Hailed by The Washington Post as “one of Nashville's finest song interpreters,”
Kathy Mattea has enjoyed the kind of success many artists only dream of: two
GRAMMY wins, four CMA Awards, four #1 country singles, and five gold albums
(plus a platinum collection of her greatest hits). The dream almost ended,
though, when Mattea entered her 50s and began to find her voice changing.
What followed was a three year journey through life challenges and vocal
glitches that she describes as her “dark night of the soul,” a trying time of
personal anguish and professional uncertainty that threatened to silence her
permanently.
“The hardest thing was facing the question of whether I would still be able to
sing well enough to enjoy it. That was the acid test for me, and I had to be
willing to walk through a process that bumped me up against the very real
possibility that, in the end, the answer might be “No.”
Instead, Mattea dug in with a vocal coach, re-committed to her music, and
emerged with the most poignant album of her career, “Pretty Bird.” Working
with her old friend, music roots wizard Tim O’Brien, producing, “Pretty Bird” is
a chronicle of her journey, song by song, back to singing for the sheer joy of it.
It’s an emotional, moving collection, one that draws its strength not only from
Mattea’s touching performances, but also from her uncanny ability to weave
seemingly disparate material into a cohesive whole. From a playful take on
Oliver Wood’s “Chocolate On My Tongue” to a tender rendition of Mary
Gauthier’s “Mercy Now,” from a British traditional to a Bobbie Gentry classic,
these are the songs that helped Mattea reclaim her voice, and she inhabits
each as fully as if it were her own.
Exquisitely arranged and delivered with the kind of subtlety and nuance that
can only come from a lifetime of heartbreak and triumph, ‘Pretty Bird’ is a
title Kathy Mattea inhabits quite literally, and it’s a welcome reintroduction to
one of country and Americana music’s most enduring and beloved figures.
Includes unlimited streaming of Pretty Bird
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lyrics
She down on the corner, just a little crime
When I make my money, got to get my dime
Sit down with her baby, wind is full of trash
She bold as the street light, dark and sweet as hash
Way down in the hollow, leavin' so soon
Oh St. Teresa higher than the moon
Reach down for the sweet stuff, when she looks at me
I know any man sees you like I see
Follow down the side street movin' single file
She say, That’s where I'll hold you, sleeping like a child
Way down in the hollow, leavin' so soon
Oh, St. Teresa, higher than the moon
Just what I've been needin', feel it rise in me
She say, Every stone a story, like a rosary
Way down in the hollow, leavin' so soon
Oh, St. Teresa, higher than the moon
Are you cold up in the sky
Are you cold up in the clouds
Is there something you forgot to tell me
Tell me
Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me
Show me my Teresa, feel it rise in me
Every stone a story, like a rosary
credits
from Pretty Bird,
released September 7, 2018
ST. TERESA
(Eric M Bazilian, Richard Chertoff, Robert Hyman, Joan E Osborne)
Dub Notes/Human Boy Music/Monkey in the Middle Music (ASCAP), Womanly Hips Music (BMI)
Ian Fitchuck: Drums, Organ
Dennis Crouch: Bass
Bill Cooley: Acoustic Guitar
Kathy Mattea: Acoustic Guitar
Tim O’Brien: Bouzouki, Mandolin
Suzy Ragsdale: Backing vocals
Twice named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association, Kathy Mattea is among the most successful women in
the genre’s history, yet her creative spirit has led her to explore musical territory well beyond its confines. Her recent recordings have intertwined Celtic, gospel, and bluegrass influences with the folk and acoustic music that have served as her artistic anchor....more
I've come to your music a little late, but better late than never! Great songs--even better harmonies <3 . I hope the next time you get together it will be sooner than 20 years! sylvia_s
Astounding. Artistry, beauty, insight, and depth. If you long for immersive music that fully expresses the human experience, this is it. Samuel Jonasson
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This song came to via a Twitch streamer called FoothillRounders who pretty much plays the entire discography. The delicate and angsty lyric leads the listener down the path to the musical payoff that is Nightbird. coachshipley