Patty

Yesterday as I was listening to the radio at work, I happened to hear that Patty Griffin was playing last night at the Vic. In a fury of excitement, I looked online, made a few phone calls, and within an hour, had 2 tickets in the second row. Since I’m not normally an avid concert attendee (this week excluded), I don’t usually keep up with who is coming to town. But I love Patty Griffin and have always wanted to see her in concert. And believe me, I was not disappointed. It was worth every penny and I would have paid three times as much. We were so close, I could see her wrinkles (yes, she has wrinkles). Her raw voice and honest, powerful lyrics left me wishing the show would never end.

Here's a sampling...

Here are the lyrics to "Forgiveness", which she played last night:

We are swimming with the snakes at the bottom of the well
So silent and peaceful in the darkness where we fell
But we are not snakes and what's more we never will be
And if we stay swimming here forever we will never be free

I heard 'em ringing the bells in heaven and hell
They got a secret they're getting ready to tell
It's falling from the skies
It's calling from the graves
Open your eyes, boy, I think we are saved
Open your eyes, boy, I think we are saved

Let's take a walk on the bridge right over this mess
Don't need to tell me a thing, baby
We've already confessed
And I raise my voice to the air and we were blessed
It's hard to give
It's hard to get
But everybody needs a little forgiveness

We are calling for help tonight on a thin phone line
As usual we're having ourselves one hell of a time
And the planes keep flying right over our heads
No matter how loud we shout "Hey, hey, hey!"
And we keep waving and waving our arms in the air but we're all tired out

I heard somebody say today's the day
A big old hurricane she's blowing our way
Knocking down all the buildings
Killing all the lights
Open your eyes, boy, we made it through the night
Open your eyes, boy, we made it through the night


Let's take a walk on the bridge right over this mess
Don't need to tell me a thing, baby, we already confessed
And I raise my voice to the air and we were blessed
It's hard to give
It's hard to get
It's hard to live still I think it's the best bet
It's hard to give and I'm never gonna forget
But everybody needs a little forgiveness
Everybody needs a little forgiveness