The Troubadour Series

7/1/10 – FERRON

Ferron has what moves me most...sympathy for what is hard, honesty for what is inevitable, a companion in sorrow and triumph, a hand to hold as we keep going, not giving up.
— Shawn Colvin

Ferron is a poet who is able to convey emotion without becoming maudlin, and beliefs without edging toward the pedantic.
— Al Kaufman, Atlanta Music Guide

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Ferron, who is part Cree and part Ojibwa Indian, was born in British Columbia. She spent much of her early years in and out of foster homes until she ran away at 15. Of that time she says, “I was 15. In my shopping bag I had a change of clothes, a toothbrush, my A&W uniform, and a Leonard Cohen album. No record player.”

Ferron is an eloquent and widely revered songwriter. She has inspired many artists, including Ani DiFranco, Mary Gauthier, and the Indigo Girls. Her voice is soothing and the instrumentation of her songs is reverent, which is fitting because her songs are intimate, honest, and deeply wise.

The first song in the playlist is More Than That. It is a celebration of a happy time and the music is uncharacteristically upbeat. I love that she likens her happiness to being in a love song.

Hello my friends – I feel so happy to be back
To feel so clear and on the track
But it’s more than that

And it’s been so long – Now we get to smile like we belong
Like we’re safe inside where nothing’s wrong
Like we’re in a love song

The first album I fell in love with was Driver, and it is one of my desert island discs for sure. The song on that album that first grabbed my attention was Cactus – it woke me up and helped me understand that I had more choices than I knew.

Music can change us deeply, and this is music that changed me.

When I was young I was in service to my pain
On sunny days you’d find me walking miles to look for rain

When I imagine life is only time and space
Then I guess I’ve seen the best of it upon your tender loving face
And the faith that you bestowed in me gives me a solid sense of place
I learned to say fire, water, earth, and air
And I’ll see you there

The 4th of July will be here soon, which gives me another reason to include Independence Day in the playlist. The truth is that this song has been finding its way onto my playlists for a long time. Ferron sings about turning 40 and learning to live on her own for the first time.

Now this cabin’s as small as I ever have known
I get sunrise for breakfast and my nights are my own
I watch the ferryboats chugging folks back into town
As Independence Day closes down

There’s a fireworks light-show
But it can’t compete with this moon
You can take things for granted
And that can lead you to ruin.

Already Gone tells the story of lost love – of a love lost because one person loves more than the other.

There’s a field, there’s a field I can go to
And lay down when I need to have you close
In the quiet, in the quiet of the moment I can feel you all around me
You’re the wind that blows
Everybody loves someone a little bit harder
Everybody cries sometimes a little bit more
Everybody waits a little longer in the shadows than they should

Girl on a Road tells the story of the day Ferron ran away from home when she was 15. There is such power in the opening lines of Girl on a Road.

My Mama was a waitress – My Daddy a truck driver
The thing that kept their power from them
Slowed me down a while

I remember the morning
It was the closing of my youth
When I said goodbye to no one
And in that way faced my truth

And a walk along the river
And the rain a comin’ down
And a girl on a road

In the first video Ferron is performing with an Indie musician who produced her most recent album, Boulder. The producer goes by the name Bitch but Ferron calls her “Capitol B,” which makes me smile.

Girl on a Road