Yes, You Can Go Home Again
Yesterday, I mentioned that I had not been in this town for 35 years. What I neglected to say is that I had not simply visited this town 35 years ago, but that I had lived here.
When I was 10 years old, my father (or as they would say here - my daddy) picked up and moved our family from a small factory town in north central Massachusetts (Athol) to the bright lights/big city of Nashville, Tennessee, where we tried our best to adjust to what felt like foreign terrain (what the hell’s a Goo-Goo cluster?) while he fulfilled his Ph.D. residency at George Peabody College, now a part of Vanderbilt University.
Since then, I have dreamed of Nashville from time to time, but never returned. Last night, then, was deja vu all over again at the Ryman Auditorium, the former home of the Grand Ol’ Opry.
My memories of my year of living in Nashville are a little vague. After all, I was just 10. But a few things stick out, and foremost among them is my visit to the Grand Ol’ at the Ryman in 1972. I clearly remember Porter Wagoner was hosting, though who else may have performed other than, of course, Dolly Parton, is fuzzy. So it feels very ironic that, after such a long absence, I happen to have come back to town just at the moment when Porter’s funeral is being held.
But last night at the Ryman was a night for celebration. Host Jim Lauderdale did, of course, give a very fitting and proper shout-out to Porter somewhere around the middle of the over three-hour-long show, but being the very capable master of ceremonies that he is, otherwise kept the emphasis firmly where it belonged.
And where it belonged, it seemed, for presenter after presenter, and performer after performer, was to talk about where they came from.
The leitmotif of the evening? This is who I am because this is where I’m from.
Joe Ely and Guy Clark told hilarious stories of Lubbock. Lauderdale and the Avett Brothers (a big story of the night) reported from the Carolinas, Patty Griffin (another big story) from Maine. Everyone talked about their roots and how those roots shaped them.
And I think where we come from does shape who we are in very large measure. I think of Josh Ritter (who I will be seeing at the Exit/In tonight in a non-conference show) and his powerful song “Wolves” which describes his return home to Idaho after a spell in Illinois; I think of quintessential red-dirt girl Emmy Lou Harris, and Lucinda Williams’ equally gritty “Jackson.”
And I think of a poetry workshop I took entitled “Urban Poetics,” which was all about how the actual shape and form of poems (as well as their subject matter) written by city-dwelling poets begins to take on the dimensions of the skyscrapers and grids and collage-like juxtaposition of cultures with which we live. And of course the same might be said for the shape and form - as well as the subject matter - of rural poets. Or - for that matter - of urban or rural songwriters.
Yes, it seems, you can go home again. Some might do this by booking a flight; for others, by way of words, songs, images.
The Awards Ceremony was simply outstanding. As I mentioned, the Avett Brothers won big last night - for best duo group and new/emerging artist - and for me, their performance of the spanking-fresh sounding “Shame” was probably the highlight of the evening.
Throughout the show, Lauderdale kept trying to explain what Americana is (something all who love the genre can relate to), and after the Avetts played, he exclaimed: “Now that’s Americana!” ‘Nough said.
He repeated the sentiment after Lyle Lovett’s performance of “If I Had a Boat”, another high point of the evening. I’ve heard this nearly perfect song so many times, but last night, zeroing in on the lovely yet quirky lyrics which marry so well with the melody, was like hearing it anew.
BTW, in yesterday’s post, I erroneously mentioned that Lovett would be given a lifetime achievement award. In fact, that award (for performance) went to the very deserving Joe Ely. Lovett, on the other hand, was given a new award, called, appropriately enough, the TrialBlazer.
That’s all for now, folks. I’m off to try and hunt down my old home. More from Nashville, tomorrow.
Posted in Americana Music Festival
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