Newcomer is recognised as a rare breed of singer/songwriter: the kind who illuminates life with startling depth, humor and clarity. Her ability for sharp observation of the world lead the Dallas Morning News to rave, "She's the kind of artist whose music makes you stop, think and then say, 'that is so true'." Mining what is true, Newcomer's latest Rounder release, Before and After is a multi-layered work that invites the listener to slow down and reflect on the experiences that have changed and shaped our lives. On Before and After, Newcomer remarks, she has "peeled back another musical and emotional layer". The result is melodious and smooth, infused with classic Newcomer grace and honesty, so that, she says "there is something unguarded and naked about this album."
Praised by Billboard as a "soaring songstress," Newcomer is an acclaimed musician who continues to create music from her uniquely spiritual and poignant take on the world. Before and After is no exception, highlighting Newcomer's ability to blend her rich alto with a poetic lyricism on a skillfully arranged and performed collection of folk roots tracks, with Appalachian and classical influences. "The joy and challenge in creating this album was endeavoring to be fearlessly uncluttered and subtle," Newcomer says. The title track features an unforgettably haunting and beautiful duet with a special guest appearance by Mary Chapin Carpenter, launching the album with a remarkable collaboration from two of acoustic music's most resonant female vocalists.
Recorded and produced by Newcomer and David Weber at Airtime Studios, Before and After is Newcomer's twelfth release on Rounder, with prior albums including Regulars & Refugees, The Age of Possibility, The Gathering of Spirits, the Betty's Diner collection and her last critically acclaimed album The Geography of Light. Before and After results from working closely with a core of exceptional musicians, including Gary Walters on piano, Chris Wagoner on violin, mandolin, dobro and accordion, Mary Gaines on cello, Byron House on upright acoustic bass, Jim Brock on percussion, Keith Skooglund on guitar, and a second stunning duet featuring special guest Krista Detor on "Do No Harm." At the center is Newcomer's adept guitar work and resonant voice, which the Austin Statesman has described as being "as rich as Godiva chocolate." The album's artwork features the work of Hugh Syme, whose sense of magical realism captures Newcomer's joyous idea about finding miracles in common places.
On Before and After, the listener experiences a deep connection through Newcomer's lyrics, which explore life with a progressive spiritual sensibility. The Minneapolis City Pages wrote, "Newcomer's musing is deeply introspective, but she offers it with a poet's sense of nuance and a folkie's common touch, turning philosophical theory into the stuff of people's daily lives." On the captivating title track, Newcomer ponders the notion that "We live our lives from then until now, by the mercies received or the mark upon our brow" - exploring the large and small experiences by which we mark our lives. On "Stones in the River" she tenderly reveals that we may never see fruit from the seeds we plant today, but regardless, it is still vital that we plant them. She holds close the insistence of hope in "If Not Now" ("But miracles do happen every shining now and then") in a style reminiscent of the richness and depth of the traditional spirituals. From the cinematic lushness of "Before and After" to the elegant string accompaniments of "I Do Not Know Its Name," to the lighthearted and poignant "I Wish I May I Wish I Might," Before and After is both timeless and contemporary.
Newcomer, a Quaker, cuts across secular and spiritual boundaries. In recent years, she has emerged as a respected and recognized artistic voice for the progressive spiritual community. On Before and After, Newcomer continues to be inspired by her friendships and recent collaborations with leading authors and theologians, including Parker J. Palmer, Phillip Gulley, Scott Russell Sanders, Jim Wallis, Brian McLaren, Jill Bolte Taylor, Richard K. Thomas and Barbara Kingsolver. Her relationship with this community influenced many of the album's compelling themes and inspired the songs: "Do No Harm," "Stones in the River," and "I Wish I May, I Wish I Might."
Newcomer has worked with many notable artists throughout her career and has met with critical acclaim for her music. In 2008, she was listed as one of the Top Most Influential Artists of the past 25 Years by Boston's WUMB. Her successful 2008 release, The Geography of Light, also earned her Artist of the Year and Album of the Year from Folk Wax Magazine. She has toured with Alison Krauss and Union Station in Europe and the U.S. and recorded the title track of her 2002 The Gathering of Spirits album with Krauss. Krauss went on to introduce Nickel Creek to Newcomer's song "I Should've Known Better," which the band recorded on their Grammy-winning, gold-selling album This Side (produced by Krauss). Currently Carrie is writing a collection of essays and a musical based on the characters and music of Betty's Diner with author, playwright and internationally recognized sound designer Richard K. Thomas.
Newcomer's music has been praised in Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Acoustic Guitar, Performing Songwriter, Paste Magazine and several other outlets. In the words of acclaimed writer Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Poisonwood Bible, "Carrie Newcomer is much more than a musician. She's a poet, storyteller, snake charmer, good neighbor, friend and lover, minister of the wide-eyed gospel of hope and grace."
