Take a step back and reflect on healing, relationship, and the open road with Bear to Witness’ “Simply Be”

Bear to Witness is all about music that brings people together. What better M.O. for a song inspired by the beauty of people and relationships.

“Simply Be” is their debut and first single off their upcoming LP, also called Simply Be. Born from their experiences on the road, the accompaniment alludes to that inspiration with swelling horns like cars passing and a bass line that chugs along like a country road. Along with the sparse guitar and unobtrusive drums, it provides a perfect space for the lyrics to shine.

The virtually unending tight rhyming couplets hide nuggets of wisdom and reflective enlightenment. “I kept asking myself, where was the real love at?” Noah Brandt cries. Bear to Witness brings the listener to this realization at the same time as they sing it.

By the time the song finally slows down, the final resolution is in sight. With only about thirty seconds before the last cadence, the titular lyrics finally appear. The line, beginning with “I’ll take a step back,” asks us to reflect on the whole journey they’ve taken us on. But the conclusion we’re driving toward? “Just simply be.” It’s healing, communal, and beautiful in its simplicity.

Stream “Simply Be” below.

Ben McCoy

Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.