Songwriter Sunday

Telling a story through song

Not “Are You Afraid of the Dark Part 3”?!

Don’t worry. There will be more installments. I need some more time to feel ready to share more chapters of my life (that part at least). I appreciate your patience, friends.

Story songs

The art of songwriting is something I have been obsessed with since I started my own writing in 2020. But listening to jazz standards and playing Rachmaninoff and Bach growing up was the start of my wonderment. I mean, truly…how did they all write such masterful music?

I want to make something clear from the beginning…

I believe that every song tells a story. But I do believe that some songs are truly a chapter in a book put to music.

An example of a “story song” is “Last of the Hobo Kings” by Mary Gauthier. Mary is one of my favorite songwriters of all time - brilliant in her writing and delivery. Her song, “Last of the Hobo Kings,” has an interesting story. As she tells it: “She was in a café atrium sipping Dutch coffee one morning when she saw a headlined obituary in the International Herald Tribune newspaper for Steam Train Maury Graham, the Grand Patriarch of the Hobo Nation. It turned out that Maury Graham was a folk hero and legendary figure in his community, thus the headlined obituary in The New York Times, and The International Herald Tribune paper. He traveled deep into the vernacular and history of Hobos in America, and time flew by. She learned about the hobo jungles and the hobo gatherings, the annual King and Queen elections, and the hobo lifestyle.”

Another example of a “story song” that I’ve immersed myself in is Jaimee Harris’ song, “Fall (Devin’s Song). It’s off of her “Boomerang Town” album (if you don’t know it, go check it out…brilliant songwriting and musicianship). As she tells it: “The song is about a former childhood classmate of Harris’ who was accidentally shot and killed in the sixth grade. The song was inspired by a series of “In Memoriam” pieces the boy’s mother wrote to the local paper, and the song serves as a tribute to both of them, as well as a commentary on the timeless nature of grief.”

Though both of these songwriters were open and willing to share the stories behind these songs, some artists choose to leave things up to interpretation. I believe there is power in both - creating a beautiful balancing act of sharing your own story and making others feel that you’ve written theirs.

Silver Creek Soliloquy

It seems not long ago

We watched our summer light show

But days have turned to months and years

And fireflies don’t come near

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Now yesterdays flower

Is too wilted to wear

So I’ll go find that Missouri field

Where the flowers found my hair

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And sing the silver creek soliloquy

And sing the silver creek soliloquy

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My eyes were drier than his

The day we said goodbye

Corn husks flying through the air

And blackbirds sitting high

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Up on the maple trees

Full of auburn leaves

And as each leaf fell to the ground

And left us bare to see

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We sang the silver creek soliloquy

We sang the silver creek soliloquy

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Here’s one of the things I love about songwriting…

Yes - this song could be a story from my life. Yes - this song could a be story told to me that I was inspired to put into song. Yes - this song could be a story I made up. Yes - this story could be about you.

The magic of interpretation will always give me goosebumps. There’s nothing like hearing another songwriter’s lyrics and thinking wow…how did you know?

Sharing Time

I’d like to share a story song I wrote titled, “Silver Creek Soliloquy.” It’s from my debut album, “Sweet Beginnings.” In case you’re wondering, the quirky sounding instrument you hear on here is a Mellotron that I played.

I can’t wait to share the back story to more of my songs with all of you, as well as my journey in music and life. Until next time.

See you in a week

If you’re reading this, thank you. I’m honored. And I can’t wait to continue on this journey via Substack with all of you! We’ll see what next Sunday brings.

To learn more about myself, follow my show schedule and hear my music: Kathryn Severing Fox's website

Photo by Chad Elliott (taken by a sunflower field somewhere in Missouri…where the flowers found my hair again)

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