A couple of years back I caught an independent film called Colewell about a woman (played with much nuance by Karen Allen) whose job as a Postal Clerk is being moved to another town, and who has to come to terms with the life and career she has had for many years coming to a close. It was a fine character study and a film I enjoyed very much, but the cherry on top was the song played over the closing credits...which just happens to be our tune of the week.
Joan Shelley was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1985, and she's so small scale that Wikipedia doesn't even list her actual birthday. Shelley went to the University of Georgia to be around the Athens music scene and would eventually release her debut album in 2010. Over the course of the last dozen years, she has released nine studio albums, three albums with the all-female band Maiden Radio, and one single. Shelley's husband, Nathan Salsburg, is a musicologist (as well as a guitarist)...which I'm sure comes in pretty handy when you make your living as a musician....
Fun Fact: Shelley's album Electric Ursa made Rolling Stone's list of "15 Great Albums You Didn't Hear in 2014." When you're getting noticed by Rolling Stone you know you're doing something right.
"Not Over by Half" was on Shelley's 2015 album Over and Even. It was not released as a single, and the album did not chart.
It's been a while since I've wrote about a pure folk song, and this one is about as folk as it gets. It's pretty much just an acoustic guitar, Shelley's vocals, and some understated harmonies. Shelley tells the tale (tales?) of a life (lives?) at a crossroads and the spirit in all of us that keeps us pushing forward despite the difficulties (a lot like the aforementioned movie). Shelley's got a wonderful voice and makes the most of it, and the guitar playing reminded me (for something like the millionth time) how much I love the sound of a well-played acoustic guitar. It's also a reminder of how often music comes to us in roundabout ways, and how there will never be enough time to find all the roundabout ways. No matter--because it's not over by half....
Lyric Sheet: "But it's not over by half/There's a gold in your eyes blooming out through the black/And you're still standing, your hand on the map/No, it's not over, not over by half..."
Enjoy:
Republicans = Losers
Peace,
emaycee
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