New York, NY (Top40 Charts) William J. Norman (https://williamjnorman.com/) crooned his official entrance onto the music scene with a viscerally compelling EP collection of three new songs. Although just 24-years-old, Norman has already secured a contract with CSG
Music and garnered the attention of mentors like music veterans Tonio K. and John Keller, who understand that age never really constrains talent. Throughout "The Hymn Like Rose," Norman wields a series of deeply sophisticated and resonate poetic lines matched to his rich and musky baritone, managing to be evocative of both Bob Dylan's lyrical skill and Johnny Cash's signature sound without being a pastiche of either. "The Hymn Like Rose" is currently available on Spotify.
William J. Norman's words are thoughtful and deliberate, like a pensive poet-mystic who appreciates an economy of expression. Asked about the theme for "The Hymn Like Rose," he said:
"I don't know that there is any conscious attempt at an overarching theme; however, my writing has always been an attempt to capture the beautiful. Whether that is the beauty of love, of loss, of life, of death. I look for beauty everywhere and I do my best to express it in song. My process takes a tremendous amount of thought and time. I start with a single line that appears, along with a melody that I hear in my head. After that, it's all about structure and word choice. I develop a rhyme scheme and I constantly edit my words. I'm not the type of writer who simply writes what he feels and calls it done; I'm more fastidious than that. I once took a whole week deciding between using the preposition 'of' or 'from' just based on which word would better fit the mood of the song."
…Where the wind sounds hollow, empty caskets
Paling flasks of muscatel wine
By country lakes, on the sloping banks
Love-in-idleness blows easy on the vine...
When asked about his musical goals and his passions, Norman said:
"I don't know that I could articulate it any better than saying poetry is my passion. And I don't mean simply the writing or reading of it. It's seeing the poetry in everyday life: in the mundane and in the fantastic. I view life through a poetic lens and that fuels everything I do. It's a softly electric and fey sort of way to move through reality, and it can be dangerously disappointing at times. But my singular goal with music is to bring an appreciation for the written word back to American society. Whether I am the one to do that or whether I can inspire other artists to do that remains to be seen. And I suppose it will all be the same in the end."
…Though my flesh be chained to the moonlit grave
As August rain shakes autumnal leaf
There I wait by the stonework gate
I'll come unto you from across eternities…
"William J. Norman is a poet. He also happens to be a songwriter, who combines poetry and song in a way uniquely his own. His music is soulful and his low baritone is bracing and unusual. He is a continuation of a tradition forged by
Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen; and is a true original and rarity in today's musical landscape." -John Keller, Award-winning songwriter, producer, and musician.
For a schedule of live performances and the latest news on upcoming projects, visit
William J. Norman online. Or reach out to him on Instagram: @wjnpoet.
