One of the things I love about songwriting is that it is a never-ending journey. There is always more to learn not only about constructing songs, but also about how to convey your thoughts and feelings in this mishmash of lyrics, melody, harmony, and rhythm.

Every song has its own path, and below I share a bit about each of my new songs.

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My Heart Was Jumping 3:58

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Laconia 4:49

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Can I Ever Go Home 3:29

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A Thousand Paper Cranes 4:14

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Lost in the Night 3:41

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The Water is Wide 4:44

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The Liberties 3:53

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My Heart Was Jumping

This track bops along with a quirky playfulness. This is what emerges when a long-time touring violinist pens a song about the ups and downs of a relationship: drinking tequila out of Chinese teacups, travel and doubts, and ultimately the joy of sun coming out again. It’s a happy pop tune, complete with clever lyrics, pizzicato strings, mariachi trumpets and Chinese flutes to help get everyone’s feet and hearts jumping along.

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Laconia

On day while hiking, I came across an abandoned mental institute. This place and its history haunted me for weeks, and one day, I sat down at the piano, and this song just poured out of me. This song is first about the people who might have lived in that building, but 2^nd and more important, it is about understanding differences. It is a prayer that we might all learn to be kind.

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1000 Paper Cranes

Back in college, a friend helped me through a very dark period of my life. Later when I moved away, we lost touch. I’ve always wished I had a way to find him, to let him know how grateful I was for his support.

This song is that love letter to not only him, but all the people who touch our lives, often without knowing how deeply they mattered in that moment – and still matter.

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Can I ever Go home

I was at an artist residency in Nebraska a few years ago. I walked past an old dive bar, and watched the people inside. I desperately wanted to go in and feel like I was part of that community. However, in that moment I realized that I no longer belonged in this place I had so long thought of as “home”.

This song explores that pull of nostalgia versus the choices we make in our lives, and ultimately the ability to find “home” within ourselves.

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Lost in the Night

While on a flight over the Midwest, I was struck by the perfect squares on the ground beneath me, divided by black ice & flashes of green – geometric pieces, like a patchwork quilt.

At the same time, one of my friends was going through a break-up and seemed completely lost.

I started thinking about the pieces of our lives, the colors of emotions, and how we are defined by our relationships with both people and surroundings.

This song is a melding of those ideas. It is about finding hope within pain, of believing there can be love tomorrow even while in the darkest night.

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The Water is Wide

Tara Novak

This was one of the first songs Tara sang for an audition (when she was 5!) and it has remained one of her favorites ever since.

This is Tara's arrangement of this ancient ballad, featuring herself on fiddle & vocals, and other world-class musicians on Irish whistle, cello, and percussion.

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The Water is Wide 4:44

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The Liberties

Tara Novak

Tara wrote this set of tunes shortly after moving to Ireland in 2007. It became part of the set list when she toured with both the Three Irish Tenors & Druid. She decided to orchestrate it and release it as a single after that. (And yes, there are 28 Tara's playing violin and viola in the orchestral parts!)

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The Liberties 3:53

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In Concert

Tara Novak

Five songs recorded live in a performance with the Three Irish Tenors in San Diego, CA, in 2015. A combination of Irish, Classical, and Original music - performed by Tara (violin & vocals) and Scott Nicholas (piano), with Ciaran Nagle as a guest vocalist on "The Water is Wide". All music written or arranged by Tara except the "Czardas", a classical violin showpiece by V. Monti.

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The Liberties (Live) 3:38

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Black Is The Colour (Live) 3:59

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Ishna Reel Set: London Lasses/Joe Cooley's/Lucy Campbell's (Live) 4:14

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Czardas (Live) 5:13

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The Water is Wide, ft Ciaran Nagle (Live) 4:37

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Ciaran & Tara - Live from Boston & Ireland

Ciaran Nagle & Tara Novak

Ciaran & Tara are joined by pianists Scott Nicholas and Seamus Brett in this live recording taken from performances in Dublin Ireland and Boston MA. The songs are a mixture of Irish and Original, and all are arranged by Tara, some with Ciaran and/or Seamus.

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The Meeting of the Waters (Live) 3:32

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An Chuilfhionn - "The Coolin" (Live) 3:56

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Terrence's Farewell to Kathleen (Live) 3:11

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Phil the Fluter's Ball (Live) 3:06

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The Rocky Road to Dublin (Live) 3:49

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The Contender 4:18

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Danny Boy 4:09

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Red is the Rose 5:12

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The Green Fields of France 6:07

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