Living the Liminal

Richard Shindell

July 2nd, 2007

As testament to the power of internet radio, I recently bought Courier, by Richard Shindell. Radio Paradise played a song called “Transit” which caught my attention more than most songs do. Something about the voice: round and full, but with an edge to it, Shindell has a voice that feels like the truth should feel. There was also something about the song structure, unlike most songs this was no A-B-A-B-C-A-B pop song. “Transit” tells a story, one that you don’t necessarily understand the first or even second time around, but one a powerful story nonetheless. So I recently bought Courier, a live album that has some incredible songs, all of them stories that ride the fine edge between joy and sorrow. From the opening song “Courier,” that explores the singular role of a man charged with delivering messages and never asking questions, to the chilling story about an interrogation that plays upon it’s title “Fishing,” to the dangerously pretty song about infidelity, “A Summer Wind, A Cotton Dress,” Shindell tells stories that you may recognize, but have never experienced in quite the same way. I am trying very hard not to go out and buy the rest of his catalog in one fell swoop.

You see RI-fucking-AA, internet radio is good, internet radio exposes people to artists, internet radio sells albums.

Sorry, mini-rant is over.

Anyway, here are some lyrics to serve up just the barest hint of how good Shindell is:

“The Courier”

I am a courier
Crawling in the dirt
Toward the front line
As the crow flies
A note stashed in my shirt
From the Prince of Wales
Far above the field
With his marshalls
And their chain-mail
Their banners taut and high

I did not ask him what the note said
He did not offer to explain
It’s not my job to ask the questions
I’m just the courier

A flare shot leaves a scar
Burning in the dark
On my forearms
Toward the front line
Then another fifty yards
Crouching in the trench
Clutching bayonettes
A hundred men
All knee-to-chest
A hundred marionettes

I am the string pulled by the sure hand
Animating what was still
I am invisible and faithful
I am a courier

The Captain breaks the seal
And quickly reads the note
On your feet boys
Make you peace boys
Pass those letters down
To this courier
Guardian of the word
Hand him all you’ve seen
Hand him all you’ve heard
Hand him all your pearls

And he’ll go back to where he came from
He will deliver each by hand
He takes this as a point of honor
To be a courier

And

Fishing
(from the album Blue Divide)

Please have a seat. I’m sorry I’m late
I know how long you’ve had to wait
I did not forget your documents
No time to waste, why not begin?
Here’s how it works, I’ve got these faces
You give them names and I won’t deport you
Make sure you face my tape recorder

Make no mistake, this fountain pen
Could put you on a plane by ten
And by the way, your next of kin
I know which house she’s hiding in
So now that you know whose skin you’re saving
In this photograph, who’s this one waving?
I think you know, so speak up, amigo

It says here that by trade you were a fisherman
Well I’ll bet you Indians can really reel them in
And if you get the chance
You should try to get up to Lake Michigan
Well maybe, but then again….

Where were we then? Is he your friend?
Well I recommend that you look again
Where does he stay? What is his name?
There is no shame. He’d do the same
So what do you say? I don’t have all day
It’s up to you. Which will it be
Good citizen or poor campesino?

My dad used to rent us this place in Ontario
He showed us how to cast the line and tie the flies
He used to say that God rewards us for letting the small ones go
Well maybe, but I don’t know
Anyway, it’s easy to bite. You just take the bait
You can’t fight the hook
Hurts less if you don’t try to dive

Senor, as you know I was a fisherman
And how full the nets came in
We hauled them up by hand
But when we fled, I left them just out past the coral reefs
They’re waiting there for me
Running deep

Here’s the cool thing - if you go to his website, he has a number of song that you can listen to in their entirety. Just go to RichardShindell.com and click on the “lyrics” link. I highly, highly recommend you check them out for yourself.

His catalog:

“south of delia” (Richard Shindell)