The Lady. The Legend. Mary Chapin Carpenter.....

Grassdog

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Me too, GD!! It's my favorite album, but also Stones In The Road is a killer album. Of course before Come On, Come On, we had Shooting Straight in the Dark, which gave us this one!!! A super fave!! A KILLER SONG!!

You're right Tom, Stones in the Road was just about as good. That was three amazing albums in succession. Although this came later in her career, Between Here and Gone (2004) was another outstanding LP that never got the attention it deserved. By that time, of course, commercial success had waned but she will always have her devoted faithful base. She never seemed to fit into a specific genre, which was a testament to her creative abilities (but probably detrimental to getting commercial airplay later in her career). Here's one from Between Here and Gone

 

davismanLV

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Okay, another album that was fair, but not exceptional in my opinion still has the title track which is worth the price of admission. Lyrics beyond brilliant and hits home fair and square. Also, though people joke about banjos all the time, this one features a great banjo track that helps to create the song's haunting effect......



What I'm looking for after all this time
Keeps me moving forward, trying to find it
Since I learned to walk, all I've done is run
Ready, on my mark, doesn't everyone
Need a place in the world?
Could be right before your very eyes
Just beyond a door that's open wide
Could be far away or in your own backyard
There are those who say you can look too hard
For your place in the world
Takes some of us a little longer
A few false starts gonna make you stronger
When I'm sure I've finally found it
Gonna wrap these arms all around it
Could be one more mile or just one step back
In a lover's smile, down a darkened path
Friends will take our side, enemies will curse us
But to be alive is to know your purpose
It's your place in the world
Your place in the world
Your place in the world
 

Westerly Wood

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i just like the fact that she is in her kitchen with her golden, keeping it real. she seems really down to earth. i remember her name when she was really big in the early 90s...
 

sailingshoes72

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I'm a longtime fan of MCC. Back in the Fall of 2003, she was on tour with Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin and Dar Williams. It was a singer-songwriter's "in the round" tour. The four women sat in a semi-circle with acoustic guitars onstage for the entire show, telling stories and singing songs. Each artist sang 4 or 5 songs... mostly originals, but some covers. It was a very casual vibe and a great show. Johnny Cash had recently passed away, and MCC opened the concert with his song "I Still Miss Someone", a very poignant moment in the theater.

This is one of my favorite songs...
 

Gabby84

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She is one of my favorite artists. I’ve been fortunate enough to see her a number of times. Most recently with Joan Baez and the Indigo Girls at Tanglewood about 2 years ago. Her songwriting and performances are awe inspiring.
 

davismanLV

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And this classic!!! One of those that's hard to sing without breaking down a bit. It's just so beautiful. Jubilee.



I can tell by the way you're walking
You don't want company
I'll let you alone and I'll let you walk on
And in your own good time you'll be
Back where the sun can find you
Under the wise wishing tree
And with all of them made we'll lie under the shade
And call it a jubilee
And I can tell by the way you're talking
That the past isn't letting you go
But there's only so long you can take it all on
And then the wrong's gotta be on its own
And when you're ready to leave it behind you
You'll look back and all that you'll see
Is the wreckage and rust that you left in the dust
On your way to the jubilee
And I can tell by the way you're listening
That you're still expecting to hear
Your name being called like a summons to all
Who have failed to account for their doubts and their fears
They can't add up to to much without you
And so if it were up to me, I'd take hold of your hand
Saying come hear the band
Play your song at the jubilee
And I can tell by the way you're searching
For something you can't even name
That you haven't been able to come to the table
Simply glad that you came
When you feel like this try to imagine
That we're all like frail boats on the sea
Just scanning the night for that great guiding light
Announcing the jubilee
And I can tell by the way you're standing
With your eyes filling with tears
That it's habit alone that keeps you turning for home
Even though your home is right here
Where the people who love you are gathered
Under the wise wishing tree
May we all be considered then straight on delivered
Down to the jubilee
Because to people who love you are waiting
And they'll wait just as long as need be
When we look back and say those were halcyon days
We're talking about jubilee
 

davismanLV

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Hey a couple of people (besides ME) requested this song in her Songs From Home series on youtube, and she did it. I posted it above but I like seeing her at home with the dog and cat just singing with her Greven guitar.......

 

geoguy

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Not one of my favorite songs but she's staying strong in her series and I love to see her at home. She's out of the kitchen out by the piano now....... my girl, MCC.


This one bugged me, wondering what open tuning she was using.

I seemed to get very close with the guitar tuned to open D, and a capo at the first fret. She's put the capo at the third fret, so I assume she has her guitar in an open C tuning.

Hers is a very nice-sounding guitar, and I like her style in these "songs from home" clips. She occasionally performs at our favorite music venue in Maine, and I think we'll try to see her there.

Thanks for posting these clips, Tom.
 

davismanLV

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MORE Songs From Home, by MCC!! Episode 12: The Age Of Miracles. In this one her guitar sounds amazing to me, but I can't imagine that Greven Guitar sounding bad at all. Here we go......



The past comes upon you like smoke on the air
You can smell it and find yourself gone
To a place that you lived without worry or care
Isn't that where we all once came from
Green leaves and tall trees and stars overhead
And the sound of the world through the screen
But now you sleep with the covers pulled over your head
And you never remember to dream
You think you're just standing still
One day you'll get up that hill
In the age of miracles
Is one on the way
Greenland is melting, the west is on fire
But don't ever stop praying for rain
It's a curious place between hope and desire
Different gods, but the prayer is the same
And thousand-year storms seem to form on a breeze
Drowning all living things in their paths
And when a small southern town finds a rope in a tree
We're all once again trapped in the past
It seems we're just standing still
One day we'll get up that hill
In the age of miracles
Is one on the way
We can fly through space with the greatest of ease
We can land in the dust of the moon
We can transform our lives with the tap of the keys
Still we can't shake this feeling of doom
But I woke to find monks pouring into the streets
Marching thousands strong into the rain
Now if courage comes dressed in red robes and bare feet
I will never be fearful again
If I'm just standing still
One day I'll get up that hill
In the age of miracles, is one on the way
Seems we're just standing still
One day we'll ride up that hill
In the age of miracles
There's one on the way
There's one on the way
There's one on the way
 

Grassdog

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Okay I have to admit I used to have a major crush on MCC. Tom has managed to re-ignite that crush with all these videos.
 
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