Music Musings

Although I seem to have pretty much lost nine year-old Miss M to the slickly seductive world of Star 102.1 pop music (curse you, Hannah Montana, I would call you a bunch of names, but my elderly mother reads this blog), Boy Wonder at seven remains open to the more authentic, tuneful rock-folk-country-Americana music that I love. His favorite song for years now has been I'll Fly Away, although Gillian Welch's I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll and Red Clay Halo are close seconds. Although it had been a while, last night we sang Emmylou Harris's Guitar Town, Trapeze by Patti Griffin, then Virginia Way by Scott Miller. Boy Wonder had lots of questions about the lyrics--where do you get courage? But WHERE is it inside you? Where's Guitar Town? A thousand miles is farther away than Billings, isn't it?

Every time I start thinking Boy Wonder is completely lost in a white noise world of his own making, he startles me by being acutely present. And he really seems to like music. He's even visiting a local music shop today on a camp field trip; I'm hopeful it will inspire interest in a ukulele I gave him for Christmas last year.

As for singing, I remember my own mother singing Mighty Like a Rose to me as a child (she changed the opening lyrics from "sweetest little fellow" to "sweetest little flower"). I sang Mighty Like a Rose to my children, too, but also the entire soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou, with some June Carter Cash, Alison Krauss, and Robinella thrown in. I hope my children will sing some of those songs to their children.

My friend, Barbara, a compulsive purchaser of good music, loaned me some new music yesterday. So, in the coming days, I'll be listening to new work by Patty Loveless, Lyle Lovett, Bruce Springsteen, Red Stick Ramblers, Jakob Dylan, and Robinella. Oh, and of course, Count This Penny's, I'm Gone, plus another beautiful song AppyLove sent me last night. It's good to have friends that help you navigate a musical course. Miss M will likely be appreciative as well, not so much because she loves the music, but because she can't stand my current compulsive re-playing of John Hiatt's, That's What Love Can Do. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE the lyrics:

You dream a dream, then the dream comes true.
Can you imagine what love can do?
You're alone in the coffee shop, then she's by your side.
Love picks up the tab,
And you're both having pie.

That's what love can do.

Brilliant. Even after the fiftieth play.