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.
It's Just Another Morning Here
Nanci Griffith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I pull the bed clothes higher
Will it stop calling out if I turn on the light?
I'm afraid of these shadows here
Cause my past is truly frightening
And I'm afraid of the warmth in the down
Of a feathered heart in flight
It's just another morning here (it's morning)
It's just another morning here
It's just another morning here (it's morning)
And it's a miracle that it comes around
Every day of the year
The neighbors scream and their baby cries
I'm hiding in the corner
I won't be them, pray I won't be them one day
Maybe it's just the breath of August
So hot upon my shoulder
Or an open window for a winged heart
To fly away
[Chorus]
The telephone is ringin' in the middle of the night
I pull the bed clothes higher
Will it stop calling out if I turn on the light?
I'm afraid of these shadows here
Cause my past is truly frightening
And I'm afraid of the warmth in the down
Of a feathered heart in flight
[Chorus: x2]
Nanci Griffith's song "It's Just Another Morning Here" explores feelings of fear and uncertainty about the future. The song begins with the singer being awakened by the telephone ringing in the middle of the night. While trying to ignore it, she wonders if the phone will stop ringing if she turns on the light. She is afraid of the shadows around her, likely symbolic of her own past which she fears repeating. However, she also expresses a fear of the warmth and comfort that comes with a "feathered heart in flight", again using metaphorical language to convey her reluctance to put herself in a vulnerable position.
The chorus repeats the line "It's just another morning here", followed by the reminder that it is a miracle that the day comes around every day of the year. This can be interpreted as the singer trying to reassure herself that life goes on despite her fears and uncertainties. The second verse describes the singer overhearing her neighbors screaming and their baby crying. She hides in the corner and hopes that she won't become like them one day. She wonders if the August heat or an open window are responsible for the "winged heart" having the opportunity to fly away, again using metaphorical language to describe both an escape and a type of freedom.
Overall, "It's Just Another Morning Here" is a haunting, introspective song that explores complex emotions through the use of evocative metaphors and vivid imagery.
Line by Line Meaning
The telephone is ringin' in the middle of the night
A phone call interrupts Nanci Griffith's sleep in the middle of the night
And I pull the bed clothes higher
Nanci Griffith tries to find comfort by pulling her blankets higher
Will it stop calling out if I turn on the light?
Nanci Griffith wonders whether the phone will stop ringing if she turns on the light
I'm afraid of these shadows here
Nanci Griffith is scared of the shadows in her room
Cause my past is truly frightening
Nanci Griffith fears her past and what it may hold
And I'm afraid of the warmth in the down
Nanci Griffith fears the comfort of her down-filled bedding
Of a feathered heart in flight
Nanci Griffith fears the freedom that a heart in flight may experience
It's just another morning here (it's morning)
Despite the disruptions of the night, it's just another morning
And it's a miracle that it comes around
The arrival of morning is a miracle that happens every day
Every day of the year
Morning comes every day of the year
The neighbors scream and their baby cries
Nanci Griffith hears her neighbors arguing and their baby crying
I'm hiding in the corner
Nanci Griffith hides in her room, away from the disturbances
I won't be them, pray I won't be them one day
Nanci Griffith hopes to not end up like her neighbors, fighting and crying
Maybe it's just the breath of August
Nanci Griffith thinks that the cause of the disturbance may be the summer heat
So hot upon my shoulder
The heat is causing discomfort for Nanci Griffith
Or an open window for a winged heart
Another possible cause of the disturbance is an open window allowing for a free-spirited person to leave
To fly away
The free-spirited person may have flown away
Chorus: It's just another morning here (it's morning)
The chorus repeats the idea that it's just another morning
And it's a miracle that it comes around
The arrival of morning is still a miracle
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: NANCI GRIFFITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@asimplesong1
Nanci and Phil Everly worked so well together. Miss them so much.
@suzannelawson9215
So very sad, now Don Everly has recently passed.
@themistermax
I've listened to this song hundreds of times over several decades, and never knew Phil Everly was singing on it. Just another reason to love the track.
@asimplesong1
This is why Phil Everly was the finest 'harmony' vocalist certainly in my lifetime. In this wonderful song with Nancy you can hardly hear him yet the harmony is pitch perfect and really adds to the song.
@benkleschinsky
I knew there was something special about this track but couldn't quite put my finger on it.
@lyonslaforet
Nancy Griffith wrote excellent songs and this one is among her very best!
@teddyoneills
Rest in peace Nancy, It feels like I have just lost one of my best friends tonight!
@cannghiem
my heart is breaking having just learned of her passing
@themistermax
I did not know she had died until seeing this just now. Very sad.
@mauidreamer2801
Oh...this is SO good! I've not heard it before, but I will definitely be listening again! Phil can sing with absolutely anyone. What a gift he's given to those who listen. Thank you Mark for posting, and thank you Loretta for the share. I love this!