Billy Bragg and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy alternated lead vocals on Mermaid Avenue; the iconic album of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. Today’s song At My Window Sad and Lonely was sung by Jeff Tweedy and it comes a year after I wrote about my favourite song from Mermaid Avenue – California Stars. More information about the album can be found in my previous articles inc. Birds and Ships (feat. Natalie Merchant). Guthrie’s recording career was more or less over by 1947, but his estate approached Billy Bragg in 1995 to set Woody’s handwritten, unrecorded lyrics to music.
As I write about today’s song At My Window Sad and Lonely, I draw parallels with my current disposition. I let the devil in the room yesterday; only momentarily but I’ve been paying for it since, and it has affected my sleep tonight. It was a nano second temptation, and it crossed my mind to entertain it which I was part way to fulfilling. Thankfully it didn’t come to fruition.
There’s a scantily known ballad by Springsteen called ‘With Every Wish‘ (comes a Curse). The older I get, the more this truism rings true. I’m wallowing in my Sad and Lonely state and wondering how the puppeteer (The Logos) can take charge again and empty me of these harmful desires.
At my window, sad and lonely
Oft times do I think of thee
Sad and lonely and I wonder
Do you ever think of me?
Every day is sad and lonely
And every night is sad and blue
Do you ever think of me, my darling
As you sail that ocean blue?
Will you find another sweetheart
In some far and distant land?
Sad and lonely, now I wonder
If our boat will ever land
Ships may ply the stormy oceans
And planes may fly the stormy sky
I’m sad and lonely, but remember
Oh I’ll love you till I die
Since the success of Mermaid Avenue (1998), a second and third volume of recordings were released, in 2000 and 2012 respectively. It culminated in Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions. A DVD containing the documentary Man in the Sand (1999), that functions as both a biography of Guthrie and a chronicle of the creation of Billy Bragg & Wilco’s Mermaid Avenue is included as a fourth disc. You can view the trailer of it here.
Throughout the film, Nora Lee Guthrie – the daughter of the legendary American folk musician narrates the story of her father’s life, while Bragg is seen traveling to various locations relevant to Woody Guthrie’s life, such as Okemah, Oklahoma (his hometown), Pampa, Texas (where he met his first wife), and New York City (where he made his home after leaving California).
Reference:
1. Mermaid Avenue – Wikipedia
2. Man in the Sand – Wikipedia
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