4. Turpentine

 Brandi Carlile. Another artist that defies a label. Is it pop, Americana, alt-country or folk rock? Who cares? She has a voice that will tear at you with a rasp or carry you to the stars as it soars into the atmosphere. I could listen her voice all day, but what makes her all the more special of an artist is the way she can craft a song.  

I first heard this song around the time I learned my first childhood friend was struck and killed by a drunk driver. Like many friends we lost touch. No real reason other than time and life sometimes happens like that.  I had probably last seen him 5 or 6 years prior to hearing that news.  I remember sitting in shock and hearing this song, specifically the lyric dealing with being 10 again so we can be friends again.  Poignant and timely as I reflected back on how fleeting life can be. 

Beyond that the song really hits on what I am sure you will see as a common theme in what I like in music and that is life and the passage of time.  Her voice cuts to the core as she sings of fractured relationships, growing up and being all messed up at 6am. The sad strings that carry us out of the song feel like the opening of a funeral march, but in the end isn't that what life is? A long trek toward the end made better by the friends and loved ones that accompany you on the way.  Don't let them go to waste. 

#brandicarlile #turpentine #morningbirds #firstfriends