Marigolds by Tina & Her Pony

In December 2020, during an already dark time, my life began to unravel to a point I couldn’t have foreseen. My wife left me suddenly, my grandmother died three days later, an important paternal figure in my life was murdered, and a dear friend died, possibly by suicide. After 4,000 nights with the love of my life I was alone and bereft of touch. I couldn’t even hug my best friend because of the pandemic.

Out of this time Marigolds grew nonetheless. It’s an album about the cyclical nature of change – of death and rebirth as initiation. After major losses, we are never the same, and we are asked by the universe to allow ourselves to die and to subsequently re-create a new version of ourselves. This album is a collection of songs that tells the stories of the ways I have personally been asked to let go.

Why “Marigolds”? They symbolize grief, jealousy, despair and mourning over lost love. They represent the strength that lives inside of a person. During this dark night of the soul, I couldn’t always see or remember my own strengths. People who loved me deeply responded with tenderness and compassion, holding the hope and vision of strength – of making it through to the other side. Each of these people, I consider marigolds –they assured me I would experience joy, happiness and the warmth of the full sun again. When I was a wandering and departed soul they shone their lights, so I could find my way back to the living. These songs are each marigolds too – bright lights held out to spirits passed so they may find me from the other side.

I offer them to your living hearts as well: offerings of hope. If you are in a dark night of the soul, I assure you the darkness is a tunnel and there is a way through. If you can’t see it, let me be your eyes. If nothing else, marigolds remind us of the fragility of life – the tenderness as well as the strength that resides within each and every one of us. Marigolds are symbolic of the resilience in our core, that allows us to weather any heartbreak, any betrayal, any storm, and also the fierce brightness and joy we can embody. We have the capacity to hold it all.

Indie Appalachian folk band Tina & Her Pony was formed in 2010 by Tina Collins. Internationally known for their tight, smooth harmonies and simple, exposed, instrumentation Tina's band has a fresh, palatable, sound that is bewitching. Their latest album, "Marigolds" (2023) is about the cyclical nature of change, of death and rebirth.

tinaandherpony.com
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