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m​.​i​.​s​.​s.

by Ragnar Ólafsson

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1.
Days are bright and tranquil on this boat called Southern Nights we might hit a snag but we we'll be alright on the Southern Nights We might head out tomorrow we might head out tonight it don't matter we've got no place to be, we just gotta be who we are who we are who we are and I am who we are Because time passes slow on this river where we flow and that's the way that we wanna go I said time passes slow on this river where we flow and that's the way that we wanna go that's the way that we wanna go Our first mate is the finest and he's anybody's mate In fact I've never found a finer mate to date and we just roll with fate Now we might hang with pirates we might walk the plank the people we meet are priceless and they're just like us and we just gotta be who we are who we are  who we are  and I am who we are Because time passes slow on this river where we flow and that's the way that we wanna go I said time passes slow on this river where we flow and that's the way that we wanna go that's the way that we wanna go That's the way I wanna go That's the way that we wanna go
2.
She was a seamstress and a dreamer and the last time that I've seen her her eyes could still gauge the way I feel I was a poet on a mission in need of female intuition to proceed she knew what I needed most and some better clothes But life has different rhyme and reason and our love became a different season and the clothes I wear remind me of her the poetry of leaving holding onto a needle and a thread
3.
Bald Eagles 02:57
Cruising four knots neath a cast over sky with keys to the locks that we pass by and by Storm creeps on in and the wind starts to rush we're scouting a place to feel safe bald eagles hover as we search for cover and look for that one single place
4.
Message 04:11
In a glare of your reflection when I felt I had to shade my eyes when I felt I could not I should have tried In my mind's eye I held your embrace and I kissed your face For a moment there I had you without a clue of what to do when you moved and you turned your head you were in my bed I'd really like to know your body and your mind maybe I could come and see you one more time in the meantime is there something I can do for you before I mess this one up too Maybe time one day will lead us to act on what we really want to do and we'll move and we'll turn together in each other's arms I'd really like to know your body and your mind maybe I could come and see you one more time I'd really like to feel your spirit deep inside while keeping this in mind your intentions are not mine in the meantime is there something I can do for you before I mess this one up too
5.
Deva 05:09
Turn a wrong corner and our lives will never be the same astray from the road and our lives take a toll but it's all part of god's great game The pains that we share are reminders we all must take care but as long as we smile at the wind in our strife we'll get there Life has a weird way of leading us down a different path the cards we get dealt by the wayside and the memories that will last The plans that we share are assuming that we'll still be here but as long as we try we'll find ways to get by somehow so keep trying and trying I feel when our bodies get broken the love we all share becomes real as long as we're healing and trusting our feelings we'll live to see another day another beautiful The things you went through can never ever be undone but in the eye of the storm there's a promise that this battle too can be won And as long as we try we'll find ways to get by somehow so keep trying and trying I feel when our bodies get broken the love we all share becomes real as long as we're healing and trusting our feelings we'll live as long as we try we'll find ways to get by and we'll live to see another day another beautiful day
6.
d with you my friend I have no fear when I'm with you It's been too long since I ran with my feelings but make no mistake I'll keep running on running into you How long will I go this time I have no fear when I'm with you There is no fear when I'm with you Here we stand I have no fear when I'm with you my dear friend on this river bank but nothing has changed How long will I go this time how long can I go I'll keep running on running into you
7.
Seamless 01:57
Bald eagles shave the jarred horizon of a sunset wet from sangria and ephemeral thoughts soaked in a determined current high purpose and dreams of Southern Nights tucked under a poet's quilt sown from rooftop chorales and serenaded by the feathered and brave pioneers of tomorrow's gold mirroring the embrace of a wild naked body idling to the beat of a river heart blindly bleeding it's way into a seamless rebirth of another endless dying day... we'll be ok
8.
Walls 02:13
On the bank of a river bed lies the gem we are searching for to complete our crown when the walls come down There's a sign on a road somewhere if we listen it'll take us there In a crowd full of people we pick out the few ones that hurt in a faraway river we distinguish the gold from the dirt and ground when the walls come down
9.
Muddy Waters 03:36
Lightning bolts imagination stamina and alcohol forest lakes and ammunition catfish chilli bowls mississippi martyrs when you're swimming in the muddy waters Ferry boats and train ride ventures undertow and balding eagles skin rash skeeter bites bloodshot boogie nights lock and load when you're swimming in the muddy waters Here goes the current lets you reunite when you let it loose the creator and his latest batch it shows you who you really are and just what you done ate so close your mouth and face the float when you're swimming in the muddy waters
10.
Paper Crane 03:20
Rain came late today wind told us we must stay and the earth told us we can not carry on this way no the fire had afterglow Bird said we must pay turtle said seize the day and the tracks in the forest told us we might still have a life truth at the end of a knife Reptiles or humanoids nuclear or asteroid and two times around the cleet can hold the world a paper crane in a puddle gathering rain but rain came late today
11.
Beckon 01:57
I'll never forget the people living here standing in the mud I learn to see things clear shedding my skin getting free from fear the river is my goddess and she's always near as far we can find it in ourselves to drift away then everything makes sense so I beckon the river beckons me In one of many lifetimes I'll be growing old shining like the children of tomorrow's gold carried on the breeze and beating in my heart bleeding through the screen and everything between a voice I've heard a million times before and always leaves me coming back for more and it's beckons the river beckons me
12.
Photograph 04:08
I saw a shadow in the fading grass it told me summer soon will have passed and we'll be embraced by cold winter at last The only thing that separates us from the light is time and our own restless mind but the twilight soon will set things right and the stars will seem to shine ever more bright Surrender give room for new life and a deeper love appears with the changing light and with It was a late summer night in Iowa I was waiting for a flight back home when I felt that I was no longer alone I caught the feeling on a photograph before the moment had passed and it filled me with peace and joy and wealth because I felt that I had finally found myself Surrender gives room for new life and a deeper love appears with the changing light and with you a deeper love appears

