Thanks. Yes, about that duty of care being broken.
This isn't about objects, but I was recently listening to Gretchen Peters' cover of "Wolves" which compares the farmers who fail to, "the ones the wolves pulled down"
(She notes, "I remember when Stephanie Davis wrote this song, and people all over town were asking each other "have you heard that song ‘Wolves’?" Over a decade later it’s still haunting and lovely.")
Thanks for the mention, Nick, and for this great take on the relationships between songs and objects. I like this way of thinking about the topic via the idea of care and inheritance. One of the songs that got me started on my project was Richard Dawson's 'Wooden Bag'. The verses tell the story of the bag and the objects it contains in quite a neutral manner. The refrains bring the emotion and hint at the relationship between the singer and the bag's original owner, though the you're never quite sure what that relationship was. There's a sense of care in remembering a life through objects and feeling the need to care for them as a way of remembering the person. One of the most emotional lines in the song is 'How I miss you, I can feel it in my molecules', which is a reminder that we're all vibrant matter, connected to each other and the object world through material and emotional connections.
I love Guy Clark's songs and 'Randall Knife' is up there with my favourites, so thank you for writing about that. With the idea of care and inheritance, I was reminded of Vince Gill's ‘Nothin’ Like a Guy Clark Song’. It underlines the object-oriented nature of Clark’s songwriting, being a catalogue or list song made up of fragments of Clark lyrics and borrowing the guitar figure that Clark used for ‘Let Him Roll’ and ‘Randall Knife’ (and letting that musical figure become an evocative object in itself). That idea of artistic inheritance and caring for it is there, as you note, in Clark's songs--'Hemingway's Whiskey', 'Dublin Blues' (especially the line that puts Doc Watson on the pantheon with artworks from the distant past), 'Cold Dog Soup'--and Gill really brings that out.
Second, given that we both appreciate Guy Clark, I thought that the song that he and Terry Allen wrote ("Guy said, 'well let's write a song about it.' So me and Mr Sensitive did"), "Queenie's Song" would represent the opposite of the spirit of the songs in the original post -- a lack of care and respect for (in this case), "Bet you got a gun for Christmas"
Thanks, that's kind of you to ask. The presentation went well, and me and my co-panellists are hoping to repeat it later in the year (other presentations were on Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and the Music Maker Relief Foundation in North Carolina, all from the perspective of music and ageing).
I'm a big fan of Guy Clark, Terry Allen and dogs, but I;ve never quite got on with 'Queenie'. I'm not quite sure why. I've sometimes wondered if the song was a bit too literal from two songwriters who often use the everyday as a basis to go beyond the literal. Or perhaps I have an aversion to dog songs. Or mayebe I just didn't like hearing the story, knowing it was based on a true story that made me mad. Not sure. I agree, thugh, that the song fits well with the theme.
I had a thought about another song on the care for objects theme. In Richard Thompson's '1952 Vincent Black LIghtning', James hands the keys of the famous vehincle to Molly for her to look after.
I'm glad the presentation went well, that does sound like an interesting panel.
That's fair, I don't know that Queenie fits particularly well with the theme (even as a reversal). I was just getting carried away with Guy Clark songs. I appreciate that introduction, even though it's a sad story, because you can tell that they are good friends.
Yes, the Vincent Black Lightning is a good example of a song where the item itself has significance, not only as a representation of the relationship between people (and it does end up being an inherited object). You could also reference Richard Thompson's "Don't Sit On My Jimmy Shands"
Oh gosh yes, Guy Clark has a lot of songs about objects and that line from "Dublin Blues" blew my mind when I first heard it (worth quoting for anyone who hasn't listened to it)
" I have seen the David, mm / I've seen the Mona Lisa, too / And I have heard Doc Watson / Play Columbus Stockade Blues"
Thanks for the Richard Dawson song, that is beautiful.
Your response also makes me second guess whether I should have put the Malvina Reynolds song in a footnote. I am occasionally moved to mentioned that she has written a handful of songs that deserve respect as all-time classics. I think "If You Love" me is one of those.
"If you love me, if you love, love, love me, / Plant a rose for me. / And if you think you'll love me for a long, long time, / Plant an apple tree."
But another song of hers that might have been a better choice is "Bury My In My Overalls"
Take a listen to Fred Eaglesmith’s The Old John Deere.
Thanks. Yes, about that duty of care being broken.
