Letters
Knit to This: Nanci Griffith
Dear Ann,
Last week, when I read the sad news that singer/songwriter Nanci Griffith had died, I spent the evening listening to YouTubes of songs of hers I’ve loved. This seems to be a common ritual of mourning for people we don’t actually know but whose work has been a touchstone in our lives.
There’s a lot of good Nanci Griffith on YouTube, but the one that kind of stabbed me in the kishkes was the recording linked above, of a 1989 performance on Austin City Limits. She’s so young, and alternates between bold and barky, and angelically girlish. The songs are pure gold, a particular favorite being “Radio.” I loved this song before I’d ever been to the South. All that stuff about “these Delta towns wear satin gowns” and smelling the Pontchartrain was a leap of imagination for me.
I loved a comment I read, where the poster says they recorded this episode of ACL because Emmylou Harris was the headliner, and after watching it went right out and bought every Nanci Griffith record. She had that way.
If you don’t know her work, start with one of the great songs about marriage, “Trouble in the Fields,” sung here by Maura O’Connell, with Nanci singing harmony.
Let me be the 1 millionth fan to express the hope that Nanci Griffith has caught some blackbird’s wing.
Love,
Kay
My heart broke to hear Nancy died. I’ll be knitting and listening to her today…May she fly high. She has left us many jewels to savor…
What a lovely tribute. Thank you.
A true American treasure. She had a gift and will be missed.
Oh. So sad. I love her music. Thanks for the tribute and the links.
I had no idea she’d passed away. :::hand across my heart:::
She’s been a long-time favorite of mine and just 2 weeks ago I found an album of hers I didn’t own and have been playing it on reply as if it would have ruined a real LP. A line from Tecumseh Valley seems fitting here: “And her ways were free, and it seemed to me, the sunshine, walked beside her.”
Lovely tribute. Thanks for sharing this video. I especially love her video with John Prine “The Speed of The Sound of Loneliness.”
Ah, this is so sad. I hadn’t seen that news. Thanks for the tribute.
Thank you, Kay! This captures her essence. I hope she’s dancing in the aisles of the five and dime.
Yes!
Years ago, I sold her furniture while I worked at The Storehouse. I was a youngster and didn’t realize who she was until our 2nd or 3rd conversation. She was a lovely person, outside of being such a talent.
I watched (several times) a YouTube video of her appearance on David Letterman where she sang ‘From a Distance’ (which she recorded before Bette Midler). It was just as the news from Afghanistan was breaking. Her performance and the words of that song hit that spot of grief for person and humanity all at the same time.
I keep alternating between thinking of Nanci in a field of bluebonnets and sitting, playing and singing together again with John Prine.
The world is better thanks to her gifts
Sad news, indeed. I always recognized her voice instantly and would immediately reach to turn up the stereo.
My husband and I have been long-time fans of Nanci Griffith and we got to see her a few times live and have almost all her albums. Thank you so much for letting us relive those experiences today. I just finished playing the ACL YouTube video while we are driving across west Texas on our way to CO. We were both in tears reminiscing the memories the video conjured.
Same feelings here. Searched in vain on YouTube and Netflix for my favorite, Mary and Omie, on Once in a Very Blue Moon album. “There could never be a better hand than these hearts I hold.”
Her music has helped me through some very difficult times and how is it that she can be gone so soon. If I hadn’t read your post this morning I would have been unaware of her passing and today I feel more alone than I have felt in the past
I just love that you paid tribute to Nanci Griffith here, she will be sorely missed. Once you’ve finished listening to all of Nanci’s albums, check out Pete and Maura Kennedy singing some of her best songs. They were close friends and worked with her for years, and recorded an album of her songs. They can be found at The Kennedys Music on YouTube and Facebook, and of course their own website.
Here’s a link to the Kennedy’s tribute on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRgpFqCDK_U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IVaycEDGd8
Music to sit still with.
Nancy Griffith, Roseanne Cash, Mary Chapin Carpenter (1991)
So many favorites. My family has been told that I want someone to sing “Gulf Coast Highway “ at my funeral.
All of this. Thanks for the links.
We saw her a few times in Houston. She was the best! If you listen to “Love at the 5 and dime” on her “One Fair Summer Evening” CD, she talks about buying “unnecessary plastics objects” at Woolworths stores. My husband and I incorporated that term into our lexicon back in the late ’80s and we stole it from Nanci! She was a rare, very talented gem!
I’ve been listening to Nancy for years. So many of her songs hit important social issues. I was devastated to hear she died.
Thanks so much for this. Nanci was a blessing.
…….And to think I was living in Austin in 1985, was offered tickets to ACL with Nanci on stage and turned them down. (insert thunk on side of head) I was a Yankee, didn’t initially care for the sound of her voice. However a few years after that, I came to my senses and grew to greatly appreciate her songwriting and musical abilities. Once in a Very Blue Moon, Workin’ in Corners…and Spin on a Red Brick Floor
Thank you for the post, links and the Kennedys tribute. I have been so sad all week since Nanci has left us. She wrote so many wonderfully sensitive songs and those will be with me. What a treasure she was.
Thank you for posting this tribute to Nanci here. I was so sad to read in the Times that she had passed away.
This is so heartbreaking. She is such a touchstone for me.
OMG —-this is just the best—-rest in power, Nancy, you beautiful soul
Yes. She was amazing. Im guessing you Saw the YouTube compilation of her on Letterman over the years. He was clearly a big fan, too.
I used to spend many hours driving around in my car listening to Nancy Griffith….a Texas treasure and we loved her
Her _MCA Years: A Retrospective_ is a marvelous CD. Been a devotee since a “Late Night Grande Hotel” show in New Haven in the early 90s.
I am a huge Nanci Griffith fan. How did I miss this news? I will listen to her albums to pay tribute.