About That Song: Zachary Scot Johnson
About That Song #31
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.
For our 31st edition, I was excited to connect with Zachary Scot Johnson! We talked about influential songs and artists in his artistic journey, a track off his latest record, and an incredible project of his that’s been going on for nearly 12 years.
Zachary Scot Johnson. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Sarah: Hi Zach! It is so lovely to have a moment to chat with you. Over the last few years I’ve been fortunate to share stage space with you from time to time, as part of your magical Turf Club tribute shows. In addition to those, and your Song A Day Project—both highlighting songs written by other artists—you perform your originals often and just released a new album! Congrats! I feel like you spend so much time with SONG that you are beyond ready for this conversation. Do you remember the song that you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Zach: I knew I wanted to be a songwriter at such a young age I have trouble thinking of one specific song, honestly. But it was Joni Mitchell, really, that made me need to be a songwriter more than want to be a songwriter. The first record I heard of hers was Ladies of the Canyon. I hadn’t really started teaching myself guitar yet, but I’d been taking piano lessons for years and found a couple of Joni songbooks. “For Free” is probably the first song of hers that blew my mind—the way she uses suspension and dissonance in her chords and, of course, paints an incredible life story in the span of a four-and-a-half-minute song. So probably that one.
I stubbornly listened to basically only Joni for a long time and when I finally branched out it was to the Lilith Fair artists—Shawn Colvin in particular. When I heard “I Don’t Know Why,” that was a really big one for me, too. It’s a pretty perfect song, and even though she’s told me she feels like it’s a lullaby to her daughter (written 20 years before she was born), it speaks of a songwriter’s quest to me.
Sarah: Oh, I love that Shawn Colvin song. I first heard it through a cover by Alison Krauss and was also struck with the near perfection of it. And yes! I hear that songwriter’s quest in that lyric as well. “I don’t know why the sky is so blue, and I don’t know why I’m so in love with you, if there were no music then I would not get through.” A million yesses.
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.
Zach: I’m still not convinced I’m a writer, honestly. I’m a slow writer and every time I put out a record and dry up my well of songs, I worry that I’ll never be able to write again. I definitely did not hit the ground running, and those early songs are mostly train wrecks. I’m embarrassed by my own first record, if I’m being honest. I can appreciate it as a learning experience but it’s not good work.
Sarah: I relate to this quite a bit. I wouldn’t say “embarrassed” by my first record, but I definitely feel what my daughter would call “cringe.” And also a tenderness—for that young person who went for it.
Zach: I wrote a couple of songs on my second record that I’m still fond of—one is called “One Good Reason Why” and I think that’s one of my catchier tunes. Though I did write it about a specific (and short-lived) relationship that had fallen apart, I distinctly remember taking a step back and just trying to write a Mary Chapin Carpenter / Lori McKenna-ish song that straddles the line of specificity and universal-to-most that they can always successfully walk. They’ve always done it better, but that song still feels good to me. And it was the first song I wrote that did anything—PBS used it on a show called Roadtrip Nation and a few other things that were kind of fun.
Zachary Scot Johnson’s self-titled album artwork.
Sarah: You just called out two of my songwriting heroes, and exactly why they are so: the way they thread that line of specificity and universal-to-most. Or sometimes they might go full bore into specificity and I’ll walk away from a song convinced I had that experience—because they made it so … feelable. Congrats on having a song that went on a road trip—hopefully that tips your heart toward wearing that songwriting label a bit more comfortably.
You just released a new self-titled record, and the first track, “It Goes On Forever,” is absolutely after that songwriter’s/musician’s quest—the lyric “Every single day, I try and string some words together; and then I try and make them better” spoke right to me. That’s essentially my daily prayer. Can you tell us about that song?
Zach: Thank you so much. That is a song I’m deeply proud of. It’s unique in the sense that I think it’s the only time I’ve ever successfully written music before lyrics. I had the guitar riff for years and waited for something that would fit. I always write lyrics first, so it was odd that it worked this way for me. Lucinda Williams has always been a big influence and she wrote a song called “Words” on a record called West that nearly made me cry when I first heard it. I was floored by her ability to write a song about LOVING words and writing songs.
