Anna McGarrigle and Kate McGarrigle were born in Montreal of mixed Irish- and French-Canadian background, but lived their childhood in the Laurentian Mountains village of Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, northwest of Montreal, where they learned piano from village nuns. In the 1960s, in Montreal, while Kate was studying engineering at McGill University and Anna art at the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, they began performing in public and then began writing their own songs. From 1963 to 1967 they teamed up with Jack Nissenson and Peter Weldon to form the folk group Mountain City Four. Into the twenty-first century, Kate and Anna McGarrigle continued to write, and recorded and performed music, with assorted accompanying musicians including Gerry Conway, Pat Donaldson, Ken Pearson, Michel Pépin, Chaim Tannenbaum and Joel Zifkin.
Their songs have been covered by a variety of artists including Maria Muldaur, Nana Mouskouri, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Billy Bragg, Chloé Sainte-Marie, Judy Collins, Anne Sofie von Otter and others. The covers of their songs by well known artists led to the McGarrigles getting their first recording contract in 1974. They created ten albums from 1975 through 2008.
Although associated with Quebec's anglophone community, the McGarrigles also recorded and performed many songs in French. Two of their albums, Entre la jeunesse et la sagesse (also known as French Record) and La vache qui pleure, are entirely in French, but many of their other records include one or two French songs as well. Most of their French songs were co-written by Philippe Tatartcheff, with occasional input from Kate McGarrigle's son, Canadian-American solo artist Rufus Wainwright. Rufus and his sister Martha Wainwright, also a singer, are the children of Kate and her former husband (married 1971, separated 1976, divorced 1978), singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III.
They have performed or recorded with the Irish group The Chieftains, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on their No More Shall We Part album, Emmylou Harris on her albums Bluebird, Wrecking Ball, Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions, Light of the Stable, Stumble into Grace, and All I Intended to Be, Lou Reed on his concept album The Raven, Joan Baez on her live recording Ring Them Bells, Gilles Vigneault on “Charlie-Jos” on his album C’est ainsi que j’arrive à toi, and Robin Holcomb on her 2002 album The Big Time.
Their version of Wade Hemsworth's song, "The Log Driver's Waltz" grew famous as the soundtrack for a 1979 animated film by Canada's National Film Board. They provided backing vocals on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds's 2001 album No More Shall We Part. They appeared on the children's TV show Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show in Season 4, episode 50 entitled "Sibling Rivalry".
They were appointed Members of the Order of Canada in 1993 and received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award in 2004.
Another sister, Jane McGarrigle, is a film and television composer who wrote and performed several songs with the duo, but was not a regular collaborator.
Kate died January 18, 2010 at the age of 63 after fighting a rare form of cancer.
Alice Blue Gown
Kate & Anna McGarrigle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I first wandered down into town
I was both proud and shy,
As I felt every eye.
And in every shop window
I'd primp, passing by.
At all manner of fashion I'd frown,
And the world seemed to smile all around.
I'll always adore it;
My sweet little Alice blue gown.
At all manner of fashion I'd frown,
And the world seemed to smile all around.
Till it wilted, I wore it.
I'll always adore it;
My sweet little Alice blue gown.
The song "Alice Blue Gown" by Kate & Anna McGarrigle is a nostalgic reverie to a time when clothing held more importance for women than it does today. The song tells a story of a woman who is both proud and shy as she wears her "sweet little Alice blue gown" out into town. She feels the eyes of all upon her, and she takes pride in being well-dressed; looking through every shop window, adjusting her dress, and frowning at other fashion choices that she considers inferior to her own. At this point, the world seems to smile all around her, and she feels confident and serene.
Line by Line Meaning
In my sweet little Alice blue gown.
The singer describes wearing a blue gown and adding the word "Alice" to the description to give it a personal touch.
When I first wandered down into town
The singer recalls wearing the dress for the first time and walking around the town.
I was both proud and shy,
The singer was both proud and shy while wearing the dress, drawing attention but feeling slightly self-conscious.
As I felt every eye.
The artist was aware of people looking at her while wearing the dress.
And in every shop window I'd primp, passing by.
The artist would look at herself in shop windows while walking by and adjust her appearance.
At all manner of fashion I'd frown,
The singer didn't like other types of fashion and would frown at them while wearing her own dress.
And the world seemed to smile all around.
Despite her own feelings about fashion, the singer felt like the world was happy around her.
Till it wilted, I wore it.
The artist wore the dress until it was no longer wearable.
I'll always adore it;
The artist will always love and appreciate the dress.
My sweet little Alice blue gown.
The artist once again describes the dress, adding a sentimental feeling.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harry Tierney, Joseph Mc Carthy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
joelz
on Song For Gaby
Added the first vocal line which was missing
joelz
on Why Must We Die?
We are meat. We are spirit
We have blood and we have grace
We have a will and we have muscle
A soul and a face
Why must we die
We have eyes and intuition
A DNA code and a name
Some tend to logic, some superstition
We have an aura and a frame
Why must we die
We are human, we are angel
We have feet and wish for wings
We are carbon, we are ether
We are saints, we are kings
Why must we die
Why must we die
We are men of constant sorrow
We′ll have trouble all our days
We never found our Eldorado
Where we were born
We are meat, we are spirit
We have blood and we have grace
We have a will and we have muscle
A soul and a face
Why must we die
Why must we die
We are men of constant sorrow
We'll have trouble all our days
We never found our Eldorado
Where we were born
We are men of constant sorrow
We′ll have trouble all our days...