Songs We Love: Damien Rice, 'It Takes A Lot To Know A Man'

Enlarge this image toggle caption Lilja Birgisdottir/Courtesy of the artist Lilja Birgisdottir/Courtesy of the artist

Damien Rice wears his heart on his sleeve. His new album, My Favourite Faded Fantasy, is rife with vulnerability and reflections on universal themes — never more effectively than in "It Takes A Lot To Know A Man."

Beginning with a simple piano melody and lines about the human condition, the song swells with intensity, driven by percussion and surging strings before unraveling into a bundle of misgivings. "What are you so afraid to lose," he sings as we're left in virtual silence, with only the light patter of rain to accompany him. The piano melody quietly returns, strings rejoin and the composition churns again, full of emotion and roiling like a stormy sea.

As the album's title suggests, there's much to pine over here. At nearly 10 minutes, "It Takes A Lot To Know A Man" is a gutsy, widescreen meditation on life and love, supported by an unconventional arrangement that adds real drama.