The Kitchen Musician ~ October 2015

Why do we sometimes fail to adjust our path even in the face of overwhelming evidence that we must? My song this month takes a look at this question as I reflect on the issue of climate change. Step into the kitchen and I will share it with you.


Index
  News:
  This Month’s Music: “Planting in a Drought”
  Upcoming Shows
  Featured Non-Profit: 350.org


Tom and Seth Connelly at Good Arts.
Photo: Neal Braverman


News

Coming up on the weekend of Oct 24 and 25, I will be taking my fourth annual road trip to Rochester, NY to share a few shows with good friends Leslie Lee and Steve Gretz. This is always a performance highlight for me. If you have any friends in the Rochester, NY area, please forward this information about our shows.


This Month’s Music
Planting in a Drought


Planting in a Drought
© 2015 Tom Smith (ASCAP)
Thanks to Seth Connelly on lead guitar.
Lyrics in comments below.

Thanks to Mally Smith and the Third Sunday Songwriters (especially Mark Stepakoff) for constructive feedback on an earlier version of this song.

Some of the most powerful images that help me understand larger-than-human-scale issues have been very human-scale photographs — much more powerful than the statistics, charts and graphs that we often see in newspapers or history books. In the past, I have been moved by photos of people affected by the Great Depression and the Viet Nam War, and more recently by the disturbing photo of a three year old boy drowned on the beach near a Turkish resort as a result of the Syrian refugee crisis or the videos that launched the Black Lives Matter movement. So I set myself the challenge to write a very intimate, human song on a very big subject — climate change. Admittedly, I don’t present any grand solutions. It is simply a magnifying glass to help focus some attention on the issue.

I am reminded of a quote my good friend Chris Pahud recently shared from lyricist Yip Harburg (collaborator of Ira Gershwin). “Words make you think thoughts. Music makes you feel feelings. A song makes you feel a thought.”

Indeed.

Sing on!

– Tom

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


Upcoming Shows

Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 8:00 pm, Rochester, NY
Brian Coughlin’s “Songwriters in the Round” series, with my good friends Leslie Lee and Steve Gretz in the Rochester, NY area. Call Brian at 585-235-5263 for location and to reserve a space. We did this each of the last two years and both dates were very memorable.

Sunday, October 25, 2015 at 7:00 pm, Rochester, NY
Old Time Music Night at Greece Baptist Church, with my good friends Leslie Lee and Steve Gretz

Friday, November 6, 2015 at 8:00 pm, Framingham, MA
Opening for the Steve Rollins Band at the Uncommon Coffeehouse.

Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 5:00 pm, Manomet, MA
I have the honor to be included in Bob Crownfield’s Studio Session Live series, hosted by Dave Palmater. We record in front of a live studio audience for later broadcast. Stay tuned for shedule and stations.

Click to view details for all upcoming shows.


Featured Non-profit: 350.org

350-logo-2“The number 350 means climate safety: to preserve a livable planet, scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current level of 400 parts per million to below 350 ppm.

We believe that a global grassroots movement can hold our leaders accountable to the realities of science and the principles of justice. That movement is rising from the bottom up all over the world, and is uniting to create the solutions that will ensure a better future for all.”

Please join me in supporting the good work of 350.org.

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7 Comments
  • Tom
    October 11, 2015

    Planting in a Drought
    © 2015 Tom Smith (ASCAP)

    Another day breaks
    Another hope wakes
    Another sun bakes my back from dawn till dusk
    Why do I keep on
    Singing the same song
    You say it’s all wrong to sow my seed under the dust
          But for me, everything I know
          Is right here in these long straight rows
          That’s why I’m planting in a drought
          Planting in a drought

    Right now it all seems
    Like a bad dream
    These fields were once green with promise for my son
    But he can not do
    What I was born to
    Only a damned fool would follow me into the sun
          But sometimes I see it in his eyes
          He wants to give it one more try
          That’s why I’m planting in a drought
          Planting in a drought

    When they’re explaining
    Why it’s not raining
    The experts say things that I don’t understand
    I know of hard work
    And yes it can hurt
    But feel this soft earth, my tools within your hands
          For me, that’s everything I know
          Right here in these long straight rows
          That’s why I’m planting in a drought
          Planting in a drought

    Another day breaks
    Another hope wakes

    • Hank Mixsell
      October 13, 2015

      Tom, once again you have managed to hit heart strings with words and music in a way that no one else can. I immediately shared your song and Bill McKibben’s video on Facebook with the following:

      Friend and poet/folksinger/songwriter Tom Smith included this wonderful video from Bill McKibben in his latest blog of “The Kitchen Musician” (www.tomsmithmusic.com), along with Tom’s newest piece, “Planting in a Drought.” Both the song and video are powerfully understated yet poignant, and deserve, I think, to be seen and heard by everyone.

      Great stuff, Tom.

  • Amy Conley
    October 12, 2015

    Beautiful song, Tom (and Seth!).
    Your blog is always wonderful with songs, audio, photos, even a featured non-profit, so much in such a clean and easy to follow page! You’re great!

    At the Rise Again concert up in Concord NH this weekend, Charlie King’s songs and voice reminded me of you!

    hope to see/hear you soon,
    Amy

    • Amy Conley
      October 12, 2015

      You really are a humdinger, it’s true.

    • Tom
      October 12, 2015

      Thank you, Amy. I am a Charlie King admirer. The comparison compliments me. 🙂

  • Ruthann
    October 25, 2015

    Beautiful! I love this — thank you for sharing!

  • John Flaherty
    June 26, 2019

    Nice!
    We need more songs like this. As Bernie would say, this issue is yuuuuuge! The most important issue we face by far, as it impacts everything else.