Shaking things up and radically diverging from one’s comfort zone requires a steely resolve and a ton of courage, and folk/roots artist Sharron Katz captures that situation’s fear, exhilaration, and grit in her single “Leaving Eden” – available now. It’s inspired by the Biblical tale of Adam and Eve, which Katz began to interpret anew after a seismic life change.
“This song is dedicated to anyone with the courage to travel off the beaten path,” Katz says. “I love the story of Adam and Eve. I see it in a new light and offer up an alternate story.”
“Leaving Eden” is a clean acoustic-and-piano affair with Katz’s clear dulcet tones floating on top. An almost Pearl Jam-inspired intro starts the song with a classic array of piano and heavily strummed guitar before the bass and drums arrive to roll the song along. And then Katz introduces us to a different Eve from the one that has traditionally been painted as the temptress who led Adam astray:
Now some say that Eve never had a choice
But I think that Eve simply found her voice
The apple so tasty – the apple so moist
If an apple meant freedom – she would rejoice
Katz goes on to indirectly ask this question throughout: What human would not want to eat from the tree of knowledge?
The song was inspired by Katz’s move as a divorced woman to Stratford, Ontario from Toronto back in 2015. “I did not know a soul. In fact I had seen Facebook ads for homes going for $200K, which was mind boggling for me,” she recalls. “So off to the Stratty I moved! Oh man, it was scary and to this day I’m still unsure of how I did it.”
But it worked out beautifully. “Seven years later and my life has changed off the charts for better,” she reports, happily. “I met my second hubby, and I have an incredible home, friends, and life.”
This turn for the better made her philosophical about the way life works. “Our purpose in this life is to grow – and this is not something we even have to work at,” she observes. “Life will give us experiences – positive and negative – and we, as the ‘artists,’ will choose how to colour the landscape of our time here on earth.”
“So kudos to Eve, and kudos to Adam in supporting her quest for knowledge,” she adds. “And kudos to us all as we continue our own quest to create our best life.”
The track features a plethora of musical talent, including Tim Smythe on electric guitar, Paul DeLong on drums, Don Baird on keys, and Robbie Patterson taking up bass duty. Katz plays acoustic and takes the full lead on vocals. Her husband Mike McCullough took charge of engineering, with the song produced and mixed by the wife-and-husband duo.
Sharron Katz is a masterful storyteller whose latest album Portrait weaves together stories of love in its darkest depths and brightest light. Her emotive songs portray a transcendence of the heart. Katz is much like Alanis Morissette, fearless in her sharing of human pain and redemption in matters of love. While her topics may sometimes be deep, her melodies are playful and unique, filled with resonant harmonies and beats.
