Lori McKenna’s first name is actually Lorraine. She is named after the mother she lost when she was only seven, but whose impact on Lori’s life reverberates to this day. In her sixth album, Lorraine, she considers the influence of her mother, who died at roughly the same age Lori is now, as well as her own place in relationship to her husband, family and community. It is her most personal album to date.
On the title track, Lori thinks back to scenes she remembers from her childhood (or thinks she does: “Well I don’t know if this part is true/How memories lie the way they do”) and how they reflect on her mother’s character: hard working, uncomplaining, sacrificing and loving, despite the health challenges that would eventually take her from her family. Lori allows the small details to carry the story. She remembers her mother smiling and dancing to a Judy Garland Carnegie Hall concert recording: “She said her cousin had a balcony seat.” If you lean in closely, you see the portrait of Lorraine taking shape. Her mother found joy in the music and joy that someone close to her had been lucky enough to be there, but no hint of feeling deprived for not experiencing it herself. Lorraine’s place was with her family, and she found contentment there. In the last verse, Lori looks at herself with the hope that she’s worthy of the name she was given, and the recognition that she might just be falling short (“I swear I’ve tried to be worthy of/The name they gave me when I was young/But I ain’t that pretty and I ain’t that brave/My kids have seen me cry/They should have given her name to my sister Marie/That don’t mean a thing to you but it does to me”).
Lori’s unusual combination of professional and personal life, at least in the context of the modern music industry, is well-documented. She grew up in Massachusetts in a musical household. Her father was an excellent singer, and her mother played the piano. Two of her older brothers were songwriters, one of whom (Richard) she considers largely responsible for her career. He accompanied a reluctant Lori to open mic nights and gave her confidence that she was good enough. She began performing her songs in public at age 27, after she and her husband Gene already had three children. She and Gene continue to maintain a happy home in Stoughton, Massachusetts, adding two more children to their full lives. In addition to family, place has an important role in Lori’s songs.
“Buy This Town” almost didn’t make the album. It was written the day after the album was completed, but Lori felt so strongly about the song, she and album producer Barry Dean went back to the studio to record it. It’s a love letter to Stoughton, replete with images of the working class environment and the good, hard-working people that are her neighbors. In the last verse of the song, she writes of a firefighter at the high school football game because his kid is playing. “That’s my neighbor John,” she says, “and his son Lucas is on the football team.” She also speaks about how place plays a role in some of her strongest and most enduring memories. It’s moments like a tearful one at the kitchen sink in the home she shares with Gene that Lori holds most dear (”If I could buy one night, I wouldn’t buy the one you’d think/I’d buy the one when my eyes teared up by the light above the kitchen sink/And you held me tight, and you begged me not to cry/If I could buy the sweetness of one kiss, that’s the one I’d buy/If I could buy one night”). The love of home and community is not some abstraction for Lori. It’s central to who she is.
She eventually became a staple of the Boston folk music scene, where she became friendly with Mary Gauthier. “We were the two old ladies in a sea of young faces,” she jokes. When Gauthier picked up and left for Nashville, she brought Lori’s music to the attention of her publisher. They got her music into the hands of Faith Hill, who fell hard for Lori’s songs. Hill recorded three of them for her album Fireflies. Lori’s way of articulating the love, pain and pathos of domestic life had a huge impact on Hill, and Hill’s very public championing of Lori’s music led other artists to Lori’s songs. Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Alison Krauss, Keith Urban and LeAnn Rimes are among the many that have recorded her songs in recent years.
That Lori is a master at chronicling the small, difficult moments between romantic partners as they navigate their relationships is a big reason her songs have been so popular with other artists. Though she and Gene have a strong and happy marriage, they, like all couples, have their moments when they are not connecting. Lori channels the vulnerability of those moments in songs that give voice to anyone who has felt insecure even in the most committed of relationships. In the lead track of the album, “The Luxury Of Knowing,” the protagonist’s constancy is juxtaposed against her partner’s mercurial nature (“But just when I think you’re a hurricane/You freeze right over and all that rain/Turns to ice and your whole world just starts snowing/And I don’t have the luxury of knowing”), leaving her unable to feel secure in the relationship (“Damn it must be easy/Being in love with someone so blind/Cuz I’ll tell you right now the only thing I really know/Is that you might change your mind”). There are also moments that celebrate the love that accompanies the daily grind. “You Get A Love Song” is a fun romp that reminds us that often there’s no gold star or plaque for just showing up every day for your loved one, but at least for Gene, he gets the starring role in one of his wife’s songs.
The increased acclaim for her song craft led to a record deal with Warner Brothers, who released her 2007 album Unglamorous. Working with Tim McGraw (who co-produced the album), an appearance on Oprah and an opening slot on McGraw and Faith Hill’s Soul2Soul tour were heady experiences, and Lori is grateful for them. “The whole experience was wonderful, and there were several at Warner Brothers that worked so hard for my album,” she says, but there was always a sense that her music and their goals were not going to result in a perfect professional marriage. “Recording in Nashville, as good as the experience has been in many ways, is not exactly the safest way to guard your creative instincts.” Sales levels that would seem astronomical by the standards of the folk community that nurtured her were not enough for a subsequent regime at Warner Brothers, and they parted amicably. “One thing that did come out of that experience was a much deeper confidence in myself as an artist,” says Lori, which was one reason she decided to take the reins back in her professional life. By choice, she has no label and no manager for the first time in her career.
