Biography:
Elizabeth Eaton Converse was born in Laconia, New Hampshire in 1924, the middle child of three siblings. She was bookish, the valedictorian her class at Concord High School, and described by most who knew her to be a polymath. She attended Mt. Holyoke College on an academic scholarship beginning in 1942, studied French, and wrote for several campus publications. By 1944 she decided to leave college, at which point the records of her whereabouts are sparse until about 1949, when she made her way to New York City.
There were two major developments during Elizabeth’s time in New York. The first was her procurement of her nickname “Connie.” It is unclear how or why or when exactly, but the name stuck. The second was Connie’s burgeoning interest in playing and writing music, first for guitar and later for piano. No doubt this stemmed from her love of poetry, as many of her earliest songs were poems that she had written and then set to music. The songs became instant hits with her family, and also attracted the attention of animator and amateur recordist Gene Deitch. Beginning around 1954, Connie would make visits to Deitch’s home in Hastings-on-Hudson to record almost 40 songs.
At first listen, Connie’s music seems to keep close company with the female folk artists who were her contemporaries. The knack for plaintive storytelling shares much with Peggy Seeger and Susan Reed. Reed knew Connie’s music well, and performed a set of her songs in 1961 at the Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York. But Connie’s music stands out from that of the American folk revival of the 1950’s. Her fluid and disarmingly intelligent poetry reflects an urban perspective, that of a new New Yorker becoming disenchanted by the bucolic tropes of folk music. She is at once a maverick and a romantic, intellectual and spiritual, a staunch independent and a tender, pining lover.
Over the years Deitch, along with his colleague Bill Bernal, worked to promote Connie’s music, but despite their efforts, the songs remained unheard to all but a few dozen of Connie’s acquaintances. In 1961 Connie tired of New York and left for Ann Arbor, where her brother was a professor at the University of Michigan.
Having dropped out of college seventeen years prior, it came as something of a surprise that, within months of her arrival in Ann Arbor, Connie had implanted herself firmly in the academic community of U-Mich. She began as a secretary at the Center for Research on Conflict Resolution, eventually working her way to Managing Editor and Co-Editor of CRCR’s Journal of Conflict Resolution.
Connie’s work in Ann Arbor left little time for music and, while she still happily played at family gatherings, there is little evidence that she wrote new material. She did, however, continue her attempts to promote her music already extant. Susan Reed, the folk harpist, took an interest in Connie’s work and performed a set of her songs in New York. There were a handful of scores for commercials and some work on a short film. But never the kind of widespread success she had hoped for her music.
Connie became increasingly despondent in the 1970’s, a period she described as her Blue Funk, although her family and friends say they could not detect any outward change in her character. In 1971, she requested an extended leave of absence from CRCR, citing what she saw as her poor performance at work and unspecified medical problems. Her employer responded by organizing a group of Connie’s friends and colleagues to contribute to a pool of money that would allow her to take a six-month sabbatical in England, which she would later describe as one of the only times in her life that she allowed herself to enjoy “unproductive fun.”
In August of 1974, after waiting for the resignation of Richard Nixon, Connie wrote a series of farewell letters to friends and family. She packed up her Volkswagen and disappeared, her whereabouts unknown to this day.
Film maker Andrea Kannes is currently working on a documentary about Connie. More info here: http://connieconversedoc.com/
How Sad How Lovely
Connie Converse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How short, how sweet
To see the sunset at the end of the street
And the day gathered in to a single light
And the shallows rising
From the brim of the night
Too few, too few are the days that will hold your face
How sad, how lovely
How short, how sweet
To see the sunset at the end of the street
And the lights going on in the shops and the bars
And the lovers looking for the first little signs
Like life, like your smile, like the fall of leaf
How sad, how lovely, how sweet
Connie Converse's song "How Sad How Lovely" is a poignant reflection on the fleeting nature of life and love. The opening lines describe the beauty of a sunset seen from the end of the street, juxtaposed with the brevity of the moment. The line "And the day gathered in to a single light" speaks to the transience of time and the inevitability of its passing. The final lines of the first verse describe the "shallows rising from the brim of the night," which can be interpreted as a metaphor for life's brief glimmers of hope amidst the darkness of mortality.
The second verse speaks directly to the theme of the transience of love. The imagery of "too few, too few days that will hold your face" represents the limited time that one can spend with a loved one before the inevitable separation of death. The line "Your face in a blaze of cold" describes the memory of a loved one after they have passed on. This verse amplifies the already powerful message of the song, emphasizing that even the most beautiful and beloved aspects of life are fleeting and impermanent.
