She is best-remembered for 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 did 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.
During her career, Griffith toured with many 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 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 Griffith'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)
Griffith 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.
Drive-In Movies And Dashboard Lights
Nanci Griffith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She played a Silverstone from Montgomery Ward
Baez songs and Monroe hair
She sure could turn the boys heads to stare
Swimwear saunter, tan and haunt them
Was all she learned in school
Books were for the other girls
And the other girls were fools
Father waltzed her down the aisle
Cause college didn't suit her style
The sad truth was she could barely read
But if you told dear father, well he wouldn't believe you
The telephone rang and drove mother insane
From all the hearts left on the shelf
Sisters gone and she won't be home
Cause she didn't take care of herself
Texas back in '69 was drive in movies and dashboard lights
Where is she now
The backseat queen of fraternity
Where is she now
She's heavy on thigh
And light on integrity
Someone should have told her
When beauty's all you offer
How soon the world discovers
That your beauty's gone
Its gone
Mother can't you hear your daughter crying
Father wake up her youth is dying
The kids are gone
Husbands gone away
And its a shame cause she had such a lovely face
Can't you see she needed more than
"Oh what a pretty child"
You never taught her truth from lie
All you told her was to smile
Texas back in '69 was drive in movies and dashboard lights
Where is she now
The backseat queen of fraternity
Where is she now
She's heavy on thigh
And light on integrity
Someone should have told her
When beauty's all you offer
How soon the world discovers
That your beauty's gone
Its gone
Texas back in '69 was drive in movies and dashboard lights.
The song starts with the description of the singer's sister who possessed a "crystal voice" and played a "Silverstone from Montgomery Ward" to play music. She was all about the looks and sashayed in her swimsuit, which was all she learned in school, and could easily catch the boys' attention. In contrast, the other girls were all about studying, and according to the singer, "books were for the other girls, and the other girls were fools." The lyrics here show how society is obsessed with beauty and appearance, and knowledge and intellect are often ignored.
The next few lines talk about sister's life- how she couldn't pursue a college degree and faced difficulty in reading. The singer's father, who couldn't believe that his daughter wasn't intelligent enough, waltzed her down the aisle on her wedding day. Unfortunately, sister's life didn't go as planned, and she couldn't take care of herself, which caused her to be gone forever. The song ends with the refrain, stating that back in Texas in 1969, life was all about drive-in movies and dashboard lights.
The song tells a powerful yet heartbreaking story of a girl who was only care for her beauty and glamour and how her life goes awry because of it. From the lyrics, we can see that the singer is disappointed in her parents who didn't teach her sister to distinguish between truth and lie and never told her that beauty is temporary. Some possible takeaways from the song are that external beauty can fade fast, and everyone must focus on developing a well-rounded personality.
Line by Line Meaning
Sister had a crystal voice
Her sister had a beautiful singing voice
She played a Silverstone from Montgomery Ward
She played a guitar from a department store
Baez songs and Monroe hair
She sang Joan Baez songs and had hair styled like Marilyn Monroe
She sure could turn the boys heads to stare
She had a striking appearance that attracted male attention
Swimwear saunter, tan and haunt them
She dressed in revealing swimwear to seduce men
Was all she learned in school
She didn't take her education seriously
Books were for the other girls
She thought academic pursuits were only for other girls, not her
And the other girls were fools
She looked down on girls who prioritized their education
Texas back in '69 was drive in movies and dashboard lights
In Texas in 1969, date nights often involved going to drive-in movies and spending time in a car
Father waltzed her down the aisle
Her father walked her down the aisle at her wedding
Cause college didn't suit her style
She didn't pursue higher education because it wasn't her preferred lifestyle
The sad truth was she could barely read
She struggled with literacy
But if you told dear father, well he wouldn't believe you
Her father was in denial about her literacy issues
The telephone rang and drove mother insane
Her mother was overwhelmed by phone calls from suitors
From all the hearts left on the shelf
Men who were rejected by her sister left behind broken hearts
Sisters gone and she won't be home
The sister has left and won't be returning
Cause she didn't take care of herself
The sister neglected her own well-being
Where is she now
The singer wonders where her sister is currently
The backseat queen of fraternity
Her sister was known for her promiscuity
She's heavy on thigh
Her sister is overweight
And light on integrity
Her sister lacks moral principles
Someone should have told her
The artist believes someone should have warned her sister
When beauty's all you offer
The sister's only selling point was her physical appearance
How soon the world discovers
The world quickly realizes that beauty fades
That your beauty's gone
The sister's beauty has disappeared
Its gone
Her beauty is no longer there
Mother can't you hear your daughter crying
The singer questions if her mother can hear her sister's cries for help
Father wake up her youth is dying
The artist urges her father to recognize that her sister's youth is slipping away
The kids are gone
The sister's children are no longer around her
Husbands gone away
Her sister's husband has left her
And its a shame cause she had such a lovely face
The singer laments that her sister's good looks couldn't save her from her troubles
Can't you see she needed more than
The artist believes that her sister needed more help from their parents
"Oh what a pretty child"
The only thing her parents ever commented about her was her physical appearance
You never taught her truth from lie
Her parents never taught her the difference between right and wrong
All you told her was to smile
Her parents only focused on her looks and told her to smile through any situation
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: NANCI GRIFFITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind