After a short marriage which ended in 1992, Griffin began playing in Boston coffee houses and was scouted by A&M Records who signed Griffin on the strength of her demo tape. This resulted in her debut album Living With Ghosts -- a set of demos featuring only Ms. Griffin and her guitar -- which garnered critical acclaim in 1996. Her sophomore album, Flaming Red, demonstrated a more rocking, full-band sound. The ill-fated Silver Bell album was never released by her record label, however, and the label terminated her recording contract shortly after that. Many of the songs from Silver Bell were re-recorded for subsequent albums.
After switching to ATO Records Griffin brought out three albums in rapid succession: 1000 Kisses and Impossible Dream, which were both nominated for Grammy awards, and A Kiss in Time, a well-received live album. In March 2007, she released Children Running Through to great critical acclaim.
She has penned a wide variety of songs - Long Ride Home, Top of the World, Tony, Forgiveness, Chief, Mad Mission--that touch her listeners deeply. A number of high profile artists have covered Patty's songs, including the Dixie Chicks, Bette Midler, Emmylou Harris, The Wreckers, Solomon Burke and pop star Kelly Clarkson; these have brought her exposure in the more mainstream pop and country worlds outside of folk music circles. Upon hearing Solomon Burke's cover of one of her tunes, she said she almost didn't feel worthy of singing it anymore.
Following her collaboration with Mavis Staples on a tune for a compilation album Peter York, suggested Griffin make an album of gospel songs. Griffin agreed on the condition that Buddy Miller, a friend and bandmate, produced the record. Downtown Church was recorded at the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville with a 2010 release date. The album features long-time friends Buddy and Julie Miller, as well as Shawn Colvin and Emmylou Harris. It also includes songs by Hank Williams, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, and "All Creatures of Our God and King," a song accredited to St. Francis of Assisi.
Griffin featured on Robert Plant's solo album, Band of Joy, which was released in September 2010
Griffin's album American Kid was released on May 7, 2013
Useless Desires
Patty Griffin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the different colored doorways you thought would let you in one day
Goodbye to the old bus stop frozen and waiting
The weekend addition has this town over-rated
You walk across the baseball green
The grass has turned to straw
A flock of birds tries to fly away from where you are
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye old friend
I can't spend another ten years wishing you would anyway
How the sky turns to fire
Against the telephone wire
And even I'm getting tired of useless desires
Everyday I take a bitter pill
It gets me on my way
For the little aches and pains
The ones I have from day to day
To help me think a little less about the things I miss
To help me not to wonder how I ended up like this
Walk down to the railroad track and ride a rusty train
With a million other faces I shoot through the city veins
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye old friend
You wanted to be free
And somewhere beyond the bitter end is where I wanna be
How the sky turns to fire
Against the telephone wire
And even I'm getting tired of useless desires
Say goodbye to the old building that never tried to know your name
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye old friend
You won't be seeing me again
Goodbye to all the window panes shining in the sun
Like diamonds on a winter day
Goodbye, goodbye to everyone
How the sky turns to fire
Against the telephone wire
It burns the last of the day down
And I'm the last one hanging around waiting
On a train track and the train never comes back
And even I'm getting tired of useless desires
The opening lines of the song Useless Desires by Patty Griffin detail a goodbye to the old street, different colored doorways, and bus stop. It seems as though the subject is bidding farewell to a place and time in their life that no longer holds any value for them. The grass is now straw and a flock of birds flies away from where they stand, perhaps symbolizing their need to move on from a stagnant situation. Despite these goodbyes, the subject expresses feelings of hopelessness towards their current situation, highlighting the line "even I'm getting tired of useless desires". The use of fire against the telephone wire in the song could symbolize the burning passion the subject once had, but feels no longer.
The song's chorus examines the subject's feelings of being "tired of useless desires", but still acknowledging their existence. The subject takes a bitter pill every day to deal with daily pains and to make them think of what they miss a bit less. Griffin's choice to use the lyrics "a million other faces I shoot through the city veins" may symbolize the lack of individuality the subject feels in their current situation. They want to be free of this life, and the "bitter end" is mentioned as being somewhere beyond where they want to end up. The song winds down with a final goodbye to the old building, window panes shining in the sun, and everyone the subject has known. The train track represents the subject's desire to leave this past behind, but the train never comes, perhaps symbolizing their apprehension and indecisiveness on making a change.
Line by Line Meaning
Say goodbye to the old street that never cared much for you anyway
Bid farewell to the street that never showed you any care
And the different colored doorways you thought would let you in one day
Say goodbye to the multicolored doorways which you thought would bring you inside one day
Goodbye to the old bus stop frozen and waiting
Farewell to the aged bus stop, standing stiff and weary
The weekend addition has this town over-rated
This town is overhyped by the weekend edition and it’s not worth the pursuit
You walk across the baseball green
Meander across the parched baseball field
The grass has turned to straw
The green grass has been replaced with straw
A flock of birds tries to fly away from where you are
A large group of birds attempts to distance themselves from your presence
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye old friend
Farewell, adieu, goodbye my old friend
I can't make you stay
I don’t have the power to make you stay
I can't spend another ten years wishing you would anyway
I cannot waste another decade yearning for you to stay
How the sky turns to fire
It’s fascinating how the sky changes color, resembling a blaze
Against the telephone wire
The telephone wires serve as a backdrop to the striking sky
And even I'm getting tired of useless desires
I, too, exhaust myself thinking of pointless desires
Everyday I take a bitter pill
Every day, I ingest a bitter pill
It gets me on my way
It helps me start my day
For the little aches and pains
It’s for the trivial body aches and torments
The ones I have from day to day
They're the ones I experience frequently
To help me think a little less about the things I miss
It aids me to diminish the thoughts of things I miss
To help me not to wonder how I ended up like this
It keeps me from overthinking how I arrived at this state
Walk down to the railroad track and ride a rusty train
Take a walk to the train tracks and hop on an old, rusty train
With a million other faces I shoot through the city veins
With a sea of unfamiliar faces, I race through the veins of the city
You wanted to be free
You craved liberty
And somewhere beyond the bitter end is where I wanna be
I want to exist beyond the bitter climax of this situation
Say goodbye to the old building that never tried to know your name
Bid farewell to the building that never bothered to learn your name
Goodbye to all the window panes shining in the sun
Farewell to all the window panes that glistened in the sun
Like diamonds on a winter day
Resembling diamonds on a frigid winter day
Goodbye, goodbye to everyone
Farewell, adieu to all of you
It burns the last of the day down
The remaining part of the day fades away into the sky
And I'm the last one hanging around waiting
I'm the sole one left, waiting around endlessly
On a train track and the train never comes back
On the train tracks, waiting for a train that won’t return
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PATRICIA J. GRIFFIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind