It occurred to me that I will be releasing this new CD almost exactly 9 months from the start of recording. There are so many ways this is like gestation, this process of recording a CD. So many apt analogies. Except, as Fran-my-co-producer says, there’s one difference: that baby’s definitely coming. With a CD, or any other creative work, you have to keep showing up and making it happen, every day, till you’re done. And in this case it just happens to be about 9 months later.
Reading about everybody’s gratitude this Thanksgiving, and contemplating the art of appreciating and giving thanks, I am moved to tell the story of my song “You Give it Away” (track 1 on What You Keep, my upcoming CD). After writing it, I discovered the proverb “what you give away you keep” and that was the inspiration for the album title. It’s a song about sharing – not only what you have, but the essence of who you are. The song was originally inspired by a very moving letter from a fan, basically thanking me for sharing a part of myself from the stage. I found this letter (which had been filed away) during my retreat from performing, as I was trying to re-discover the joy I had once felt in my music and career. The song is my gift back to that letter-writer.
If you find your way to this link, you can download the song now – a gift to you too.
Look for the official release of What You Keep the first week of January.
artwork by Sue Pelletier