Interview with Lucinda in German

I had to convert this conversation 1,000 words at a time, so there may be a few words that were “lost in translation.”

In our degrees of latitude an everlasting confidential tip, 56-year-old Lucinda William has become in her American native country with her magnificent, between Country, folk, rock and blues to iridescing songs for a long time the star. In the exclusive Nahaufnahmen.ch interview ennobled artist looks back some years ago of the famous time magazine as the best Songwriterin of America at her 30-year-old career, gives insight into the origin process of her songs and tells to us who is her most important mentor.

Nahaufnahmen.ch: Lucinda, you celebrate this year a jubilee. Exactly 30 years ago appeared your first album „ of Ramblin’ “. If you think back to your present time in the music business: Which was your nicest experience?

Lucinda William: This is a big question. One of the best experiences was to be published certainly the very first album. This was for me in that time a gigantic step. Then there were in every phase of my career great experiences. I think there, for instance, of my first Grammy-Award which I have received for the song “Passionate Kisses” or the Grammy for the album “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road”.

Now, in my career there were no very much big disappointments. Anyway I would call if I look back nothing in my career big disappointment. There was this rather in my private life (laughs). I am fine also one of those persons who can handle with strokes of fate fairly well. However, the death of my mother was very drastic. To handle with this kind of experiences is much more difficult than with problems which concern the career. Also in the times in which I had no flat contract and published no albums I wrote, nevertheless, new songs and gave concerts.

Their CD appeared last year „ Little of Honey “ is very interesting: On the one hand there are on it quite new songs, on the other hand, songs which you have already written for the previous album “west” or those whose origin goes back more than twenty years. How arriv to thatame now that these are gathered all on ” Little of Honey “?

When I in the studio went to take up “west”, I had material for two albums. This had never happened to me before. At that time I wanted to realize, actually, a double CD, so that I could publish all songs with each other. „ Really Love “, “Rarity” and “Jailhouse Tears” have originated, for instance, at that time. However, the record company wanted no double album because they thought, the people would not buy it because they would have to pay more for it. Then we decided to select the best songs to publish this on “west”. When it time became for a new album I had some songs which had been left. What concerns the older songs like “If wishes were horses” and „ Circles and X’s “: Latter remained lying for a long time, until I finished him five years ago, finally. This sometimes happens, because I keep everything and throw away nothing. The songs have her own time. „ Wave Waving Wave “ for instance was for the album „ Sweet Old World planned. One of the reasons for the fact that I turned again more to my older songs was the publication of Laura Cantrell”s CD “Humming by the flowered vine” (in 2005, Anm.d. Red.) on which she interprets my song “Letters”. I had written this more than thirty years ago and he was on a demo CD which a common friend of us had transmitted to them. She took up the song and published it on her so, completely forget. But Laura Cantrell breathed to him really new life. Therefore, I a little more exactly wanted to look at my old song material again. Sometimes one forgets his older songs and thinks: „ This is no more good “. Now I start estimating my older material again a little bit more. If we appear as live, now we also play again „ Happily Woman blues “ (from the album appeared in 1980 of the same name, Ed.).album. I got a copy of it sent and could barely believe it. I thought: „ Wow, this song is so old. “ I would never have thought that it would one day see the light of the world and had it

In this case does the possibility insist that also on your next CD some older Trouvaillen appear again?

Yes, maybe. Once I was in Nashville when I met the Singer-Songwriterin Nanci Griffith who said to me: „ My favorite song of you is this older song called “Full Moon” “. It is this one of the first songs which I have ever written. She added: „ I love this song, you should take up it absolutely. “ There are also songs which I sang in the middle of the 70-s when I lived in Houston / Texas. Nobody knows this, except those which came even then to the concerts. Now and again fans ask me: „ Do you still sing this or that song? “ Till this day some people remember this. I still have these songs, have kept all my old tapes.

I would like to speak with you about a few songs of your newest album „ Little of Honey “. “Rarity” is with nearly nine minutes of length a kind of key piece of your newest work. Can you betray to us something about the background of this song?

“Rarity” was influenced by the history of the musician Mia Doi Todd whose songs I heard about six years ago for the first time. I was impressed by her Songwriting and her voice. Their songs have a very delicate beauty. I tried to follow her career. She received a contract with a big record company and was dropped finally by this again. I imagined: „ Again an excellent artist, it was misunderstood and has problems with the music industry. “I have looked her experiences and have remembered some of my own experiences. I identified with him what she went through. She will never probably sell many records and is none of those artists who appeal to the masses. But her songs are so nice. I have taken all this and have inferred with my own experiences what has inspired finally “Rarity”. I like as this song has come out now as it is arranged, with the blowers in the background. It is my favorite song on the new record.

„ However, plan to Marry “ is arranged very economically. We hear only your guitar and your voice. The song combines very effectively the private with the political.

This was the last song which I have written for the new record. If one exactly sounds it, it begins with the fact that I scrawl the last chords on a sheet of paper. It sometimes happens that I finish a song only during the admissions to a new record. Then I take up him first once only with my guitar and my voice, does a kind of demo version. My tape members get a copy of it, sound the song and the next day come back in the studio to take up the song. This is the normal process in such a case. Thus I took up „ plan to Marry “ first of all solo and never remembered that he just landed on the ready CD. I was relaxed very much, the song took up without remembering that it must be perfect. It was at the end of a long studio day and the next day my guitarist Chet Lyster sounded the song on the way in the studio, Eric Liljestrand, the sound engineer, called straight away and said to him: „ Please, this song does not touch. Leave it in such a way as it is. This is the nicest what I have ever heard. It is great, we do not need to change the song. “ He had had to cry while listening in to his car. Indeed, we have still tried to take up the song in the studio with the whole volume because I had planned, actually to arrange it as “Rarity” very excessively. But it did not function. Thus we left as it was and I am very happy about that. The subject of the song is „ love defeated everything “. In spite of all grief by which we sometimes go in the life and the awful things which happen in the world (wars poverty, etc.), the human mind survives anyhow.

Is there a certain place or certain situations where you are the most productive? Most songs from the album “west” have originated in a motel in California

I have lived in this motel flatlet for some time when I have moved six years ago again to California. I have lived in the 80-s already once in Los Angeles, then have moved to Nashville and now have returned again to California. An amount of songs have originated in this motel, mostly at the culinary table. Where always I also go, anyhow I land to the song writing over and over again at the culinary table (laughs).

Do you write first the texts or the music?

Mostly the text. I am maybe in a restaurant or in a bar and suddenly I have an idea or a text line in the head and must write down this immediately: On a napkin or in a notebook. Now I have always besides because I never know, when I have suddenly again an idea. At home I have a folder where I keep the ideas first of all. If then I am ready and feel the muse or the urge to write a song, I sit down, bring out the folder, look everything and watch what happens. The inspiration often comes while looking the text ideas then also for the music and the scaffolding for a song originates. If I have this, I work again on the text what is often a longer process, while I add new over and over again, until it is right for me.

Two years ago you spoke in a radiointerview about a song which you just had started to write at that time. It contained the text line “When children suffer at the hands of fools .”

Wow! I can barely believe it that you still remember this. At that time I was just in New York at a hotel and thought about the son of a friend. This friend had just a separation behind himself and could see his son not so often as he would have done this with pleasure. This led to the fact that I thought about what children go through if her parents separate. Also my own experiences as a child appeared again. If I write, it can be that me somebody or something inspires to a song. Nevertheless, I must identify with the subject myself and me in it can empathize, so that the song also functions finally. It is ordinarily a combination of experiences of another person and my identification with it.

Their father is a poet and emeritus professor for English literature. To what extent you were influenced what concerns the song writing by your father?

