The Kitchen Musician ~ February 2012

Hello Friends,

Last month I returned to the Vanilla Bean Cafe Songwriters Sessions and got a great new song from the writing assignment. I share it with you in this month’s Kitchen Musician, along with news about upcoming shows and a project I am supporting to create a documentary film about The Knox Mine Disaster – an event that is important to my personal history. Come join me in the kitchen!


Index
  News: My new CD, Journey Home is starting to get some public attention.
  This Month’s Music: You Live in My Heart, written from the prompt ‘old love’.
  Upcoming Shows
  Featured Non-Profit: Knox Mine Disaster – The End of Anthracite

Tom at Nourish Restaurant
Tom at Nourish Restaurant. Photo by Dan Tappan


News

I am proud to report that my new CD ‘Journey Home’ made the Best of 2011 list of WAMC – Northeast Public Radio. Read more about this and other great reviews on my Journey Home page. You can now hear tracks from ‘Journey Home’ on seven folk stations, and the list is steadily growing. So gratifying to hear from folks around the country that my songs have touched them in some way.


This Month’s Music
“You Live in My Heart”
© 2012 Tom Smith (ASCAP)


Click the image above to play the video.

A couple of years ago I joined several other songwriters at the Vanilla Bean Cafe in Pomfret, CT for their monthly Songwriters Sessions series, hosted by the talented Lisa Martin. Each songwriter at these events is asked to write a song based upon a prompt provided by the audience the previous month. The story of that evening was well documented in my song Lick My Face, which became so popular I included it on my new CD, ‘Journey Home’. So I jumped at the chance to return to the Vanilla Bean last month, hoping that I would get another good song out of the evening.

The prompt for last month’s writing assignment was ‘old love’. Being a man on the cusp of ‘senior citizenry’ and happily married to the same wonderful woman for over thirty five years, I felt that this was ‘right in my wheelhouse’, as they say. My intent was to write a love song that would score lots of points with my wife, Margo. But sometimes songwriting has a way of taking me down unintended or unexpected paths. That was the case with this month’s song, ‘You Live in My Heart’.

For some, the upcoming Valentine’s Day will be a difficult holiday. Have you ever known an old couple who’s mutual love is a kind of quiet perfection? – two people whom you would describe as ‘lovers’ even after having spent a lifetime together? I am not referring to mutual dependency such that one can not live without the other. The singer of this song has a love so deep that it helps him triumph over the loss of his partner, keeping her alive in his heart “until forever”.

Music heals,

– Tom

(If so inclined, I invite you to leave a comment by scrolling to the end of this page.)


Upcoming Shows

Feb. 4, Saturday, 7:30 pm in Sherborn, MA The Rounders (Chris Pahud, Cheryl Pereault, Steve Rapson, Ken Batts and me) will do a show at the First Parish of Sherborn. Click for details

Feb. 17, Friday, 7:30 pm in Cambridge, MA I join the talented musicians of Tunefoolery at The Lilypad to benefit their good work. Click for details

Feb. 19, Sunday, 4:00 pm Club Passim in Cambridge, MA I join Timmy Riordan’s ‘Songbombers’ for a brief appearance at this great folk venue. It is always a pleasure to appear at Club Passim. Click for details

March 1, Thursday, 7:30 pm Framingham, MA I will do the feature set at Dan Cloutier’s folk open mike at Amazing Things Arts Center. Click for details

March 10, Saturday, 8:00 pm Cambridge, MA After a few decades hiatus, I return to the Nameless Coffeehouse, joining my daughter Mally Smith and fellow Birch Beer Records artists Dan Cloutier, Kim Jennings, Levi Schmidt. Click for details

Click to view all upcoming shows.


Featured Non-Profit: Knox Mine Disaster – The End of Anthracite

Although not strictly a non-profit, this month I am supporting two talented film makers Dave and Al Brocca of Pitch Films as they raise money to complete ‘Knox Mine Disaster – The End of Anthracite’, a documentary film about an event that is an important part of my personal history. My song, Swallowed by the Hole tells the story of what happened on that fateful day in 1959. I was honored to sing it at the 50th anniversary of the event at the Anthracite Heritage Museum in Scranton, PA.

Please join me in supporting this worthy project. Click here to contribute to their Kickstarter project.

If you have a non-profit to suggest for an upcoming issue of The Kitchen Musician please send me an e-mail.

What do you think?

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9 Comments
  • Tom
    February 5, 2012

    You Live in My Heart
    © 2012 Tom Smith (ASCAP)

    Yesterday the leaves were soft and green
    The sun climbed slowly to announce the day
    Now I know how it feels to fall asleep in May
    And wake up in December

    Seasons flowing past me in a stream
    Every living thing time will betray
    For time is like distance. It takes you faraway
    But I still remember

       You live in my heart

    I believe the color of the trees
    That shimmers when the weather turns to cold
    Is the warm reflection of two lovers growing old
    Like glowing embers

    But winter crept in like a silent thief
    He robbed your branches of their leaves of gold
    Leaving just the ending of your story to be told
    The bittersweet surrender

       You live in my heart

    And you lie beside me in my dreams
    When morning comes you do not fade away
    I love you every minute, every hour, every day
    Until forever

    Yesterday the leaves were soft and green
    The sun climbed slowly to announce the day
    Now I know how it feels to fall asleep in May
    And wake up in December

       You live in my heart

  • Tom Irving
    February 5, 2012

    Dear Tom,
    As you mentioned, it is a benefit “being of age, with the wisdom it imparts on your side, for a song like this. Young love, as vibrant and exciting as it is, is replaced with the sweetness of a love built through years of togetherness. The passion of a night of snuggle, cannot be understood without “old love.” Great and wonderful song, my friend… love and hugs, tom

  • Hank Mixsell
    February 5, 2012

    Tom,

    How beautiful! The song itself is so poignant and bittersweet, full of sad joys and happy disappointment, and the music perfectly mirrors the verses. You are indeed a master songwriter and wonderfully sensitive thinker. You amaze me.

    I haven’t given up my wish to have you come and give a concert at SBS- i’ll send your website to the powers that be and hope they’ll approve the $$$ needed to make it happen.

    All the best to Margo & family. Sally’s in Florida for ten days, friendraising and seeing alums. I’m here w/ Charlie, anticipating the Pats’ victory later today.

    Hank

  • judith christianson
    February 5, 2012

    So beautiful, wiping the tears off as I write this. Wishing I had an event coming up–would ask you to come and sing this song.

  • Lydia Fortune
    February 5, 2012

    Beautifully haunting melody and lyrics, Tom. You are such a fine wordsmith and musician!

  • Susan Noble
    February 6, 2012

    Oh Tom, You’ve done it again…made me cry. What a poetic, gently beautiful song. My heart aches. “Old love” what a rare treasure and you speak sing to it most eloquently. Susan

  • Linda Wyatt
    February 7, 2012

    I’m in a Kathy Mattea state of mind so your beautiful lyrics reminding me of my parents and maternal grandparents perpetuate that.

  • Bettie Carlson
    February 7, 2012

    Such a sweet song. Brought me to tears! You definitely know how to ‘get it right’.

  • Ruthann Baler
    February 8, 2012

    Another heartfelt and heart-tugging song by the Kitchen Musician. This is gorgeous. Thank you Tom, for sharing your gifts of writing, performing, and connecting…. :)))