So it’s been a dry period for me on my music blog. One thing about writing a blog like this is there are no real requirements. Good part: you don’t get in trouble for abandoning it. Bad part: you lose momentum for refining something to the point that you can actually post it. If my standards were higher, I probably wouldn’t post anything. The trouble with wanting to improve one’s self is that unrealistic expectations can interfere with the reality that you have to “be here now,” with whatever you have to offer, or you are stuck. As usual, this applies to more than music.
In 1993, Sting wrote “Fields of Gold.” I’ve never actually listened to Sting. There are a remarkable number of famous musicians whom I have heard of but not heard, and there are even more famous songs that are completely unknown to me. For many complicated reasons, I have been in a musical bunker for most of my life, despite my love of music. The version of “Fields of Gold” that I fell in love with was sung by the magnificent Eva Cassidy, who died way too young. For a while, I messed around with copying her, trying to match her creative rhythms and fluid melody variations. But then I thought about the fact that I’m not her, nor am I anybody but me. The version that I need is my own, created in the particular moment of singing: the only source of authenticity.
Fields of Gold, by Sting, sung and played by me
Susan Rose: Singing Grandma 