I am waiting for this book to get good,
I do not have your patience,
So I'm driving up to Chicago,
I’m getting weird looks at gas stations,
I did not bring a winter coat,
I do not have your foresight,
A holistic practitioner told me once,
It’s why I will not live a long life,
I am trying to remember where I gave up,
If it was not in Iowa,
Iowa,
Somewhere in the middle of the middle of the Great Plains I saw,
A little girl waving her hand out the window of a car,
Saying goodbye to her ma,
Iowa,
where the tall grass prairie used to ripple like the ocean in the breeze,
and the hummingbirds still suckled from the flowers in the trees,
it’d bring you to your knees,
I can imagine my whole life,
Sweet and never-ending,
In every house I float by,
But they’d never let me blend in,
I called a taxi in Des Moines,
I met him at the corner,
When I asked about his army coat,
He said he would not tell a foreigner,
Iowa,
Somewhere in the middle of the middle of the Great Plains I saw,
A little girl waving her hand out the window of a car,
Saying goodbye to her ma,
Iowa,
where the tall grass prairie used to ripple like the ocean in the breeze,
and the hummingbirds still suckled from the flowers in the trees,
it’d bring you to your knees,
I am waiting for this book to get good,
And you won’t meet me halfway,
So I’m driving up to Chicago,
I am sorry to keep you waiting.
credits
from I O W A,
released May 7, 2021
Written by Donovan Woods & Aoife O'Donovan
Produced by James Bunton & Donovan Woods
Vocals: Donovan Woods & Aoife O'Donovan
Guitars & Mandolin: Todd Lombardo
Whistle & Uilleann Pipes: Spencer Murray
Additional sounds: Donovan Woods & James Bunton
Mixed by Darren Schneider
Mastered by João Carvalho
There's a similarity in song writing between Richard Thompson and Hugh Cornwell which maybe isn't surprising as they went to the same school at the same time, although Thompson is older.
Due to Thompson's association with John French of Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band I searched for his work on the Bandcamp app. French, Thompson and Cornwell all have albums on the app which I'm very pleased about. Only Thompson has released contemporary albums, much to his credit. yellowcakeuf6
The latest LP from Brigid Mae Power is gorgeous and ghostly, setting Power’s voice against soft brushes of guitar, piano, & shuffling drums. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 17, 2018
Collaborating remotely with 12 songwriters from all over the world, Kim Edgar emerged with a work of striking art pop. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 11, 2023
John Drumbo French from Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band worked with Thompson on two albums along with Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser.
Those two French, Frith, Kaiser and Thompson albums led me to this.
Also, Richard Thompson taught Hugh Cornwell (of The Stranglers) how to play the bass guitar in a band when they were both at the same school (Emil and The Detectives?).
With a career spanning 50 years and playing with two of my heroes (French and Cornwell) Thompson has produced a fascinating EP. yellowcakeuf6