Some songs you hear or listen to...others you FEEL, SMELL and TASTE. The incomparable Mary Chapin Carpenter makes I Am A Town one of those songs. Its beauty simply has no rival. Pure magic.
I' ve never been in America and probably never will but this song takes me there...in dreams. What a wonderfull singer! People with this quality makes that country so special.
This song is total poetry, evocative and wistful. It manages to both describe the towns in NC but also remind you of small towns everywhere. And it's perfectly arranged and sung...simply gorgeous.
You feel like you're looking out the window, as you drive through the town. Reminds me of my stays in the country when I was a kid. Simple true feelings. Mary's wonderful. She leaves all those Nashville glamour pusses for dead.
One of the top 10 songs EVER written. She makes the imagery come alive, in every sense. Chapin, Please tour some more and put out more records! The music world sorely needs your talent!
Do take note of the playing on this song, Mark O'Conner's fiddle work was so artistic as to be masterful, and the piano playing was simply stunning in it's artistry. The song is more an existential poem on the temporality of existances, success, life. The new passed over and become decay, but the beauty of decay, of recollection captured...and a southern anthem in many ways, as at the close we hear the piano play a soft melody, a line from "Dixie". Brilliant, sublime, This is art.
From Boone, NC living in Alabama now, I love it here but this makes me miss NC. Thanks Mary Chapin Carpenter, you paint the picture and capture the feeling of Carolina!
In the mid 1990's, I drove countless times from NJ to NC to see my girlfriend. This song takes me right back to that time through MD, WV, VA and NC. It is poetry, it is perfection. One of those bucket lists songs that you dream of seeing performed live, like this beautiful version.
So agree, about the bucket list...and yet, I am hugely concerned about the impact Covid-19 may ultimately have on mine! I am seriously considering coming halfway around the world to attend ANY of MCC's concerts! Fan since the late 80s...
I saw her do this years ago on the grammys or some other awards show and said "WOW" and was hooked. She only had a cello and that was perfect Amazing song....
LOVE MCC's music so much. Could listen to her play the guitar for hours. Such a talented song writer and musician - she is truly the elder stateswoman of Folk Country music.
You are so, so right. I can't even find the words to describe this song and I'm almost in tears every time I hear it. It's probably the most sincere, expressive and heartfelt piece of music I've ever heard. Stunningly beautiful.
Heard this live in maybe early '90s and have a much later recording and the song, voice and mix just gets better with the passage of time. A lot of work to adapt to what age does to we mere mortals over time and maintain a vocal instrument the way Ms MCC has been able to do. This song paired with Dar Williams book puts I Am A Town as a fav. of mine for sure since Ms Carpenter first sung it nearly 30 yrs back. 👍
This is my favorite MCC song ever! I've been listening to her since I was about 10, when I bought her CD after hearing her on the radio. Now, at 26, I'm FINALLY going to get to see her live in August with Shawn Colvin!!!! I pray and hope I can meet her somehow. Wish me luck!
A great song with tons of imagery, the listener feels like he/she is taking a drive cross country. I really enjoyed this album when it came out she is very talented.
To me, this is Mary's best song. My developmentally disabled daughter and I have been listening to this for so many years it seems, and we love just as much now as when we first heard it.
Use to take long rides and listen to Come On Come On....kids loved it too and would fall asleep....She is deffinately a poet,singer, song writer and I wish she would come out with more
reminds me of small town America. I live in a small town & love it here. espically in the fall. she is such a talented singer & song writer. have a few of her albums & love them I can picture everything she is saying small town's she does make pictures with her songs.
If "Carolina" was "California", this song would exactly be about Fresno, my life and the people in it. She was my major influence in song writing and guitar playing. I have not found any like her. She is moving.Peaches in September reminds me of the wonderful fruit my dad brought home every summer. I love him.
Your right Sharon it is a lovely video...Thanks for the send......Very nice singing. You have a lovely voice Mary... It is a very nice video.......Colin.
America it's a great country just because people like Mary Chapin or legends like Bill Monroe or B.B. King or Wes Montgomery or Charlie Parker ,gave us such a great art !!!
Does anyone else remember seeing a version of this song by MCC on the Jools Holland show? It was on youtube for a short while, but I've searched high and low and it doesn't appear to be on here anymore. It was just her and her guitar; a true solo performance of the song, and it was absolutely breathtaking. I'd love to see it again. Does anyone know where a person might could find it?