In the fall of 2009, Newcomer was invited by The American Center, the cultural outreach division of The American Embassy in India, to represent the U.S. as a cultural ambassador. Newcomer performed concerts for Indian audiences and young people involved with community service, taught workshops on songwriting, community service, and met and performed with contemporary, traditional and classical Indian musicians. She also visited slum programs for women and children at risk throughout the country of India. About her impressions of India, Newcomer says, "Music can be a language deeper than words. I love our differences. Cultures are rich and what makes each culture unique is to be celebrated, but I was powerfully moved by what we share as a human family."
www.carrienewcomer.com
In the City
Carrie Newcomer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mark one down for the city
One more grown baby boy is sleepin' on the sidewalk tonight
Wide round eyes, wide round lights
Can be full but without substance
In an instant you can hear an angel
Spread its wings and fly away
Where you lay down your dreams
You can feel it, through the sidewalk
A heartbeat beneath your feet
Where they'll let you smell the water
Then tell you "you can't drink,
You're in the city now"
There's a cry, there's a roar
There's a howl that never ends
There's a silence that runs wide as it runs deep
And unspoken, broken people
Lying in the doorways
The light within them sputters and flickers
Like it almost had never been
You're in the city
Where you lay down your dreams
You can feel it, through the sidewalk
A heartbeat beneath your feet
Where they'll let you smell the water
Then tell you "you can't drink,
You're in the city now"
There's a light and it is you
There's a light and it is me
There's a hope that's round and hollow
As a paper moon on a string
We can be perfect, we can be stronger
Saints are sinners who just tried longer
I am certainly no saint
But I surely heard the call
You're in the city
Where you lay down your dreams
You can feel it, through the sidewalk
A heartbeat beneath your feet
Where they'll let you smell the water
Then tell you "you can't drink,
You're in the city now"
Carrie Newcomer's song "In The City" is a poignant reflection on the realities of living in an urban environment. The opening lines of the song, "Chalk one up for the street, Mark one down for the city," suggest that while there may be some "wins" for city life, there are also significant losses. The lyrics go on to describe a scene of poverty and homelessness, with a "baby boy...sleepin' on the sidewalk tonight." The image of "wide round eyes, wide round lights" evokes both innocence and vulnerability, while the line "Can be full but without substance" suggests a hollowness in the city's promises of abundance and opportunity.
Newcomer contrasts the gritty realities of life in the city with a sense of hope and resilience. The chorus repeats the phrase "You're in the city, where you lay down your dreams," acknowledging that the city can be a place of both possibility and disappointment. The metaphor of the city as a living thing, with a "heartbeat beneath your feet," creates a sense of connection and mutual dependency between the urban environment and its inhabitants. The line "Where they'll let you smell the water/Then tell you 'you can't drink'" captures the structural inequalities of urban life, in which access to basic resources like clean water is often limited by socioeconomic status.
Line by Line Meaning
Chalk one up for the street
Acknowledging a win for the underprivileged and struggling people who populate the streets
Mark one down for the city
Highlighting the city's failure to care for its vulnerable population
One more grown baby boy is sleepin' on the sidewalk tonight
Highlighting the tragic reality of homelessness among young adults
Wide round eyes, wide round lights
Describing the intensity and allure of city life
Can be full but without substance
Acknowledging that the city can provide many pleasures but leave you feeling empty
In an instant you can hear an angel
Highlighting the fleeting moments of beauty and hope in city life
Spread its wings and fly away
Emphasizing the brief nature of those moments and how they vanish too soon
You're in the city
Addressing the listener and noting their presence in the urban landscape
Where you lay down your dreams
Describing the city as a place where people come to pursue their goals and aspirations
You can feel it, through the sidewalk
Suggesting that the city's energy, both good and bad, can be felt through the very ground
A heartbeat beneath your feet
Metaphorically comparing the pulse of the city to a human heartbeat
Where they'll let you smell the water
Describing the tantalizing quality of the city's offerings that may be just out of reach
Then tell you "you can't drink,
Acknowledging the barriers to accessing those offerings, particularly for marginalized communities
You're in the city now"
Emphasizing the idea that city life comes with its own set of rules and limitations
There's a cry, there's a roar
Describing the range of emotions and sounds that exist in the city
There's a howl that never ends
Highlighting the constant noise and activity that characterizes the city
There's a silence that runs wide as it runs deep
Contrasting the noise with the profound sense of loneliness and isolation that can also be found in the city
And unspoken, broken people
Noting the suffering and hardship that often goes unseen in the city
Lying in the doorways
Describing the physical location of those who have been pushed to the margins of society
The light within them sputters and flickers
Metaphorically describing the fragile and precarious state of these individuals
Like it almost had never been
Emphasizing their vulnerability and the sense that they could disappear at any moment
There's a light and it is you
Offering a message of hope and resilience in the face of adversity
There's a light and it is me
Encouraging everyone to recognize their own potential for good and positive change
There's a hope that's round and hollow
Acknowledging the fragile nature of hope, which can be easily shattered
As a paper moon on a string
Comparing hope to a cheap and flimsy toy that can be easily broken
We can be perfect, we can be stronger
Encouraging people to strive for self-improvement and to work together to build a better world
Saints are sinners who just tried longer
Suggesting that even those who are considered holy or righteous have struggled in their lives
I am certainly no saint
Acknowledging one's own imperfections and limitations
But I surely heard the call
Emphasizing the importance of recognizing one's own purpose and calling, whatever that may be
Contributed by Abigail H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.