Said Sara’s David Benson catches glimpses of old friends in his new indie-folk single and lyric video Then There You Are — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The San Francisco singer-songwriter, who describes the song as “emphatic but affectionate,” says the single pays tribute to those who have passed on but still “might be monitoring you.” You might not see them visually, but could they be present and “listening in” whether “showing themselves in nature or in the air?” For Benson’s Said Sara, the contemplative track acknowledges the departed’s presence through these signs.
The song — recorded at The Guest Room and Yosemite Studios in San Francisco and mastered by Jesse Nichols at Oakland’s Atomic Garden West — was created entirely by Benson. Although his vocals and an acoustic guitar are the primary instruments heard, piano, bodhran and electronics flesh out Then There You Are to near perfection.
Haunting and saturated with vivid imagery, the song recalls the likes of Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins and Live’s Ed Kowalczyk with an earnest, forceful delivery and passionate intensity. Gentle yet powerful, the song invites the listener in with lovely folk guitar work by the dynamic performer.
The genre-defying song, which follows the release of 2023’s Same, had a few notable inspirations. Benson describes Then There You Are as “a nagging, psychic melodic concept” fueled by three fragmented aural ideas. One was “the tonic jangle of a guitar turnaround from John Mellencamp’s Hand To Hold On To.” The second was “the resonant sound of a certain click track — a mix of cowbell and woodblock, though as played through a guitar chord.” The third spark of inspiration derived from “the conclusion of a refrain from the ’80s Toys ‘R Us Kid jingle.”
With these three distinct sounds in his head, Benson got down to work. “Once that three-second, three-chord solution was written, the rest of the song marched in line,” he says. With the arrangement formed, the lyrics were written in roughly a month. The musician says “the astral theme took shape as if guided by the Milky Way itself” as Mercury and Ganymede are referenced in the lyrics. As a matter of fact, Benson says, “the stars and the shadows they create” should receive ghostwriting credits on Then There You Are.
Benson wears many hats. He’s a drummer for death metal outfit Acephalix when he’s not a special education teacher at a high school in San Francisco. As Said Sara, he performed in Paris, London and Amsterdam in 2023.
Watch the lyric video for Then There You Are above, hear more from Said Sara below, and find him on his website, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
