lifeblood: songs: backgrounds: oyster and pearl

amy ray from 2013-11-26: amy ray releases "oyster and pearl" from upcoming album 'goodnight tender' , guitar world

"'oyster and pearl' is about the hope for a simple life and a simple death," says ray. "i want the listener to feel like they are sitting on a river bottom, watching the world and their days go by, just contemplating life in an easy way. i want it to feel wistful but sure, something with some age on it."

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2015-02-27: amy ray of indigo girls, song facts:

songfacts: there's a lot of special guests on the album. i noticed that justin vernon is on "oyster and pearl." did you already have a relationship with him before he participated on the album, or was this something where you got to know him through the process?

amy: i knew him before this. we've been talking off and on for a few years. a while back, maybe four years ago, i asked him to come out and play some shows with us just for fun - i knew that he knew the indigo girls music, and we got to be friends.

two of the guys that i was working with on this record are phil cook and his brother brad from megafaun. they do a lot of projects with justin, so i was like, "phil, we're putting together a little group. let's do four songs with whoever you want, who you envision."

and justin was not in that at first. and then phil said, "well, guess who's going to be down in north carolina when we're in the studio?" and he wanted to know if he could come by and hang out. so he emailed me about it, justin did. he emailed me and he was like, "i'm going to be hanging out with phil, can i come to the studio and just hang out or sit in or whatever?" and i was like, "totally. just play whatever you want to play."

and i had no idea what he was going to do, because you never know with him. i had never actually heard this side of him, but he played on about five songs. i've seen him play live and i played with him, but i'd never heard him play country music, and it fit like a glove. everything he played was perfect and adding something really special. then he did a bunch of vocals on the song that he didn't play on, but i had recorded earlier that week.

so it was a great surprise. i love him as a person and i find him to be an incredibly compelling as an artist, and it just made the experience that much better to have him there and just to be around him. he's really a great person, very special.