Oh, The Hours

by Ben O'Neill

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about

Oh, The Hours, is a quiet place from which to view the rushing river of time that moves ceaselessly past us all. Blending imagery from the ancient wisdom of the stoics, the sermon on the mount and the book of Ecclesiastes, singer/songwriter Ben O’Neill invites us to pause for a breath of wonder. The melody is sweet while the harmony is, at times, dissonant, and the performance is done in the sparest of settings with only the haunting sound of prepared guitar, upright bass and voice. These attributes create a musical mirror for us to consider our own, frequently beautiful, occasionally bewildering, journeys.

lyrics

Oh, the hours
How they swiftly go
Slipping through my hands
As so many grains of sand

Oh, the flowers
Neither spin nor toil
Yet has Solomon the King
Any finer thing?

Fragile as the grass
Still escapes my grasp
Glitter into gold,
But gold turns into brass

Oh, spring showers
Seep into the soil
As the melting snow
The hours swiftly go

Hurry and begin
Before the days grow thin
Oh, it all amounts to what
But a chasing after wind

Oh, spring showers
Seep into the soil
As the melting snow
The hours swiftly go
The hours swiftly go

credits

released June 8, 2021
Written, performed and recorded by Ben O’Neill (vocals, guitar) with Shane Aaserud. Mixed and mastered by Hank Byerly. Copyright 2021.

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about

Ben O'Neill Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

My name is Ben O'Neill. Music is my life's focus. That takes many forms, from being a sideman to John Legend, Jill Scott and others, to being a teacher at The University of the Arts, to creating my own music to share with you.

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