Antony and the Johnsons
The Crying Light

Let me tell you a small great story.

During a hike in a forest full of bushes, it may happen that you spot something strange from afar, weak yet shining and vital... something that cannot help but draw our attention. So, fueled by curiosity, a friend of mine and I begin to head right there, where we saw everything. In front of that aura of mystery, more clear than dark, someone appears to us. A cherub? A mere human? Maybe we don't know, but they have a voice that comes from up above.

These are the moments when one's self-examination begins. Who are we, and where are we going, sang the Lawyer from Asti years ago. Yes, who are we, amazed in front of these golden tears falling from the robust angel called Antony Hegarty? Observing him well, his is the weeping light. But his is also ours.

His lament is also our lament. The most sensitive part of us. And after all, who doesn't have a heart?

Angel Antony manifests before us as a spark suddenly turned into benign fire ("Daylight And The Sun"). The woman standing next to me doesn't believe what she sees, her eyes turned downward, to the ground ("Her Eyes Are Underneath The Ground"), she looks at me almost hypnotized, impassive in front of it all. Her eyes seem strange, almost red, yet still full of the joy she had from the first time I met her ("Epilepsy Is Dancing"). I (in the same condition) can do nothing but hold her hands and kiss her ("Kiss My Name"), with him in front of us looking on with quite a smile.

That man is hard to describe in a few words: a nearly singer-songwriter character, with some slight electric influences ("Aeon"), who, while spreading his song, relies little on instruments like the drums...

Then, suddenly, the disappearance. That angel is no longer close to us. Only dust and water remain ("Dust And Water"). The dove has flown away ("One Dove"). But a return is not ruled out.

And I, personally, know that if I were ever to meet Antony Hegarty again in my life, I don't know why but, after exchanging a few words, I would embrace him amicably, affectionately. Because Antony, besides being one of the most interesting figures of recent years, is a bit like a brother, a friend.

After the event, we look around, and we realize that that light weeps in each of us, not just in him. But that light hasn't lost hope. Even without knowing what the future holds for us.

Yet the morning will arrive, in this dark place populated by corruptions.

And, at the same time, another world will eventually arrive ("Another World")...

My friend and I know...

"When I'm floating in the water

And your eyes are lilies all around

When I'm lying sweetly in my bed

The sun plays crystal with my eyes."

Ladies and gentlemen, "The Crying Light".