Songs of Ice, Snow and Rain

Another article from the FolkBlog Australian correspondent, Sue Barrett.

Songs of Ice, Snow and Rain

By Sue Barrett

A few days ago, someone mentioned that a mutual friend is currently in New York, probably freezing!

And, on checking the weather reports, it does seem a bit cold in North America at the moment.

• San Francisco, California: Light Rain, 48.4 °F/9.1 °C
• Vancouver, British Columbia: Overcast, 39 °F/4 °C
• New York, New York: Clear, 28.5 °F/-1.9 °C
• Columbus, Ohio: Clear, 13.7 °F/-10.2 °C
• Montreal, Quebec: Partly cloudy, -2 °F/-19 °C

Many songs mention ice, snow and rain. There are songs about being damp and cold. Songs expressing grief, despair and desolation. Song full of love and hope. Songs documenting climate change and environmental destruction. Songs that are cleansing and refreshing. And songs about the coming of spring.

Here are just a few of them…

CYNDI BOSTE
www.cyndiboste.com.au

And if I seem a little shaky
That’s just the winter closing in
I’ll take it in my stride
And grow myself a thicker skin
‘I’m Alright’ (from Foothill Dandy, 2006)

Australian singer-songwriter Cyndi Boste is busy writing a set of new songs and launching her duo, Petty Cash (with Jodi Moore, ex Dirty Lucy). Cyndi will be performing at Melbourne’s Brunswick Music Festival in March 2009.

STEVE BOYD & THE PREACHERS
www.myspace.com/steveboydandthepreachers

It’s raining down upon me, ever since I don’t know when
It’s raining down upon me lord, it’s raining down again

Singing hey, ho, where do you go? Listen as the thunder roars
When a city doesn’t want you, and locks up all its doors
‘It’s Raining Down Upon Me’ (from Ribcage Xylophone, 1996)

The Australian roots rock band Steve Boyd & The Preachers has apparently re-formed, after splitting up in the late 1990s and there’s talk of a forthcoming new CD. Cyndi Boste sings backing vocals on Ribcage Xylophone.

BOBBI CARMITCHELL
www.bobbicarmitchellmusic.com

The winter’s been a long one
Never quite seen so much snow
So I walked out in the beauty to clear my misty soul
‘Reply’ (from Various Artists – Winter Moon, 1995)

Albums by Pennsylvania performer Bobbi Carmitchell (The Carmitchell Sisters, Wind and Wood) include A Little Christmas Music (1999), which she recorded at the request of her mother who wanted “something nice” to share with her bridge club. Winter Moon also includes performances by Cris Williamson, Michael Callen, Arnold McCuller and Holly Near.

TRACY CHAPMAN
www.tracychapman.com

There’s a cloud
There’s a cloud
A blue sky darkening
That veils the light of the sun
And foretells the rain
But there’s a bird
There are birds
And some are singing
‘Spring’ (from Our Bright Future, 2008)

It’s 20 years since Tracy Chapman’s self-titled first album became a hit around the world. Over the past month, Tracy has been busy touring Europe, following the release of her new CD, Our Bright Future.

MARK CRYLE
www.markcryle.com
www.myspace.com/markcryle

She’s the fruit upon my tree
The ship out on my sea
The ancient mystery
And she’s the rain on my tin roof
The beauty and the truth
She is living proof
‘She’s Got Everything’ (from House of Cards, 2008)

This past weekend saw the launch of Australian performer (ex Spot the Dog) Mark Cryle’s new CD, House of Cards. And on ‘She’s Got Everything’, Mark “goes Latin”.

CATIE CURTIS
www.catiecurtis.com

In December we pretend that we’re moving
We point out places on the map
We look at houses online, we read the LA Times
We go out into the snow and laugh
‘Hey California’ (from Long Night Moon, 2006)

As well as releasing a new album (Sweet Life), Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter Catie Curtis has started Aspire to Inspire (www.hopeequity.org/catiecurtis.cfm) to raise funds to give guitars to young musicians.

BETTY ELDERS
www.bettyelders.com

The silence of this rain against my window
Reminds me of the way your hair did
Fall across your face
‘Just to Have You Hum Along [The Futon Song]‘ (from Crayons, 1995)

Although Crayons seems to be her most recent album, Gene and Betty Elders performed at the Evangeline Café (Austin, Texas) earlier in December 2008.

EMMA’S REVOLUTION
www.emmasrevolution.com

What has been for 11,000 years
Ancient ice and snow
Is melting like 11,000 tears
Down the face of Kilimanjaro
‘Kilimanjaro’ (from One, 2004)

Emma’s Revolution consists of Pat Humphries and Sandy O, with the duo adopting its name in recognition of the work of radical activist Emma Goldman.

