I created a Kate Rusby station on Pandora a few days ago. It occasionally comes up with her cover of Iris Dement's "Our Town" (lyrics), which never fails to make me tear up just a bit.1 I actually like Rusby's version much more than Dement's, 'cause even though it's kind of amusing hearing her very, very obviously Yorkshire voice singing a song that is very, very obviously about a middle American town, it's not twangy, which is the kiss of death for all songs, as far as I'm concerned.
Writing about a place always hits a deeper place in my psyche than just about any other subject. Setting is extremely important to the part of my brain that appreciates literature. And it doesn't hurt that the first thing I think of when hearing this song is Gambier. It's not much like the town in this song, but...it still translates, somehow.
Anyway, consider this a plug for the song, and for Kate Rusby in particular. She's awesome (and on iTunes, if you want samples!); has a great voice and does great folk songs. Also check out the incredible Ninth Doctor (with guest appearances) vid to "Exile," a duet between her and Kathryn Roberts, here at the vidder's site.
1 Kind of in the way that I still can't listen too closely to the lyrics of Dar Williams's "When I Was a Boy" without reaching for a tissue.
Writing about a place always hits a deeper place in my psyche than just about any other subject. Setting is extremely important to the part of my brain that appreciates literature. And it doesn't hurt that the first thing I think of when hearing this song is Gambier. It's not much like the town in this song, but...it still translates, somehow.
Anyway, consider this a plug for the song, and for Kate Rusby in particular. She's awesome (and on iTunes, if you want samples!); has a great voice and does great folk songs. Also check out the incredible Ninth Doctor (with guest appearances) vid to "Exile," a duet between her and Kathryn Roberts, here at the vidder's site.
1 Kind of in the way that I still can't listen too closely to the lyrics of Dar Williams's "When I Was a Boy" without reaching for a tissue.