About That Song: Vance Gilbert
About That Song #10
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
Our 10th guest is Vance Gilbert, who recently shared the stage with me at Storyhill Fest. Vance is an amazing vocalist and guitarist and recently released his 14th(!!!) album!
Vance Gilbert. Photo credit: Robert Mattson Photography.
Sarah: Hi Vance! Congrats on the release of your new album, The Mother of Trouble. It was so nice to meet you at Storyhill Fest last weekend! Thanks for taking a moment to talk to me about the songs that made a difference in your songwriting journey. Do you remember the song that you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Vance: It was the flip side of Smokey Robinson’s “I Second That Emotion” called “You Must Be Love.” It seemed so manageable and had poetry in it all at once. Who wears out a 45’s flip side? (*raises hand*) I didn’t even think again of being a songwriter ’til a decade later in college, sophomore year, but I never forgot how that song made me feel like “hey…I could try that.”
Sarah: Oh, a B-side! I love that! And the way you describe it as being both “manageable” and having poetry—that’s such an elegant way to describe the songs that most often knock my socks right off. Once you began writing, did you feel like a writer immediately? It took me a few years of writing before I believed it—was there a song that gave you that “a-HA! I AM a songwriter!” moment? Tell us about that song.
Vance: Ohhh, I was a songwriter even as I failed a poetry course taught by William H. Meredith, my English professor at Connecticut College and future U.S. poet laureate and Pulitzer winner. I was shamelessly bringing lyrics to class like: “Hey Wishing Well. Nothing to say but ‘ka-plop’ when my money drops….”
It's a longer story, but he called me into his office to tell me that whilst I did well in his prose class, he was failing me in poetry personally, but giving me a “D” professionally. I cried and thanked him. I didn’t ask for mercy or anything. He was right. But I continued writing songs. Hell yes I was a songwriter. I’d never play that song anywhere, barely in my head, thank the spheres….
Sarah: That feels like the best possible result of failing a class, perhaps! It looks like you have a lovely fall of touring on the calendar, with some Midwest shows sprinkled in there, and we can catch you on YouTube for Vance’s Acoustic Pajama Party (Mondays at 7:30 pm ET). Where can we hear you sing that song (or any other song for that matter) in the near future?
Well, I never learned Smokey Robinson’s “You Must Be Love.” But I fell in love with his “The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage.” I’ll sing that whenever folks want.
Just like the desert shows a thirsty man
A green oasis where there’s only sand
You lured me into something I couldn’t dodge
The love I saw In you was just a mirage
I mean c’mon, do we really think Dylan was being “tongue in cheek” when he quipped in an interview an answer to “who’s the best songwriter other than yourself?” and he said Smokey Robinson? Why do people laugh up their sleeves at that? LOOK AT THAT FRIGGIN LYRIC!!
Sarah: Yes! Look at that friggin lyric!!
Vance: Wait—what did you ask me? Sorry, I went off. Oh yeah—my website will tell you the where with a bullet far better than I can spout off here, but I’m heading to the Nowhere Else Festival in Ohio this weekend, and I know that there’s some Chicago area and Fort Atkinson shows coming up at the end of October.
Sarah: Cafe Carpe? That would be a dreamy place to get to listen to you sing some Smokey Robinson, in addition to all the Vance Gilbert!
One last question: The Mother of Trouble is your 14th album. You have an amazing body of work. Was there a particular song that you finished writing that let you know it was time to head back to the studio and begin the album-making process? If so, would you tell us about that song?
Vance: “Black Rochelle”; I was sure it was time to record….
Sarah: Sometimes it is just that you know it’s time, I get that. Thank you, Vance, for chatting with me a bit. Wishing you a wonderful fall of music making.
Listen to “Black Rochelle”
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
