Rose Cousins on Folk Alley.

The Nova Scotian singer-songwriter appeared on Folk Alley's list of 2012's best folk music. See why in this studio performance of her honest and disarming song "What I See."

One of the great little-known albums of last year came from a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia — a seasoned and award-winning singer-songwriter who has steadily built a following here in the U.S. Rose Cousins' self-released We Have Made a Spark landed on Folk Alley's Best of 2012 list for its beautiful harmonies, creative arrangements and the sort of arresting songwriting that's sad even as it leaves listeners feeling hopeful.

Among its songs is "What I See" — a tune about closure, struggling between wanting to hold on even as you must let go, and reckoning with the expectations you have for others as they begin to follow their own path. In a moment of tentative release, she sings, "You draw me out / but I still need some shading." As always, Cousins' honest lyrics are as disarming as the music which accompanies them.

Here, she performs the song live at the Folk Alley studio.

Copyright 2013 Folk Alley. To see more, visit http://www.folkalley.com.

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