45 Years

Click image for playlist ...

This Christmas I prepared another Xmas for Kate CD (a playlist on Youtube and iTunes). Over the summer we celebrated our 45th Wedding Anniversary (see August Blog). For that occasion we spent some time together working on music that we might sing together, or as a tribute to one another, or just as memories of our time together these last 45 years.

Music has always been a big part of my life, Kate's too, the intersection is a happy merger ... so long as I don't play anything before noon! Thank god for earbuds, head phones and solitary drives.

If you're interested in our anniversary music click on the image at left for the YouTube playlist. Or, if you're really brave check the many playlists on my YouTube channel.

Some of the tunes will be obvious, e.g. 45 Years, by Stan Rogers. Others not so obvious. Most are tunes we selected together, some that I picked as a surprise. In any case, here's the playlist and a bit on why the tunes were selected:

1. You Got Gold, John Prine. From "The Missing Years" (1991). We saw John at Mariposa around the time of this album. This is a love song set to a jaunty little tune.
2. In Spite of Ourselves, John Prine. A silly little love song from the 1999 album of the same name. The duet is with Iris Dement. Together, Kate and I butchered this song at the anniversary party.
3. Dear Abby, John Prine. From "Sweet Revenge" (1973). This song is BK (before Kate) but we both loved the humor of it all. We sang it at our wedding reception — see August 1980.
4. I'll Be Your San Antone Rose, Jerry Jeff Walker. Again this is BK, but only barely. From "Too Old to Change" (1979). Words and music by Susanna Clark. We both love JJW and started going to Texas because of him. See our 2025 visit to his grave. Will we ever return to Austin?
5. I Remember Everything, John Prine. Heart breaking last tune by John, a reflection on a long life.
6. Passing Through London, 1972, Leonard Cohen. We both loved Leonard's music. I recall learning this tune with Kate back in 1980. 
7. One of Us Cannot Be Wrong, Leonard Cohen. From "The Songs of Leonard Cohen" (1967). Definitely BK! Another song I learned with Kate back in the day. "I lit a thin green candle, to make you jealous of me".
8. 45 Years, Stan Rogers. From "Home in Halifax" (1993). A song about a young man imagining being together for 45 years. "I want to see your smiling face 45 years from now". It came true. We saw Stan several times at the London Home County Folk Festival; there's a big hole in Canadian folk music when he died so young (1949-1983). We sang this, with Danny's help, at our anniversary.
9. Wilder Than Her, Fred Eaglesmith. From "Drive-in Movie" (1996). I sang this for Kate at our 25th Wedding Anniversary. Our No. 1 son Chris accompanied me on guitar. It got a lot of laughs. I think we might have done it again at this years annivesary.
10. B-Grade Affair, Audrey Auld. From "Losing Faith" (2003). This is a duet with Fred Eaglesmith. I think we first bumped into Audrey at one of Fred's picnic. It's another funny country song, one that again Kate and rehearsed for the party.
11. Marilyn and Joe, Kinky Friedman. From "Under the Double Ego" (1983). Another sappy little love song. I've been singing this acapella for years. We got to see Kinky a couple of times (1944-2024) and have even had him sing this for us on the Outlaw Country Cruise (2018).
12. I Couldn't Be Me Without You, Edie Brickell. From "Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver" (2022). I like this version, learned it, and sang it to Kate at our anniversary. We saw Billy Joe Shaver (1939-2020) only a few times over the years; but he was a really important writer of Americana. See my blog of November 2020 on his passing.
13. A Rainy Night In Soho, The Pogues. This came out around the time of  "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash" (1985) but I recall it on an EP. The Pogues were a great band. Wild, drunken but such great tunes. This is a great love song tinged with regret. "I've been loving you a long time".
14. Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You, Tyler Childers. From "Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs Of John Prine, Vol. 2" (2021). Another from the John Prine catalogue. A drunken bar tune, "I get drunk most every night, seems like all we do is fight". 
15. Bad Girls, Steve Earle & Reckless Kelly. A 2025 single. A bar room lament, "Where have all the bad girls gone?" Kate was a bit of wild one, still is. But you'll find us in bars listening to music. Our drunken ways are over.
16. That's The Way Love Goes, Hayes Carll & Allison Moorer. From a 2020 Single. Another love song. Classic country, originally by Lefty Frizzell. Hayes and Allison are a couple, she used to be married to Steve Earl.
17. You Get It All, Hayes Carll. From 2020 album of the same name. Another love song, a devotion to her — "I knew the night we met, you get it all". 
18. Another Like You, Hayes Carll. From "KMAGO YOYO (& other American Stories" (2011). This is a "Bad Girl" story, very ribald, very funny. No mush here, just drunken lust. "Let's get another round, It's lookin' like we're trouble bound. I have never seen another like you!". And I've never seen another like Kate.
19. Love Minus Zero/No Limit, Bob Dylan. From "Bringing It All Back Home" (1965). Kate and I are both Dylan fans. Last year there was a movie released, "A Complete Unknown" (2024). Great movie, lovely song. "My love she’s like some raven, At my window with a broken wing"
20. Song For The Life (Live), Jerry Jeff Walker. From "A Man Must Carry On: Vol One" (1977). Another BK, this was written by Rodney Crowell and his version closes with "There's a song for the friend I have found, you know she keeps my feet on the ground." She may be wilder than me, but she keeps my feet on the ground.

Looking this over I have to say that the above is the briefest of snapshots of our musical history. We are obviously big on Folk, Country and especially Americana. There are a ton of songs within those and other genres that we might have included. But again, for our history, check this blog and the many playlists on my YouTube channel.