Merle Haggard’s unapologetic ode to drifter-dom is a man searching for a non-existant home is as enigmatic today as it was forty years ago. With Haggard’s usual easy-going delivery over the top of his standard country-western drumbeat and acoustic guitar, it’s easy to miss the dysfunctional pride in lyrics such as “I guess I grew up a loner, I don’t remember having any folks around, but I keep thumbing through the phonebooks and looking for my daddy’s name in every town.”
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Scratch- Kendall Payne
From the beautiful cello opening, sometimes-Christian singer Kendall Payne’s Scratch is its own thing. She tears apart this haunting portrayal of a woman tired of searching for reasons why a relationship won’t work but scared to think it might. The lyrics are perfectly wed to vocals more interested in portraying meaning than technical perfection.
Jolene- Mindy Smith
This Dolly Parton cover (also ably covered by The White Stripes) for a tribute album a few years ago got Mindy Smith signed. Although the rest of her career begins and ends with Come to Jesus (great, for the record), it’s easy to see why the execs were eager to sign her. The desperation of a woman who knows she’s over-matched and afraid she’s losing her man is classic country. But only Dolly would sing the song to the other woman instead of the man, and Smith nails the undercurrent of threat that accompanies the pleadings.Hey There Delilah- Plain White T’s
OK, yes, I bought this three months ago, but the hope and romance of this song is undeniable. The honesty in the promises rings true even as the listener knows there is no way this could ever work. “A thousand miles seems pretty far, but they’ve got plans and trains and cars…”. Yes, they do. But this song is the only reason you’re making a living with that guitar. Still, it makes me want to believe, and that’s something.
Caramel- Suzanne Vega
Forget Luca and Tom’s Diner, this sexy, haunting, timeless song of longing sung by a girl who’s tired of dreaming is Vega’s keeper. It’s not that she doesn’t know the territory, she just isn’t sure she wants to play any more. “I don’t know how I would live with myself, what I would give of myself if you don’t go.” Great.
So I downloaded the Kendall Payne song and the Mindy Smith song a long time ago and enjoy them both. Scratch was used during Season II of Grey's Anatomy. Before any guy faults me for that two words: Katherine Heigle
ReplyDeleteI like the Plain White T's song too, but the rest of the album is sub par teen angst.
Props on Merle.
ReplyDeleteOut on Caramel.
Delilah is weak. It worked the first time I heard it, but not since.