Scenes from a Small-town: the joy and pain of Lori McKenna

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In The Balladeer, her new album, Lori McKenna presents herself as all mother's should be: strong, honest, and not afraid to feel a little bit of pain. She knows in the end these emotions will make everything just a little more worthwhile. What’s more, she doesn't pretend that life is fair or rosey; but instead she tells us that deep down at the heart of pain there is strength to be found. 

With a single line she'll put the love of life in your heart and a tear in your eye. Lori McKenna has a unique talent to transport you into her life through the experiences of millions of everyday people. This is in no way unique to her new album; it is consistent with her brilliant back catalogue. An article in the Guardian said that she makes 'magic out of the mundane' and this really gets to the heart of McKenna's genius. She can take a thought we've all had a million times over and turn it into a thing of beauty. Even in those overdone musical ideas like partners falling out of love, Lori McKenna can pull on your heart strings in a way that you've never experienced before. In her song Make Every Word Hurt the chorus shows the heartbreaking ability of her songwriting:

'But whatever you do, for whatever it's worth

 if you're gonna break my world apart, then I'd prefer

don't leave confused, don't let the lines blur

if you're gonna tell me you don't love me anymore

make every word hurt'

Make Every Word Hurt is no exception in these terms. Her double Grammy nominated song Wreck You tells the story of a narrator that wants to restart the fire of love with their partner but instead always seems to ‘wreck’ them instead.

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McKenna is especially good at welcoming us into scenes that make up every small town the world over. She talks about the perceived innocence and ignorance of youth and the joy and pain of parenthood. McKenna is able to transport us to a place we may never have been but we somehow feel we know. She creates a common picture from deeply personal fragments.

In the song Marie McKenna paints a picture of sibling love and empathy but from her personal perspective of losing her mother when she was a young girl. Singing about the pain that the death caused her family, McKenna tells us that her grandfather was 'crying in the kitchen' and that he 'couldn't bear the sight of me and Marie.' Marie also perfectly reiterates what I said about McKenna's songwriting and view of youth; she sings that 'Marie turned thirteen, two weeks after our Daddy sat us down and said you're Mama's died/ and it took me years to realise she wasn't out getting groceries.' Heartbreaking is the only way to describe lyrics like this.

In her songs of the used-to-be of youth and fragile hearts of real life Lori McKenna also teaches us lessons. A song off the new album, This Town is a Woman, McKenna casts a person's hometown as a maternal figure, laying out before us the pain, the joy, and everything in between experienced by a mother. She paints a deeply complex picture of how mothers are more than just the embodiment of parental love and authority. The mother figure that the town in the song represents is more than just a name or a face, she is deep and complex that has ‘rough sides, where she buries all her scars’ and has put a little piece of herself in her children. In this we learn to look at those around us, not just our own mothers, a little more deeply. 

Credit- rollingstone.com

This sense of loss and unending love that McKenna reflects in her portrayal of motherhood is a consistent one in her work; she is herself a mother of five children. Song after song in her library comes directly from her own heart as a mother. From When You’re my Age on the new album to songs from past albums, The Tree and The Bird and the Rifle, McKenna doesn’t hesitate in tell us the hard truths of seeing your children grow up, or the struggles of being a mother that is forced to leave home to help those left behind love a better life. One song in particular that reflects this last thought, and one which I could simply not include in this piece, is You Won’t Even Know I’m Gone. It tells the story of a mother that has to care for the home and those inside it but also go out and work; in looking after her family she attempts to make herself present when she isn’t.

‘I’ll wash the dishes in the sink,

I could do it all in my sleep

Make the beds and mail some bills,

make sure the cabinets are filled

At five o’clock put the dinner I left for you on

and you won’t even know I’m gone’

Aside from being a simply wonderful lyricist; all of the hurt, affection, desperation, and warmth that is in her lyrics is also present in her vocals. Her voice gives weight to the story she is telling, it calms the listener and at the same time makes us experience, even if it is just a small amount, the emotions she is feeling. When combined with simple but elegant musicianship, that is every bit an example of just how good Americana music can be today there is no doubt that Lori McKenna will not be easily cast aside or forgotten; now or ever. 

The many Grammy, ACM, CMA, and AMA awards and nominations that her music has brought her really speaks to just how good Lori McKenna’s songwriting is. Songs she has written or co-written have been recorded by greats from Brandi Carlile, Alicia Keys, Harry Styles and Lady Gaga to Sara Bareilles, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, and Tim McGraw. She is not just a titan of women in country music but simply one of the best songwriters currently at work, not to mention a breathtaking recording artist in her own right. She tells us stories we may or may not know or have experienced and in doing so she shines a light onto the heart of what music, love, family, and life are all really about.