I think I've known at least the last line of this song my entire life. Of course we sang it in college on many occasions, but most memorably after every football game. Whether or not the team wins, the players and team staff gather at the base of the student section of the … [Read more...]
Songs That Stab Me in the Heart: “Not Alone” by Patty Griffin
I first heard Patty Griffin on KCRW when I moved to the Los Angeles area from Connecticut in 1995. I was 24 years old and adventurous and stupid and thank God, because at 41 I know all about the things that can go wrong, and if I tried to do something like that all by myself I … [Read more...]
Songs That Stab Me in the Heart: “There’s Still My Joy” by Indigo Girls
Last year someone gave me Indigo Girls' new Christmas album. I played it on my computer while I was wrapping presents. This song came on, and that was the end of that. I had never heard it before. It's a cover of an old Melissa Manchester tune. I brought my tree down to … [Read more...]
Songs That Stab Me in the Heart: “How You’ve Grown” By 10,000 Maniacs
"My, how you've grown." I remember that phrase from my childhood days too. "Just wait and see." I remember those words and how they chided me, when patient was the hardest thing to be. This song has been on my mind for a while. There, in my mind, it's bittersweet and … [Read more...]
Songs That Stab Me In the Heart: “I Come and Stand at Every Door” by This Mortal Coil
The only version of this song that I've ever heard is by This Mortal Coil, a collaboration of European musicians that put out several recordings in the 1980's and 1990's. A quick poke around the internet today taught me that the origin of the song is a poem by Turkish poet Nazim … [Read more...]