Nanci Griffith
Nanci Caroline Griffith, born July 6, 1953, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas, United States. Her career has spanned a variety of musical genres, predominantly country and folk, and what she terms "folkabilly."
She won a 1994 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for Other Voices, Other Rooms, an album of Griffith covering the songs of artists who influenced her.
Her best-known song is From a Distance, by Julie Gold Read Full BioNanci Caroline Griffith, born July 6, 1953, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas, United States. Her career has spanned a variety of musical genres, predominantly country and folk, and what she terms "folkabilly."
She won a 1994 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for Other Voices, Other Rooms, an album of Griffith covering the songs of artists who influenced her.
Her best-known song is From a Distance, by Julie Gold, although the version that achieved greater commercial success was not Griffith's but Bette Midler's (From a Distance). Similarly, other artists have occasionally achieved greater success with Griffith's songs than Griffith herself: for example, Kathy Mattea, who had a country music top five hit with a 1986 cover (Love at the Five and Dime) of Love at the Five and Dime.
ADDITIONALLY
In 1994, Griffith teamed up with Jimmy Webb to contribute the song "If These Old Walls Could Speak" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization. Griffith is a survivor of breast cancer which was diagnosed in 1996, and thyroid cancer in 1998.[2]
Singer-songwriter Christine Lavin remembers the first time she saw Griffith perform:
I was struck by how perfect everything was about her singing, her playing, her talking. I realized from the get-go that this was someone who was a complete professional. Obviously she had worked a long time to get to be that good.
In recent years, Griffith has toured with various other artists, including Buddy Holly's band, The Crickets; John Prine; Iris DeMent; Suzy Bogguss; and Judy Collins. Griffith has recorded duets with many artists, among them Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, John Prine, Don McLean, Jimmy Buffett, Dolores Keane, Willie Nelson, Adam Duritz (singer of Counting Crows), The Chieftains, and Darius Rucker (lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish). She has also contributed background vocals on many other recordings.
Griffith suffered from severe 'writers block' for a number of years after 2004, lasting until the 2009 release of her The Loving Kind album, which contained nine selections that she had written and composed either entirely by herself or as collaborations.
After several months of limited touring in 2011, Griffith's bandmates The Kennedys (Pete & Maura Kennedy) packed up their professional Manhattan recording studio and relocated it to Nashville, where they installed it in Nanci's home. There, Griffith and her backing team, including Pete & Maura Kennedy and Pat McInerney, co-produced her album, Intersections over the course of the summer. The album includes several new original songs and was released in April 2012.
In addition to her own songs, Griffith is well known for her versions of other people's material, usually by contemporary singer-songwriters.
Awards
Griffith won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for Other Voices, Other Rooms. In 2008, the Americana Music Association awarded her its Americana Trailblazer Award; Lyle Lovett, who contributed backing vocals to some of "The Blue Moon Orchestra's" recordings,[which?] had won it before her.
Band (The Blue Moon Orchestra)
Nanci refers to her backing band as "The Blue Moon Orchestra." This reference is believed to have been drawn from both the title of one of her earliest albums, Once in a Very Blue Moon, and its title selection, which reached #85 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1986.
She won a 1994 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for Other Voices, Other Rooms, an album of Griffith covering the songs of artists who influenced her.
Her best-known song is From a Distance, by Julie Gold Read Full BioNanci Caroline Griffith, born July 6, 1953, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas, United States. Her career has spanned a variety of musical genres, predominantly country and folk, and what she terms "folkabilly."
She won a 1994 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for Other Voices, Other Rooms, an album of Griffith covering the songs of artists who influenced her.
Her best-known song is From a Distance, by Julie Gold, although the version that achieved greater commercial success was not Griffith's but Bette Midler's (From a Distance). Similarly, other artists have occasionally achieved greater success with Griffith's songs than Griffith herself: for example, Kathy Mattea, who had a country music top five hit with a 1986 cover (Love at the Five and Dime) of Love at the Five and Dime.
