Photograph by Magdalena Wosinska.

“Nothing is out of our reach
We can be all that we dreamed when we were young.”

What a wonder it is to be in love and to be loved. A feeling so pure, it often leads us to perform great acts of devotion through poetry and song. Some of these songs name their loves directly, Amanda, Jerome. Others are allegorical, spiritual. "She's a movie you leave on / Cactus Flower Goldie Hawn". Reading through the credits of William Prince’s Stand in the Joy, it’s easy to recognize what and who inspired his new album; she’s listed as a vocalist on eight of its ten tracks.

“These aren’t the first songs I have written while in love with someone,” says William, expanding on the themes within Stand in the Joy. “These are the first songs I’ve written while loving someone. Love beyond infatuation. Love that has been tested and remains true. Love that will assist me in experiencing new planes of fulfillment, bliss and gratitude.”

“Love's a situation
Manifestation
Representation of what we like in someone
Who might go the distance.”

Whether appreciating the love by listening to the album or watching William live on stage, we can see the manifestation of this love in his smile, in his eyes, in his voice as he sings with his partner and to her. This manifestation creates a space bigger than the place containing us. It’s an elation that permeates every pore, an optimism that lifts us up along with him.

“There's a time in the spring when it's still cold but not as it was once
And I go for a stroll and say hello to every new thing coming up.”

From album opener, “When You Miss Someone”, that reminds us to love those around us while they’re still here, to album closer, “Take a Look Around” that urges us to greet the world renewed, Stand in the Joy explores the many ways there are to love and delight in that action. It doesn’t have to be romantic love; there is love in everything alive. We can feel love in all that we do. All we have to do is choose to stay in it.

“Give me my bare feet and I'll walk door to door
And stand in the joy where I've never stood before.”

How many reasons do you need to stand in the joy of life, of being loved, of being alive? William Prince gives you ten of them, each with their own unique feeling of wonder and peace of mind that awakens the soul.

THE HORIZON LINE PLAYLIST:
Listen to this week's Horizon Line playlist inspired by William Prince's Stand in the Joy.