Musical Couples: Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: Seven is the Number

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"Yesterday, shortly after he went unconscious, he came back for a lucid minute or two to tell me, 'I just died... Baby, I just died...' There was a look of wonder in his eyes, and though I cried and tried to deny it to him, I knew he was right and he was on his way. He stayed with me a minute more but despite my attempts to keep him with me, I could see he was already riding that thin chiffon wave between here and gone. He loved beauty, he was hopelessly drawn to the magic and the light in all things. I figure he saw something he could not resist out of the corner of his eye and flew into it. Despite the fact that every rescue attempt was made by paramedics and hospital staff and the death pronouncement officially came at 12:08 pm Eastern Time, I believe he died in my arms in our favorite hotel, leaving me with those final words. That's the true story I am going to tell." - Tracy Grammer’s description of the death of Dave Carter, July 2002

There are romantic elements to the account above, as well signs of a spiritual path that a cynic might be tempted to dismiss. Don’t. Carter and Grammer really were one of those couples who were completely, magically, in love. Dave Carter was the songwriter for the duo, but Grammer was an equal partner. I think of them with her fiddle lines intertwining with his guitar, and with their voices meeting as equals, regardless of who sang lead on a particular song. I think, in other words, of the sound of songs like Seven is the Number. I only got to see them together once, and that’s how I remember it. I got to shake Dave Carter’s hand before he disappeared backstage to take care of something. He left me with Tracey Grammer, and she was generous with her time, and took me, merely a fan she had never met at the time, seriously. They had played a song so new they hadn’t named it yet, and they had asked the audience for suggestions. The eventual title was Mother, I Climbed, and Grammer recorded it on one of her solo albums after Carter’s death. Grammer’s love for Carter has lasted well beyond his death. There is even a brand new album of songs they did together that Carter left behind. (I will have more to say about that album soon on Oliver di Place. Stay tuned.)

Homonyms: The Mountain

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: The Mountain

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Steve Earle with The Del McCoury Band: The Mountain

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A mountain is the product of geological upheaval, but it represents solidity. Dave Carter, in his song The Mountain, finds a symbol of spiritual truth here. Carter referred to many different spiritual traditions in his writing; I don’t think divisions between them were important to him. The Mountain refers to Native American beliefs with Carter’s typical economical eloquence. The song showcases Tracy Grammer’s voice beautifully.

Steve Earle finds both the solidity and the upheaval in his song The Mountain. Earle made the song the title track from the bluegrass album he recorded with the Del McCoury Band. The song is about a coal miner who has seen his home ravaged as strip mining replaced the traditional mining methods he grew up with. So, on the face of it, Earle takes the idea of a mountain more literally than Dave Carter. And yet, I think it’s fair to say that Earle’s song also has a spiritual dimension as well. For the album, Earle, by his own account, had to learn to sing. He was several albums into his career, and Earle had always done all of the vocals on his albums. But he had never tried to blend his voice with others before. I remember reading at the time how Earle had to basically start from scratch, and really learn how to use his voice. His performance of The Mountain remains some of the best evidence that all of that hard work paid off.

Religion: Snake-Handling Man

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: Snake-Handling Man

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And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. - Mark 16: 17-18

I came into possession of a number of albums by Tracy Grammer, with and without her late musical partner Dave Carter, and I have lately been discovering Carter and Grammer’s album Seven is the Number. The obvious choice from it for our new theme would have been Workin’ For Jesus, but I liked Snake-Handling Man better. Snake-Handling is a real thing. Dating from at least the 1920s, it is practiced in some Pentacostal churches in Appalachia. The bible verse I quoted above is the scriptural justification for the practice, and practitioners feel that only those whose faith is strong enough should attempt it. Dave Carter portrays his narrator as a man who is filled with the awesome power of God. The turbulent guitar parts only serve to emphasize this. I am reminded of the boasting of supernatural power that is found in blues songs like Hoochie Coochie Man.

Circuses and Carnivals: Crocodile Man

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: Crocodile Man

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Our Circuses and Carnivals theme is almost done, and no one has visited the freak show until now. There must be other songs that would work, but let me at least share a favorite of mine. I suppose that the term “freak show” is not appropriate for this song. The crocodile man tells the story from his point of view, as a human being just trying to get by as best he can. And that is exactly what makes this song so special. Oh, and a killer groove doesn’t hurt either.

Fiddle and Violins => Earth Day: Gentle Arms of Eden

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: Gentle Arms of Eden

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Dave Carter gives us a lyric that offers the history of life on earth as a prayer of thanks for all that She gives us, and he manages the neat trick of not sounding at all preachy. So Gentle Arms of Eden seemed to me to be the perfect overture for our week-long celebration of Earth Day. Tracy Grammer’s fiddle enters on the second verse, and she takes a solo after the second chorus. Grammer is not a flashy fiddler, which may be why we got through all of last week without hearing her playing. But flash is not what this song needs. Her part here is the perfect complement to the mood of the song.

Blank and Blues: Grand Prairie Tx. Homesick Blues

Dave Carter with Tracy Grammer: Grand Prairie Tx. Homesick Blues

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It is no secret I am smitten with the music and lyrics of Dave Carter - I love this tale from his 1998 debut album, When I Go, stunningly illustrating the "you can't go home again" philosophy:

St. Peter when you call me, you will find me waitin' here
beneath this sad mimosa tree with a quart of drive-thru beer
for home is in the heartland but the heartland cannot save you when the heart is gone
and home's moved on

Parentheses: Happytown (All Right with Me)

Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer: Happytown (All Right with Me)

[purchase] - scroll down to Tanglewood Tree

Eight years ago today, the world lost a charming man and a brilliant songwriter - Dave Carter suffered a fatal heart attack a month shy of his 50th birthday...

He and Tracy Grammer, his "partner in all things", released three in-my-opinion perfect CDs, and she coordinated a fourth posthumously - the legacy remains, through Tracy's continued touring of the songs as well as others' covers (beautifully spotlighted recently on Cover Lay Down)...

Here is a link to my post to the Dave-and-Tracy list the day after he left this earthly plane - not a day goes by when I don't think about/listen to the music of Dave Carter. This day is doubly hard now, because it is also the anniversary (one year ago) of my mom's passing - Happytown is inspired by Dave's experiences with Transpersonal Psychology... but I'll always remember it for my own personal interpretation of "endless summer":

he says the primal quest ain't nothin' but a second guess
sometimes you just do your best to compromise

Street Names: Bright Side of the Road Edition

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: Highway 80 (She's a Mighty Good Road)

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Dar Williams: Spring Street

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Buddy Mondlock: Magnolia Street

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"From the dark end of the street to the bright side of the road" - those dirt, gravel and paved roads can be literal, but they are bound to be metaphor... of leading somewhere, running away from something or the journey itself...

All the songs above work through their darkness to a happy ending... of reunion, renewal and redemption, in that order:

The structure of Dave Carter's Highway 80 is unusual, as it has a repeating chorus, rare if you are familiar with his work - he also joked about it being a sing-along, hysterical when you read/listen to the lyrics fraught with names of towns that do not roll trippingly off your tongue. The song tells the story of a guy who allowed himself to be lured to California, looking for adventure, and found it lacking ("the water was cold and the beer was hot") - he talks to his woman on the phone, and she reassures (twice, in Tracy's twangiest voice) that she's waiting patiently on the other coast for his return...

Dar Williams' Spring Street finds our female protagonist experiencing an epiphany, realizing that she has to "walk the talk" to free herself from her stuck place ("but I'll push myself up through the dirt and shake my petals free, I'm resolved to being born and so resigned to bravery") - Spring Street is a state of mind, and she's already there...

Buddy Mondlock's Magnolia Street opens with the narrator in deep dilemma... he loves her, he loves her not... attempting to quantify the most complicated of all emotions - he soon understands, with the help of the wind and the mockingbird (adorably whistled in this live version by Jonathan Edwards; on the recorded version, it's a pennywhistle) that "we carry all this stuff around,we're not so deep we're just weighted down" (i.e., who needs to think when you can dance?)...

To hear/see the Van Morrison song I reference in my title, check out this video -"let's enjoy it while we can"...

Ghosts and Zombies: I Thought I Saw You Last Night

Steve Poltz: I Thought I Saw You Last Night

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I will go on the record (no pun intended) now as admitting that I loved Pieces of You, Jewel's first album, when it was released in 1995 - one of our local radio stations (WHSE, 103.5) was sponsoring her South Florida concert and, as a marketing ploy, selling tickets for $1.03 - I bought seven (a minivan full) and my friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening (complete with Duncan Sheik as the opening act!)...

From what I recall, I bought Steve Poltz's first CD because of his Jewel connection - he "discovered" her, they co-wrote You Were Meant for Me, they were romantically entwined... and he toured with her as her opening act and a member of her band...

I love this catchy, upbeat song... about a guy who purports to be brave except when it comes to the idea of facing an ex-love - he imagines her everywhere, conjuring metaphors of ghostly apparitions from obviously still-haunted past memories (and yes, that is Jewel on harmony vocals)...

Here are two more Ghost songs I posted for our Duets theme in late-January, should you be interested: Conversation with a Ghost by Ellis Paul (with Patty Griffin)... and Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love by Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer - enjoy!

Early: Anti-Procrastination Edition

Let's face it - I'm not only never early for anything... but I'm rarely even on time. I seem to go through life with a 15-minute Bermuda Triangle of "how did it get to be (insert _____ o'clock I was supposed to be somewhere) already?!?". To that end, I'm attempting to be Early in all definitions of the word (rather than my usual 11:59 Saturday night post) - I think Stephen Wright said it best: "The early bird gets the worm... but the second mouse gets the cheese." (ha!)...

James Taylor: Rainy Day Man

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Rainy Day Man was originally released in 1971, on his James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine album (of the four vinyl covers, I have the one that's plain white with penciled titles) - however, I'm including a version of the song from a bootleg of his October 29, 1970 Paris Theatre show in London, England with Joni Mitchell...


Joni Mitchell: Eastern Rain

[purchase] (never officially released/not commercially available)

The Joni Mitchell website lists her Early Unreleased Songs, many of which have been compiled on a CD for list members (thanks, Bob!) - from AllMusicGuide:

"At the beginning of her career, Joni Mitchell wrote so many songs that she never got around to recording a few of the ones she regularly performed on stage in the late 1960s. One of those was "Eastern Rain," which was covered by Fairport Convention as a highlight of their second album, What We Did on Our Holidays." More here...


Todd Snider: Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues [plus intro]

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Boyhowdy covered this one over a year ago but, since it's the first song of Todd's that turned me on to his music (as the hidden track on his 1994 debut CD Songs for the Daily Planet), I had to revisit - however, rather than the studio track, I'm posting a live version from his August 19, 2001 performance at the Rocky Mountain Folks Fest in Lyons, Colorado, which includes an hysterical introduction, as well as a few extra verses admitting he "borrowed" the talkin' blues style from Bob Dylan... but Dylan got it from Woody Guthrie!


Mary Chapin Carpenter: The Opening Act

[purchase] (never officially released/not commercially available)

From Country Universe:

"In a rare coup for a new artist, Mary Chapin Carpenter earned a coveted performance slot on the 1990 Country Music Association Awards [a YouTube video can be found here], and she used it to establish her identity as one of country music’s left-of-center talents. She decided to perform the biting “You Don’t Know Me (I’m the Opening Act),” a cutting dismissal of country star power gone awry. It was a risky move, with the less-than-famous artist taking a stab at the music industry who would determine the fate of her career...

She received a standing ovation at the end of the semi-scandalous story of a rising musician’s struggle. But Carpenter didn’t struggle for long. Two years later, she won the first of back-to-back Female Vocalist of the Year trophies in a CMA career that included 12 nominations, among them, a nomination for Album of the Year and Single of the Year (for the similarly sharp “I Feel Lucky”) in 1992."


Dave Carter: You Must Slumber

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From my friend Ron's wonderful website:

"This is a song that Dave wrote when he was 17 years old, and which Tracy indicates was recorded for – but eventually left off – the "Tanglewood Tree" CD. Although it was never released on an official Dave & Tracy album, a recording of it is now available on the Signature Sounds 10th Anniversary Collection disc."

Color My World: Red (Elegy)

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: Red (Elegy)

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From Wikipedia:

The term "elegy" originally denoted a type of poetic meter (elegiac meter). It commonly describes a poem of mourning, from the Greek elegeia (ἐλεγεία) derived from elegos (ἔλεγος)—a reflection on the death of someone or on a sorrow generally. As such, it may be classified as a form of lyric poetry. An elegy can also reflect on something that seems strange or mysterious. Additionally, "elegy" (sometimes spelled elégie) may denote a type of musical work, usually of a sad or somber nature. The term "elegy" is not to be confused with "eulogy."

Some of you know I've been in the Atlanta area (away from my Florida home) caring for my aging/ailing mother for the last two months - sadly, she passed away early Sunday morning, July 19...

It was the seventh anniversary of the death of Dave Carter - this song (originally released on his now out-of-print 1995 solo album Snake Handlin' Man and re-released posthumously on Seven is the Number) seems synchronistically appropriate...

Bodies of Water: September Sea

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: September Sea

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September Sea is as yet still officially unrecorded - as Dave always said in his introduction, it is a song about "parting and reunion" (in retrospect, so many songs about death in Dave's repertoire)... and Dave and Tracy regularly performed it as their encore during their Spring 2001 tour (one stop of which was a house concert in my living room)...

A few months after Dave's passing in July 2002, KBOO (a radio station in Portland, Oregon where they lived) aired a tribute to Dave, and a recording of the show was made available to their fans (with the permission of Tracy and all involved) through the discussion list (many thanks to TW for the dubbing and mailing!) - in the midst of our grief, it was a shining jewel we could hold and hear:

Thursday, 9/12 [2002], noon-1pm

The Dharma Wheel folk show (on KBOO 90.7 FM in Portland) salutes the great Portland songwriter Dave Carter, who passed away July 19th. This special show will feature rare recordings of Dave and his partner Tracy Grammer, as well as recordings from the Cathedral Park memorial service, and other special guest performances. Tracy will join us in the studio, and we will welcome call-ins of reminiscences from the community.

This tribute included Joan Baez's cover of The Mountain (which is also officially unrecorded)... as well as 'Til We Have Faces (a song Dave wrote specifically for Joan and Tracy's voices)... You Must Slumber (a lullaby Dave wrote in 1970, when he was 17 years old, in protest of the Vietnam War)... and other songs that have since seen the light of day in posthumously-released CDs - the entire recording is a lovely keepsake/legacy of a very special person and musician...

Trains: Hey Conductor

Dave Carter: Hey Conductor introduction (from Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, 8/19/01)

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: Hey Conductor

[purchase] (scroll down to Tanglewood Tree CD)

I've posted Dave Carter songs a time or two on this blog - he was a brilliant songwriter who still, over six years after his death, is so much missed. I was thrilled to remember I had a live recording of Dave's introduction of Hey Conductor - what a great storyteller he was as well...

This song also possesses the ubiquitously joyful train tempo - I tried to do it justice but when I went to my friend RG's site (if you need folk chords and lyrics, this is the place for you!) for inspiration, I found Ron said it better than I ever could...

This rollicking, knee-slapping, toe-tapping tour-de-force is one the most wildly entertaining songs I've ever heard. From Tracy's exuberant "Yee-ha!" after the second chorus to her absolutely hysterical tribute to The Wabash Cannonball during the mandolin break, it never fails to crack me up.

Here's the most poetic and thorough article I've ever read about Dave and Tracy (written before Dave's passing), even though it doesn't even touch on their third recording, Drum Hat Buddha, released May 2001...

Duets: Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love

[purchase] (scroll about halfway down to When I Go CD)

I seem to be on a ghost tangent with this theme - hey, if the spectral slipper fits, right?

I first heard Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love, up close and personal, at the Albuquerque Folk Alliance in February 1999 - I deemed it then "the perfect song": a guy/girl duet, alternating verses, traded lines, stunning harmonies, aching violin solo, precise counterpoint singing...

It increased in poignancy (as if that were possible) when Dave Carter passed away in July 2002 of a heart attack - as a long-time and avid fan, I continue to "count the days in cups of wine and the candles I have burned"...

Here, in Dave's own words, is the live introduction he used to give, almost as sad as the song itself:

Long time ago, there was this boy and this girl. And stop me if you've heard this, but they fell in love. And stop me if you've heard this, but he promised her that he would stay with her forever. Well he meant it, at the time. But after all too short a time, the call of the open road proved too great for him, and he took off running, right on down it.

Still, she believed that some day he would return to her. And so every night, she would burn a candle in anticipation of his return. This went on for weeks, and months, and years, this burning of candles. It went on for almost twenty years. And just as she was coming right up on that twenty year mark, well, she was running mighty short on candles. In fact, she was down to her very last candle.

But you know that just as that last candle was flickering and sputtering and about to go out, and just as the first winter snowflakes were beginning to fall beneath the midnight sky, she thought she heard his voice at her garden gate. Or maybe it was his ghost, after all those years of being gone. Or maybe it was only the wind. But either way, they had this little conversation, which we call "Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love."

"So many candles" indeed - sigh...