E.G. Phillips
Till We Have Faces Again
Credits:
vocals - E.G. Phillips
flute - Daniel Casares
flugelhorn - Rich Armstrong
keys - Kevin Seal
guitar - Jeffrey Burr
upright bass - Paul Eastburn
percussion - Chris McGrew
Recorded at Wally's HydeOut, Hyde Street Studio C 
​in San Francisco,  Sept 5th-8th, 10th and Oct 3rd 2021
​
Recording Engineers: Desmond Shea, Liam Craddock            
Mixed by Chris McGrew                                                            
Mastered by Gary Hobish, A. Hammer Mastering

Produced by Chris McGrew   

​Artwork by Mario M. Noche

Written by E.G. Phillips (ASCAP)
​(c) 2021 Ducks With Pants Music
una canción que tiene el toque clásico y elegante"
— Indie Criollo 
a song that has the classic and elegant touch
Lyrics:
Saw you bop’n down the block           
Winds flirt’n with your skirt
Your naked eyes flashed a smile at me
In a way that’s bound to hurt

Till we have faces again
Till we have faces again

Kidnapped to a castle
High up in the clouds
You only visit when you’re invisible
That’s all the gods will allow

Till we have faces again
Till we have faces again
             
Raucous echoes down below
Guess my neighbors are do’in fine    
It’s my bad luck the pandemic struck
With no prospects on the line           
Been homebound most my days
Quarantine’s hardly changed my ways
Love’s illusory at the best of times

Snuck into your bedroom
Lit a candle to catch a glimpse
Spilt hot wax by accident
Now you’ve vanished to the wind
​
Till we have faces again
Till we have faces again
Till we have faces again…
“Till We Have Faces Again” is one of the rare compositions I wrote during the pandemic that I have some affection for and feel like I’ll still want to play after all of the quarantining and masking are long in the rearview mirror.

The pandemic had the unfortunate effect of making all songs written prior to it feel somewhat alien, like relics from a bygone era when you went places and interacted with people.  At the same time songs about the pandemic felt like they would have a limited shelf life, or at the very least be a bit depressing to revisit.  That, and it was that much harder to write in general.  At some point during the whole ordeal, though, this one sprung out of me and it strikes me as a good entry point into the set of songs that's become the album “Alien from an Alternate Earth.”


The song title and verses allude to C.S. Lewis’ retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche — a story I found myself thinking about in the context of the the whole shutdown mishegas.  Psyche’s situation — its strangeness and her isolation — seemed to resonate.  Ultimately, despite somewhat tongue-in-cheek asserting not much has actually changed because of quarantine, it's a hopeful song, confident we will in fact "have faces" again.


 — E.G. Phillips