Another Favorite Songwriter

Despite rumors to the contrary, I do listen to music other than John Prine. Another of my favorite singer-songwriters is Greg Brown. I prefer his earlier stuff, when he was newly married and had two little daughters at home. I recently had occasion to e-mail Julie the lyrics to some of his songs, some of which are right on the money when it comes to the overwhelming feelings every parent has for his or her children.

Here’s the chorus from his song “Daughters”:

I'm a man who's rich in daughters,
And if by some wild chance I get rich in money,
Like say another two thou’ a year or even one thou’ a year,
I'm gonna look into havin' some more daughters.

And here’s one of the verses, about his older daughter when she was little:

One night we were drivin' home in the truck
and I was sad because I was busted and disgusted,
And she looked out the window and said, "Dad, the moon is comin' home with us."
She said, "Dad, the moon is comin' home with us."

He’s got a gravely voice that can sound so sweet when he’s singing about love.

Here’s the beginning of “Say a Little Prayer,” which is about when one of his daughters was sick:

The light’s on
In the middle of the night
There's a sick little child around
Momma says, “Poppa, don't you worry, I think her fever's coming down."

[chorus:]
Oh yes and I know, it's just a cold or it's just the flu
But I say a little prayer, I say a little prayer for you
I say a little prayer, I say a little prayer for you:
Let her get better, let her get better soon, please.

And then there’s a line that says, “When you’re sick you look so tiny.” I think every parent can relate to that comment.

He has a remarkable ability to evoke a scene or an emotion. One song, “Canned Goods,” is about all the wonderful fruits and vegetables his grandmother would can for their enjoyment all winter:

There's peaches on the shelf, potatoes in the bin
Supper's ready, everybody come on in
Taste a little of the summer
Taste a little of the summer
Taste a little of the summer
Grandma put it all in jars.

Really, I could probably do an entire Greg Brown appreciation blog! If you like folk music, check out some of his older CDs, like “One More Goodnight Kiss.” His later stuff, after his divorce, got kind of bitter and not as enjoyable for me. Now he's remarried—to Iris Dement!—so maybe he'll lighten up again.