Merry Christmas, everyone! My best to you and yours this holiday season.
Now, back to the music.
See You On the Moon – Tift Merritt (2010)
Yesterday I mentioned the “best of the 2010s so far” list I compiled five years ago. On that lineup, Tift Merritt’s 2010 See You On the Moon showed up at #9.
It’s a great illustration of how time can enhance (or diminish) the power of a piece of work that the same album now sits at #3.
As I was listening to all of the albums on this list to finalize my rankings, this one kept climbing. It’s the simplest, most direct, and most emotionally raw album in my top ten. The warmth and compassion in Merritt’s vocals pair with her thoughtful lyrics and the laid-back 70s folk-rock vibe of her music to form something as inviting as a cup of hot cocoa on a winter night.
Merritt had a solid decade. In addition to this album, she released the acoustic Traveling Alone in 2012 and 2017’s lovely Stitch Of the World. My wife and I saw her in concert for Traveling Alone, in an incredibly intimate setting, and it’s one of my favorite live music experiences ever.
Don’t know what to say
We never talk about it
Just turn away
What’s the point to try
And say these things inside?
They may not come true
Might not turn out right
Start to doubt myself
I feel so much and then
Words aren’t enough
I keep it in
We never talk about it
We make our own way through
We never talk about it
We hide it all away
We never talk about it
It’s too much to say
Secrets and letters
I’ve been saving up
So many things
I never told you of
Will you come on slow?
Say what you mean
Will you tell the truth?
Let it all come clean
We never talk about it
We make our own way through
We never talk about it
We make our own way through
We never talk about it
We make our own way through
We never talk about it
Baby, I love you
Meet Me In Montauk 
I’m sure Tift would be pleased to find herself on a best of the decades list.