Review Text
'...one of the most creative songwriters and storytellers in the Grand Valley'--Peter Frankland, Channel 11 News. Notes on this CD: Susan Cypher (Me), The Nightbird presents a magical CD. Each song tells a captivating story inspired by real life or fantastic myths and legends. First with visions from days of olde, 'David's Song,' written for my husband. Brings to life a maiden who in our fairy tale daydreams wait in the darkness, chained, looking for her knight to rescue her. I was daydreaming myself when I wrote this, thinking about my knight arriving out of a sunbeam and carrying me off to ride 'through the surf and sand, flirting with the sun.,' as I take the place of the maiden in the dream and surrendering to the knight of my dreams. Surrender yourself into my fantasy world, where lives the 'Knight in Dented Green Armor.' Again, this knight is based on my real present-day knight with his silver-streaked dark hair and sea-blue eyes. His 'dented green armor' is a dented Green 1964 Chevrolet pickup, in which he has ridden to my rescue on many occasions-usually when my poor little 'steed' (at that time a 1971 Datsun) had it's own problems. Other songs on this CD bring some personal sadness mixes with healing, like in the music of 'Missing,' (which I wrote and sung for my brother Teddy's funeral). It was meant to remind those of use who remain that those lost to us still are alive inside our memories, though our hearts may be a long-time healing. As it says at one point, 'yet when we think of them, they are so real. We see them smiling and know how they feel where they live deep inside. Even gone, they reside in our minds...in my mind.' This song, also makes me remember a young man I met while singing who was dying of brain cancer. He listened to me and seemed to enjoy it, but had no money with paying for expensive treatments. I gave him my CD and his sister shared with me later the joy he received, and I shared with her this CD (we are still friends now and I still see her from time to time). If this song gives you joy or you are suffering, please feel free to write me. Sometimes all we need to know is that we are not alone. I included on this album 'For my Children,' as it sounds like it was written for my kids. I actually wrote it when my son graduated from high school and went into the military, actually going in before he had even turned 18. It was quite a wrench. It took me a year to sing the song afterwards. He is now out of the military but is still working and traveling, 'flying' so to speak, and I couldn't be prouder. My daughter then flew off the nest and it was not any less hard. That is why it was for both of them. They are strong and powerful beautiful people, as are all our children, and when they leave home (if we do it right they grow feathers and fledge), we worry and wish, as in the song, ' I'll help you if and when I can. But time is drawing now, you'll leave my hand. I want to wrap my arms around and hold you very near, and in this way remove my every fear.' For we do fear for them and are proud of them, from the time they first try to walk or move forward into this tough world, so this is for all of our children-our futures, our pride, our hearts, our legacy to the world. Now with the song 'Children of the Dawn,' I also wanted to share with you joy. I sought in this song to capture a moment in time that I saw one morning on they way to work-a moment that lifted my heart to the heavens. As I was driving along, the sun was just beginning to rise and these birds who had been sitting all over the ground in this field suddenly sprang into the sky and began making pictures in the sky, turning here and there. There seemed to be no meaning to this. It looked for all intents and purposes like a dance of joy, a celebration of the sunrise. This went on for awhile. Since then, I have seen this dance several times and it never fails to lift my heart and makes me wonder why we can't just free ourselves and 'dance with
