May News

Join us on Sundays, 2PM CT!

We hope you are all staying healthy and safe! We love hearing from you, and appreciate you staying in touch and tuning in with us on our livestream shows these past few weeks.

I will be going LIVE from my Facebook Page and YouTube Channel during the month of May on Sundays, from 2-3:30PM CT. I will share stories and songs and will be taking your requests! I will also be reading short excerpts from my new manuscript.

This past month our special guests have included Jaimee Harris, Michele Gazich and Ben Glover. We hope you will join us in the month of May!

Sundays with Mary | FB LIVE at 2PM CT

"Truckers and Troubadours"
4/20/2020
Written by Mary Gauthier, Darden Smith, Paul Marhoefer

Truckers and troubadours
Trying hard not to keep score
White lines and rearview towns
Too late to turn back now

Dashboards and dials
Getting paid by the miles
Missing old friends we knew
They were just passing through
Truckers and troubadours

LISTEN TO TRUCKERS AND TROUBADOURS

Photo credit: Joe Perez, Vancouver Folk Festival, 2015

Thank you for connecting with Michele Gazich, my violin player who has toured with me for many years. We really appreciate the outpouring of love and concern for Michele on Facebook as we continue to share his stories from his cabin in Bergamo, Italy.

From Michele's Desk, April 22nd:
"Once a week, I walk the same pathway. I go down to the village by the lake, where the shops are, to buy some food. I say I 'go down' because I live on the slopes of the mountains, facing the lake. It's my only walk every week in the times of the coronavirus. I respect the rules, because the increase of death in the cities of Bergamo and Brescia where I live is more than 200% (!) than last year. I hate rules, I am an artist. I like to be free. I am free. But I go out only once a week for food with mask and sanitary gloves. I respect the rules because dead people are too many and I respect them.

So: this only walk is precious. I focus on every step. I love this pathway. It was built hundreds of years ago, before the cars. It's ancient, like most of Italy...When I enter the pathway, on both sides of it there are dry stone walls. I used to touch these stones with my bare hands. Now I wear plastic gloves and I can't touch them. But I look at the stones and I remember the sensation when I could touch them. I love these walls and I love these stones. I admire the skill of the people that built these walls. It's art. I meet all these unsung artists of the past through their work. I love these people.

...I didn't meet anybody on my pathway, but the truth is that I've met a lot of people. Things aren't mute. The pathway was crowded. Many souls wanted to tell me their stories this morning."

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John Prine Tribute

Like so many song lovers and music fans, the death of John Prine has been painful and difficult for me. I had the privilege of working with John, opening shows from 2004-2006. The help this gave me with my career is immeasurable.

Whenever I tried to thank him, he'd say "You're welcome Mary, but I do it for me." Every night he'd invite me up on stage for the final song, Paradise, and when the chorus came, I'd sing it with him while he stared straight into my eyes. It was kinda like getting struck by lightning, or being electrocuted...but the energy came from love, and the feeling it left me with was one of being uplifted and asked to rise to the occasion.

As someone who did not see herself as much of a singer, those moments were powerful, wildly scary, and joyful. I will never forget them. John Prine was my songwriting hero, and my greatest teacher. As Todd Snider wrote in Rolling Stone, I couldn't believe I knew him, but I did. John infused pieces of his soul into every one of his songs, snapshots of who he was. It was a magic trick, and we are all better for it.

I will miss him terribly, and will listen to his songs, as I find my way to whatever's next. Here's a picture of us at The GRAMMY's the year before last, after we both lost. I said "Well, that was fun!" He said, "Yeah, it sure was. Guess we gotta get back to work."

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For me, John Prine was the heart of Nashville. John was the reason I came to this city. He was my teacher, my songwriting hero, my friend. A brave truth-teller, who, with a wink and a grin, showed us who we are.

We songwriters have lost our reluctant leader.
He was the kindest man I knew, with the most childlike, beautiful heart.
God Bless John Prine Forever. Amen.