If The Loneliness Don’t Kill Me

It may be evident from the title that today’s selection is a country song.

The Hamilton, Ontario, Canada-based folk-rock duo Melissa McClelland (b. 1979) and Luke Doucet (b. 1973) are an absolute powerhouse who cross several genres with their music and make their mark in each style.

One of our sons took us to a concert of theirs for a birthday of mine quite a few years ago; it was an amazing gift introducing me to this band’s music, and a fabulous and memorable performance at Winnipeg, Canada’s Burton Cummings Theatre (originally the Walker Theatre, a vaudeville era venue that later became the Odeon Theatre as a cinema), a mid-sized venue which was perfect for their kind of show. Onstage, the twosome makes a lot of sounds, sometimes using a loop pedal (a device that records and plays back a loop of the recorded sound) to augment the instruments they play while singing solid melodies. And with their eighth studio album, I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying (2023), they solidly confirm that old-style country music is one of their many conquests.

“I’ve been looking for you stranger
I’ve been looking for you friend
I’ve been wandering the streets
In my dreams again
I’ve been breathing in the same air
I’ll been breathing out, and still
If the loneliness don’t kill me
Then the good times surely will

I’ve been keeping good company
Tanqueray, El Jimador
Singing all the saddest love songs
That ever came before
I could drink myself to Sunday
It’s my only cheapest thrill
If the loneliness don’t kill me
Then the good times surely will

I wanna stumblе from the 3 speed
Shout obscenities down Bloor
I wanna stay thе morning after
Wake up on your hardwood floor
If forever seems too far away
I guess it’s all we’ll know
Just counting down the days
Until the winds of change they blow”

“If the Loneliness Don’t Kill Me” by Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland.
Lyrics retrieved from Genius.com.

If this is your first time hearing music by Whitehorse, I invite you to check out more of their music. In addition to being a recording and touring musical act, they are a married couple and parents, and they frequently held online shows during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“If the Loneliness Don’t Kill Me” is the opening track from I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying.

Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.

Here’s the official video from the Whitehorse YouTube channel:

With best wishes,

Steve