about

m.i.s.s. is my second solo album. I wrote the entire album in 4 weeks as I was sailing on a boat down the great Mississippi river in.

The album title, is thus a homage to the river, but the title also hints at a “missus” ( a woman ) that the poet is “missing” while sitting on the boat with a guitar in his hand and overlooking the mighty river.

Like my debut album “Urges” the new album is composed in a singer-songwriter style, but with some influences that I picked up on the river, and the listener may detect echos of country, folk and even blues.

All together, the 12 songs on “m.i.s.s” tell the story about my trip down the river, on a boat called “Southern Nights” remembering the people I met, the good times as well as the more perilous times when storms hit from out of nowhere and the boat got caught between lightning bolts, torrential rain and forceful currents and undertows.

I was deeply moved by this journey and I've solidified the memory of the river in the album you are now beholding.

/ Ragnar

credits

released October 1, 2020

Written, recorded and produced by Ragnar Ólafsson
Mixed and mastered by Axel “Flex” Árnason

Artwork & Graphic design by Hörður Ólafsson

Ragnar Ólafsson – vocals & guitars
Axel “Flex” Árnason – programming on track 12
Baldvin Freyr Þorsteinsson – electric guitar on tracks 2, 6, 8, 11 & 12
David-Ra Vedding – electric violin on tracks 3, 11 & 12
Hálfdán Árnason – bass on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9 & 12
Ida Langthjem Christensen – vocals on tracks 1, 2, 11 & 12
Kjartan Baldursson – electric guitar on tracks 1, 2, 5 & 10
Óskar Logi Ágústsson – acoustic & electric guitar track 9
Sigrún Harðardóttir – violin & viola on tracks 4 & 8
Skúli Gíslason – drums & percussion on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 & 12
Sólveig Ásgeirsdóttir – vocals on tracks 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11 & 12
Magnús Jóhann Ragnarsson – organ, rhodes, piano & synthesizers on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 & 12
Unnur Jónsdóttir – cello on tracks 4 & 8
Valur Árni Guðmundsson – acoustic guitar & ukulele on tracks 1, 2, 3 & 4
Viktor Orri Árnason – violin on track 2

