ANGEL FROM MONTGOMERY by DennisG (and wife Jamie)
Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 6:55 pm
Some background: "Angel from Montgomery," written in 1971 by John Prine, has been recorded by a number of people, including artists as diverse as Dave Matthews, Tanya Tucker, Susan Tedeschi, and Ben Harper. But the biggest impact was made by Bonnie Raitt who recorded it in 1974 and has kept the song in her play set pretty much ever since. Part of what I've always found fascinating about the song is that John Prine wrote it from a female's perspective -- the beginning lyrics being, "I am an old woman..." There aren't that many songs written that way.
Why I chose this song: I could say I chose it because I think it's a beautiful song, but really, I could say that about every song I choose. Another reason I chose it is because it's a great, wistful piece of poetry set to disarmingly simple and sweet music -- the chords G - C - D - F being all there is to it. It doesn't get much simpler than that. But really, the main reason I chose it is because I was looking for a song I could sing on TG with my wife Jamie, having been inspired by Chris's wonderful video of "Summer Wine" he did with his daughter. Considering that Jamie has zilch for a musical background, never even sang until she met me, and doesn't play an instrument, I think she did a terrific job.
The challenges: My own maddening lack of ability to maintain attention. I did "For No One" in three takes. "Junk" required two takes. "Angel from Montgomery," by far the easiest song of all? Nineteen takes. It just goes to show that the easiest songs are sometimes the hardest to pull off -- especially when your mind is wandering to Jamie's clothing or to her hair or to how much I love the fact that she's doing this with me. Only four chords, and yet I managed to keep flubbing them. Go figure.
Why I chose this song: I could say I chose it because I think it's a beautiful song, but really, I could say that about every song I choose. Another reason I chose it is because it's a great, wistful piece of poetry set to disarmingly simple and sweet music -- the chords G - C - D - F being all there is to it. It doesn't get much simpler than that. But really, the main reason I chose it is because I was looking for a song I could sing on TG with my wife Jamie, having been inspired by Chris's wonderful video of "Summer Wine" he did with his daughter. Considering that Jamie has zilch for a musical background, never even sang until she met me, and doesn't play an instrument, I think she did a terrific job.
The challenges: My own maddening lack of ability to maintain attention. I did "For No One" in three takes. "Junk" required two takes. "Angel from Montgomery," by far the easiest song of all? Nineteen takes. It just goes to show that the easiest songs are sometimes the hardest to pull off -- especially when your mind is wandering to Jamie's clothing or to her hair or to how much I love the fact that she's doing this with me. Only four chords, and yet I managed to keep flubbing them. Go figure.
