Transcript
(SOUNDBITE OF OLLELLA SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
ELLIE BARBOR: My name is Ellie Barbor. I am an indie-folk cellist and vocalist based in Seattle that performs under the moniker Ollella.
(SOUNDBITE OF OLLELLA SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Ollella has been a finalist twice for NPR's Tiny Desk contest - this year for her song "Tea Kettle Tea."
BARBOR: The song "Tea Kettle Tea" is about my aunt. She passed of cancer when I was 11. She was a second mother figure to me, basically. She was my first music teacher.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
OLLELLA: (Singing) I remember when we would draw orca whales all over your walls. We would race up and down the halls.
BARBOR: My aunt was a very creative person. She had this wall in her house that she designated for my sister and I to paint on. My memories of her are often in her house, doing art projects, singing opera at full volume. The name "Tea Kettle Tea" comes from a ritual that we had, kind of, in these moments of quiet.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
OLLELLA: (Singing) On cloudy days, you bought us tea, milk and honey with chamomile.
BARBOR: She would serve us in these really adorable china. At that time, it was the fanciest thing I had ever touched (laughter). She called it tea kettle tea, 'cause it was in a special tea kettle with special tea cups.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
OLLELLA: (Singing) Because of you, I write my songs. You knew I had it in me all along.
BARBOR: Writing the song, it was a process of going back through my head and grieving, essentially, her loss. The lyrics are exactly what I remember. They're vignettes of life being very creative and joyful in her house, and then there are these moments that I remember of the two-year period of her death.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
OLLELLA: (Singing) At some point those memories moved on to the hospital. At first just some, then it was all, sterilized with alcohol. We went for walks slowly in the leaves.
BARBOR: She was incredibly smart. She was a surgeon. She was a hand surgeon, and she restored musicians' ability to play by doing surgery on their hands. And I remember noticing as the cancer progressed, she started to kind of go on these interesting mental diatribes, or her mind would wander in ways that I wasn't used to, and I think that was really stark as a young girl.
(SOUNDBITE OF OLLELLA SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
BARBOR: I think that the instrumental components of the song are almost as impactful as the lyrics. There is a cello. The cello's my main instrument. I was raised playing it. I started when I was 9. And then we have an upright bass, a violin and pretty minimal percussion.
(SOUNDBITE OF OLLELLA SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
BARBOR: At least when I play it, the mood is catharsis and nostalgia.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
OLLELLA: (Singing) At that time, I thought this just was the way it is with the people you love. They'd come around, you'd do fun stuff, then they'd fly off on the wings of a dove.
BARBOR: I hope that this song helps people grieve in their own ways.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
OLLELLA: (Singing) I still make tea kettle tea.
BARBOR: I think that's what's cool about this, is that I have learned how relatable this experience is. It's made me realize that people are grieving all the time.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
OLLELLA: (Singing) It was your love that set me free.
BARBOR: So often, I've played the song and somebody will come up to me afterwards with tears in their eyes, and it feels kind of like a gift, to be able to share such an intimate moment with a stranger because of a piece of music.
(SOUNDBITE OF OLLELLA SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA")
SIMON: Tiny Desk Contest standout Ellie Barbor, who performs as Ollella. And you can see the video of her song "Tea Kettle Tea" on our website, tinydeskcontest.npr.org, and, of course, hear it on her album, "Back Back Back."
(SOUNDBITE OF OLLELLA SONG, "TEA KETTLE TEA") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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