This entire album was written on a boat while floating down the Mississippi river in the summer of 2017. The boat's name was Southern Nights. John Holdson, my dear friend, traveling partner and muse had just bought the boat and asked me to join him on his trip down the river. This entire album is thus dedicated to John and is a testimony to our friendship. Cheers to many more trips and more music to come!

I'm blessed with incredible musical friends who perform with me on this album. Every single one of you brought your personality to the songs and shaped the outcome. I could never have done this without you, and this is as much your album as it is mine – thank you for being a part of my life and musical journey!

I would like to extend my special thanks to Bartek Borowicz, Magdalena Barocha, Aleksandra Ola Mrozińska and Kamila Robaszyńska at Borówka Music. Thanks to you I was able to grow as a solo artist and try out the songs for this album on several tours before recording them.

A special thanks goes out to David-Ra Vedding who was instrumental in helping me choose the songs for the album and jamming them with me on stage and in the studio.

Takk, takk, takk Árstíðir, Hörður Ólafsson, Axel “Flex” Árnason, Magnús Þór Sigmundsson & Jenný Borgedóttir, Ólafur Ingólfsson, Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir, Ingólfur Ólafsson, Jón Björn Ólafsson, Magnús Brynjar Orrason, (King) Thomas Neuhierl, Gewa Music and VGS Guitars, Birgir Hilmarsson, Justyna Wilczyńska, Bartek Wilk, živa Ivadóttir, Gaui H Pic, Daniel Kellogg (Pirate Dan), Eric Hope, Ethan Stark, Rás 2, Yakyamseva Ekaterina, Isabelle Saadat, Ksenia Klishina, Marieke van Baest & Stefanie Oepen.

A big heartfelt thanks also goes out to all my dear patreons at Patreon.com/ragnarolafsson.

Last but not least I would like to thank everyone who participated in the virtual choir on Southern Nights:
Sasha Boole, Bartek Borowka, Hálfdán Árnason, Skúli Gíslason, Ólafur Ingólfsson, Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir, Valur Árni Guðmundsson, Julia Szkrobek, Irene Muñoz Vicente, Danny Holdson, Birgir Baldursson, Jack Taylor, Tonya Taylor, Jeannine Bock, Nea Dune, Carolina Althoff, Matt Probert, Judy Probert, Iwona Ilnicka, Adam Joffrain, Adam Leeks, Anna Carpendale, Anna Sedysheva, Astrid Böhmer, Caroline Verdonk, Cathy Clements, Deborah Willott, Delfina Dolińska, Cornelia Liebschner, Rick Finster, Claudia Fogliano, Frank Fogliano, Tiziana Rogo, Desislava Staykovska, Ida Langthjem Christensen, Katarína Ščerbanovská, Kerstin Nentwig, Petra Ban, Kate Elliott, Maik van Lommel, Marie Juul, Mary O’Keeffe, Natalya Latisheva, Patricia Zonneveld, Renate de Boer, Rósa Ásgeirsdóttir, Sandra Marquart, Stefanie Oepen, Mike Watson, Fos Pathuis & John Holdson – That's the way that we wanna go!

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Ragnar Ólafsson Reykjavík, Iceland

Ragnar Ólafsson is a many-sided musician from Iceland, currently releasing his second solo album m.i.s.s.

Ragnar started his solo project after a decade of composing and performing with various groups and projects

As a musician he has written and recorded over 20 studio albums with his bands, and tours regularly around the world with his main act Árstíðir, and as a session player for Sólstafir.
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