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Montague st.

by Damn Williams

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Russell Thomson
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about

“Montague st.” is a story of the singer’s maternal grandparents, from whom Damn Williams garnered his last name: an act of both tribute and identity formation. Len and Nell Williams died before the singer reached 7 years so their narrative is informed and pieced together from the stories and recollections of the singer’s mother and two aunts, who form one of the narrative voices in the song.

The song is in part a reflection on intergenerational family relationships and the integrity of memory. The troubled life and times of the “greatest” generation; enduring trauma in the wake of WW2, financial difficulties, substance abuse, infidelity and mental deterioration is set alongside and underpinned by the presence of familial love. Len and Nell’s relationship became totemic for the dualistic nature of history and the intangibility of love and attachment. Asking what holds us together through it all, and revealing the arbitrary yet crucial nature of love to the stories that form our past and identities.

lyrics

In 1941
Nelly worked her father’s shop
Collecting food coupons
And trading rumours from the front
So every day she heard
About another ship that sunk
But lacking the details
She prayed it wasn’t Leonard’s boat
He’d write her when he may
The post delivered twice a day
Still news had a delay
Heart in throat she’d always wait
Engaged since ‘38
Eventually they tied the knot
And when the war was done
They moved into the family home

Then by ‘52
The house had gotten full
But when they sent the girls to school
Echoes bounced around the room
He heard his friends got shot
But Leonard didn’t talk about
The war when he got home
He listened to the radio alone
Then to find a way to take it all
Nelly turned into the bottle
Then to find a way to take it all
Nelly turned into the bottle

"To love somebody so much but he’s still out at sea
To love somebody so much but he’s still out at sea"
on Montague street

Nelly was getting drunk
While Leonard ran the flower shop
His girlfriend down the road
Had roses lining her windows
Dementia led Nelly to shore
Forgot his name ‘round ‘94
And only spoke in semaphore
Len would wave the flags for her
Once Nelly was gone
The cancer hit old Leonard's lungs
Don’t sit under that apple tree
With anybody else but me
He whistled for the final time
Then he left the world behind
Three daughters by his side
Who let out a communal sigh

"To love somebody so much that he forgot to breathe
To love somebody so much that he forgot to breathe"
On Montague street

credits

released November 11, 2019
Music and Lyrics by Elliot Taylor
Additional vocals by Charlotte Ivey and Amy Wright
Guitar solo #1 by Lincoln Le Fevre
Drums by Alexander Raw
Mix assistance by Thomas Scott and Alex Centofanti
Mastered by Guy Louis Faletolu
Artwork by Douglas Hagger

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