Guy Clark - "Somedays the Song Writes You"

[StevePulaski]

Somedays the Song Writes You (2009)
By: Guy Clark

Rating: ★★★

Guy Clark is now a seasoned country music veteran, one who has influenced many singer-songwriters in the genre and has earned the ability and privilege to rest easy in his chair, quietly observing the land around him and the tremendous work he has put out over the years. At seventy-three, Clark is in the period of his career to completely fade into obscurity, with the next time one will read his name will likely be in the obituaries, but even in his older days, Clark's spirit is still active and highly expressive, especially with his 2009 release Somedays the Song Writes You.

As a writer and songwriter myself, the title of this album strikes a very personal chord and hearing the titular track strikes a match that ignites a real fire inside of me. The song is an ode to those indescribable days where nothing is ostensibly bothering you, yet you're not at a real state of contentment. It's as if you're gliding through your day on autopilot, almost not in control of what you're doing and, instead, at the mercy of the day. The subject matter at hand here is the kind that inspires rich, verbose poetry attempting to accurately pinpoint the feelings, but Clark keeps things pleasantly simple, with his raspy, but soft voice carrying a very soulful melody to the song.

This is a compelling thesis/starting point for the album because Somedays the Song Writes You seems to be the album that tries not to summarize but recognize those feelings we have that we cannot adequately express, due to insecurities, confusion, or limitations that prevent us from doing so. Followup songs like "The Guitar" carry a haunting melody, with nuanced guitars and Clark's elderly voice telling the story of a man who walks into a pawn shop to find a rickety old guitar. "All She Wants is You" carries a message about love and relationships I've long possessed, concerning the fact that a woman can have everything - a good job, stable income, a great sense of life, yet, amidst all life's greatest luxuries and pleasures, she still wants you. The emotion can work vice-versa as well and is a thoroughly beautiful song from a man who's likely experienced a plethora of loves and losses in his day.

One of the more upbeat songs on the album is "Wrong Side of the Tracks," a midtempo tune about a walk around the unfamiliar part of town. Once again, one can infer that Clark has spent a great deal of his days observing what he wasn't supposed to be observing and basking in the glory of things that he probably shouldn't have been. This is where Clark's vocals, which music critic Todd Sterling beautifully describes as "tobacco and whiskey stained," take on a strong personality, one that conveys a moody sense of life experience quite beautifully. The album concludes with the decidedly ambiguous "Maybe I Can Paint Over That," a song where Clark questions if he can cover up his latest messes, perhaps referring to a domestic violence situation which left a hole in the wall. I don't know. At that point in the album, I kind of stopped listening and was really just feeling.

Somedays the Song Writes You is a bit too glacially paced for, yet Clark summons feelings over anything else on this album. Rather than getting hung up on details, he captures essence, like black and white cinematography in a film, effectively searching for the soul of his music, or, at the very least, the indescribable feelings, to try and achieve something so much richer than the human spirit is known to capture. This is a thoroughly beautiful work of true artistic ambiguity and wisdom.

Recommended tracks (in order): "Somedays the Song Writes You," "Maybe I Can Paint Over That," "The Guitar," and "Wrong Side of the Tracks."