ADDITIONALLY
In 1994, Griffith teamed up with Jimmy Webb to contribute the song "If These Old Walls Could Speak" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization. Griffith is a survivor of breast cancer which was diagnosed in 1996, and thyroid cancer in 1998.[2]
Singer-songwriter Christine Lavin remembers the first time she saw Griffith perform:
I was struck by how perfect everything was about her singing, her playing, her talking. I realized from the get-go that this was someone who was a complete professional. Obviously she had worked a long time to get to be that good.
In recent years, Griffith has toured with various other artists, including Buddy Holly's band, The Crickets; John Prine; Iris DeMent; Suzy Bogguss; and Judy Collins. Griffith has recorded duets with many artists, among them Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, John Prine, Don McLean, Jimmy Buffett, Dolores Keane, Willie Nelson, Adam Duritz (singer of Counting Crows), The Chieftains, and Darius Rucker (lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish). She has also contributed background vocals on many other recordings.
Griffith suffered from severe 'writers block' for a number of years after 2004, lasting until the 2009 release of her The Loving Kind album, which contained nine selections that she had written and composed either entirely by herself or as collaborations.
After several months of limited touring in 2011, Griffith's bandmates The Kennedys (Pete & Maura Kennedy) packed up their professional Manhattan recording studio and relocated it to Nashville, where they installed it in Nanci's home. There, Griffith and her backing team, including Pete & Maura Kennedy and Pat McInerney, co-produced her album, Intersections over the course of the summer. The album includes several new original songs and was released in April 2012.
In addition to her own songs, Griffith is well known for her versions of other people's material, usually by contemporary singer-songwriters.
Awards
Griffith won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for Other Voices, Other Rooms. In 2008, the Americana Music Association awarded her its Americana Trailblazer Award; Lyle Lovett, who contributed backing vocals to some of "The Blue Moon Orchestra's" recordings,[which?] had won it before her.
Band (The Blue Moon Orchestra)
Nanci refers to her backing band as "The Blue Moon Orchestra." This reference is believed to have been drawn from both the title of one of her earliest albums, Once in a Very Blue Moon, and its title selection, which reached #85 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1986.
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Boots of Spanish Leather
Nanci Griffith Lyrics
Oh, I'm sailing away, my own true love
I'm sailing away in the morning
Is there something I can send you from across the sea?
From the place where I'll be landing?
There's nothing you can send me, my own true love
There's nothing I'm wishing to be owning
Just carry yourself back to me unspoiled
From across that lonesome ocean
Oh, but I just thought you might want something fine
Maybe silver or of golden
Either from the mountains of Madrid
Or from the coast of Barcelona
If I had the stars of the darkest night
And the diamonds from the deepest ocean
I'd forsake them all for your sweet kiss
That's all I wish to be owning
Oh, I might be gone a long ol' time
And it's only that I'm asking
Is there something I can send you to remember me by?
To make your time more easy passing?
How can, how can you ask me again?
Well it only brings me sorrow
Oh, the same thing I would want today
I would want again tomorrow
Oh, I got a letter on a lonesome day
It was from his ship a-sailing
Saying, I don't know when I'll be coming back again
It depends on how I'm feeling
If you, my love, must think that away
I'm sure your mind is a-roaming
I'm sure your thoughts are not with me
But with the country where you're going
So take heed, take heed of the western wind
Take heed of stormy weather
And yes, there is something you can send back to me
Spanish boots of Spanish leather
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
TheOmnipresent12
A most appealing voice. A refreshing uniqueness... alluring so much so that despite wanting to move onto others in this genre, I could not stop listening to her sing this song to the end.
Tess E
Such a lovely version of this intriguing song.
Ronald Petrin
JD 's touch just kills on Dobro, this just a beautiful cover of this Dylan tune.
Fridus Leenaert
the sound of my youth.....Great souvenirs
Bob Moslow
Great post-great version of great cover-she has great phrasing/articulation..tyvm!!
steve baker
Just think what it might have been like if Dylan had continued to write songs along this vein.
nolivian
From BBC Scotland's Transatlantic Sessions. Danny Thompson - bass, Jerry Douglas - Dobro, Donald Shaw - accordion, ? on drum?
John MUllen
Tommy Hayes
SuzanneGabrielle
my favorite Dylan song...and she does it perfectly
Edson Alcon
nice song, saludos de La Paz-BOLIVIA