During 2024, Stu wrote a new song in a different place each month. The project was a study of Solitude as the homes and cottages in which he stayed were chosen for their out of the way settings.

Stu Larsen’s seventh stay of his year-long odyssey took him to Europe. More specifically, to a location in the western part of Austria.

July 2024

Schalzbach is a locality in the Vorarlberg region of Austria. Not exactly a town or village. As Stu says, it’s really only a collection of huts surrounded by mountains.

The huts are basic. The furniture formed from simple timbers shaped into useful objects. Utilitarian in character, the pieces lack any decorative carving or colourful adornment.

The lack of domestic distraction encourages a focus on the outdoors. And the outdoors are spectacular. Legendary mountains, deep valleys, green meadows. Schalzbach is a big location that asks big questions.

Being in this environment for any length of time invites introspection, and Stu’s song for July was possibly his most introspective of the year to date. The Shadow finds Stu contemplating the nature of his own being and wondering about his past-self, current-self and future-self. Are they the same person? Will he ever be able to grow beyond the mistakes of his youth?

. . . leading to my haiku written in response to the song:

a raven calls
through the cottage window
who are you?

You can find the lyrics to the song by clicking on the top line of this YouTube link and then clicking on ‘more’.