He was to be taught very well in it me the compression of a text. He is a brilliant foreign language assistant and taught me as a text is to be shortened best of all and to be summed up, so that he is universal and the people also understand him. He warned me also against using klischierte phrases, as for example “stars in your eyes”. I remember how I worked on the song „ brine of Charles “ (from the album “Car wheels on a gravel road”, Ed.) and showed him for the first time this song text in whose refrain the line “Did an angel whisper in your ear” seems. He said to me: „ I think, you should not use the word “Hinge”, because you have used this already in the song „ Drunken of hinge “ (from the same album, Ed.). “ Thus I said OK, and tried to find for it another word. My father came with suggestions like “Did a devil whisper in your ear” which did not seem to function, however, anyhow. Finally I said to him: „ I must use the word “Hinge”, all other does not fit. “ He answered: „ All right. But now where you have used this word in two songs which will be on the same album, you may never again use it for another song. “ if this (laughs) has struck myself if I have belonged to myself the works of other artists and the same word or picture appears over and over again. My father is a great author and I have learned a lot about his craft. I could use the rules which he uses while writing of poems also with the writing of my songs. These were very valuable lessons which I have learned from him. It is a kind of mentor for me. About that I am very happy. Each should have this possibility whether he is now an author, painter or musician.

Some years ago you said in a concert, her life reads like “Southern Gothic Novel” and that you planned to publish your memoirs. Have you already begun with the writing?

No, because I would not like to injure the feelings of somebody. It is a difficult situation for me: I would like to write this book, but be very honest at the same time and varnish nothing.

In general your songs are very personal. Have you one day had the feeling, in a song too much from you reveals to have?

No, because there is to reveal still so much (laughs).

In one of your newest songs you prove Leonard Cohen a reference. What does he signify to you?

Great Songwriting, a great poet. He was one of my first idols. His songs are like with music put under poems. There are not a lot of artists and songwriters who can do this. I saw Leonard Cohen the last time live in the beginning of the nineties and it was great absolutely. He was so good, only already his stage presence is fantastic.

Soon you begin a new tour again.

Yes, we start in the ” House of blues “ in home Ana and then give in areas of the USA concerts in which we have not appeared this year yet. Then there is a short break and afterwards we are on the move for four weeks in Europe. For the autumn we plan special concerts in Los Angeles and New York to my 30-year-old career jubilee. Then I take from myself a time out, so that I can write new songs again. I am glad about it very much.

Do you write also songs if you are on tour?

Yes, ordinarily I have above all good ideas during a tour. However, it is some time that I have really sat down and have brought a little bit to an end. Earlier this has disturbed me, now no more, because I have understood that this is the pattern after which I work. So long I have new ideas as well as single lines and fragments of songs, it goes well to me. Because I know that sometime sometimes from it a ready song will originate and is this only one question of the time. If I had no more ideas and was inspired no more, I would really be worried. I must be only at the right time at the right place, then I can sit down and start the writing. If I am properly in the writing process in it, I do ten days or thus nothing other more. I stand in Tomorrow on and writes the whole day, switches on only to food a break. Thus it was anyway when the songs have originated for the album “Essence” (which was published in 2001 Ed.). I had composed longer time nothing new, then have simply sat down and ten days has done nothing more other any more than has written. I was all the time in the pajamas and have left the house no more. (laughs)

On the 22nd July you will appear in Lucerne in the Blue of ball festival.

(laughs resounding) I cannot believe at all that the festival call really so. („ Blue of ball “ is a slang expression for a quite specific sexual suffering in the English linguistic area, Ed.) I am glad very much about it, because I love to play in festivals.

Lucinda William, many thanks for this conversation!

I remember how I worked on the song „ brine of Charles “ (from the album “Car wheels on a gravel road”, Ed.) and showed him for the first time this song text in whose refrain the line “Did an angel whisper in your ear” seems. He said to me: „ I think, you should not use the word “Hinge”, because you have used this already in the song „ Drunken of hinge “ (from the same album, Ed.).

Well, that was definitely fun! The English words translated as if they were German, rendering “Lake Charles” as “brine of Charles” and “Drunken Angel” as “Drunken of hinge”.

Kent