Last week I featured five songs introduced to me by my older daughter Sophia. This week I turn to songs I associate with my younger daughter Fiona, though in this case none of them were new to me.
Fiona is still in that wonderful phase where she’s discovering excellent music from decades past, just as I was introduced to Bob Dylan and The Beatles during my pre-teen years.
Earlier this year, Fiona and I were enjoying ‘Rollercoasters,’ a typically delicate, sad acoustic tune by Aimee Mann. Fiona asked if I knew any other songs that were similarly pretty.
Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘April Come She Will’ was the first one that came to mind. I’ve long considered it one of the loveliest songs I’ve ever heard and figured it ought to fit the bill.
It fit the bill. Fiona took to it immediately, playing it on repeat for days (and considering it’s sub-two minute length, that’s a lot of listens).
It was neat to see Fiona fall for a Simon & Garfunkel tune, as that is one of the acts I discovered as a wee lad myself. I don’t know if her ‘April Come She Will’ obsession will lead to a broader examination of the duo’s catalog (she focuses more on songs than albums) but it’s a great start.
April, come she will
When streams are ripe and swelled with rain
May, she will stay
Resting in my arms again
[Verse 2]
June, she’ll change her tune
In restless walks, she’ll prowl the night
July, she will fly
And give no warning to her flight
[Verse 3]
August, die she must
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold
September, I’ll remember
A love once new has now grown old
Meet Me In Montauk 
Are you sure Fiona wasn’t just trying to get you to turn off the Aimee Mann song?😁
I don’t get your negative views on Aimee Mann, who is surely one of the best singer-songwriters around.
I like and appreciate Mann. However, as you have acknowledged, there is a sameness to her music. With other great artists like James Taylor, Tracy Chapman, the indigo Girls, etc, you have described that sameness as “boring” and have used this as a basis to avoid delving deeper into their catalogues. I guess copious amounts of melancholy can overcome sameness for you.😊
Anyway, as for Fiona, I was just suggesting that perhaps she too was not so into the sameness of Mann, and asked for similar pretty songs as a way to change the proverbial channel.
I don’t see a sameness in Mann’s catalog the way I do in some of those other artists. Ron Sexsmith, yes, as I’ve written on the blog just recently. Mann has explored a number of different sounds dating back to her Til Tuesday days, from harder-edged alt rock to lush piano and strings to simple acoustic guitar.
I’m sure the Indigo Girls, say, have gone in all sorts of directions on their many albums. Dismissing them as same-y is easy and admittedly unfair. But I don’t think either of us owns every Indigo Girls, James Taylor or Tracy Chapman album.
I admit that Til Tuesday had a different sound, it I haven’t heard as much diversity from Mann solo. And I have many favorite artists in which I don’t own, or certainly don’t listen to, all of their albums, so that’s not a reflection of musical diversity.
So lovely to hear she is into a song by two of my favorite artists ❤️
Love to see you sharing the songs loved by your daughters. Surely sharing music we loved as younger versions of ourselves with our children and finding they, too, appreciate the soundtrack of our childhood is immensely satisfying. This is a lovely song.
It’s such a beautiful tradition to share music with each other and pass down your treasured pieces to a new generation. I’m glad you and Fiona get to bond over lovely artists like Aimee and Simon & Garfunkel. Thanks for sharing this!