Lorraine

This week on Song of the Day for Today, we’re looking at Dark Little Ones, the new album released last weekend by Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Kieran West. I’m posting a song from the album daily, along with my thoughts on it. I’m also sharing my son Kieran’s explanations of the song meanings and a little bit about the recording process.

For more about Kieran’s music, please go back to the first post in this series, “Staying Home.”

Today we are on to the third track, “Lorraine.” It’s a lovely retrospective of family connection, centred around a family matriarch, Kieran’s late maternal great-grandmother, who the song is named after. It’s another older composition that’s been beautifully refined over the years. The song opens with a slow electric guitar melody that welcomes in Kieran’s contemplative vocal.

As with all his music, Kieran paints vivid pictures of precious memories of intergenerational family connection in “Lorraine.” I interpret one line as an image of him cuddled up with his great-gramma, warmed by the wood stove, as he feels her “fingers running through my hair.”

Here is what Kieran says about “Lorraine”: “This is a song about one of the most incredible people who ever lived. My great-grandmother was born in 1906. She grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan surrounded by music and many, many siblings.

“Lorraine wanted to keep the kids connected to the lake, so she bought a four-acre piece of land, and the family began building a cabin. That cabin is featured on the cover of Dark Little Ones.

“Lorraine continued to spend her summers at the cabin well into her 80s. she was known for taking solo trips around the lake in her old row boat.

“On her deathbed, Lorraine was brought back to the cabin. Her last words were, ‘put another log on the fire, the kids are coming.’ those words became the chorus of this song.”

With that, here’s “Lorraine”:

“Times were hard
most of the time
but you made the best of them
yeah you made the sun shine
playing music with the kids
got us through the worst years
and you know I’ll miss you
riding around on that bombardier

And she said
put another log on the fire
the kids are coming
it must be getting late now
I can hear that loon humming
and I can smell the cold night air
I still feel your fingers
running through my hair, so
put another log on the fire
the kids are coming

They built you right
they built you tough
and the will to fight on
yeah it’s in your blood
life was never easy
right from day one
but you had your music
and you had your love

And you learned to be strong
in the fields of Saskatchewan
and you felt like you belonged
in those dance halls playing those fiddle songs
everyone dancing and singing along”

Words and music © 2023 by Kieran West.

Personnel:
Kieran West: rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar,
lead guitar, baritone guitar, Rhodes piano, lead vocal
Matt Filopoulos: bass guitar
Dan Bertnick: drums
Micah Erenberg: backing vocal

The multi-instrumentalist Kieran plays several instruments on this recording, and friend and longtime collaborator Micah Erenberg (The Secret Beach) adds a subtle background vocal to the track.

Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy the audio from the Kieran West YouTube topic channel:

Please like and subscribe on YouTube, and stream or buy through Spotify or Apple to support the artist.

With my best wishes,

Steve