It’s more complicated than that, but I loved that she did what felt impossible to me before that song. The line in my song after the ones you quoted is “I’m hardly satisfied ever,” which also feels real to me. I know it can be perceived negatively, but I don’t mean it that way—it’s that we’re always in pursuit of greatness, always begging the muse to trust us. It’s a songwriter’s song, but it feels honest and sincere to me for sure and I’m so glad it spoke to you, too. You’re an incredible writer and your work constantly knocks me out.
Sarah: Oh boy, you are kind to say that. I agree wholeheartedly with that kind of positive-feeling dissatisfaction—I’m here for the constant dream that it’s jussssst on the other side of that pen hitting the paper. The title “It Goes On Forever” also feels like an honest statement coming from you of all people, because you’ve been recording and releasing a song a day for 11.5 years straight! BRAVO! That’s such an impressive display of dedication, and I love that at the heart of it, it started with one song. Can you tell us about that first song?
Zach: Thank you. I started thesongadayproject on YouTube on Sept. 6, 2012, thinking it’d probably last a month or two and then I’d give up. I intended to just record every song I knew so that when playing those four-hour bar gigs where you play 50 songs in a night or whatever, when people would ask about a specific song, no matter which one, I could point them to YouTube to find it. Over 4,000 songs later I’m still going and finding endless new songs I want to sing.
I used to start my shows with a Donovan song called “Catch The Wind.” No real reason—it’s simply a song I loved and knew like the back of my hand, so no matter the circumstance, when I started a show I always felt comfortable with that song and it also felt like a good introduction to my style and kind of set the tone for what my set would be like. So when I started thesongadayproject I also started with that song.
As thesongadayproject was approaching its five-year anniversary, Donovan reached out and ended up flying me over to Ireland so I could back him up at the Cork Folk Festival and we re-recorded that same song as a duet and put it up for the anniversary. It’s one of a number of truly wild things that’s happened to me since starting thesongadayproject—but becoming dear pals with Donovan was not something I expected when starting it, that’s for sure.
Sarah: THAT is some amazing magic right there. I like to lean in to the woo-woo of it all, and to me that is absolutely the Universe working with your work.
In addition to your solo work, and thesongadayproject, over the last few years you’ve built an impressive string of tribute shows, taking place at Turf Club in St Paul. You bring together so many different artists, and fans, and they are a wonderful thing to be a part of. I imagine that started with a single song in some way, too—was it a Joni Mitchell song? What sent you off down the tribute-show path?
Zach: Thank you for your participation in so many of these. It wasn’t actually one specific song, but it was attending a different tribute concert. When Joni turned 75 there was a tribute to her in Los Angeles that I got a front row balcony seat for. She showed up for it and artists like James Taylor, Graham Nash, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Seal, Rufus Wainwright, Brandi Carlile, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Chaka Khan and others played her songs all night. It was a special show and with her in attendance it was so special.
I’d done a tiny Joni tribute at the much beloved and missed Warming House with Doug Collins, Vicky Emerson and Ben Cook-Feltz, but that night I had it in my brain that the time was right for a bigger Minnesota tribute. Her second record, Clouds, was turning 50, so the timing was right. From there we’ve done a dozen or so, and covered some of the best artists to ever play music.
Sarah: So the question should’ve actually been “tell us about that tribute show”! I’m so glad you could be there for that special Joni evening, and that it has trickled over into so many special Minnesota music evenings. Thank you for that, Zach, and for this conversation! Here’s to the Songwriter’s Quest! I’m in! You’re in! Let’s go!
Get tickets to Zach’s next tribute show! Go Your Own Way: A Fleetwood Mac Sing-along features Mary Bue, Emily Casselman, Cathy n Abel, Doug Collins, Jen Eckes, Annie Enneking, Annie Fitzgerald, Matthew French, Ted Hajnasiewicz, Dan Israel, Zachary Scot Johnson, Annie Mack, Leslie Rich, Katy Vernon and Leslie Vincent. It takes place at Turf Club in Saint Paul on Thursday, February 8, 2024. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the music starts at 8.
Listen to “It Goes On Forever”
Zachary Scot Johnson Album Credits
Produced and engineered by Nate Johnson. I did most of the playing and singing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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.
