Ben Sures is a storyteller. On his poignant, natural-sounding acoustic tenth album, The Story That Lived Here, the Edmonton-based songwriter, guitarist and author sings stories told to him by friends and fans and songs written by his own heart – including “End Of The World.”

This track is an earnest folk song, buoyed by gentle mandolin and strings, which captures Sures’ acceptance of the new reality which we experienced at the onset of the pandemic.

Sures combines lighthearted nihilism with bemused empathy and a self-awareness that brings hope and comfort.

Ben Sures shares:

“When things started to shut down and everyone was washing their groceries spring before last and things felt very uncertain, I was hovering between the hell and the humour of it. 

I started to consider what was important to me and if there was anything I really wanted if this was the end of the world – ooh I thought, a cinnamon bun would be nice and with a plague looming who’s thinking about calories?.

So began the writing of my new single, “End Of The World,” which charts the initial reaction of panic through to an acceptance of the new reality we have been experiencing throughout the last couple years.

This song is taken from The Story That Lived Here, a collection of stories collected from conversations with friends and strangers, as well as from my own heart and imagination..

I have tried to tap into those things we feel but don’t get off our chest, so by the concluding lines of “End Of The World,” I decide to ‘spill the beans’.

Enjoy this bit of lighthearted nihilism.”