Child's Song - Tom Rush

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A couple of decades ago I was noodling around on my guitar and remembered a lick from a song my old high school buddy Chuck Niebling used to play. It had a lilting, slightly melancholy sound. The lyrics (I can never remember words) had something to do with leaving home. That's all I could recall about it.

I've played that 24 bar phrase on and off ever since; searching through the repertoires of every obscure and not so obscure 60's and 70's folkie I could think of -- to no avail. I've been totally stumped ... until today.

I was listening to a new download I'd gotten from Amazon featuring Jorma Kaukonen and David Bromberg (highly recommended, by the way) and was struck by a tune Bromberg sang. I went back to Amazon to check out some of his other CDs, clicked on a selection and --- OMG! MY MYSTERY SONG!

It was called "Child's Song," and was written by Canadian Murray McLaughlin.

More research revealed the version my friend Chuck had performed was by Tom Rush (I knew it!). Tom Rush, for those of you who have no gray in your beards, was one of the first wave of singer/songwriter folk artists who emerged in the early 1960's.

After listening I found out I had actually remembered the guitar part almost verbatim - even capoing up several frets.




I've got 2 sons, one a junior in college 1500 miles away, the other a recent graduate and on the other side of the globe. I think the reason I hadn't found this song before today was that it wasn't time for me to find it.

Enjoy. And if you're my age, have kids and get weepy listening to it, know that I'm a weepy old bastard, too.

Note: I hope I'm half as cool as Tom Rush when I'm 70.

Comments

Dan Brekke said…
One of my favorites. Naturally. I saw Tom Rush not too terribly long ago (within a decade or so) here in Berkeley.
10:42 AM
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