Phosphorescent is the musical project of American singer-songwriter Matthew Houck, based in Huntsville. He started his career in 2001 in Athens, betting on a sound that drank influences of folk, Americana, and even alternative country.
For more than two decades, Phosphorescent has released some critically acclaimed and highly acclaimed albums, including Pride (2007), Muchacho (2013) and C’est La Vie (2018). Most recently, in 2024, Houck presented Revelator, the eighth studio album and the first under the Verve Records label.
“Song for Zula” is the music that stands out in this catalog. Let’s know more about it below in this article.
The Depth and Emotion in“Song for Zula”
The 2013 Muchacho album by Phosphorescent features “Song for Zula” as its most emotionally resonant track. Matthew Houck’s song explores the enduring impact left by love, which transforms into wounds after its first thrilling phase diminishes.
Over a deep bassline and sharp drum sounds his vocals soar while the synths and guitar strings work together to provide a solid foundation for the song.
The name “Zula” evokes a place of introspection and transformation, where illusions and realities are confronted. Interestingly, this idea of excitement and surprise can be found in another Zula, the online casino daily bonus, where each round brings new possibilities and unexpected twists.
What is the Meaning of “Song for Zula”?
Like many of Houck’s songs, “Zula” is an ode to lessons learned in the wake of a love that leaves scars behind after the flames have faded. As in the video that accompanied the single, and which you can see below, he leaves aside a literal illustration of the heartbroken story of the song for something more allegorical.
Houck started writing the songs for his new album, Muchacho, on a beach in Mexico. He says the lyrics to “Zula” came out so quickly that he didn’t even realize he had included a reference to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.”
About the writing process, Houck noted, “My life, to be honest, sort of fell apart. And in the process of getting it back together, these songs came. I couldn’t ignore them.“
Song Lyrics:
Some say love is a burning thing
That it makes a fiery ring
Oh but I know love as a fading thing
Just as fickle as a feather in a stream
See, honey, I saw love,
You see it came to me
It puts its face up to my face so I could see
Yeah then I saw love disfigure me
Into something I am not recognizing
See the cage, it called. I said, come on in
I will not open myself up this way again
Nor lay my face to the soil, nor my teeth to the sand
I will not lay like this for days now upon end
You will not see me fall, nor see me struggle to stand
To be acknowledged by some touch from his gnarled hands
You see the cage it called. I said, come on in
I will not open myself this way again.
You see the moon is bright in that treetop night
I see the shadows that we cast in the cold clean light
I might fear I go and my heart is white
And we race right out on the desert plains all night
So honey I am now, some broken thing
I do not lay in the dark waiting for day here
Now my heart is gold, my feet are right
And I’m racing out on the desert plains all night
So some say love is a burning thing
That it makes a fiery ring
All that I know love as a caging thing
Just a killer come to call from some awful dream
And all you folks, you come to see
You just to stand there in the glass looking at me
But my heart is wild, and my bones are steel
And I could kill you with my bare hands if I was free
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Matthew Houck
Song for Zula lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc
“Song for Zula” Official Video
Djuna Wahlrab, who co-directed the video with Houck, explains that the video’s extended tracking shot reflects the tension between the song’s aesthetic beauty and its hurtful lyrics.
She explains, “I felt the challenge was to create something that had a foundation of beauty that would reflect the song’s kind of gentle emotion, but then find a device that could pull you from that space almost abusively.“