I saw that show and felt exactly the same.It was time-stilling :) I'd love to see it again-I think I MAY have VCR'd it , but how to find it and transpose it....!
@timothy32 I live in a coastal city in southern England and there are some beautiful cycle routes along country lanes where cars hardly go. I have cycled them many hundreds of times and they are never the same. You can realy think and enjoy the sights. This song puts me in mind of those quiet country lanes.
I got her first album and fell in love. I am a town is in my top 5 songs ever. What a voice and storyteller. Thank you Mary.
Some songs you hear or listen to...others you FEEL, SMELL and TASTE. The incomparable Mary Chapin Carpenter makes I Am A Town one of those songs. Its beauty simply has no rival. Pure magic.
I' ve never been in America and probably never will but this song takes me there...in dreams. What a wonderfull singer! People with this quality makes that country so special.
This song is total poetry, evocative and wistful. It manages to both describe the towns in NC but also remind you of small towns everywhere. And it's perfectly arranged and sung...simply gorgeous.
You feel like you're looking out the window, as you drive through the town. Reminds me of my stays in the country when I was a kid. Simple true feelings. Mary's wonderful. She leaves all those Nashville glamour pusses for dead.
One of the top 10 songs EVER written. She makes the imagery come alive, in every sense. Chapin, Please tour some more and put out more records! The music world sorely needs your talent!
Do take note of the playing on this song, Mark O'Conner's fiddle work was so artistic as to be masterful, and the piano playing was simply stunning in it's artistry.
The song is more an existential poem on the temporality of existances, success, life. The new passed over and become decay, but the beauty of decay, of recollection captured...and a southern anthem in many ways, as at the close we hear the piano play a soft melody, a line from "Dixie". Brilliant, sublime, This is art.
I'm a die hard Rock music fan and this album, Come On Come On, is one of my top 10 all time favs. Mary is a fantastic storyteller.
This is one of those songs you wish everyone would listen to. Really listen.
From Boone, NC living in Alabama now, I love it here but this makes me miss NC. Thanks Mary Chapin Carpenter, you paint the picture and capture the feeling of Carolina!
In the mid 1990's, I drove countless times from NJ to NC to see my girlfriend. This song takes me right back to that time through MD, WV, VA and NC. It is poetry, it is perfection. One of those bucket lists songs that you dream of seeing performed live, like this beautiful version.
So agree, about the bucket list...and yet, I am hugely concerned about the impact Covid-19 may ultimately have on mine!
I am seriously considering coming halfway around the world to attend ANY of MCC's concerts! Fan since the late 80s...
I am from Carolina, boy this takes me there like Carolina in my mind, Mary Chapin is the best singer/songwriter since Joni Mitchell
I saw her do this years ago on the grammys or some other awards show and said "WOW" and was hooked. She only had a cello and that was perfect Amazing song....
Pabst Blue Ribbon, American, and Southern Serves the South......genius!!!
LOVE MCC's music so much. Could listen to her play the guitar for hours. Such a talented song writer and musician - she is truly the elder stateswoman of Folk Country music.
You are so, so right. I can't even find the words to describe this song and I'm almost in tears every time I hear it. It's probably the most sincere, expressive and heartfelt piece of music I've ever heard. Stunningly beautiful.
Heard this live in maybe early '90s and have a much later recording and the song, voice and mix just gets better with the passage of time. A lot of work to adapt to what age does to we mere mortals over time and maintain a vocal instrument the way Ms MCC has been able to do. This song paired with Dar Williams book puts I Am A Town as a fav. of mine for sure since Ms Carpenter first sung it nearly 30 yrs back. 👍
This is my favorite MCC song ever! I've been listening to her since I was about 10, when I bought her CD after hearing her on the radio. Now, at 26, I'm FINALLY going to get to see her live in August with Shawn Colvin!!!! I pray and hope I can meet her somehow. Wish me luck!
This is where I was born & raised.
A great song with tons of imagery, the listener feels like he/she is taking a drive cross country. I really enjoyed this album when it came out she is very talented.
Truly, sublime class!
That song goes straight to the heart,it's so peaceful.God Bless you Mary Chapin.....!!!
Her songs are like stories. Gorgeous lyrics!
To me, this is Mary's best song. My developmentally disabled daughter and I have been listening to this for so many years it seems, and we love just as much now as when we first heard it.
