Hello everybody I hope you have had a fantastic week! For this week’s post I have decided to write about the amazing, very talented Patty Griffin! Patty is definitely a part of being an original Lydia’s Girls. She has been featured on Lydia’s Girls #1, Lydia’s Girls #3, and Lydia’s Girls #4. Growing up listening to Patty has shaped my music taste but has also inspired me as a songwriter. Patty was born in Old Town, Maine and when she was 16 years old she bought her first guitar for $50. Patty says at this age she had no interest in becoming a musician but after an end to a bad marriage she started playing at coffee houses in Boston, MA. She was noticed by A&M Records and signed because of how great her demo was. When Patty got to record in the studio the company executives thought her songs were overproduced and they released a stripped down version of her demo in 1996 called Living With Ghosts. Since then Patty Griffin built her reputation around her stripped down music. I think that it is fascinating that the producers could see the potential of what is now Patty’s style. It makes me wonder what would have happened if her music stayed “overproduced”? What would it sound like? Would she have been as successful? Speaking of Patty’s success, she has released a total of ten studio albums and three live albums. She has received many awards including: Artist of the Year and Best Album from the Americana Music Association, and Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Gospel Album and Best Folk Album.
Today I will be discussing Patty’s song, Making Pies, which was released on her third studio album, 1,000 Kisses. Now, when I was a little girl I thought that Making Pies was such a strange name for a song. Commercially it doesn’t sound like the title of a hit song, but my goodness this is such a beautiful song. As I’ve gotten older I’ve come to love this song more and more. The storytelling in this song is outstanding! So let’s get to it shall we? For this blog post I will be breaking everything down by the section of the song and explaining what is happening in the story. Just a warning, this song is very sad so get your tissues ready.
1st and 2nd Verses: “It’s not far, I can walk around the block to Tabletalk. Close my eyes, make the pies all day. Plastic cap on my hair I used to mind now I don’t care. I used to mind, now I don’t mind cause I’m gray.”
So, we have an old woman who goes to a bakery and makes pies all day. Pretty straight forward so far.
Chorus 1: “Did I show you this picture of my nephew, taken at his big birthday surprise. At my sister’s house last Sunday, this is Monday and I’m making pies. I’m making pies, Making pies, Pies.”
Now keep in mind that she is talking about her nephew, not her own children. This will be important later on.
3rd and 4th Verses: “Thursday nights I go and type down at the church for Father Mike. It gets me out and he ain’t hard to like at all. Jesus stares at me in my chair with his big blue eyes and his honey brown hair. And he’s looking at me way up there on the wall.”
So this woman has no children (that we know of) and she spends her Thursday nights helping a Priest type up his homilies. She says it gets her out, so she obviously doesn’t have a lot going on. She also must have a deep connection to God if she is doing this job and can describe Jesus like He’s an old friend.
Chorus 2: “Did I show you this picture of my sweetheart taken of us before the war. Of the Greek and his Italian girl one Sunday at the shore. We tied our ribbons to the fire escape. They were taken by the birds who flew home to the country as the bombs rained on the world.”
Whoa! Ok, let’s break this down. She’s telling us about a picture she took with her man before he went to war. When she describes the picture she shows him: the Greek and her: his Italian girl. She is in this picture so why would she be describing herself in third person? We then find out how horrible the war was so we can assume that her man died in battle. The reason why she talks in third person about that picture is because she doesn’t feel like she is that girl anymore. That was a young girl who was happy and in love. Once she lost that love she could never be the same. That’s why in the first chorus she talks about her nephew. She doesn’t have any kids of her own because she never found love again.
Last verse: “5am, Here I am. Walking the block to Tabletalk. You could cry, or die, or just make pies all day. I’m making pies, making pies, making pies, making pies.
The only way this woman stays alive is by making pies and if she didn’t have this she would have nothing. She has lost everything, but yet she still keeps going.
I think that this is just such a beautiful song, and if you enjoyed just a review of the lyrics please listen to the recording of the song. The guitar is so stunning and fits perfectly with the story.
Author by Lydia MacDavid
Chief Editor: Jacob Tomeny
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