The final verse touches on the cyclical nature of life and its patterns of growth and decay. The comparison to the "fall of leaf" is an acknowledgement of the inevitability of death, but also a recognition of the beauty and grace of that process. The repetition of the opening lines ("How sad, how lovely, how short, how sweet") reinforces the message of the song with a sense of finality.
Overall, this song is a bittersweet meditation on the beauty and fragility of life, love, and mortality. It is a poignant reminder to cherish the fleeting moments of joy and love that we are lucky enough to experience in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
How sad, how lovely
It's bittersweet to experience this moment
How short, how sweet
This moment is fleeting but beautiful
To see the sunset at the end of the street
To witness the day coming to a close
And the day gathered in to a single light
And the last light of day holding everything together
And the shallows rising from the brim of the night
And the peaceful calm of the night settling in
Too few, too few are the days that will hold your face
There aren't enough days to cherish your beauty
Your face in a blaze of cold
Your beauty shining even in the cold
And the lights going on in the shops and the bars
And the hustle and bustle of city life continuing on
And the lovers looking for the first little signs
And the hopeful anticipation of budding love
Like life, like your smile, like the fall of leaf
This moment is like life, with all its beauty and transience
How sad, how lovely, how sweet
It's bittersweet to watch this moment unfold
Writer(s): Connie Converse
Contributed by Avery D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@yuye6690
How sad, how lovely,
how short, how sweet,
to see that sunset
at the end of the street.
And the day gathered in
to a single light,
and the shadows rising
from the brim of the night.
Too few, too few,
are the days that will hold
your face, your face
in a blaze of gold.
How sad, how lovely,
how short, how sweet,
to see that sunset
at the end of the street.
And the lights going on
in the shops and the bars,
and the lovers looking
for the first little stars.
Like life, like a smile,
like the fall of a leaf,
how sad, how lovely,
how brief.
how brief.
@Snowboardalien
We love you, Connie Converse. Wherever you went off too, i hope you found what were you were looking for. Know of how many hearts you have touched with your beautiful music ❤
@lovelyA933
I got so emotional as the song progressed, there is a hint of sadness in her voice so deep and nostalgic. Her family believes she commited suicide but we may never know. She was ahead of her time, and now her work is being appreciated, years into the future. I bet that's something she never thought would happen. Let this be an inspiration to all artists, to know that even if your work is not recognized today it doesn't mean it never will.
@judahslion5611
Very eerily similar to the plight of Vincent Van Gogh who also committed suicide and who's work wasn't appreciated or valued until after his death.
@robmen1402
I also believe that is what she did. She made it seem like she was going west to start new. But it was just a lie.
@MatthewNY94
@@robmen1402 I don't know, I remember reading that her family saw an Elizabeth Converse in the phonebook in a different state, but never followed up on it. Years later when they hired a PI to try to find her, he basically said that she had every right to disappear. I suspect that maybe the PI did find her and she told him that she didn't want contact with her family anymore. It sounds like after awhile her family wasn't really looking that hard for her, so it wouldn't be too difficult to start anew.
@sandos101
Em Jaye I was thinking the same thing but there are probably hundreds of Elizabeth Converse's
@faridjazeera3777
@@MatthewNY94 sorry to butt in. But serious question, is that really true? About "every right to disappear"? Won't the police bring you in as runaways or something?
@daves.6619
Kind of hard to fit her into a category. I would say somewhere between Buffy St. Marie and Joan Baez. Her lyrics are deep and soulful, and it is truly unfortunate that she wasn't picked up by a label. She could have fit nicely into the early 60s folk movement. So here we are today, listening to her songs on the world's biggest music platform! That's enough to say she made it! May her music live on forever.
@yuye6690
How sad, how lovely,
how short, how sweet,
to see that sunset
at the end of the street.
And the day gathered in
to a single light,
and the shadows rising
from the brim of the night.
Too few, too few,
are the days that will hold
your face, your face
in a blaze of gold.
How sad, how lovely,
how short, how sweet,
to see that sunset
at the end of the street.
And the lights going on
in the shops and the bars,
and the lovers looking
for the first little stars.
Like life, like a smile,
like the fall of a leaf,
how sad, how lovely,
how brief.
how brief.
@federicollerena1244
Thanks for sharing the lyrics