Tinpan Orange: stories of songs

Emily Lubitz of Tinpan Orange, talks us through the songs on the band’s new album, Over The Sun:

Birdy
It’s about the fear that maybe your life isn’t spectacular enough. It’s about the anxiety that maybe your life isn’t worthy of a screenplay.

Over the Sun
I co-wrote this song with [piano player and husband] Harry Angus. The song recalls a happy day somewhere in the hazy and rosy past. It’s about a simpler time, when a day roaming the city with a loved one was a day well spent and smoking was cool.

Barcelona
Is also about memories. It’s about being young and dumb and brave. It’s also about getting a bit older and wondering what risks you might be still willing to take given what is at stake now. The groove that [drummer] Daniel and Harry came up with really makes this song.

Super Girl
This song was inspired by a short story by Etgar Keret. It’s the first and only song I have ever written on piano and I can’t actually play the piano so I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I love the epicness of the production and the desperate love it describes.

Flowers
It’s about snapping out of a bad mood. Inspired by a Charles Bukowski poem.

Like Snow
I had a dream that my eyeballs were souvenir snow globes and I think that image wormed its way into the song. But, it’s about being a bit crap at love. It’s the first song we recorded for the album and it’s how we met Steven Schram, our producer. We recorded it at home and he mixed it. We loved his work and asked if he would produce the rest of the record. He said yes.

Lonely People
This is the truck drivers anthem. I love how at the end there is a huge collection of voices all singing ‘we are the lonely people.’ Is that irony or contradiction or sad or happy? Not sure, that’s why I like it.

Foolish Child
I also co-wrote this one with Harry. It was the last song we wrote for the album. I was still scribbling away at lyrics while the band was recording the track in the studio. I enjoyed working under pressure. I guess it’s about taking risks and failing but still thinking that given the chance to do it again, you would. It’s the ‘no regrets’ mantra… not that I always subscribe to it.

Round the Twist
A homage to the children of the 80’s and 90’s. They were good years.

Lamb
This was recorded in one take. Everything. We all just sat in our booths and played it straight from that sweet spot between the ribcage. It’s a salute to the ridiculous demise of the Melbourne Eye ferris wheel (now being rebuilt) and a meditation on how time flies..

Tattoo on her Wrist
I actually wrote this for Renee Geyer when she asked me to write her a song a few years back. I had never written a song for anyone else before and was quite nervous, particularly considering how awesome Renee is… and scary! I sent her a demo of it as an email. I think she had trouble opening it or something because she’s never used it. I didn’t take it personally, I just took it back!

Keep up to date with everything that Melbourne band Tinpan Orange have got going on by following them on Facebook.