The thought of it makes you feel hollow—there is one honeybee left. Not simply the last of an exterminated hive, but the last honeybee of eternity. Humble and oblivious, the bee is on a futile mission to pollinate vegetation and returns to an empty hive where honeycombs are vacant and rot like miniature condemned apartment complexes.
Timothy and Kathy Dick of the folk band Auld Lang Syne capture that sorrow with “The Last of the Honeybees,” the opening track on their 2015 album of the same name. They repeat in vapory harmony: “It’s the last of the honeybees.” It plays like the sweet refrain of a funeral hymn, culminating with Timothy’s falsetto as the narrative shifts to a human plight.
The Dicks’ lyrics lament: “Where are the songs/ the stories/ the old families/ the lifeblood that holds our humanity?”
The Dicks are the constant members of a cast of rotating players that make up the outfit Auld Lang Syne. They were backed by a band of banjo, fiddle, harmonica and upright bass players on their 2009 release, Midnight Folly. As multi-instrumentalists, the Dicks primarily worked as a duo to record The Last of the Honeybees, but achieved the same richness of sound of a larger band. They are currently touring as a pair with Timothy on acoustic guitar and Kathy on accordion.
Based in Rochester, New York, the Dicks have spent the last few years traveling the country and volunteering at organic farms with their young children.
The Dicks were inspired by the theme of sustainability when writing The Last of the Honeybees and conceptualized it as something that transcends its literal, environmental definition. Kathy Dick describes the album as “the brightest” of their albums thematically, and one that highlights “healing transformation” despite melancholy moments.
They are also inspired by the timelessness of classic movies – films starring Greta Garbo in particular.
The ballad “Ghost of Garbo” pays homage to the actress and, to a larger extent, victory over time.
“You triumphed over time/ time has triumphed over you/ I just live in your time/ it’s all it asks of you/ … the ghost of Garbo is in your eyes.”
AULD LANG SYNE. 7:30-9:30pm Sat., Feb, 6. East Village Coffee Lounge, 498 Washington St., Monterey. No cover. 373-5601,www.eastvillagecoffeelounge.com
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