As times continue to shift, as ways continue to change, the power of community, connection, and friendship can continue, too, as a source hope and possibility. Friendships old and new, brief connections as you go about your day to day life, friends at distance and close by, long conversations and occasional messages: all those nurture connection. They are reminders of ways to keep balance and focus as world events and personal ones fill the world with change.
Here are several ways artists have explored connection in their music.
Tommy Sands comes from Rostrevor, a town in Northern Ireland which lies just across the waters of Carlingford Lough from the Republic of Ireland. As Tommy was growing up, he had first-hand acquaintance with division among communities, and with connection, too. That has shaped a lot of his songwriting as he has travels the world with his music. On his song Let the Circle Be Wide, there's another sort of connection: he's backed by his adult children, son Fionan and daughter Moya.
Connection to place and memory can be powerful aspects of community and family.
That's a good thing to consider at the time of writing this story with Earth Day upcoming, too. It remains a useful idea through the year.
The brothers and sisters of the Rankin Family, from Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia in Canada, consider the anticipation of journeys to meet well-loved place and people in their song North Country. They frame these ideas in vivid images of nature, too. This is an early release from the award winning group; Jimmy Rankin and Heather Rankin are among those who've gone on to flourishing solo careers.
Bernice Johnson Reagon grew up in southwest Georgia in the US during the civil rights years. As a young Black woman, a preacher's daughter, she knew music early. She knew discrimination, too. Her songs drawn on all that, and often find sources in strength and in connection. You will find that in this song, called We've Come a Long Way to Be Together.
On a bit of a lighter note, but well-related to these songs, comes Matt Heaton's song Happy You Made it. Matt is based in the Boston area, where you will often find him singing and playing guitar and bouzouki alongside his wife, flute player Shannon Heaton. As a duo, their focus is Irish music. One of Matt's other projects is creating music for kids (and their parents and grandparents). That was the spark for Happy You Made It.
Carrie Newcomer was thinking about the strength of friendships and the ways they can last across time and space in her song The Gathering of Spirits.
There's a gathering of spirits
a festival of friends
and we'll take up where we left off
when we all meet again
is part of what the Indiana-based musician sings.
At times a kind word, a quick smile, a long or short time spent connecting can lifts one's spirits in unexpected ways.
That's part of the substance of the song By The Time It Gets Dark. The song was written by Sandy Denny. Mary Black sings it here. Black chose it for the title track of an album she recorded some years back. It is a song of hope, possibility, and change. As the Dublin-based musician prepares to step back from touring after more than four decades on the road, she was asked to put together a retrospective collection of her music. She chose By the Time It Gets Dark to be the first track on that collection, which is called Anthology.
May the work of these artists be a good companion to you as you make your way in these shifting times.
Thank you for staying with us through this journey. Below, you'll find a link that will take you to an article which has a bit more backstory on the series. It also has links to a number of the stories, including ones called Listening for Community, Music for Winter's Changes, and The Geography of Hope.
Kerry Dexter is Music Editor at Wandering Educators.
You may find more of Kerry's work in National Geographic Traveler, Strings, Perceptive Travel, Journey to Scotland, Irish Fireside, and other places, as well as at her own site, Music Road. You can also read her work at Along the Music Road on Substack.