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Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Arrowroot is a plant sometimes used medicinally or as a source of starch when cultivated from the root that’s often found underground. It’s also the title of a single from Parker Smith’s upcoming sophomore album, Underground.

Smith’s baritone vocals emerge from a symphony of strings that sing within the Americana folk modus operandi. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, the folk musician possesses the skills of both a songwriter and a performer. He is here to share stories—through songs he feels they find their best home for expression.

Thoughtful imagery sheds light on a larger theme expressed throughout this song. “Stuck inside a dusty picture frame/ Buried my grandfather’s name/ Not a blemish or a wrinkle on his face/ Mired in time and space/ Arrowroot, quarter moon/ Sunshower, monsoon/ Moonbeams, kudzu/ Climbing softly back to you.”

The use of plants and their nature paint motifs of cycles, memories, and the passage of life. Perennial plants are those that are continually recurring or long-lasting much like the relationship Smith is alluding towards in this piece. Kudzu (also known as Japanese or Chinese arrowroot), for example, is a group of climbing perennial vines that’s known to be invasive in North America.

Much like the nature of this plant and the cycles of the moon seems to be the nature of this someone’s presence in Smith’s life but also the nature of life itself. A nature that involves a cycle and end to things unlike those we see preserved in the “dusty picture frame.”

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“Arrowroot” is out and will accompany many songs April 9 on Underground. Listen below.

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