How many great songs are about love? How many about the heartache that comes from a failed relationship or the joys of a successful one? In a way, doesn’t it seem like it’s pretty much all of them. I think of Hank Williams’ I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry or Why Don’t You Love Me, easily a couple of my favorite Hank songs. I think of Van Morrison’s Sweet Thing or Cash and the beautiful I Still Miss Someone. I love Dylan, in my last entry I mentioned a song of his, Boots Of Spanish Leather, from The Times They Are A-Changin’ album. The song is nine verses, and for the first six verses the dialog alternating between man and woman. The woman has sailed away and in each of her verses (3 of them) she asks if there is anything the man would like her to send him when she arrives to the place she is sailing. He declines any possible gifts and continues with his determined plea, “Just carry yourself back to me unspoiled” and this continues on through until the final three verses,
I got a letter on a lonesome day,
It was from her ship a-sailin',
Saying I don't know when I'll be comin' back again,
It depends on how I'm a-feelin'.
Well, if you, my love, must think that-a-way,
I'm sure your mind is roamin'.
I'm sure your heart is not with me,
But with the country to where you're goin'.
So take heed, take heed of the western wind,
Take heed of the stormy weather.
And yes, there's something you can send back to me,
Spanish boots of Spanish leather.
What a solid dude, don’t you think? He accepts that it’s over, wishes her safe travel and is not about to let his pride stand in the way, “Hell, you keep asking and so I guess sure, why not, send me back a pair of those Spanish leather boots.”
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned but I married my high school girlfriend, we started dating when I was fifteen and now we’ve been married for little more than eight years. We have two sons and it feels like I’ve known and loved her forever, I really could not imagine life without her. The success of our relationship has always come natural to both of us. Not that we don’t have to work on it but I can safely say for the most part, loving one another has been a piece-of-cake. I sometimes wonder what it would be like if we hadn’t ended up together. I’m sure I would have often thought about, “the one that got away” – I know I would have been heart broken. I would have plenty to sing about, with a lot of these great albums, I believe one lost love can practically fill an entire album. It’s because pain is directly connected to the creative portion of our brain. I have no scientific proof on this matter and I refuse to do any research but I’m pretty sure I’m right…I’ve got to be. Just think about the troubled artists and their creations – See? Told you I was right. So anyway, it’s a good thing I’m not a songwriter, if I was, I would be forced to be artificial, nothing real about my heartache. However, I could write some magnificent love ballads but come on, who listens to that junk?
The next album on the list is full of these love-loss symptoms. In fact, when I dropped the album off for my Mother, I gave her a couple days to listen and then asked, “What do you think?” She smiled and said, “He’s heartbroken, isn’t he?” I don’t know for sure, perhaps he’s faking, I’m certain he’s not but you never know.
#15 Chris O"Brien - Lighthouse
Lighthouse is a great album for the shade, a perfect companion to an afternoon in the hammock; the tempo and feel of Lighthouse has a wonderful calming effect. Chris has a great voice and he controls it well, allowing it to tremble lightly enough to make you believe but not heavy enough to annoy you. Female background vocals support most of the tracks and it works wonderfully. This is a short album, ten tracks and around thirty-five minutes in length and every track deserving to be listened to. The title track is great, he has a handsome way with words, intelligent parallel's with his wording.
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