FERRON
www.ferrononline.com

I thank you your letters though they come to me slowly
I hear the city’s in a panic with its first foot of snow
I want to answer you quickly having read you again
‘Cause it sounds like you’re dancing with time’s favorite friend
And it’s everyone’s secret and muttered refrain
That for all of our trouble we be lonely again
‘Snowin’ in Brooklyn’ (from Shadows on a Dime, 1984)

In 2008, Canadian singer-songwriter Ferron released a new CD (Boulder, produced by Bitch) and a new collection of poems (Catching Holy: Poems 2006 – 2008).

JANIS IAN
www.janisian.com

Take me walking in the rain
Let me be a child again, baby
Let it wipe away the tears
Wash away the years
Take me walking in the rain
‘Take Me Walking in the Rain’ (J Ian/Jenny Yates) (from Revenge, 1995)

After 40 years as a performer, Janis Ian has released her autobiography, Society’s Child.

DIANA JONES
www.dianajonesmusic.com

Winter in Dakota
The hills are cold and white
I can close my eyes
And fix them plainly in my sight
And I see them in my sleep
Through the windows of my dreams
‘Pony’ (from My Remembrance of You, 2006)

Ferron provides vocals on ‘Pony’; Joan Baez has included Diana’s song ‘Henry Russell’s Last Words’ on her new CD (Day After Tomorrow); and Diana’s new album, Better Times Will Come, is due for release worldwide in January 2009.

CONNIE KALDOR
www.conniekaldor.com

I come from a land that is harsh and unforgiving
Winter snows can kill you
And the summer burn you dry
When a change in the weather
Makes a difference to your living
You keep one eye on the banker
And another on the sky
‘Harsh and Unforgiving’ (from Wood River, 1992)

Canadian singer-songwriter Connie Kaldor is considering re-recording some of her songs.

ERIC JUSTIN KAZ
www.myspace.com/erickazmusic

Who can I turn to
Tell me how to begin
When you cry like a rainstorm
And you howl like the wind
‘Cry Like a Rainstorm’ (from If You’re Lonely, 1972)

Although it might be easiest to find Eric Kaz on vinyl (including as part of American Flyer) or on recordings by other artists, Eric has made it to CD (e.g. 1000 Years of Sorrow; Cul-De-Sac; If You’re Lonely).

SHONA LAING AND THE SPARROW BAND
www.shonalaing.com
www.myspace.com/shonalaing07

And the thought
S’like rain upon the roof
Acid raining on the truth
‘Caught’ (from Pass the Whisper, 2007)

As well as including a new recording of ‘Caught’ on Pass the Whisper, New Zealand performer Shona Laing has included re-worked versions of ‘Soviet Snow’ and ‘(Glad I’m) Not a Kennedy’.

PATTY LARKIN
www.pattylarkin.com

You stood out in the snowfall
A handsome man
You turned around when she called
A camera in her hand
‘Poetry of Lies’ (from Regrooving the Dream, 2000)

During 2008, Patty Larkin released a new CD, Watch the Sky, and performed a string of sold out gigs.

MARTINE LOCKE
www.martinelocke.com

Oh and it smells like pouring rain
Coming down all over me
And it smells like pouring rain
Coming down
‘Smells Like Rain’ (from Fly, 2002)

After spending some time in Chicago, Australian performer Martine Locke (The Velvet Janes) has relocated to California and is recording a new acoustic album.

KATE & ANNA MCGARRIGLE
www.mcgarrigles.com

The rain and tears came down
As they put her in the ground
With her parents and her husband and her sisters all around
And her sisters all around
‘Song for Gaby’ (A McGarrigle) (from Matapedia, 1996)

After a year of hearing Canadian sisters, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, on Emmylou Harris’ new CD (All I Intended To Be), it’s probably now time to start playing The McGarrigle Christmas Hour again!

LYNN MILES
www.lynnmilesmusic.com

I am ice
I am stone
I am a statue
Standing all alone
Melt me down
Make me bloom
You’re the sun
I’m the moon
‘I’m the Moon’ (from Unravel, 2001)

Canadian Lynn Miles is in the process of recording/re-recording all 600 songs that she has written, with Black Flowers Vol 1 and Black Flowers Vol 2 (just Lynn and her guitar/piano) being the first CDs in the series. Lynn is touring the Netherlands and Ireland in January 2009 and hoping to record a studio album in February.

