Tim's second single 'BEAR' from the upcoming new record "Cup of Sugar" release date 06/16/2023

Get it here >> Buy or stream “Bear”

Bear, the second single from Grammy award winner Tim O’Brien’s uncoming release Cup of Sugar, drops May 12th. Another uptempo springtime release from the Americana favorite, Bear follows last month’s debut single Little Lamb Little Lamb. Backing from Paul Burch/drums, Dennis Crouch/bass, and Richie Stearns/banjo compliments O’Brien’s guitar and lead vocal, with background vocals by Jan Fabricius and O’Brien. The track was recorded by Sean Sullivan at Mark Howard’s Tractor Shed on December 16, 2022.

O’Brien describes the writing process: “The songs for Cup of Sugar started with Bear. It was December of 2021, and the news was all about Russia and would Putin invade Ukraine. I had just read a book on the history of dancing bears. White Nationalism was a prominent topic, the flip side being Black Lives Matter. Trump had lost the election but was ramping up his spoiled brat act. I could imagine the gripes Putin, Trump and the White Nationalists had, even if I didn’t agree. I’d also reread some of a favorite book by Rafi Zabor: “The Bear Goes Home”. In the plot this guy in NYC wins a dancing bear in a card game, and after he gets busted trying to busk with it, he leaves the bear in his flat during work. One day he comes home and the bear’s talking and playing clarinet. The bear becomes a jazz sensation but he’s also the ultimate outsider. So I was thinking about all that. I think the bear represents anyone or any social group that feels their world has changed too much while they weren’t looking. The bear comes out of his cave in spring and all the trees are cut down. He’s just pissed off. “I’m a bear” he cries, “but damn it, I’m more than that”. I can identify with the bear because I’m old. I don’t relate to a lot of new stuff and while I do fairly well in spite of all the changes, sometimes I’ll swear at them.

LYRICS

Bear ©2022 Tim O’Brien / No Bad Ham Music / admin by Bluewater / ASCAP
Chorus:
I’m a bear he cried, but I’m more than that
There’s something you need to remember
I’m an integral community member, I’m neither tame nor feral
You ignore me at your peril, I’m a bear

Bear looked behind him and side to side
Saw a tree he could climb if he needed to hide
He’d been asleep all winter, of course he knew he stank
But he could smell that smoke a-coming from across the far creek bank
Chorus
Wood chips and stumps where the trees had been
Piles of rocks and logs so they’re building again
He growled “this world’s gone crazy, trying to close me in
I need more room to move” and then he reared back and roared again
Chorus
You won’t see me at the village fair
Ring in my nose, dancing round in the square
I’d rather drink muddy water, sleep in a hollow log
Than to have you try to train me, like some jumpin’ circus dog
Chorus
Heard gunshots out on the eastern plain
He turned west to the mountain and the driving rain
He said “someday I’ll fight ‘em, with my back turned to the wall
Until that day I’ll keep on walkin, keep on walking tall”
Chorus