Vellichor is a 2021 indie pop EP by songwriter, producer, and composer Patrick Boey. It has 5 songs, each of which draws literary inspiration from well known books or authors.
Enchanted by the dewdrops
on the page
Shall I compare thee
To all lovely days?
— Vellichor, an EP by Patrick Boey
Vellichor — Lyrics
huckleberry friend (into the wild)
Out in the wild
Vast rolling hills
When the time has passed to run back home
And if the sky
Fell to the fields
Would you find company
And run out and roam
Run, run, run
Follow me
Into a land inside our minds
Outside our doors
Where all of the chaos lines up
Surely as the scores of flower fields
Out in the wild
Where angels have smiled
On the world
Into the wild
Oh, buddy, let’s escape
And do it with style
I’ll cut the red tape
I know there’s somewhere
The only question is: where?
I met you
In that crazy February
Huckleberry Friend
And it’s true
You’re the very centre of
Adventures I have penned
So where to next?
Out in the wild
Chasing a smile
Into the wild
Oh, baby, let’s escape
Into the wild
Into the wild
Into the wild
shall i compare thee?
She only read the first page of that book
Of Paris, London
Spared them just one look
Then swiftly opened her anthology
Through sun, through rain
Forever she’s between
The stanzas, whispering rhymes so serene
She reads under the moon
From dusk ’til dawn
Those lines in rows
They grow in her
She’s gone
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May
Sometime too hot
The eye of heaven shines
And every fair from fair sometimes declines
So long as men can breathe
Or eyes can see
So long gives this
And this gives life
To thee
Her favourite sonnet leaves her
In a dream
The kiss of darkling light
Leaves her agleam
Enchanted by the dewdrops on the page
Shall I compare thee
To all lovely days?
ardently, jane
I loved it when you wrote
That if I loved you less
I might be able to talk about it more
I loved it when you wrote that
And all the times I know
There’s something more to be said
More to be felt, but
You’ve already thought of that
You know, you were onto something, Jane
How you weave your words
I just wanna say
Jane
You make me feel like nothing has changed
Holding you close in that tender way
You whisper lovely words into my brain
And now I’m singing ardently
Jane
Jane
Please don’t ever change
You talk to me late at night
Those words persuade me
You’ve conveyed my deepest hopes
Did you know?
And every place, every sight
If you’re in Bath and I’m in Lyme
I know
You’ll take me right back home
So would you write to me when I’m away?
And sign the letter: Ardently, Jane?
Jane
You make me feel like nothing has changed
Holding you close in that tender way
You whisper lovely words into my brain
And now I’m singing ardently
Jane
Jane
Please don’t ever change
Please don’t change
Please don’t change
Please don’t change
Ardently, Jane
Ardently, Jane
Ardently, Jane
Ardently, Jane
Jane
You make me feel like nothing has changed
Holding you close in that tender way
You whisper lovely words into my brain
And now I’m singing ardently
Jane
sesquipedalian
She’s in love with her armchair
Winged and crimson, sunshine on her back
While she reads every book in the world
And her paraphernalia
Scattered ’round her dwelling like a nest
‘Cause she’s a peculiar girl
Her words have power
At a million miles per hour
While she’s talking now
I know that you’re smart, my dear
Don’t need to impress your peers
But I love it when you play with those words
So eloquent, loquacious
You’re the smartest girl here
When she talks, I know I could hear anything
Her words, like roses from a summer spring
Boost my serotonin, she’s her own show-woman
Feeding me those sweet, sweet pieces of her heart
That give me vaulting ambition, severe malnutrition
Delectable dishes on a picnic blanket
She’s a monument to the literary art
I apologise for my vocabulary
Someone call the constabulary
I just wanna capture your coyish grin
You’re a sesquipedalian
I wanna meet with my private librarian
And I can be your misbehavin’ boy
Her words have power
At a million miles per hour
Hey now, you’re the new Shakespeare
You’ve biting wit, but you’re so sincere
And I love it when you play with those words
Your verbiage is supercharged
It’s all I wanna hear
All I wanna hear, all I wanna hear
All I wanna hear, all I wanna hear
All I wanna hear, all I wanna hear
All I wanna hear, all I wanna hear
I know that you’re smart, my dear
Don’t need to impress your peers
But I love it when you play with those words
So eloquent, loquacious
You’re the smartest girl here
Hey now, you’re the new Shakespeare
You’ve biting wit, but you’re so sincere
And I love it when you play with those words
Your verbiage is supercharged
It’s all I wanna hear
You’re the smartest girl here
You’re the smartest girl here
And you’re all I want to hear
You’re the smartest girl here
fantasy fever dream
Oh, isn’t that a beautiful view?
