“But still I get lonely
And sometimes I doubt
I want to do right
But it seems like only wrong gets out”
– Jesse Winchester, from Quiet About It
I am saddened today to hear that folksinger Jesse Winchester is very ill, and feel I need to say a few words about him here.
I was profoundly moved and influenced by his first album back in 1970, with such songs as Yankee Lady, Black Dog and Quiet About It. I played it over and over and over and over again and soon had to buy a second copy. He was a favourite of us “kids” in Chomedey back then, and he came to our local Y to perform. It was a full house, and several of us got to meet him backstage, and share a bit of joy with him. Some of the kids brought their copies of his album to sign. The show didn’t actually go on that night for Jesse — he had to leave, though we were also graced with the presence of Penny Lang that evening.
I named my son after Jesse Winchester, both because I liked the name “Jesse” and because I loved whatever it was in the man who produced that first album. I felt his pain. I felt his compassion.
Thank you for sharing yourself, Jesse.
– Jillian
An autumn walk on a country road
And a million flaming trees
I was feeling uneasy
Cause there was winter in the breeze
And she said, “Oh Jesse, look over there,
The birds are southward bound
Oh Jesse, I’m so afraid
To lose the love that we’ve found.”
– Jesse Winchester, from Yankee Lady
It is wonderful to have the memories to hold on to… but you told me you are 21, so what were you doing being “profoundly moved and influenced by his first album back in 1970”? Though it would of course be rude of me to enquire after a lady’s age, I was 11/12 back then. Not that it matters: age is only a number. I was chatting with a friend on Friday on her 67th birthday and she said she didn’t feel any different from when she was 18. Personally I prefer to think of myself as a perennial 17 year old, in the days of “sixth form” as it was known back then (year 13 or something like these days), without a care in the world.
Nice to know you and Maggie found time for the hot tub this weekend. I hope the elections aren’t too tiring and stressful.
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Because I was born on Feb. 29 in a leap year? Smiles . . .
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My prayers are with him. He is really one of my favourites. Saw him perform live in the 80s at a CBC taping in Montreal. it is a sad day for me.
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