Rush is considered a gifted musician and performer whose shows offer a musical celebration. His distinctive guitar style, wry humor and warm, expressive voice have made him both a legend and a lure to audiences around the world. His shows are filled with the rib-aching laughter of terrific story-telling, the sweet melancholy of ballads and the passion of gritty blues.
Rush's impact on the American music scene has been profound. He helped shape the folk revival in the '60s and the renaissance of the '80s and '90s, his music having left its stamp on generations of artists. James Taylor told Rolling Stone, "Tom was not only one of my early heroes, but also one of my main influences." Country music star Garth Brooks has credited Rush with being one of his top five musical influences. Rush has long championed emerging artists. His early recordings introduced the world to the work of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor, and in more recent years his Club 47 concerts have brought artists such as Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin to wider audiences when they were just beginning to build their own reputations.
Rush began his musical career in the early '60s playing the Boston-area clubs while a Harvard student. The Club 47 was the flagship of the coffee house fleet, and he was soon holding down a weekly spot there, learning from the legendary artists who came to play, honing his skills and growing into his talent. He had released two albums by the time he graduated.
Rush displayed then, as he does today, an uncanny knack for finding wonderful songs, and writing his own - many of which have become classics re-interpreted by new generations. (It is testimony to the universality of his appeal that his songs have been folk hits, country hits, heavy metal and rap hits.) Signed by Elektra in 1965, Rush made three albums for them, culminating in The Circle Game, which, according to Rolling Stone, ushered in the singer/songwriter era.
In the early '70s, folk turned to folk-rock, and Rush, ever adaptable, saw more room to stretch out. Recording now for Columbia, he toured tirelessly with a five man band, playing concerts across the country. Endless promotional tours, interviews, television appearances, and recording sessions added up to five very successful but exhausting years, after which Tom decided to take a break and "recharge" his creative side at his New Hampshire farm.
Rush returned with a splash in 1981, selling out Boston's prestigious Symphony Hall in advance. Time off had not only rekindled Rush's love of music, it had re-ignited music audiences' love of Rush's music.
He instinctively knew that his listeners were interested in both the old and the new, and set out to create a musical forum - like the Club 47 of the early '60s - to allow established artists and newcomers to share the same stage. In 1982, he tried it out at Symphony Hall. The show was such a hit it became an annual event, growing to fill two, then three nights, and the Club 47 series was born. Crafting concerts that combined well known artists such as Bonnie Raitt or Emmylou Harris with (then) unknowns like Alison Krauss or Mark O' Connor, Rush took the show on the road. From the '80s to the present day, Club 47 events have filled the nation's finest halls to rave reviews, and have been broadcast as national specials on PBS and NPR.
In 1999, Columbia/Legacy released a Tom Rush retrospective album that covered his recorded musical history from 1962 to the present, including tracks recorded for Columbia, Elektra, Prestige and his independent years. Entitled "The Very Best of Tom Rush: No Regrets", the 17-track compilation includes as a bonus a brand new Tom Rush composition, "River Song," which features vocal contributions from Grammy winners Shawn Colvin and Marc Cohn.
A live CD, "Trolling for Owls" released in 2003 and published by Tom's NIGHTLIGHT RECORDINGS, captures a complete performance and includes, for the first time, some of the spoken stories that have endeared him to audiences.
In 2018, at age 79, he released the album "Voices".
Merrimac County
Tom Rush Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was born I was born
Way up north in the Merrimack county
That's my home that's my home
When I was younger and in my schooling
I walked the mountains made of stone
The distance sang about tomorrow
Well as I grew indeed I rambled
Out along the open road
There I learned the rainbow circle
It's truly said that's a sign of storm
Now I'm old my dreams they wander
Far away in yesterday
I'm going home to the Merrimack county
And find the grass that hides my grave
So let the birds fly down the valley
Let the storms roam on the sea
I was born to the rainbow circle
Stoney mountain that's home to me
The song Merrimack County by Tom Rush is about his nostalgia for his birthplace in Merrimack County, New Hampshire. The opening lines of the song suggest that Tom Rush was born in a small town located in the northernmost part of New Hampshire. The singer is expressing a longing for his home and how he felt about the geography of the area. The mountains that he walked on during his youth are described as being made of stone, with the far-off peaks singing about the future. This could be interpreted as a metaphor, that the mountains represent the singer's aspirations and the unknown future. The song implies that he had a yearning to grow up quickly so that he could leave his hometown and explore the wider world.
As the singer ages the lyrics describe how he learnt the ways of the world while traveling on the open road. He speaks of the 'rainbow circle,' which is said to symbolize an impending storm, suggesting that he has faced challenges and has come up against difficult situations. The closing lines imply that he has lived out his dreams, and that they now wander far from where he was born. He has found a new home elsewhere, but he decides to return to his roots and be buried in Merrimack County.
Line by Line Meaning
Way up north by the ice bound ocean
The singer was born near the frozen ocean in the northern part of the country.
I was born I was born
The singer emphasizes that they were indeed born in that region.
Way up north in the Merrimack county
The singer further specifies that they come from the Merrimack county in the northern region.
That's my home that's my home
The artist feels a strong attachment to that place and considers it as their true home.
When I was younger and in my schooling
The artist talks about their younger days when they were still going to school.
I walked the mountains made of stone
The singer used to take walks in the stone mountains around that region.
The distance sang about tomorrow
The singer felt hopeful for the future and the distance (the long road ahead) made them dream of tomorrow.
And I did wish I was grown and gone
The artist wished they were older and could leave that place to explore the world.
Well as I grew indeed I rambled
As the artist grew older, they started traveling and exploring new places.
Out along the open road
The artist traveled along the open roads of the country.
There I learned the rainbow circle
During their travels, the singer learned about the rainbow circle, which is a sign of a storm to come.
It's truly said that's a sign of storm
The rainbow circle is often associated with storms and bad weather, which the artist learned during their travels.
Now I'm old my dreams they wander
As the singer got older, their dreams started to drift away and become more distant.
Far away in yesterday
The singer's dreams are now far away and belong to a different time in their life.
I'm going home to the Merrimack county
Despite their travels, the singer has decided to go back to their hometown in the Merrimack county.
And find the grass that hides my grave
The artist wants to go back home and eventually be buried in the grass of their hometown.
So let the birds fly down the valley
The artist is at peace with the idea of death and wants to let nature take its course.
Let the storms roam on the sea
The singer accepts that storms will always exist and wants to let them run their course in the open sea.
I was born to the rainbow circle
The singer was born in the Merrimack county, where the rainbow circle is an omen of bad weather.
Stoney mountain that's home to me
The artist considers the stoney mountain region of Merrimack county as their true home.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: TOM RUSH, TREVOR VEITCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind