This week of personal songs comes to an end with a very moving track about the end of life. Tift Merritt wrote this track from 2010’s See You On the Moon about her grandfather, who lost his wife of many decades.
I’ve obviously never faced this situation myself, but it speaks to me powerfully. One of the scariest things about being in a strong, loving relationship is the knowledge that one day one of you will leave.
Of the 35 artists I’m featuring in my musical genome series, seven are women. And of those seven, three fall into the ‘Country Plus’ category. I don’t know if that’s a coincidence or if it says something about my taste.
Tift Merritt started off as very much a country artist with her debut Bramble Rose, though hewing more toward Americana and folk than traditional country. She quickly expanded that sound on her sophomore album, Tambourine, exploring Memphis soul and R&B flavors.
Second in my series of songs featuring interesting metaphors is a track from Tift Merritt’s 2010 album See You On the Moon.
‘Papercut’ compares a former lover to one of those nasty little cuts that shouldn’t bother us as much as they do. It’s a fine metaphor for a break-up that continues to tear at us for no good reason.
Today’s song is a bit of a cheat, in that the most popular version of the track was itself by a woman covering a man. So does that make this version a woman covering a woman covering a man, or just another woman covering the same man? Ah, a little philosophy on a Thursday morning.
At any rate, I’m certainly not going to post Anne Murray’s version of the Kenny Loggins tune ‘Danny’s Song’ when I have a Tift Merritt version at my disposal.
Loggins wrote this track for his brother Danny to celebrate the birth of his son. It was recorded for the 1971 debut record of Loggins and Messina. Murray recorded it a year later and put it on both the pop and country charts.
Best Songs of 2010 – #2
Tift Merritt is one of those special finds who remains pretty much invisible to the rest of the world even as she continues to knock my socks off with release after release.
I don’t know if this is a case where Merritt would be the biggest thing since sliced bread if only she got enough exposure or if she just has a certain chemical appeal for me that would be lost on most others.
Some Web surfing reveals a bit of both, with plenty of fans describing her as the second coming and just as many dismissing her as another in a long line of forgettable singer-songwriters. I suppose that’s probably the case for most artists.
Meet Me In Montauk 