"Carry" is a song by American recording artist
Tori Amos
Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
, released as the main promotional single from the album ''
Night of Hunters
''Night of Hunters'' is the twelfth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos, released on September 20, 2011, in the United States through Deutsche Grammophon. It is a concept album that Amos has described as "a 21st century son ...
'' (2011). The track was released Aug 18, 2011 as a digital download only with an accompanying video clip.
Background and release
Like the rest of the tracks on the album, ''Carry'' builds upon a classical composition, with musical variations, arrangement and added lyrics by Amos. ''Carry'' is a variation on ''
La fille aux cheveux de lin
''La fille aux cheveux de lin'' () is a musical composition for solo piano by French composer Claude Debussy. It is the eighth piece in the composer's first book of ''Préludes'', written between late 1909 and early 1910. The title is in ...
'' (Girl with the Flaxen Hair), originally released in 1909 by
French composer
Claude Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
. In addition to piano by Amos, the track features instrumentation by the
Apollon Musagète Quartet.
''Carry'' is the last track of the album and the final piece in the song cycle and narrative story that spans the entire album. After the tumultuous shattering of the protagonist's relationship to her lover early in the album, and the emotional processing and understanding that subsequently follows, ''Carry'' describes the protagonist having despite it all found an eternal place in her heart for her lover. The lyrics are about coming to terms with the fact that people can disappear from your life without being forgotten, and that they can still remain a part of you. In a track-by-track introduction of "Night of Hunters" for Amazon.com, Amos writes: "With the dawn comes ''Carry'', and the sentiment: you will not ever be forgotten by me, in the procession of the mighty stars your name is sung and tattooed now on my heart, here I will carry, carry, carry you forever.".
The song was performed live regularly during the artist's
Night of Hunters tour in support of the album.
An instrumental version of "Carry" appears on ''Sin Palabras'', the instrumental companion album to ''Night of Hunters'', released in December 2011.
Reception
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' found "Carry" to be one of the prettiest moments on the album, describing it as a lush closer. ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' complimented it as a captivating melody, but felt the album as a whole was without pop structure or notable hooks. Writing for All Music Guide, Thom Jurek describes "Carry" as the most powerful and accessible track on the album. ''Glide Magazines reviewer felt "Carry" along with its preceding track "Seven Sisters" acted as an ideal couple to end the album.
Video clip
The accompanying video clip features Amos playing the piano and singing the track in the studio, edited together with scenes from the Irish landscape and the Georgian style house owned by Amos, where the photoshoot for the album art took place. Amos' daughter acts the part of "Anabelle" from the album's narrative in the video clip.
References
External links
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Tori Amos official websiteApollon Musagète Quartett official websiteTori Amos official Facebook page
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2011 songs
Songs written by Tori Amos
Tori Amos songs
2011 singles