"Songs For Emily" — Bob McCarroll Brings Emily Dickinson’s
Poetry to Life Through Soulful, Original Music

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Enter a world where poetry and music converge in Songs For Emily, the groundbreaking new project from visionary composer Bob McCarroll. With deep reverence and bold creativity, McCarroll transforms the haunting, poignant poetry of Emily Dickinson into a stirring musical experience.

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Opening with the explosive energy of "I'm Nobody. Who Are You?", McCarroll fuses a vibrant R&B horn section with the quiet power of Dickinson's words — setting the tone for an album that journeys through joy, sorrow, mystery, and revelation. Every track is a thoughtful interpretation, capturing the emotional depth and complexity of Dickinson’s work while reimagining it through an original and contemporary musical lens.

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McCarroll doesn’t merely set poems to music — he explores them. Each composition delves into the texture and meaning of Dickinson’s writing, from the introspective to the otherworldly. The result is a collection of songs that are as compelling and relevant today as the poems themselves.

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Songs For Emily is more than an album — it’s a powerful dialogue between two artists across time.
​Emily wrote the words. Bob makes them sing.

 

​​Available for purchase here or on all major streaming platforms.

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Song List 

1. I'm Nobody (Who Are You?) - 02:12B - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI  |  Poem by Emily Dickinson - 1861

2. I Lost a World the Other Day - 02:47 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson 

3. ​So Bashful When I Spied Her - 02:29 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson - 1859

4. My Life Closed Twice Before its Close - 03:02 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson

5. The Skies Can't Keep Their Secret - 02:17 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson

6. On Such a Night or Such a Night - 04:28 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson

7. If I Should Die and You Should Live - 02:46 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson

8. While I Was Fearing It It Came - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson

9. To Learn the Transport by the Pain - 02:39 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson - 1860

10. My Wheel is in the Dark - 02:41 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson - 1858

11. There is a Word That Bares a Sword - 02:55 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson - 1858

12. A Bird  Came Down the Walk - 02:08 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson - 1882

13. Sleep is Supposed to Be - 02:21 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson - 1858

14. ​South Winds Justle Them - 02:07 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson - 1859

15. A Train Went Through a Burial Gate - 01:46 - Bob McCarroll ©2020 BMI |  Poem by Emily Dickinson - 

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All songs composed, arranged, and performed by Bob McCarroll - with the exception of "I'm Nobody," featuring Jerry Donato on Saxophone. A very special thank you to Evey McCarroll for her vocal contribution on "On Such a Night or Such a Night." (And....her media debut, I might add.)

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Poems / Lyrics by Emily Dickinson and used under Public Domain permissions.

Special thanks to Harvard University Press for their kindness and assistance with copyright issues regarding Emily Dickinson's poetry. 

 

Produced, recorded, mixed, mastered and graphic design by Bob McCarroll

 

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A Little Background on This Project:

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I had an amazing English professor in college who's all time favorite poet was Emily Dickinson - and of course, wanted all her students to love her too. While, at the time, I didn't have a true appreciation for the talents of Emily Dickinson's work, for some reason the professor and Emily Dickinson stuck with me over the decades.  

 

Last year, after finishing up on my previous music project, "Outside the Music Box," I decided I wanted to do something different, and as writing lyrics is not really my favorite thing to do, I decided to incorporate the poems of Emily Dickenson as the written word. 

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Each poem was kind of haphazardly chosen: I'd read through her poems and if it struck me as interesting - and might be a good candidate for a song -  then I'd start composing music for it.  It was so important to me, though, that I carefully compose a melody and "feel" for each song that stayed true to the personality and sensitivity of each poem.

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If you listen to "Songs for Emily," you'll find that many of the songs tend to have a "sad" feel to them - I guess that's kind of how I felt about a lot of her work and how I would musically interpret them. It was my goal, no matter the poem, to give them a melody and arrangement that worked to compliment her writings. 

 

Emily Dickinson offers us a very sensitive and uniquely insightful view of nature and mortality - and I'm so grateful that she shared her unique insights with us.

 

"Songs for Emily" is the compilation of over a years work, and while I actually wrote several additional  songs for the project, there were a few songs that I couldn't quite get the musical results I hoped for and so chose not to include them...perhaps in a future project? There were also 4 poems that I composed music for and finished completely, however, due to copyright issues, I was unable to include them in this project - they were: 1. I Would Not Paint a Picture 2. A Darting Fear 3. The Court is Far Away 4. Did We Disobey Him

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About the Cover Artwork:

Using a public domain image of Emily Dickinson, I created a split image effect, with Emily's face on the right side and portions of mine on the left; signifying the split in creative contributions to this poetic/musical project.

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Most of all, I hope in listening to the music I composed for this project that you too might garner an appreciation for Emily Dickinson's poetic work - she really was a wonderful talent.

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Sincerely, Bob McCarroll.

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