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This is a song I wrote. You can press the “Play” button.
I was going to post this on Ash Wednesday, but then the hackers hit the server and my site went down. But seeing as how Lent goes on and on and on and on, I’m going to post it now.
This is called “Mary Catherine’s Ash Wednesday Journal Entry.”
Here are some random things about this song:
- This is on my CD Right Outta Nowhere. (You can view the lyrics and CD information here.) The CD is a studio CD, but this song is a “Bonus Track,” and it’s a live recording. It’s not a great live recording because I didn’t know I was going to put it on any CD, and I just used a crappy old DAT recording of a random show at the Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC.
- I wanted to use a live recording (rather than singing it in the studio) because the audience makes the song. This is the first song I ever wrote where I had to “go in character” to perform the song. And it just works better to play that up in front of an audience. I’m not good at that kind of thing in a studio.
- There is a new song on my new DVD where I go into a character, so I’m getting a little more adventurous now that I’ve done it once. (That song is called “What the Hell am I Doing with My Life?”)
- I wasn’t going to put this song on the CD because it’s such an odd little song. But as often happens with odd little songs, people kept asking me to record it.
- Yes, I grew up Catholic. Very very very Catholic. My mom was Executive Director of a well-known Catholic organization. And my Dad was VP of a Jesuit higher education organization. We never missed mass. I have since recovered from most of it. I think this song pretty much healed any remaining stuff. Humor always helps!
- One of the first nights I performed this song, a woman was laughing so loud and hard in the audience that I started laughing on stage, and I couldn’t continue the song. She had one of those laughs that just makes you laugh. And clearly, she had grown up Catholic and was just letting off some steam. Anyway, I won’t forget that night ever. The whole audience was loving that one woman. (and they didn’t mind me laughing either)
- I actually wrote this song when I was invited to perform at a conference of Catholic bishops. This may sound completely insane, but I knew that it was a liberal group (it was a meeting on Social Justice issues), so I knew I could get away with a bit of irreverence. So, I was sitting in my writing room thinking about this conference and this song just started appearing in my head.
- The biggest thing I have in common with Mary Catherine is the first lines of the song. If you were to read my old diaries and journals, you would see that my list of New Years Resolutions and my list of “Stuff to give up for Lent,” were identical every year. Clearly, I had not even made it to February on my resolutions. (I had a major trash mouth, so cussing was always on both lists!)
- I do not have a little brother. I am the youngest. No one in my family ever re-enacted the stations of the cross. That line just came to me. More people than you can imagine have come up to me after shows to tell me that this was something they had done as kids in their yards. The line made me giggle in my writing room. Kids in Catholic families (especially big ones) can have a very skewed sense of the dramatic. (And your non-Catholic friends always seemed so normal.)
- Funny songs are sometimes more difficult to write than any other kind of song. This is because you just never know if you’re being funny. You don’t know until you perform it. The first time I performed it was at that conference of bishops and I got a standing ovation.
- Since you don’t get the visual from listening to the song, before I “become” Mary Catherine, I pull down my hair and mess it all up in my face so that you can’t see my eyes. And I hold the guitar like a teen-ager at an open-mic night. It’s a lot of fun to play that role. I think I might have been a little bit like Mary Catherine when I was in high school.
-As always, this song (and all of my songs) are on iTunes. You can download it for only 99 cents! (I get 59 cents a song. Which is more than I would get if you find it on a pirated music site!)
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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I finally went and looked up your albums on itunes and liked She Don’t Like Roses. I’m always a sucker for acoustic guitar. You have a beautiful voice.
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Thanks Michelle! I read your post about favorite and non-favorite blog tools…and I smiled at the one about music playing. That’s one of my pet peeves on musician sites. (Hopefully, this is set up to not just turn itself on!) Anyway, thanks for the kind words.
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I just want you to know that Mary Catherine’s Ash Wednesday’s Journal is the song that by far was the favorite of my very very Catholic relatives – solicited the most feedback from the wedding….of anything we did (As you know, we gave out your CDs as wedding favors to every one of our guests!) The funny songs on the CDs are a really nice touch – I’ve always felt that more of the Christine I first met so many years ago came out in those. It’s great to see you release in a way that makes people laugh!! You have many more new fans now – ones that will be looking for more of that humor so keep them coming!!
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Christine, I became a fan of your music the second I heard “Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad” on WNRN in Charlottesville. That was a year or so ago, and when I had the album in my hands the next day, I met Mary Catherine for the first time. Believe me, your physical “transformation” on stage is quite clear from the background noise on the CD! What you’ve described is exactly what I envision.
