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| Flowers |
River starts with a drop of rain
Somewhere in this world
Light years shape this arc of sky
And sand a precious pearl
And you will light a stranger's life
By letting yours unfurl
And on and on it goes...
--On and On it Goes by Mary Chapin Carpenter --
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| The Stage |
Mary Chapin Carpenter is my favorite singer-songwriter. I saw she was going to be in town for a performance around my birthday this year, and knew exactly what I would be asking for from Mom for my birthday!
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| Another Concert Outing! |
In college, my friend Lauren walked down the dorm hallway one day, handed me the CD Stones in the Road and said: You need to listen to MCC! Over the past 18 years I've grown to love the authenticity and honesty of MCC's lyrics, as well as her melodies, voice and guitar playing.
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| MCC and Shawn Colvin |
Carpenter and Colvin alternated between playing individually, harmonizing on each other's songs, and doing some classic songs such as Merle Haggerd's That's The Way Love Goes. It was a very low-key intimate concert with lots of storytelling about songwriting and their life journeys.
For 2 1/2 hours without intermission MCC and Colvin sang a set of songs that included Transcendental Reunion, He Thinks He'll Keep Her, Sunny Came Home, I Feel Lucky, Twilight, I Have a Need for Solitude, This Shirt, That Don't Worry Me Now, and a new unreleased song by MCC called Hand on My Back.
One bummer about the handicapped seating is that it is in the very back of the auditorium, and this is the type of concert that we would have enjoyed being much closer to the performers! Never fear, though, we brought our binoculars! :)
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| My Favorite MCC CD |
In addition to loving Carpenter's early songs like Passionate Kisses, Grow Old Along with Me, and He Thinks He'll Keep Her, one of MCC's later albums, The Calling became my favorite. It came out at a time when I was often sick in bed, unable to do more than just listen to music and rest and was searching endlessly for meaning in my life. I still turn to this CD over and over again. And while it's an older song, Passionate Kisses has recently felt like an anthem encouraging me to embrace life more.
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| Me, Lisa and her staff (including her daughter, Brianna, who is standing right behind me on my left) |
When we rolled out of the auditorium after the performance we found all of the staff standing around in a group with Lisa. Honestly, I thought they were just waiting for us to hurry up and leave because we were one of the last people out of the auditorium.
But, no! Lisa had them ready to sing "Happy Late Birthday to Emmypoo" and a bouquet of flowers! She. Is. So. Sneaky! I anticipate Lisa's new version of Happy Birthday will be a Grammy winner. :)
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| Flowers from Lisa and Her Staff |
I know Lisa really wanted to make it happen for me to meet MCC and wasn't able to.
Still, I was able to give a card to her to pass on to MCC and hopefully she'll read it. Honestly, the birthday singing by Lisa and her staff was just as fantastic of a surprise and so full of love. The flowers are on my dresser, reminding me of a great night of music, and a group of wonderful people who make my life better.
I thought the serenade was the perfect topper to the night. It reminds me of MCC's song. Lisa has touched my life simply by letting hers unfurl. She was a stranger, but now she is my friend.
Blessings,
Emily
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