The Kitchen Musician ~ July, August 2018

Hello friends,

It’s time for me to head off to my cabin in the woods for the rest of the summer! I am so fortunate to have this wonderful place to separate myself from my urban routine. It is a time and place to write and think, to read and rest, and to exercise some muscles that this city body has ignored for too long. Before I leave, I share two new songs with you – one inspired by a small miracle that happened while I was camping last month, and the other is an imagined conversation with a person I love. Please join me in the kitchen!


Index
  News: A Fly Struck My ‘B’ String!
  This Month’s Music: “In the Space Between Your Words”
  Upcoming Shows
  Featured Non-Profit: Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition

A Fly Struck My ‘B’ String!


News

I see that I failed to publish a “Kitchen Musician” since May. So in this issue I offer a second song to make up for it.

Every year at this time Margo and I separate ourselves from civilization to live in our rustic cabin in Jaffrey, NH. It is a perfect place to write, read, think, play and rest. This year we got a little head start by spending a few days off of the grid deep in the Adirondack forest near Keene Valley, NY.

On the first morning of our camping trip, I woke up with the sun – intent upon writing a song. I put my guitar on the chair next to me (as seen in the above photo), placed my notebook on my lap, picked up my pencil and listened. At that exact moment, a fly buzzed passed my ear and flew straight for my guitar. She bounced off of the ‘B’ string with a clear and gentle “ping!” sound. My muse had announced herself, and this little song is the result.


Morning Visitor (A Fly Struck My ‘B’ String”
© 2018 Tom Smith (ASCAP)


This Month’s Music
In the Space Between Your Words


In the Space Between Your Words
© 2018 Tom Smith (ASCAP)
Lyrics in the comments below.

It is great to have a life partner with whom I easily communicate, but sometimes people who love each other find it difficult to hold a deep conversation. Even when one understands the reasons for this behavior it can put a strain on the relationship. I am reminded of the John Prine song “Angel from Montgomery”, in which the singer asks “How the hell can a person go to work in the morning, And come home in the evening and have nothing to say?”

In my song, I have an imagined conversation with just such a person. Perhaps you also know someone like this? Perhaps you are someone like this?

May I always endeavor to listen deeply, and to speak from my heart.

Sing on!

Tom

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

Credits: “In the Space Between Your Words” was recorded at the Roslindale Open Mike, hosted by Neal Braverman, Branson Bofat and Ken Porter. Big thanks to King Yee for the video, and to Steven Friedman of Melville Park Studio for the audio.
This song was born in the writing exercises of SongC.R.A.F.T., written by Nancy Beaudette and Laura Zucker. Recommended!


Upcoming Shows

July 26, 2018, 6:30 pm: Camp Massasoit Summer Music Series, Mattapoisett, MA
Mattapoisett YMCA, 38 Reservation Rd, Mattapoisett, MA 02739
Doing a 30 minute set, splitting the evening with Barbara Phaneuf, Jason Valcourt, and Grace Morrison. Tickets $15 at the door. Rain or shine. Refreshments sold at the show.

August 10, 2018, 7 pm: Meeting House Stage, Rindge, NH
6 Payson Hill Road, Rindge, NH
Doing a 30 minute feature set at the wonderful open mike at the historic Meeting House in Rindge Center. Tickets $5 at the door. Arrive early to sign up for the open mike.

August 16, 2018, Private Party, Concord, MA
Joining some very special friends for an evening of great music!

August 18, 2018, 7:30pm: Saturday Night in Marblehead, MA
St Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 135 Lafayette St, Marblehead, MA 01945
My first appearance at this long standing folk series, hosted by Bob Franke. Doors open at 7:30. The suggested donation of $15 is payable at the door. St. Andrew’s Church is handicapped accessible.

September 1, 2018, 6:45pm: Club Passim Campfire Festival, Cambridge, MA
47 Palmer St, Cambridge, MA 02138
In-the-round at Club Passim Campfire Festival with Jim Trick, Ralston Bowles and Dave Richardson. The festival runs from Friday evening through Monday midnight. Single day passes for $10 or the entire festival for $25. Full schedule, tickets and other details at this link.