The album closes with a prayer to Lorraine. Lori used to pray to her mother when she was a child: there was a strong sense that Lorraine was watching over her. “I think I made better choices in my life because I felt she was there,” Lori says. “Still Down Here” is a prayer that Lorraine and all the loved ones who leave their earthly burdens behind remember the ones still here on Earth, still in need of their love and guidance. With a daughter so empathetic to the human condition and so loyal and loving to her family and community, one guesses that Lorraine is looking down, very proud.
www.lorimckenna.com
The Dream
Lori McKenna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You were sitting side by side talking like old friends
You looked just like I remember wearing that coat from 85
You were smiling like you are right now, all free and full of wild
I had a dream last night that the two of you met
He was telling you a story, I'm not sure which one it was
Using his hands to mark out something, maybe the size of his love
But it's all right there in between the words and I can hear it clearly now
I had a dream last night that the two of you met
Yeah he was something, he was one of a kind
And you would have loved him if you were born in his time
But he's somewhere in your eyes
Between heaven and earth, it's a damn long view
I had a dream last night that the two of you met
I was struck by the vision, the kind of dream you dream to dream
And whatever you two talked about, that's between you and him, not me
I hope he told you what's important, what to let go and what to hold
And if he mentioned life is short, well, that's because he knows
I had a dream last night that the two of you met
Yeah he was something, he was one of a kind
You would have loved him if you were born in his time
But he's somewhere in your eyes
Between heaven and earth, it's a damn long, damn long view
Damn long view
I had a dream last night that the two of you met
You were sitting side by side talking like old friends
Lori McKenna's song "The Dream" is a poignant reflection on the connection between past and present, and the longing to bridge the gap between two significant people in the singer's life. The lyrics describe a dream where the singer envisions the meeting of two individuals, one of whom is no longer alive. The dream captures a sense of nostalgia and bittersweetness, as the singer observes the pair conversing like old friends.
The song suggests that the person who is deceased, referred to as "he," had a significant impact on the singer's life. The line "Using his hands to mark out something, maybe the size of his love" reveals the loving and expressive nature of this person. Although the exact details of their conversation are left unknown to the singer, there is an acknowledgment that the connection between the two is special and profound. The lyrics imply that this person had wisdom to share and may have conveyed important life lessons, perhaps emphasizing the fleeting nature of life and the importance of choosing what to hold on to and what to let go.
Overall, "The Dream" portrays the emotional weight of missing someone dear and the longing for them to have a presence in the lives of those they left behind. The dream serves as a way for the singer to imagine a meeting that never took place in reality, allowing them to reflect on the impact of the deceased person's absence.
Line by Line Meaning
I had a dream last night that the two of you met
In my dream last night, I imagined the two of you coming together
You were sitting side by side talking like old friends
You were sitting closely, engaged in conversation as if you had known each other for a long time
You looked just like I remember wearing that coat from 85
You had the same appearance as I recall, wearing the iconic coat from 1985
You were smiling like you are right now, all free and full of wild
You had a bright and joyful smile, radiating a carefree and adventurous spirit, just like you do in reality
He was telling you a story, I'm not sure which one it was
He was narrating a tale, although I'm uncertain about its specific content
Using his hands to mark out something, maybe the size of his love
He gestured with his hands, possibly indicating the magnitude of his affection
He never really spelled that out when he was down here on the ground
When he was alive, he didn't explicitly express these sentiments
But it's all right there in between the words and I can hear it clearly now
Nevertheless, the essence of his emotions can be discerned in the subtle subtext, which I now comprehend with clarity
Yeah he was something, he was one of a kind
He was truly remarkable, a singular individual
And you would have loved him if you were born in his time
If you had existed during his era, you would have held great affection for him
But he's somewhere in your eyes
However, traces of his spirit reside within your gaze and demeanor
Between heaven and earth, it's a damn long view
Positioned between the celestial realm and our mortal world, the perspective is vast and far-reaching
I was struck by the vision, the kind of dream you dream to dream
I was profoundly affected by this vivid image, a dream that embodies the essence of dreaming itself
And whatever you two talked about, that's between you and him, not me
The content of your conversation remains private and personal, exclusively shared between the two of you
I hope he told you what's important, what to let go and what to hold
I aspire that he imparted wisdom regarding the significance of priorities, knowing what to release and what to cherish
And if he mentioned life is short, well, that's because he knows
In case he emphasized the brevity of life, it's because he possessed firsthand understanding of its fleeting nature
Damn long view
An immensely expansive perspective
You were sitting side by side talking like old friends
Once again, you were seated closely, engaging in conversation as if you had a deep and longstanding bond
Damn long view
An incredibly extensive observation
I had a dream last night that the two of you met
In my dream last night, I envisioned the convergence of the two of you
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: LORI MCKENNA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Daniel Flatt
My brother's daughter was born about a year after my Dad died in 2017, and for some reason this struck me hard with the thought of them ever getting to meet, even in a dream.
Thank you for such a beautiful song.
Paul Bellefeuille
Thanks SO much for this Lori!! My Dad passed 10 years before my oldest was born. We named him after Dad. He indeed was somethin' too.
Larry C
Lori always sings from the heart....her songs tell stories of REAL life, lived by REAL people....happiness and sadness mix with laughter and tears.......as a senior citizen, I really appreciate her acceptance of and joy at the experiences that led to life in our later years
Taco Myrick
My guitar didn't come with all them fancy chords you're playin'. Gorgeous song... I could see the story you were singing. Thanks for sharing.
Kim W
Love these, plus the entire new album!
Brett Allen Gregory
Very cool song and I like the performance / being able to hear and see you on solo acoustic
Jt Oaks
The sheets blowing on the line out back are a nice touch!
Bob Siefert
Gosh, that's gorgeous. I hear the double drop D tuning. Are you also raising the G to an A?
Charles Quinn Warwick
very nice
Mona Love
You are my favorite singer song writer. After covid i hope you tour to california and The Belly Up Tavern.