BUNCH OF FIVES: Oliver Hunt

Ahead of the release of new single Leaving Texas, taken from his upcoming EP Now Leaving, Durham songwriter Oliver Hunt reveals some of the inspirations behind his music

In anticipation for my latest single Leaving Texas, and for my upcoming debut EP release Now Leaving, here’s a selection of 5 songs about ‘leaving. That’s a lot of leaving! There are SO many songs I could have put in this list so I’m selecting perhaps a few lesser known tracks that I have a personal attachment to, that all have influenced me in some shape or form.

Silver Wings – Merle Haggard

Merle even makes aeroplanes sound beautiful. This song is so simple and yet so poignant, to the point that you know exactly how he is feeling in just the intonation of his voice. There’s such longing in his delivery, and yet his beautiful description of an aeroplane flying almost makes you forget he’s sad about it, as images of metallic buses gliding through the air bathed in sunlight fill my imagination. I suppose there’s an air of acceptance, or at least an air of helplessness, that he can do nothing about the departure, so just watches it fade out of sight. Gorgeously sad.

Gonna Hurry (As Slow as I Can) – Dolly Parton

As much respect as she gets as a person, I still don’t think Dolly Parton gets enough respect as a songwriter and an instrumentalist. This song found me when I was experiencing a departure way before it even happened, I was in a situation I knew wouldn’t last but was trying to make time stop. This song played over those moments, and as it did it became immediately impossible to get my head away from the sorrowfulness of the fleeting time. That being said, I did what Dolly said and hurried as slowly as I could. What a great turn of phrase. She’s fighting every fibre of her being to leave, it’s proving difficult, but eventually she will.

If It’s the Beaches – The Avett Brothers

Scott Avett’s lyrics are so desperate in their need for reconciliation each word becomes a heart wrenching plea. Begs to go back in time, to change as a person, to change his whole life and run away to sandy beaches or mountain rivers. My interpretation of all of this, in which I’d happily be wrong about, is that any attempt to sway his partner into running away is moot. This is solidified to me in the last line, ‘Pack the old love letters up, we will read them when we forget why we left here’. Simply forgetting any issues, throwing caution to the wind, and running away from the prior problems isn’t exactly the most ideal plan for anyone wanting to return to holding love in hands that had previously let it slip. His earnestness and desperation for a return to former happiness is hauntingly beautiful though, and who doesn’t love a good beach.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do – Neil Sedaka

Okay this one is a bit more of a straight breakup song, but he’s being left so it works right? It also allows me to mention my new single, ‘Leaving Texas’. I directly ‘borrowed’ the title of this song for the opening line of my song. It’s a straight to the point, punch you in the face line to summarise the difficulty of experiencing the end of a relationship, particularly a long distance one. There’s further personal connection too, because it was introduced to me by the person who my song is about. Sedaka’s bouncy singalong ‘down dooby doo down down’ introduction almost sets you up for whiplash once the context of the song is fully introduced. Although absolutely simple throughout and lyrically safe, the song doesn’t need to be anything more than it is; catchy, fun, earnest, hopeful, and hella fun to sing. COMMA COMMA DOWN DOOBY DOO DOWN DOWN.

Homecoming – Tom T. Hall

I challenge anybody to write a song in the context of this one, and make it anywhere near as good. Hall’s one way conversation with his Father, spanning 6 verses and one key change, is also a return home from having been away. Although initially homecoming, by the end of the song, Hall Jr is leaving again. I personally love how this song could not exist now, but the life of a touring musician in the 60’s meant you were going to miss a lot back home. The subtlety and breeziness of the song makes those darker moments all the more impactful. The revelation of Hall having missed his own mother’s funeral because he simply didn’t know she had died until it was too late hits like bricks to the keen listener, but if you weren’t listening much you could happily have just been enjoying the melody. It would be easy to confuse this song as a simple one, the light piano floating around, and the ease of which Tom T. Hall sings is so charming, but the conversationalist and sharp lyrics really show why he is revered as one of the greats.