"5000 Candles" is the story of unexpected love for people, place, and industry. A tribute to the North Dakota oilfields, it humanizes a part of American life that's typically kept behind a curtain.
lyrics
There’s a lot people running their mouth
That don’t stay the night, never come through town.
And some other people running about
That don’t take the time to suss you out.
Still some of us, every night,
We make a toast to you, like “Isn’t it nice
That somebody had the presence of mind
To speak over you, ‘Let there be light’?”
I know it doesn’t make me one of a kind
That I came to you at an opportune time,
And it doesn’t mean I'm one of the guys,
But I'm grateful you came & opened my eyes.
Still, none of us, up in the play,
We don’t think enough of the beauty we make.
It’s all work here, every day,
But when the lights go out, it’s then that I say:
CHORUS
Sight to behold—
Nothing you could do would make me go!
We’ll let the world judge what they don’t know.
Giving me a heartbeat,
Making me never wanna leave.
We’ll let the world judge, ‘cause they don’t see…
5000 candles,
5000 candles burning bright,
All the light you could handle,
5000 candles here at night.
They keep telling me it’s only a phase
And that soon enough, I’ll see that I’m craz-
-y for loving you the way that I do,
Because who could love somebody like you?
They say you’re too, too, too damn small,
And I won’t pretend it don’t matter at all,
But no matter what the trouble ahead,
I still won’t regret this time that I spent.
CHORUS
I wanna know who did that;
Show me the match that lit that sky.
Look at all those candles,
Ode to the light that caught my eye.
Never could forget that—
Stealing my breath & I don’t mind—
5000 candles,
5000 candles here at night.
credits
from 5000 Candles (Single),
released March 22, 2022
Written by Alma Cook. Produced by Chris Thigpen of Thigpen Productions & Entertainment (Los Angeles, CA). Horn arrangement by Chris Thigpen, Matt Von Roderick, Sam Fullerton, & JP Floyd.
All vocals arranged & performed by Alma Cook. Musical performances by Chris Thigpen (bass), Juan Ariza (guitar), Alec Lehrman (guitar), Alma Cook (baritone ukulele), Nikko Ielasi (keys), Brandon Combs (drums), Matt Von Roderick (trumpet), Sam Fullerton (sax), & JP Floyd (trombone).
Mixed by Claire Morison of Wild Horizon Sound (Los Angeles, CA). Mastered by Karibu Mastering (Ala di Stura, Italy). Photo by Joan Sammon. Album art by Alma Cook.