Oh, that I can share it with you
Oh, it’s a shame that these moments are few
But I’m glad I get to spend them with you
Oh, oh-oh-oh
La-di-da-da-da
There’s no place like home
Did you leave the castle last night
And where did you go?
I went a-walkin’ through a valley of magical snow
Did you find the artefact
That’ll show us what’s in store?
Did you fight for your Queendom
In the valiant war?
Oh, oh-oh-oh
La-di-da-da-da
Oh, living in this beautiful world
Loving every second of the tale
Oh, I don’t want to say goodbye to this world
In the final chapter, we’ve prevailed
A smiling moon shines bright across from the sun
On a winged lion, adventuring we go
Casting spells to solve impossible crimes
And find the elves and dragons
And invite them to our show
Did you find the talking trees we wanted to see?
Let’s never back out through that cupboard
That’s agreed
Crossing over through worlds where we belong
From Fillory to Narnia
To Middle-Earth and now Sylarea
Oh, we’re part of these magical stories
It’s glorious
Oh, these are tales that we’ll cherish forever
We’ll remember
And when the magic’s gone
And the battle’s all but won
We can do whatever you’d like
Just hold me, and tell me
You/I don’t mind
After all, we’ve our own power
And the hour is late and we should be asleep
One final sight of those
Magic worlds of yore
That we’ll love forever more
Into sleep, now
Dreams, now, believe now
In fantasy, a make-believe reality
Beautiful Dreamer
Wake unto me
Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee
Sounds of the rude world
Heard in the day
Lull’d by the moonlight, have all passed away
Beautiful Dreamer
Queen of my song
List while I woo thee
With soft melody
Close the book, and now we’re back in our world
It’s not the same, but still, I’m here with you
Oh, from fantasy to cold, hard reality
What will always be with me is you
You’re better than any beautiful view
They could not compare at all to you
Oh, everything that we see, know and do
I’m glad I get to share it all with you
What is Vellichor About, Anyway?
According to the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig, vellichor is thus defined:
The strange wistfulness of used bookstores, which are somehow infused with the passage of time—filled with thousands of old books you’ll never have time to read, each of which is itself locked in its own era, bound and dated and papered over like an old room the author abandoned years ago, a hidden annex littered with thoughts left just as they were on the day they were captured.
John Koenig, the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
In my EP, titled Vellichor, I wanted to evoke this bizarrely beautiful wistfulness by painting a very different story in every song, each of which refers to a particular literary world or title.
For example, ‘Huckleberry Friend’ is obviously a reference to the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
Likewise, ‘Shall I Compare Thee?’ is an alt-pop take on the famous Shakespeare sonnet, including lines from the poem as well as an original storyline by myself.
‘Ardently, Jane’, is a song written directly to Jane Austen, speaking to the comfort that her writing provides us and the values that her novels offer us even now.
‘Sesquipedalian’ is a much less literary song that was written and produced purely for fun, though it does refer to the good old bard, William Shakespeare.
‘Fantasy Fever Dream’ is a lengthy, complicated ode to all the fantasy books you’ve read and wanted to disappear into, like the Narnia series, Lord of the Rings, the Magicians…
Full of bizarre literary references and allusions, Vellichor is what i would like to call ‘literary pop’, or, failing that, ‘musical literature’.
Or, no, it’s not that at all — oh, what am I trying to say? I wrote a whole thesis on this topic, after all… I suppose the essence, or lesson, of vellichor, is that we need not stay confined to one artistic medium. If we love art, we love art, plain and simple.
That’s all. Please enjoy.
What Does Vellichor Sound Like?
In my Vellichor EP, each song is as wildly different as the other. From vocoder-powered funk rock to soft pop and over to synth-pop and a multi-part musical theatre-inspired medley. It was a joy to experiment with different sounds that complemented (or didn’t complement) the lyrics and story I was trying to tell, and seeing what happened.
Unlike my other EP, Tales of the Mosaic, and many of the songs on Future’s End, all the songs on Vellichor were composed, recorded, and produced in my bedroom during one of the many Covid-19 lockdowns. As such, many instruments, besides vocals and guitars, are synthesised or sampled. While a challenge from a production standpoint, it was certainly an enjoyable and beneficial one for my musical journey.
If you enjoy this EP, do feel free to check out my other musical works such as tales of the mosaic and future’s end, and follow my artist profile on Spotify and other platforms. You can also subscribe to my newsletter to stay up to date with other creative works of mine such as short stories, poetry, and art.
Great job on this article! The author’s perspective was quite refreshing. I found myself thinking about it long after reading. What did you all find most compelling?