New Song March 11, 1962.. Performed on RockWiz LIVE, Sydney Australia
11 Apr
Here’s a new YouTube video that just went up. It’s a new song from The Foundling called March 11, 1962, performed on the Australian TV quiz show called RockWiz.The house band is amazing, and I loved playing with them, I don’t get to play with a band very often and this was was a real treat. I thought it went fairly well, though the show is about fun and games and lighthearted banter and playing this song made me feel like a joy killer…oh well, they asked me to do it!
I feel sad that Mary thought her song may have been a “joy killer” at this wonderful performance, because it certainly was not.
Mary was the high emotional point of a lovely evening. Her poetry in song left some of us breathless and others quietly acknowledging Mary’s (and their own) grief.
Australians hit the denial – she’ll be right mate – button very quickly and far too easily. Mary’s night came after two very important formal Apologies in our history, the first to the Stolen Generation of Aboriginal people stolen from their mothers and brought up in institutional ‘care’ and abused, and the second to the Forgotten Generation, child migrants from orphanages and poor houses in Britain brought here to build a young country, but also abused and whose very existence was denied.
So Mary’s vulnerable, aching song was a reminder and a validation of many of our experiences as well. That Mary could stand on stage and sing about her abandonment and aloneness and survival was encouragement for us to continue to work to get beyond our endless pain, isolation and addiction issues.
There will soon be an Apology to children left in ‘care’ or adopted/fostered, and to their relinquishing mothers for actions done by the state that have caused immense damage. These apologies are not just words, but also include counselling, compensation, assistance for family reunions (though often too late), and permission to grieve.
Mary Gauthier stands alone in her ability to articulate the multiplicity of pain associated with not being loved in her family of origin. In speaking of her own experiences, Mary also speaks of ours. We are a planet apart, but our hearts beat as one.
Amazing tune, I like it!
Between Daylight & Dark has been one of my seminal albums since I first bought it. At around the same time I discovered Tres Chicas, and the song on their Sweetwater album, “When was The last Time”. Your album, and that song helped to revive a very world weary soul.
Listening to this song, I have the feeling that I am in for a new journey of discovery for that revived soul! That’s what I love about music, that combination of lyrics and notes that can help us to know ourselves better.
Thank you Mary, you’re a Soul reviver!
By the way, next time you visit Australia, please pop across the small Tasman Sea, and visit us in New Zealand as well!
Arohanui (“Much love” in Maori)
What a beautiful song. It made me weep.
Please don’t forget the Mucky Duck in your tour.
You will really enjoy the gig in Somerville. I haven’t been there in a while, and the young are certainly different than people around my age. But they have evolved. via twitter, bing, etc. One thing I know though, the folks of Arlington, are Amazing Folk. Enjoy. If you get any time off, make sure you get to the womans bookstore, in Cambridge-at the corner of Cambridge Street and Pleasant Avenue. Inman Square had the best jazz around. 1369 club, and the KanTab lounge. the middle eastern cafe is a great place for new artist to showcase their work-middle eastern family owns the place…but they have showcase punk rock bands—children really….anyway, have a good time.
Great stuff! Can´t wait to hear the new album.