This isn't about objects, but I was recently listening to Gretchen Peters' cover of "Wolves" which compares the farmers who fail to, "the ones the wolves pulled down"
https://gretchenpeters.bandcamp.com/track/wolves
(She notes, "I remember when Stephanie Davis wrote this song, and people all over town were asking each other "have you heard that song ‘Wolves’?" Over a decade later it’s still haunting and lovely.")
Thanks for the mention, Nick, and for this great take on the relationships between songs and objects. I like this way of thinking about the topic via the idea of care and inheritance. One of the songs that got me started on my project was Richard Dawson's 'Wooden Bag'. The verses tell the story of the bag and the objects it contains in quite a neutral manner. The refrains bring the emotion and hint at the relationship between the singer and the bag's original owner, though the you're never quite sure what that relationship was. There's a sense of care in remembering a life through objects and feeling the need to care for them as a way of remembering the person. One of the most emotional lines in the song is 'How I miss you, I can feel it in my molecules', which is a reminder that we're all vibrant matter, connected to each other and the object world through material and emotional connections.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-9osMKSyb0
I love Guy Clark's songs and 'Randall Knife' is up there with my favourites, so thank you for writing about that. With the idea of care and inheritance, I was reminded of Vince Gill's ‘Nothin’ Like a Guy Clark Song’. It underlines the object-oriented nature of Clark’s songwriting, being a catalogue or list song made up of fragments of Clark lyrics and borrowing the guitar figure that Clark used for ‘Let Him Roll’ and ‘Randall Knife’ (and letting that musical figure become an evocative object in itself). That idea of artistic inheritance and caring for it is there, as you note, in Clark's songs--'Hemingway's Whiskey', 'Dublin Blues' (especially the line that puts Doc Watson on the pantheon with artworks from the distant past), 'Cold Dog Soup'--and Gill really brings that out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0XE9DKgQzk
I remembered two other things.
First, I hope your presentation went well.
Second, given that we both appreciate Guy Clark, I thought that the song that he and Terry Allen wrote ("Guy said, 'well let's write a song about it.' So me and Mr Sensitive did"), "Queenie's Song" would represent the opposite of the spirit of the songs in the original post -- a lack of care and respect for (in this case), "Bet you got a gun for Christmas"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxQzwfKB1Yo
Thanks, that's kind of you to ask. The presentation went well, and me and my co-panellists are hoping to repeat it later in the year (other presentations were on Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and the Music Maker Relief Foundation in North Carolina, all from the perspective of music and ageing).
I'm a big fan of Guy Clark, Terry Allen and dogs, but I;ve never quite got on with 'Queenie'. I'm not quite sure why. I've sometimes wondered if the song was a bit too literal from two songwriters who often use the everyday as a basis to go beyond the literal. Or perhaps I have an aversion to dog songs. Or mayebe I just didn't like hearing the story, knowing it was based on a true story that made me mad. Not sure. I agree, thugh, that the song fits well with the theme.
I had a thought about another song on the care for objects theme. In Richard Thompson's '1952 Vincent Black LIghtning', James hands the keys of the famous vehincle to Molly for her to look after.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5V0RkCIaXo
I'm glad the presentation went well, that does sound like an interesting panel.
That's fair, I don't know that Queenie fits particularly well with the theme (even as a reversal). I was just getting carried away with Guy Clark songs. I appreciate that introduction, even though it's a sad story, because you can tell that they are good friends.
Yes, the Vincent Black Lightning is a good example of a song where the item itself has significance, not only as a representation of the relationship between people (and it does end up being an inherited object). You could also reference Richard Thompson's "Don't Sit On My Jimmy Shands"
Good call on ‘Jimmy Shands’. Such a great song!
Oh gosh yes, Guy Clark has a lot of songs about objects and that line from "Dublin Blues" blew my mind when I first heard it (worth quoting for anyone who hasn't listened to it)
" I have seen the David, mm / I've seen the Mona Lisa, too / And I have heard Doc Watson / Play Columbus Stockade Blues"
Thanks for the Richard Dawson song, that is beautiful.
Your response also makes me second guess whether I should have put the Malvina Reynolds song in a footnote. I am occasionally moved to mentioned that she has written a handful of songs that deserve respect as all-time classics. I think "If You Love" me is one of those.
"If you love me, if you love, love, love me, / Plant a rose for me. / And if you think you'll love me for a long, long time, / Plant an apple tree."
But another song of hers that might have been a better choice is "Bury My In My Overalls"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbadJPsDqbc
"Bury me in my overalls,
Don't use my gabardines,
Bury me in my overalls
Or in my beat-up jeans.
Give my suit to Uncle Jake,
He can wear it at my wake,
And bury me in my overalls."