monoceros blogsYou might not have heard of Patty Griffin, but you probably know the singers who've sung her songs, who admire her as a singer and a songwriter. The Dixie Chicks, Jessica Simpson, Linda Ronstadt, Martina McBride. One of her songs even appeared in a mainstream Hollywood film - "We Were Soldiers," performed by Mary Chapin Carpenter.
I found Patty Griffin's own version of "Dear Old Friend" a while ago, and it set off a flood of thoughts and emotions. It's a song to listen to if you've ever lost a friend to illness, war, graduation and moving away. Though the last stanza sounds hopeful - "how will we smile ever again / i'm asking you sincerely, my dear old friend / the moon on the hill says we probably will" - it's a wistful sort of hope, even fleeting. It's very much like the final scene in "Once Upon A Time in the West," when Jill asks Harmonica to come back again. He has a look in his eyes that says he's already miles away, and when he says, "Someday," you know that "someday" will never come to pass.
"Dear Old Friend" by Patty Griffin (13 Ways to Live)
how will we smile ever again
i'm asking you sincerely, my dear old friend
what do you say, is there a way
my dear old friend
how will we laugh just like before
when there's water rising up to our door
and we may never see each other again
my dear old friend
will there be someone to remember
a little place that we loved
how the music played all night and day
through the windows up above
how the birds sang in the morning
how the dog barked in the yard
i guess that's nothing much but everything to us
and that's what seems so hard
how will we smile ever again
i'm asking you sincerely, my dear old friend
the moon on the hill says we probably will
my dear old friend
Jessica Simpson's album A Public Affair is mostly upbeat. You can tell she's moved on from her divorce, her grief; all determined to have a grand time. But one song stands out in its spare yet breathtaking rendition, and it's the closest reference to the recent events in her life. Though I didn't care much for the other songs on the album - or any of her earlier music, for that matter - I thought she nailed this one. Beautifully.
"Let Him Fly" by Patty Griffin (performed by Jessica Simpson in A Public Affair)
Ain't no talkin to this man
Ain't no pretty other side
Ain't no way to understand the stupid words of pride
It would take an acrobat, and I already tried all that so
I'm gonna let him fly
Things can move at such a pace
The second hand just waved goodbye
You know the light has left his face
But you can't recall just where or why
So there was really nothing to it
I just went and cut right through it
I said I'm gonna let him fly
There's no mercy in a live wire
No rest at all in freedom
Of the choices we are given it's no choice at all
The proof is in the fire
You touch before it moves away
But you must always know how long to stay and when to go
And there ain't no talkin to this man
He's been tryin to tell me so
It took awhile to understand the beauty of just letting go
Cause it would take an acrobat, I already tried all that
I'm gonna let him fly
I'm gonna let him fly
I'm gonna let him fly