September 8, 2018, 3:00pm: Songwriting Workshop, Westford, MA
Parish Center for the Arts, 10 Lincoln St, Westford, MA 01886
Facilitating a songwriting workshop with Boothbay Harbor, Maine based John Schindler and my good friend John Ferullo. Evening concert to follow. Click here for full details.

September 8, 2018, 7:00pm: Songwriters in Concert, Westford, MA
Parish Center for the Arts, 10 Lincoln St, Westford, MA 01886
Following our afternoon songwriting workshop John Schindler, John Ferullo and I will share the stage in concert. Click here for full details.

September 30, 2018, 6:30pm: Byrnes’ Irish Pub, Brunswick, Maine
16 Station Ave, Brunswick, ME 04011
Featuring at the Songwriter’s Open Mike, hosted by Jud Caswell. Sign up is at 6 pm. Music starts at 6:30 pm. My feature set at 7:30. Come to sing, stay for a pint and to listen.

Click to view details for these and more upcoming shows.


Featured Non-profit: Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition

From their web site, “The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) is the largest organization in New England promoting the rights and integration of immigrants and refugees. We serve the Commonwealth’s one million foreign-born residents with policy analysis and advocacy, institutional organizing, training and leadership development, strategic communications, citizenship assistance, and AmeriCorps initiatives that provide capacity-building for community-based organizations. The Coalition involves an active membership of over 130 organizations, including community-based groups, social service organizations, ethnic associations, schools, refugee resettlement agencies, health centers, hospitals, religious institutions, unions and law firms, as well as thousands of individual members, contributors, and allies. We also serve immigrants in New Hampshire through our affiliate, the New Hampshire Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees (NHAIR).”

MIRA was the beneficiary of the proceeds of our big “Art of the Protest Song” show last year. Please join me in supporting MIRA.

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6 Comments
  • Tom
    July 25, 2018

    In the Space Between Your Words
    © 2018 Tom Smith (ASCAP)

    The things I needed you to say
    You kept them safely stowed away
    Is something wrong with me
    That you could not read
    The signs I gave to show the way
    The lines of love and loneliness are blurred
    In the space between your words.

    Some words take courage to speak
    Those arrows never left your sheath
    To risk they’d miss their mark
    To show what’s in your heart
    Would expose where you were weak
    But hurt can be delivered though unheard
    In the space between your words

    BRIDGE:
    Rust is like the burning of the sun
    It was too slow for me to see when I was young
    And trust can span the distance that is spun
    Between a father and his son

    “Time heals all wounds” – I’ve heard it said
    My scars have faded where I bled
    Now that I’ve reached your age
    The day you went away
    I can say with no regret
    I told my son what I believe I heard
    In the space between your words

    TAG
    You told me in the only way you could
    In the space between your words.

  • Tom
    July 25, 2018

    Morning Visitor
    (A Fly Struck My ‘B’ String)
    © 2018 Tom Smith (ASCAP)

    A fly struck my B string
    No one was listening
    But I heard her singing
    A song of this place

    On this blessed morning
    Arrived on a fly’s wing
    The herald awakening
    Amazing grace

    ——-

    A small sound in the forest
    A voice lost in chorus
    And those gone before us
    Obscured by the noise

    But today I will listen
    Uncloud my vision
    Release the musician
    Give them my voice

  • Barbara
    July 26, 2018

    Touching music as usual Tom…made me remember your dad…lovely piece…I enjoy your “Kitchen Musicians”

    • Tom
      July 28, 2018

      Hello Barbara. Thank you for your kind words. Most men of my dad’s generation found it difficult to acknowledge their feelings.

  • John Twist
    April 21, 2021

    Wonderful. Thanks for posting the link Tom 🙂

    • Tom
      April 21, 2021

      Great to see and hear you again earlier today, John. Would be good to share songs in the non-digital world some time. Take care.