PHIL OCHS
www.sonnyochs.com/philbio.html

Have a merry, merry Christmas and a happy new year’s day
For now’s a time of plenty, and plenty’s here to stay
But if you knew what Christmas was, I think that you would find
That Christ is spending Christmas in the cold Kentucky mine
‘No Christmas in Kentucky’ (from A Toast to Those Who Are Gone, 1986)

The late Phil Ochs is receive the Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Award in the Legacy Artist category, at the International Folk Alliance of Music and Dance annual conference in Memphis on 18 February 2009.

MALVINA REYNOLDS
www.sisterschoice.com

http://web.mac.com/nancyschimmel

The world’s too much for me
It’s like the end
Too many helpless ones
I can’t defend
I can protect myself
From cold and pain
But somewhere a hungry kid
Walks in the bitter rain
‘Bitter Rain’ (from Malvina Reynolds…Sings the Truth, 1967, 2008)

Malvina Reynold’s daughter Nancy Schimmel is continuing to write a biography of her late mother.

DEBORAH ROMEYN
http://deborahromeyn.com

I love to walk the fields
In the early days of winter
Before the first snow comes
The crops are all gone
The ground is turned
And the earth is quiet
‘Prairie Skies’ (from Distance in Her Eyes, 1997)

Canadian singer-songwriter Deborah Romeyn has a new CD, Late November (which includes the song, ‘Snowed In’). And the weather in Winnipeg today? Low Drifting Snow, -11 °F/-24 °C!

RICHARD SHINDELL
www.richardshindell.com

New York has been buried in snow since last Saturday
The papers said the storm had passed over you
Thank you for the play you wrote about Heloise
And her injury at the hands of an Almighty memory
‘Nora’ (from Sparrows Point, 1992)

Richard Shindell, who has been living in Argentina for much of the past decade, has a new CD coming (in stores early in 2009).

LIZ STRINGER
www.lizstringer.com

Rain runs down your cheeks mixed with your tears
Breaking the drought that’s been drying you out for years
Those memories come back like a pendulum’s swing
‘Having Trouble Sleeping’ (from Pendulum, 2008)

Watch Liz Stringer on the Australian RocKwiz television show:
www.sbs.com.au/rockwiz/watch/694/RocKwiz-Episode-81—Dan-Wilson-and-Liz-Stringer

www.sbs.com.au/rockwiz/past/272/Liz-Stringer

KATH TAIT
http://kath.elencomp.co.uk
www.myspace.com/kathtait

It’s a laughing town underneath the frowns of the bleak and desperate souls
As they trudge around and the rain pours down
‘Leaky Umbrellas’ (from Leaky Umbrellas, 2007)

New Zealand singer-songwriter Kath Tait has been living in London, England (Fog, 36 °F/2 °C) for many years, although she continues to tour New Zealand and Australia.

KARRIE WALLACE
http://stores.ebay.com/joolsbootys-treasure-chest

What would Gaia do if she saw you destroying her land?
Would she understand?
What would you do to try to ease her pain?
Would you sleep out in the frozen rain?
‘Ode to “Remedy” & the Freshwater Forest Defenders’ (from Tree Hugger)

Singer-songwriter Karrie Wallace is the daughter of country performer Jerry Wallace (who died in May 2008).

KATHRYN WARNER
www.myspace.com/folkwithsoul

On a cold December day
She packed her car and drove away
Doing all the time she had to pay
In that God forsaken town
‘Cold December Day’ (from True North)

Kathryn Warner is a singer-songwriter, based in Colorado (Scattered Clouds, 38.1 °F/3.4 °C), who has performed in 44 states in the USA.

CHERYL WHEELER
www.cherylwheeler.com

Rollin’ from the rooftop, splashin’ from the spout
Your walkin’ shoes are never gonna dry out
Rainy little drummers bop all day
A little rock ‘n roll, a little reggae
‘Rainin” (from Half a Book, 1991)

Singer-songwriter Cheryl Wheeler, who was voted 2nd behind Bob Dylan in WUMB Radio’s 2008 top 100 performer countdown, has begun work on a new album.

DAR WILLIAMS
www.darwilliams.com

The radio gave updates on the ice storm while she made the dinner
They said, from all the talk, you shouldn’t drive or even walk
And this just in – We’re asking everyone to turn off their power
They need it at the hospital
‘Mortal City’ (from Mortal City, 1996)

And a new album (Promised Land) in 2008 for Dar Williams too!

Sue Barrett is an Australian music writer, with a special interest in women in music. Despite the passing of many years, Sue still remembers the icy cold night wind that was blowing at the musical festival the first time she heard Dar Williams perform!

© Sue Barrett 2008