The one and only time I've ever been to Austin, TX (a city that grabbed hold of my heart the second I arrived. If it had real winters and weren't in Texas, you could easily convince me to move there), I had the good fortune to see Michelle Shocked in concert. This was in the late eighties, and sure, I could have seen her in New York, where she played all the time, but what better place to see her than in her home state? She was one of the happiest performers I'd ever seen; you could tell she just loved playing music.
I guess that's why she's hard to pin down, musically. She obviously loves what she's doing and likes to experiment with all kinds of musical genres, and she's got the talent to pull it off. I remember playing her album "Arkansas Traveler," a very folksy compilation, for a friend of mine, who liked what he heard and seemed incredulous when I told him who it was. "I thought she was a punk rocker," he said. And she can rock. She can also jazz it up, or, if you're in the mood for the blues, she'll do that for you, too.
Her 1989 album "Captain Swing" is jazzy and bluesy and has many, many great songs, but this is my favorite from the album. If you've ever suffered from insomnia, the lyrics should immediately grab you. She appropriately composed a blues piece to go with them, because what else would an insomniac be suffering from if not the blues? Anyone who's followed my blog for any length of time knows how I love irony, and you just don't get much more ironic than this.
Sleep Keeps Me Awake
by Michelle Shocked
Sleep comes creeping in
At four in the morning
Sneaking up the stairs
Shoes in her hands.
Don't you know what time it is?
I've been worried about you, Lollie
I say the least you could do was
Phone to say you'd be late.
Sleep keeps me awake all night
I wonder where she is right now
I told her if she's late to call
Or don't come home at all.
Don't you know what time it is?
I've been worried about you, Lollie
I say the least you could do was
Phone to say you'd be late.
Last week it was one a.m.
This week it was two a.m.
Last night it was three a.m.
And tonight it's four a.m.
You never mind that now
You come lay down beside me, lollie
Let me hold you in my arms
Let me kiss you, kiss you, lollie
Let me hold you in my arms
Let me hold you in my arms.
3 comments:
Don't know this one but I loved "One hundred and twenty babies" and "Anchorage".
As a fellow insomniac I can safely say that those are some fabulous lyrics. My Lollie is so disobedient Ambien and Lunesta were no match!
Pete, oh "Anchorage" is the song that made me fall in love with Michelle Shocked's music (even before I saw her live).
Sara, poor you! Ambien does work on my Lollie when I'm really desperate (although I have had a couple of nights, here and there, when she managed to slip out of its grip).
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