Girl Friday #7: It's Miller Time

Last week I gave credit to my friend Fearless for introducing me to the wonderful Karan Casey (and Neuro, I hope you're enjoying the downloads!). This week, Fearless strikes again. When my mom died, he told me, "Run, don't walk, get Broken Things and play "I Still Cry." I was hooked as a Julie Miller devotee from the first note.

Julie and Buddy Miller are the kinds of folks everybody wants to work with. They are incredible musicians, and many, more widely-known artists call on them when they need their sound, their energy, that certain something they offer up in a session. I have yet to bump into them when I'm in town, but one of these days I'm going to savor a live show.

This music is a departure from a lot of what I listen to, and yet it is inarguably rooted in the old mountain tradition. It's Old Time, with a Telecaster.

I do love the album, Broken Things. It's got raw gritty tunes, sweet regretful ballads, and a few traditional songs according to the Buddy System. I reach for it quite often, as it helps me go to my happy, ass-kickin' place when necessary.

It really is almost impossible to pick one thing off this album, but I'm going to recommend to you the lead track, "Ride the Wind to Me." I often think of my son when I listen to this song. He is wildly creative, and so when the rest of the average world shackles him with its cookie-cutter expectations and constraints, it's really hard to remind him to protect that kernel that is uniquely G. I hope he knows that no matter how far I am, he can always Ride the Wind To Me, tell me his troubles, and I'll always listen, and do my best to understand.

Ride the Wind to Me
by Julie Miller
from Broken Things, Hightone Records, 1999

i've seen your dreams get broken
i've heard your words unspoken
and sometimes hope is layin low
hidden in the ashes left after the fire

in my heart i see you run free
like a river down to the sea
all the chains that held you down
will be in pieces on the ground
you'll drink the rain and ride the wind to me

i've seen a faithless lover
take you down to deep water
and i have watched a fragile wing
tangled up in longings get broken in the struggle

in my heart i see you run free
like a river down to the sea
all the chains that held you down
will be in pieces on the ground
you'll drink the rain and ride the wind to me

someday your tears will turn to diamonds
with a kiss you'll wake to see
that you're strong at the broken places
i know someday you'll go free

in my heart i see you run free
like a river down to the sea
all the chains that held you down
will be in pieces on the ground
you'll drink the rain and ride the wind to me