Songwriter Sunday
Monday is the new Sunday, right?!
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.
Idols and dreams
I got to see my biggest idol last night…Alison Krauss.
She was a star in every way - vocally, on fiddle and with her stage banter. She made sure the audience felt like a group of her friends, letting us in on inside jokes and personal stories, and then blowing our minds with another song.
And she had all of the best players you can think of up there with her, including two of my heroes, Stuart Duncan and Jerry Douglas.
I swear, at the end of the show, she looked right at me and smiled. The perks of having seats front and center…
I daydream about Weary Ramblers (the duo I’m a part of with Chad Elliott) playing those big stages to sold out crowds of thousands of people every night like Alison does. I daydream about a crowd of people singing along to our songs. I daydream about our songs hitting peoples’ hearts the way hers do. I daydream about us playing at Red Rocks or the Ryman…or Newport Folk Festival.
As I’m writing this, I realize that those things are happening. People are singing along to our songs. We have played for crowds of thousands. We have sold out shows. Most recently, two people at two separate shows shared that watching us makes them feel like they’re falling in love. Hearing that fills the soul.
The truth is, though, that a larger audience isn’t the be all end all. Sometimes the most intimate shows are the best ones. And the beautiful part is that I feel it happening - the elements I feel Alison creates with her audience. We might not be playing to massive crowds every night, but I feel our connection to the audience. I feel our hearts connecting.
On the drive home, I remembered a song I had written after listening to her tune, “Forget About It,” on repeat a few years ago. There was something about that song that reeled me in with all of the elements…the lyrics and the story they told, the rhythm choices, the melody…the delivery…the production…all perfection.
I was in the early stages of writing and singing (after avoiding singing like the plague most of my life). Now that I am further into my songwriting journey (and feel like I’ve been finding my voice), I think I’ll choose another Alison Krauss tune to obsess over and use as songwriting inspiration.
For now, here is “Would You Ever?”
Would You Ever?
Can a flower smell too beautiful?
Could I float amongst the stars?
Would I feel your hand reaching out to tether me back home?
Would you ever?
Could you ever?
Can the moon be too full?
Could you see the unseen?
Would you know all our thoughts, all our hopes and our dreams?
Would you ever?
Could you ever?
How long will it take?
Will time erase the pathway to you and me?
Can a robin sing too sweetly?
Could we be invisible?
Would we have the strength to find the words to help each other see?
Would we ever?
Could we ever?
How long will it take?
Will time erase the pathway to you and me?
Can a flower smell too beautiful?
Could I float amongst the stars?
Would I feel your hand reaching out to tether me back home?
Would you ever?
Could you ever?
How long will it take?
Will time erase the pathway to you and me?
Sharing Time
I’d like to share an unreleased song I wrote with you all, titled, “Would You Ever?” It’s a rough demo and a work in progress. Thank you for being a constant inspiration, Alison.
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
Seems the pathways are clearing before you, like windswept inspirational leaves, you’re filtering through the journeys footprints. The channeling I hear is still earnest and urging forward, though distinctively your own. Imagining your idol, the Susan Tedeschi’s, Emmylou’s and various sundry spirits, are looking forward to hearing wherever you’re heading. I certainly am. Again, the phrasing is brief and the energies seem barely withheld. Is there a breakthrough imminent, because forces are definitely moving .
❤️❤️❤️