to read like poetry. The words have to work with the melody, the arrangement, the dynamics; if you have those things, the music will amplify the simplest words into something unbelievably powerful.