Grammy Nominee Mary Gauthier

[bluescribbler]

I first heard this song on the radio last year. As a Viet Nam vet, it blew me away. I subsequently bought all of her CD's, and there ain't a weak one in the bunch. I saw her live twice last year, and brought a buddy, a Gulf War vet to the most recent show. I continue to proselytize about her because she's an awesome songwriter. https://www.bing.com/search?q=mary+gauthier+bullet+holes+in+the+sky&qs=HS&pq=mary+gauthier+bullet&sc=1-20&cvid=01B32D27632C4EB8AEB653A29DF571DC&FORM=QBRE&sp=1
Nominated for best folk album of the year.

[The Polack MSgt]

1. Thanks for the heads up on this woman - Wow

This is why DU MA is the best.

I just spent an hour chasing her through the web because of your recommendation on a different thread.

Came back to say thank you Bluescribbler, and to post this song:

[bluescribbler]

4. You are very welcome.

Here's another from an earlier album: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mercy+now

[The Polack MSgt]

2. Took your advice and listened to "Soldiering On" and -

"The War After the War"

I wept. I am intermittently tearing up as I type this post...

I am torn - I want that album and at the same time I am afraid to listen to anymore of it.

I deployed 3 times in my career - and as I've said elsewhere on this board I do not count myself as a combat vet.

I fixed gear. I was an electronics technician and as a Master Sergeant managed a repair/support shop in my last 2 deployments for an Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.

We got the wounded out of 1st echelon treatment and back to theater or regional care facilities- Or over the ocean to Walter Reed if need be.

So I never kicked in a door or walked a patrol. I never even chambered a round in my rifle. I (and my 2 man team) flew around the theater fixing radios, satellite terminals, oxygen storage & delivery systems, generators and other support gear scattered around SWA the Horn of Africa and central Asia

But it turns out that I lost 3 friends in over there, it just took differing lengths of time before death claimed them.

All three of the friends I lost took their own lives in the years since I retired from the service.

Her songs moved me in a way that I can't really explain or even grasp at this moment.

You know it hit you hard when you can't even decide if saying thank you or fuck you most matches your emotions...

[bluescribbler]

3. Yes, her songs are amazing.

I only had to listen to the album a few times before I said, "This is Grammy material." Turns out, Grammy voters agreed with me.

Like you, I'm not a combat vet. Not to my way of thinking, anyhow. I was blue water Navy. Sailed the high seas. Did two cruises to the Tonkin Gulf during the Nixon misadministration. Fired a weapon twice during my service, the first was a .22 rifle in basic training, second was a .45 automatic, to qualify for PO3. Never got shot at, but did come close one time when one of our friendlies, returning to the carrier, dumped its extra ordinance into the gulf. One round exploded about 100 yds off our bow. I did, however, lose a high school classmate to that misadventure. His name is on The Wall.

I do understand your hesitation to listen to more of the songs. It's powerful stuff. For some vets it can retrigger PTSD stuff. You might want to look into the Songwriting with Soldiers program. Here she is talking about the program and her experience in it.

It might help you.

[cemaphonic]

5. Oh nice, she's awesome

I found out about her through this song a couple years ago:

Snakebit

[bluescribbler]

6. Yeah, that's another good one.

She really cuts close to the bone. With the shit she's been through in her life, I guess she has to. Have you heard the album, "The Foundling"? She sings about the 40 years she spent looking for her birth mother. It's Marianas Trench deep. Here's an example: https://www.bing.com/search?q=mary+gauthier+goodbye&form=EDGSPH&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&refig=02fc1abce4a24a86bacff19e943a766f&sp=-1&pq=mary+gauthier+goodbye&sc=1-21&qs=n&sk=&cvid=02fc1abce4a24a86bacff19e943a766f Tania Elizabeth on 5 string viola and harmony vocals.