29.25 - Loudon Wainwright III - History (1992)
I took his son’s album earlier today, and I knew all along I wanted both father and son. Not sure Rufus would approve, as last I knew they didn’t have a great relationship. Loudon is a harder sell than Rufus as a person – he’s possibly too cynical and acerbic even for me – but I’m not sure there’s anyone who writes more truthfully about actual everyday relationships. His songwriting is
uncomfortably brilliant.
Loudon had three successive records that I would love to have on my island, so it was tough to choose. I considered cheating with a live album, but the one available that covers these albums just didn’t do it for me.
I made the tough choice to select this one in part because the songs were written and recorded just after his father had died. I’m thinking about my dad a lot in the past few days, and my next pick will probably be in honor of him as well, so these songs are particularly speaking to me today. In the aftermath of losing his father, Loudon is considering his own place in the world and not just the relationship he had with his father, but who he is as a dad now, too, and how he can develop his relationships with his own children. These songs are achingly personal and as a result are to me his most beautiful.
4 x 10 (just a beautiful melody)
Sometimes I Forget
The second song is the one I was sobbing to earlier, but at least there's a very cute kitty in the Youtube (
@simey). An ode to his dad:
Sometimes I forget that you've gone
You've gone, and you're not coming back
And it's hard to believe that you're still not here
What's left behind, disputes that fact
And your bookcase still holds all your books
It's as if all you've done is go out of town
You'll be back soon, that's just how it looks
But your suitcase is empty, it's right here in the hall
That's not even the strangest thing
Why would you leave your wallet behind
Your glasses, your wristwatch and ring
Your glasses, your wristwatch and ring
Sometimes I forget that you've gone
That we'll never see you again
I think for a moment, I've got to give him a call
But I can't now I realize that
No we can't meet for lunch at the usual place
The place where we always would go
And there was something I wanted to tell you so bad
Something I knew that you'd want to know
I could go by myself to our old haunt
That seems like such a strange thing to do
The waiters would wonder what was going on
Why weren't you there, where were you
Why weren't you there, where were you
Sometimes I forget that you've gone
I remember and I feel the ache
How could it have happened, how could it be
It's not true, there must be some mistake
Momentos, memories, tell me what good are they
No they're not much to have and to hold
And it's true that you're gone,
And you're not coming back
And this world seems so empty and cold
But sometimes things happen,
It doesn't seem strange
You're not far away, you're near
Sometimes I forget that you've gone
Sometimes it feels like you're right here
Right now it feels like you're right here