Need a little catharsis? All the Queen’s Horses’ “Jocelyn” has it all: comedy, pathos, optimism, and tragedy. It’s a lot to pack into 4 minutes, and All the Queen’s Horses (aka Sean Murphy) does it with aplomb. There’s a reason the song impressed Coldplay, Tom Waits, Fleet Foxes, Keane, and Dua Lipa at the International Songwriting Competition. While I have a few quibbles about the New York geography Murphy cites in the song (yes, they’re all close to each other on a map but Brooklyn and Long Island aren’t the same thing!) Nevertheless, this is some truly impressive storytelling and you MUST listen to this song.
Originally from Cork, Ireland, living in Dublin, and having spent the last 12 months in London, Sean Murphy has seen this last disastrous year through the lens of an artist. Working under the moniker ‘All The Queen’s Horses’, Murphy has crafted a raw, guttural and emotive response to what he has observed as a darkness bleeding across the land and in to all of our lives. A twisted narrative is weaved in folktronica; a patchwork of poetry, cello, synths and mournful pianos. A kind of warped, contemporary tapestry, the story of 2020 unfolds in low light and fun-house mirrors.
“This song won at the International Songwriting Competition 2020 (just announced) (judges Coldplay // Tom Waits // Fleet Foxes // Keane // Dua Lipa) (previous winners Kimbra // Ilenium // Vance Joy // Gotye // Lupe Fiasco // Bastille),” Murphy writes. “You hear about those who emigrated to the States from Ireland in history who did well. In stark contrast there were also a cohort of emigrants who absolutely did not do well though and they are not as known. The song is about an Irish girl who moved to New York in the 60’s when the city was coming alive economically and culturally post the war. She worked, sang and was loved and thrived but in other ways she didn’t thrive and all was not well with her but it was hidden. She also left her family behind in Ireland and at the end… there was a fairly heart breaking ending.”
All the Queen Horses — Official, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify