Retrospective: The Dutchman

The first thing I wanted to celebrate in my history with Star Maker is the folk-blogger sub-group. Not that we have ever given ourselves a formal title, and certainly not one so clunky. But there are three of us, and when we want to post folk music here, we often check with each other to see who will take the song. And we often find that it was a good thing we asked. In considering what song to post for this, I saw only one option: The Dutchman. Let me explain.

Michael P Smith: The Dutchman

[purchase]

It all began when Susan joined us. She and I quickly discovered that anything by Joni Mitchell was a duplication risk. Later, we added Dar Williams, and sometimes Tracey Grammar to the list. But during Silly Songs week, I posted a song by Steve Goodman. I had always assumed that Goodman had written The Dutchman, and blithely said so. Susan set me straight in the comments. The song is actually by Michael P Smith, and later that week, Susan introduced me to his work by posting The Princess and the Frog. That song has become a favorite in my family. So, even though The Dutchman was never posted before on Star Maker, it is my first choice for this theme.

Steve Goodman: The Dutchman

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Alert readers will have noticed that I said there were three folk bloggers here. The third is Boyhowdy. If you have ever visited his own excellent blog, Cover Lay Down, you know that he specializes in folk cover songs. (If you haven’t visited there, you really must do so as soon as you finish with this post.) So, now that I know that Steve Goodman’s Dutchman is one of the greatest folk covers in history, it seemed all the more appropriate to start this week with the song. Boyhowdy and Susan, thank you so much for your friendship. I can’t wait to see where it takes us next.

Fathers and Fatherhood: The Memories and Legacy Edition

Michael Smith: I Brought My Father with Me

[purchase] on the Time CD

Catie Curtis: Dad's Yard

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Todd Snider: Missing You

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I am still in the small town of Flowery Branch, Georgia - what was to be a two-week visit (from my home in Florida) with my mom has turned indefinite. We have begun home hospice, and I have chosen to be the primary caregiver - we are taking this One Day At a Time... the process could be days/weeks/months... and I am exactly where I need to be...

I am reminded of how different this is from my father's passing, almost 14 years ago... on my 19th wedding anniversary – I had not spoken to him in the 3 years before his death because he had chosen to take his life in a direction I did not wish to follow. I felt no guilt about our diverging paths, only regret that there was a finality to whatever possibilities I may have envisioned for our future - on the day after his memorial service, as my mother, brother, sister and I drove up to Anna Ruby Falls to scatter his ashes, we took turns telling stories of our interactions with him over the years... and it was like putting together the pieces of a puzzle, as we all had such different, and sometimes conflicting, memories to share.

My father is so much in me: my love of music, my affinity for the written word and my appreciation of humor, especially a good pun - on the dark side, I have also inherited his qualities of perfectionism which leads to procrastination which leads to paralysis.

My time, energy and music collection are limited these days... but my memories are boundless and my legacy is dear - thanks to Michael, Catie and Todd for sharing theirs with us...

The Aristocrats: The Princess and the Frog

Michael Smith: The Princess and the Frog

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As I was chopping carrots (murderess!) for vegetable soup earlier today, I had a royal epiphany – I realized we’ve showcased plenty of Kings and Queens this week, and my Prince needed a companion as well…

Who better than the Princess in Michael Smith’s song, which I briefly mentioned in my Zippy post for our Silly Songs theme – like Darius, I have no intention of repeating artists, but I’m never one to stand in the way of a love connection (although, now that I think about it, my so-many-frogs-so-little-time princess is a bit too self-absorbed and my dark-eyed prince entirely too melancholy)…

Silly Songs: Zippy

Silly Songs: Zippy

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As I commented earlier, I had planned to offer up another song for this week’s theme, but Darius’ Steve Goodman led me to Michael Smith – Six Degrees of Separation (minus four) indeed…

Michael Peter Smith (not to be confused with Michael W. Smith, the contemporary Christian artist!) is a singer-songwriter based in the Chicago area, whose best-known work is probably The Dutchman but whose catalog spans decades of material, penduluming from heartfelt to hilarious – he has been covered by Anne Hills, Bernice Lewis, Tom Rush, Claudia Schmidt, Jerry Jeff Walker, Liam Clancy, Small Potatoes, Gordon Bok, Sam Pacetti (whose version of There is positively sighworthy) and even Jimmy Buffett.
Michael had quite a reputation at The Flick in Miami (before I moved to South Florida), playing six nights a week for three years – he performs at GambleFest in St. Augustine each May (having written Gamble’s Guitar for Gamble Rogers, who left this world entirely too early trying to save someone from drowning), as well as other festivals, clubs, concert halls and house concerts. I was honored to present Michael in my living room in May 2002 – he is as shy offstage as he is captivating onstage.

So… here’s Zippy – I not only think it’s one of the funniest songs I’ve ever heard… but I’m in constant awe of the fact he has memorized and can deliver each word/line without tripping (no pun intended) over his own tongue!

Submitted by Susan