You Are My Flower

I still can't quite grasp that I am playing the role of Maybelle Carter in the Mill's production of Keep on the Sunny Side. She and her guitar playing are legendary. Her style is the basis for the modern country music guitar sound. No pressure, right?!

For whatever odd reason, I have always had an affinity for Johnny Cash and June Carter (before it was cool). I knew of June's mother, "Mother Maybelle," but had no idea of the magnitude of the Carter family's influence on country music, and music in general. The more I learn about A.P., Sara and Maybelle, it becomes even more humbling to play the role of this amazing woman. I am grateful to Tom Width and Drew Perkins for having the confidence that I could do the part justice. The callouses on my fingers attest to my desire to convey an accurate portrayal, and while I have a long way to go to attain the virtuosity of Maybelle Carter, I have learned to play several songs in her style, which is another challenge unto itself.

Our very talented cast (Drew Perkins as A.P., Jackie Frost as Sara, Ali Thibodeau as Janette, and David Janeski and Lucas Hall in multiple roles) had a great opening weekend and I hope the success continues. Janette Carter's daughter Rita Forrester came from Hiltons, VA to see the performance on Saturday night. What a wonderfully kind and gracious woman. It was an honor to meet her. My parents, Wes and Janette (same spelling, no relation!), were also in the audience for all three performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. It was a treat to have them here.

I think "You Are My Flower" is my favorite song in the show. It's part of a 3-song medley, so we only perform a section of it. It was one of the most difficult guitar parts for me to learn musically, but that's probably why I like it so much now, and also why I find it so gratifying to play.

I love this video of Sara and Maybelle from the Johnny Cash Show. They are both very stately and stoic women (Sara sings "wear a happy smile" and "don't forget to smile" with a completely straight face); but toward the end, we catch a glimpse of the sparkle in Maybelle -- she is truly enjoying herself, but with her typical humility and humbleness. This is probably one of many reasons why she was -- and is -- so well-loved by so many, including me.




You Are My Flower
Adapted by A.P. Carter

The grass is just as green
The sky is just as blue
The day is just as bright
The birds are singing, too

You are my flower
That's blooming in the mountain for me
You are my flower
That's blooming there for me

The air is just as pure
The sunlight just as free
And nature seems to say
It's all for you and me

You are my flower
That's blooming in the mountain for me
You are my flower
That's blooming there for me

So wear a happy smile
And life will be worthwhile
Forget your tears
And don't forget to smile

You are my flower
That's blooming in the mountain for me
You are my flower
That's blooming there for me

When summertime has passed
And snow begins to fall
Just sing this song
And say to one and all

You are my flower
That's blooming in the mountain for me
You are my flower
That's blooming there for me

NOTE: Just realized that today is Helen Carter's birthday -- Maybelle's eldest daughter. Maybelle was about 8 months pregnant with Helen when she went with A.P. and Sara to Bristol, TN to record their first record on August 2, 1927.

11 september 2001

On September 11, 2001, I was living in St. Paul, MN in a basement pullman apartment on Milton Ave with two roommates. I was unemployed after finishing a year of AmeriCorps and, as was fairly typical during those self-absorbed days of feeling sorry for myself, I slept in. I was awakened by the persistent ringing of the landline and my cell phone. It was Jamie, calling from work and frantically telling me that a plane had crashed in New York and that I needed to turn on the TV. None of what he said clicked with me. I didn't understand his urgency or why a plane crash had upset him enough to call me. Chalk it up to the morning grog. But whatever sleepiness still hovered over me evaporated the moment I turned on the TV. I was not prepared for what I saw. I'm sure millions of others watched on national television when the towers fell. It was ghastly. I couldn't believe it was real. Later, I wrote this. I'm not savvy on rules of poetry so don't know if it counts as a "poem" or "prose" or just feelings on paper. But it was how I marked that day, and I have looked back at these words many times over the past several years.

I think the slogan "Never Forget" is a bit obnoxious. How could we ever?

11 september 2011

death

and fire

death

and mud

death

rained down

death

and blood

death

and sadness

death

and confusion

death 

made widows

death

and intrusion

death

and anger

death

and vengeance

death 

wreaked havoc

death

and penance

death

and prayer

death 

and hope

death

gave strength

life

to cope

Dear Breeze

Dear Breeze,

Thank you for visiting me through my living room window this morning. You have reminded me that life is but a breath; that all of these "problems" I face aren't worth a fraction of the time I spend fretting over them; that each day is truly a gift.

You are welcome any time.

-E.

Exhilaration is the Breeze
That lifts us from the Ground
And leaves us in another place
Whose statement is not found --

Returns us not, but after time
We soberly descend
A little newer for the term
Upon Enchanted Ground --

                                    Emily Dickinson