A great delight from the past ten years or so has been my discovery of the work of Woody Guthrie. Sure, everyone knows "This Land Is Your Land," but beyond that famous folk ballad Guthrie was a talented illustrator, painter, poet, and writer. It took Wilco and Billy Bragg's wondrous collaboration "Mermaid Avenue" in 1998 to get me going, but since then I've enjoyed a lot of material from the incredibly prolific Dust Bowl artist."Mermaid Avenue" apparently originated when one of Woody's daughter's approached English protest singer Billy Bragg with some of her father's unpublished lyrics. Bragg then asked Wilco to join in. The idea was to put a modern spin on Guthrie's work and try to reach a new generation with contemporary musicians interpretting his words. The album ended up being a huge hit, garnered a Grammy nomination, and even spawned a sequel a few years later. If you've never heard either one, they're a real treat.
What surprised me about the songs were the beauty of the lyrics. I'd always known Guthrie as the husky box-car balladeer who sang about politics and human rights. "This Land is Your Land" has some nice imagery in it, but it never made me guess that its author was a talented poet. "Mermaid Ave" showcases that side of Woody's writings. There are so many beautiful love songs on the two records. I can't begin to tell you how many lines made me think, "Man... I wish I could write something like that."
"Hesitating Beauty" is definitely my favorite track from the first record. It's a lover's plea to a woman who can't seem to make up her mind. Curiously enough, though it could've been written to Woody's wife, the woman named in the song is Nora Lee, Woody's daughter... the very woman who brought the lyrics to this song and the others to the light of day. There are many great lines in it, but I've always admired the last verse where it says "We can ramble hand in hand across the grasses of our land and I'll kiss you for each leaf on every tree." That's gorgeous. It's not only full of beautifully-vivid imagery, it's also about a wonderful sentiment.
On a related note, to see some other great Woody Guthrie work, check out the book Art Works: Journals, Drawings, and Sketchbooks of an American Original.
"Hesitating Beauty" is from the album "Mermaid Avenue: Volume I." TO hear the song, click on the icon in the widget jukebox along the side of the blog.
What surprised me about the songs were the beauty of the lyrics. I'd always known Guthrie as the husky box-car balladeer who sang about politics and human rights. "This Land is Your Land" has some nice imagery in it, but it never made me guess that its author was a talented poet. "Mermaid Ave" showcases that side of Woody's writings. There are so many beautiful love songs on the two records. I can't begin to tell you how many lines made me think, "Man... I wish I could write something like that."
"Hesitating Beauty" is definitely my favorite track from the first record. It's a lover's plea to a woman who can't seem to make up her mind. Curiously enough, though it could've been written to Woody's wife, the woman named in the song is Nora Lee, Woody's daughter... the very woman who brought the lyrics to this song and the others to the light of day. There are many great lines in it, but I've always admired the last verse where it says "We can ramble hand in hand across the grasses of our land and I'll kiss you for each leaf on every tree." That's gorgeous. It's not only full of beautifully-vivid imagery, it's also about a wonderful sentiment.
On a related note, to see some other great Woody Guthrie work, check out the book Art Works: Journals, Drawings, and Sketchbooks of an American Original.
"Hesitating Beauty" is from the album "Mermaid Avenue: Volume I." TO hear the song, click on the icon in the widget jukebox along the side of the blog.
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