My Own Little World

I’m not sure where I was July 23th. I was one week into the new Big Box Pharmacy job, and wrapped up in my own little world apparently. I wasn’t listening to much radio, wasn’t reading much news, wasn’t communicating with friends more than the occasional two-line email. And yet the news that Amy Winehouse had succumbed to her life-style did break my awareness barrier within twenty-four hours of the event. Perhaps it was Amy Winehouse’s fault. I’ll blame her.

When I got the email last night from Folk Alley (a streaming radio station that I listen to far too infrequently) that they were broadcasting a tribute concert for Bill Morrissey last night and again today my first thought was that it was unusual to have a tribute concert for someone who was still alive. That’s how oblivious I have become. Apparently, if you die on the same day that Amy Winehouse dies you won’t necessarily make it into the large font on the obituary page.

Either you’ve heard of Bill Morrissey or you haven’t, and I guess it’s too late to convert you if you haven’t. He was a singer/songwriter, wrote for many of the folk greats but also put out many albums of his own music. I’d encourage you to look into him at some point, if only to find out that you probably already know him.

But whether or not you follow through on that, you need to hear “Birches”. If you’ve never heard Bill Morrissey sing before and will never him sing again, you need to hear “Birches”. It was song #22 on my “Top Fifty Songs of the Salamander” list that I posted a year or so back. As I noted then, the list was in no particular order, but I’d note here that if I were forced to make a “Top Ten Songs of the Salamander” list here and now, “Birches” would easily make the cut.



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