The Kitchen Musician ~ November 2023
Hello friends,
I have a big question that has been keeping me awake lately. From my conversations with friends and strangers, I am not the only one struggling with it. Join me in the Kitchen for a new song to consider “Where Do We Go From Here?”.
Index
NEWS:
THIS MONTH’S MUSIC: “Where Do We Go From Here?”
UPCOMING SHOWS
FEATURED NON-PROFIT: Braver Angels
Photo © 2023 Dan Tappan
News:
It was my great pleasure to open for the incomparable Brooks Williams last week at Sailing Into Song House Concerts. My opening set was extended to an unexpected 50 minutes when Brooks pulled in late after getting a flat tire on the way to the show; but he stepped right from the road to the stage and did two amazing sets.
I have a couple shows coming up this month! Please share with your friends who may be in the area.
Fall River, MA: Sunday, Nov. 19th at 1:00 pm.
Joining a gaggle of great musicians at Narrows Center for the Arts, for our annual celebration of the music of our friend Michael Troy. This is to benefit the music and performance programs at Durfee High School, Michael’s alma mater.
Byfield, MA: Friday Nov. 24th at 7:00 pm
I am really pumped to share the evening with my super talented friends, The Lied To’s at Byfield Community Arts Center. Darien Castro opening. This is going to be great fun!
All details can be found at upcoming shows.
This Month’s Music:
“Where Do We Go From Here?”
“Where Do We Go From Here?”
© 2023 Tom Smith (ASCAP)
Lyrics in comment below.
Like many others, I have been experiencing bouts of anxiety, sometimes more accurately described as despair, over the broken state of our country and planet. [Insert your stressor here. There are many to choose from.] Throughout my life, one of the ways I have dealt with this kind of thing is by listening to and making music.
Thinking about this recently brought back a vivid memory. I was seventeen years old in 1966. My world was disintegrating. The Viet Nam war was consuming my friends who had no alternatives to the military draft when they graduated from high school. That summer, my friends and I decided to take a case of beer into the woods nearby to have what we thought could be a final fling before they reported. We vented our emotions by loudly singing “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” by The Animals – over and over again. It was cathartic.
I decided I needed to write a song that might give me a little relief from anxiety. Although it started out like “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, it ended up closer to Bob Dylan’s, “Blowing in the Wind.”
My early versions of this song tried to include both big questions and big answers. When the answers seemed to be nothing but hollow clichés, I was left with a song of only questions – but “The Animals” and Bob Dylan didn’t provide any answers either.
Steady on, friends.
Tom
Note:
Thanks to my songwriting groups who provided valuable, thoughtful feedback on early versions of this song. (Too many folks to list here.) Particular mention should be made of Scarlet Keys, whose What’s in a Song podcast with Mark Simos suggested a songwriting exercise that helped me get the ball rolling on this song. Also, big thanks to Susan Cattaneo for expert coaching to help me give this song more focus.
(If so inclined, I invite you to leave a comment by scrolling to the end of this page.)
Featured Non-profit
Braver Angels:: “Americans on opposite sides of the political spectrum don’t only disagree on issues — they increasingly dislike one another. This growing partisan animosity is the crisis of our time and threatens our nation. Braver Angels exists to address this challenge.”
“[We are] leading the nation’s largest cross-partisan, volunteer-led movement to change our politics for the better. Through community gatherings, real debates, and grassroots leaders working together, we’re offering America what it needs to overcome the bitterness of our partisan divide.”
I applaud the mission of this organization. It will take a lot of hard work.
Tom
November 9, 2023Where Do We Go From Here?
© 2023 Tom Smith (ASCAP)
How did we let it come to this?
A zero sum game, keeping score
Have we sailed this far to turn our backs and call it quits
With so many storms behind us, a thousand miles from shore?
CHORUS:
Where do we go from here?
Is there one star that we can use to steer?
If we can’t agree on True North what are we sailing for?
How can we know
Where do we go from here?
This voyage is a one-way trip
If we surrender to a shifting wind
Or chase the light of every passing ship
Without a star to guide us, where we are is where we’ll end
CHORUS
BRIDGE:
Is what our fathers and our mothers built with lives of work, and war
Worth pulling for?
We’re not the first to haul that line
But we damned well may be the last
If our hands won’t grip the sheet, and our hearts and heads align
With every sailor on the deck; every sail upon the mast (so)
CHORUS
TAG:
Where do we go from here?
– – – – – – – – – –
NOTE:
“Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.” – Omar N. Bradley
David Robert Wilson
November 10, 2023Love it, Tom – especially in the context of friends shipping off to war in ’66.
Dave
Tom
November 12, 2023Thanks for listening Dave. Hoping to write a follow-up to that song when we get this straightened out.
Deborah Goss
November 10, 2023In tears… A+
Much love,
DebG
Tom
November 10, 2023Thanks for the kindness, Deb. We carry on the best we can. Keep singing!
Gary
November 11, 2023Tom Thank You for this powerful thoughtful and provocative song. So many and I include myself are right where you are on the issue of divisiveness.
Tom
November 12, 2023Thank you for listening, Gary. To continue the metaphor – we are all in the same boat. Carry on!
Mike Lipchak
November 22, 2023You are not alone. I have frequently lain awake at night, worried about the abused planet that my great-grandchildren are inheriting, suspecting all along that I was part of its problem instead of part of its solution. Now in what time I have left, I get some relief by trying to put my own house in order, climate-wise. As small a goal as that seems, if millions of others are also motivated to do so, I believe there is hope for us.
Tom
November 30, 2023Truth. Thanks Mike.
Virginia
November 22, 2023Where do we go? Once I thought I had answers. Once I thought if we only listened to each other without judging. If our hearts not our egos led us…..
Where do we go from here?
Tom
November 30, 2023Indeed, Miss Ginny. But we do the best we can. I hope all is well with you, your family and your island family. Take care.