The Kitchen Musician ~ May-June 2025

Hello Friends,

A nineteenth century Indian poet inspired my new song of encouragement as I struggle with the flood of cruel policies enacted by the current administration in Washington, DC. Join me in the kitchen for “The Sun Will Come!”

Index

  NEWS:
  THIS MONTH’S MUSIC: “The Sun Will Come!”
  UPCOMING SHOWS
  FEATURED NON-PROFIT: American Civil Liberties Union

Tom at the Parish Center for the Arts, May 2025
Photo by Dan Tappan

News:

This is the first issue in the 19th year of “The Kitchen Musician.” Since May of 2007, I have debuted over 130 original songs via this humble blog. Thank you for following my music journey.

I have a few shows coming up (and a couple more in the works).

June 4, Wednesday, 7:00 PM: Arts at the Armory, Somerville, MA. A songwriters in the round session with fantastic songwriters Jud Caswell, Kevin So and hosted by Mark Stepakoff. Parking in rear and on street. Food service available. Details at this link.

June 17, Tuesday, 6:00 PM: Optimist Café, Jaffrey, NH. Dinner followed by a show. I will share the evening with author Betsy Small and musician Ethan McBrien. $35 per person (includes dinner). You must call 603-593-5389 to reserve a seat. Last year, this show sold out so please call ahead.

August 24, Sunday, 11:00 AM: Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm, Callie’s Common, Peterborough, NH. I always enjoy doing a show at this lovely neighborhood and farm. Open to the public. Outdoors (weather permitting), otherwise will move inside. Please bring a chair or blanket to sit on. FREE.

Sept 7, Sunday, 3:00 PM: House Concert, Rockport, MA. I love house concerts! Refreshments provided. $20 requested donation per person. Reservations and more details available from info@whalecove.org. Seating is limited.

All show details can be found at upcoming shows.

This Month’s Music: “The Sun Will Come!”

“The Sun Will Come!”
℗© 2025 Tom Smith (ASCAP)

Of all of the birds that grace my life, I have a special relationship with the Hermit Thrush. I hear their beautiful songs outside my cabin in New Hampshire in spring and summer. My friend Oen Kennedy can imitate nearly every bird’s song. He is the one you hear doing a bird whistle on my song “New Hampshire Wind” from my album “Journey Home.” Once I asked him to imitate the hermit thrush song, and he explained that he finds this impossible because the hermit thrush has a special y-shaped double voicebox that allows him to perform harmonized duets with himself. And he has a wide variety of songs. In my imagination, I picture him on his woodland branch with an array of small flutes before him – picking each flute up one by one to test its unique song in his never-ending quest to choose the one he likes best.

Here is a longer video (6:11) that provides a good description of the wood thrush and his song.

One can hear hermit thrushes throughout the day but my favorite times are when the woods are otherwise silent in the evening or early morning. They are often the very first birds I hear singing, even before the sun rises. For this reason, the hermit thrush came to mind when I read “Fireflies” by the Indian poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). Deep within this long poem is this line – “Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.” That kept coming back to me over the next week – sometimes in the middle of the night when struggling to calm my mind from the deluge of current events.

I took the liberty to expand Tagore’s beautiful line into a chorus: “Faith is the bird who feels the light before the black of night is done. He sings because he trusts the sun will come!” I wrote the rest of the song during the week of Pete Seeger’s 106th birthday, so careful listeners will hear that I give a nod to Pete’s example as one who showed us the power of song for social justice.

Thank you for following “The Kitchen Musician” and listening to my songs. Together we must keep faith that the sun will indeed come!

Sing on!

Tom

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Featured Non-profit: ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union works tirelessly in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the Constitution’s promise of liberty for everyone in our country. Their work is more important than ever.
“Defend the rights of all people nationwide. With immigrant rights, trans justice, reproductive freedom, and more at risk, we’re in courts and communities across the country to protect everyone’s rights — and we need you with us.”

Please join me in supporting the ACLU.