She is truly a gifted songwriter!!
A true poet !
MCC is the most talented Female songwriter ever the way she can weave a story with music is just increadible
Use to take long rides and listen to Come On Come On....kids loved it too and would fall asleep....She is deffinately a poet,singer, song writer and I wish she would come out with more
reminds me of small town America. I live in a small town & love it here. espically in the fall. she is such a talented singer & song writer. have a few of her albums & love them I can picture everything she is saying small town's she does make pictures with her songs.
This song reminds me of my hometown. Leaves blowing across the highway in front of the First Baptist Church as cars slowly drive by.
If "Carolina" was "California", this song would exactly be about Fresno, my life and the people in it. She was my major influence in song writing and guitar playing. I have not found any like her. She is moving.Peaches in September reminds me of the wonderful fruit my dad brought home every summer. I love him.
This song is one to make you feel mellow. I love Mary Chapin Carpenter. You do get the images when she sings.
This lady is a national treasure.
I remember seeing her perform this on an awards show and was completely mesmerized.
So very underrated. She is awesome and I love to hear her voice,
Poetry, art and music rolled into one. Simply wonderful.
love this song, love Marys music... about Life and all its little things... precious. A poet of song, guitar.
Looks like Mark O'Connor playing fiddle. MCC is hands down the best singer/songwriter of our generation!
1991 at the Bottom Line in NYC - talk about a nice person with a UHaul full of talent - triple threat: singing, songwriting and musician.
Certainly one of her best and that's saying something, what a poet. Mark O'Connor doesn't hurt the effect either.
Great song; great live performance from an exceptional singer/songwriter.
Born and raised in Visalia - so i absolutely concur with the similarities! =)
Your right Sharon it is a lovely video...Thanks for the send......Very nice singing. You have a lovely voice Mary... It is a very nice video.......Colin.
America it's a great country just because people like Mary Chapin or legends like Bill Monroe or B.B. King or Wes Montgomery or Charlie Parker ,gave us such a great art !!!
BEAUTIFUL! Did she write those lyrics, too? Whoever is a true poet. Used to sing this when my older kids were little.
Such a great singer/songwriter.
Thanks B, that name rings a bell. Certainly won't forget it anymore now that I've seen him.
Mo.
@Vagrarian Agreed! MCC paints pictures w/ words, and the arrangement beautifully complements her lyrics and vocal.
I have never heard this one before but I really like it. Thank you for this video.
Great song from and even better album...
Does anyone else remember seeing a version of this song by MCC on the Jools Holland show? It was on youtube for a short while, but I've searched high and low and it doesn't appear to be on here anymore. It was just her and her guitar; a true solo performance of the song, and it was absolutely breathtaking. I'd love to see it again. Does anyone know where a person might could find it?
I saw that show and felt exactly the same.It was time-stilling :) I'd love to see it again-I think I MAY have VCR'd it , but how to find it and transpose it....!
Always was one of her best!
@timothy32 I live in a coastal city in southern England and there are some beautiful cycle routes along country lanes where cars hardly go. I have cycled them many hundreds of times and they are never the same. You can realy think and enjoy the sights. This song puts me in mind of those quiet country lanes.
alexis david James blunt
Wow, a really great singer/songwriter!
I'm fast, I'm slow,I'm sorrow, I'm laughter,I'm hope, I'm despair,I'm today, I'm yesterday,I'm music! Very powerful and haunting lyrics a beautiful post.Take care ADonovan43
wow...goose bumps.
Perfection...
just great !......
I'm the voice that no one hears ,I'm the light that no one sees ,I'm truth.take care ADonovan43
Awesome
Not to minimize ANY other part of the song, but I LOVE the piano!
@cjuntrin She's still here, CJ. Still putting out some really good music, too!
Mark O'Connor is playing the violin.
Remembers of Calvert, Tx
@acousticspectrum She has a new one coming out very soon. :)
So beautiful it hurts - we're talking serious goose pimples here! Thnx for posting.
Anyone knwo who's playing the violin? He is superb.
Mo.
Mark O'Connor, I think. On the album, John Catchings played either bowed bass or cello, which was just extraordinary.
Love it. Is she playing in an alternate tuning?
I can go to sleep now
Would that town have a name I would really really like to live there yadkenville or mocksville
Moyock
Mark O'Conner = Mary Chapin Carpenter AND Dixie Dreggs.