Trouble & Love
go hand in hand
down the deep worn path of grief
a journey feared for its loneliness
traveled reluctantly yet turning
over and over like a smooth stone
or brittle brown leaf discovered
a season too late for knowing
all too well what we should have
known all along so long goodbye
waving a cigarette in the air
a cold stranger’s eyes that were
once a lover’s and now like
the memory of snow outside
a soul hotel where heartbreak
slumbers beneath blankets
of denial but will soon wake
to the sound of a train far off
and rise to claim the worthy day
to blaze yet again a new path
you need only
listen
Alt-country singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier exploded onto the scene in 1999 following her self-released sophomore effort, Drag Queens in Limousines. The album, which garnered her a Crossroads Silver Star and a four-star rating in Rolling Stone, had critics comparing her self-described “country noir” to the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, John Prine, and, not surprisingly, Lucinda Williams. The success of Drag Queens led to main-stage shows at festivals around the country and multiple tours in Europe.
Love & Trouble is her eighth album, about which Mary Gauthier says “This album reflects a total human experience. Love, loss, and a life transformed. It’s not a random collection of songs. This record is a story. It’s about trust and faith and believing that there’s a plan and a flow. And the flow is where the good stuff is because there’s wisdom in the flow. At the core, we’re all cut from the same cloth– the same dreams, the same brokenness, the same desire for companionship and family and home. Yeah, we all have that. And if I don’t go deep enough into that, it’s a problem. There’s no such thing as going too deep.”