My better half and I have a habit of going around singing lines to each other loudly and at random (sighs included) — particularly, “oh my GAWD Mary Catherine, I’m so GLAD I’m Unitarian….” Cracks us up. (Though perhaps we’re easily amused; we’re also prone to singing a wide variety of songs about and to each of our nine dogs and cats.)
Anyway, thanks for sharing this song with the Internet world today. Your blog rocks, your music rocks; keep on!
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I’m convinced that this is how God sees us, and he’s still gracious to us. Its a perfect song.
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Whattaya mean, it’s not a great live recording? Why do I have tears in my eyes, then? (not from laughter — it just touched me) It’s perfect.
Last week, I had the opportunity to go to the Bag Lady here in Charlotte (and I wish they had a website, so you could see their incredible stuff! Artwork, books, etc. to ‘nurture and celebrate Women – their Inner Child, their Wild Woman and their Woman Spirit’). They had a jar of face glitter out for sampling, so of course, I did. We were on the way home when I realized it was Ash Wednesday. I’m not Catholic, wasn’t raised Catholic, but I like to be aware of Lent, and sacrifice. (I’m so GLAD I’m Unitarian! LOL) I laughed to myself when I thought — well, better glitter than ashes.
Thanks for sharing your song.
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I have always wondered what you were doing in that song to get into character… I thought myabe you put a thick plastic headband on and some cateye glasses…thanks for sharing!
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I had tears too – from laughter
Nothing like sitting at work, shaking with laughter and trying to keep it quiet. Great song Christine! That song may even inspire me to set up Itunes on my computer and start downloading songs.
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I love this song — loved it since the first time I heard it on the CD. (I then went and dragged my Catholic-raised wife into the room and made her sit and listen to it. She laughed out loud many, many times, too)
Part of what makes this song work on the CD, despite the lack of visuals, is the bored, teenaged sigh that starts the song. It’s just wonderful.
(and, if it helps, a quick check of the major shivermetimbers sites shows none of your cds listed)
…
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Yumm, “topped with crispy onion strings”……I know that one all TOO well
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Hi Kathy! (i thought for a second you played this as you strolled down the aisle!) Thanks for the thoughts on humor. I guess you have always known that side of me most. meer.
Thanks fiona! I need to get back to Charlottesville one of these days. I lived there briefly, right before I moved to Asheville. (I was in an apartment across from Millers on the plaza) and I’ve only played there a few times. WNRN is a great station too…
Thanks Ed!
Caren… “better glitter than ashes…” hmmmm, a song lyric.
No props Ruth… it’s all just teen angst. And I got lots of experience at that. Thanks!
Lael, iTunes is fun. It’ll give you something to do at work!
Thanks for the note…
fivecats, what’s shivermetimbers? (I guess the mere fact that I don’t know would explain why my CD’s aren’t there!)
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oops! hi susie! didn’t see you behind all those onion strings! (check out the book “The Gallery of Regrettable Food.” It’s a keeper.)
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Christine,
I grew up very Catholic and am still a practicing Catholic, please don’t hold it against me. I like to think I am one of the liberal, left-wing Catholics, and I am definitely more Catholic in spirit than necessarily agreeing with every decision the Church makes. I guess I just don’t want you to judge me for being Catholic!
Many of us are kind and loving and open-minded!
Mary Catherine’s Ash Wednesday Journal Entry is one of my favorite songs and often makes me cry both happy and sad tears. I love playing it for my Catholic friends; it is hilarious. We never played stations of the cross, but my sister and I did take our Cabbage Patch dolls to mass when we played house. We also used to play “communion” with necco wafers on the playground of my Catholic grade school. We never missed mass, unless we were feverish or throwing up. When I played on a traveling club volleyball team, my dad would scout churches around the tournament locations and I would sometimes be late for games because we had to go to mass. My coach did not love this, and neither did I. A hundred-million masses indeed.
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*ahem*
“(I get 59 cents a song. Which is more than I would get if you find it on a pirated music site!)”
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If you like the Gallery of Regretable Food, allow me to recommend Wendy McClure’s “The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan” (a collection of very, very scary Weight Watchers recipes from the 1970s and her wonderfully snarky comments about them) — as well as her blog Pound and the book that came from her blog, “I’m Not the New Me.”
I think you’ll like all of them.
(and I have to admit, I’m really disappointed. how could “shivermetimbers” have been too subtle?)
…
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Had to listen being a Recovering Catholic myself (I’ve been told: you can never shake it…but Joseph Campbell says being Catholic is great because it so opens you to the Goddess through Mary – that’s a whole ‘nother reply. ) Made me laugh. Made me think not of Masses but dong the Stations of the Cross every Tuesday afternoon (I can still recite the refrain). Great song. Great name.
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So, thanks for recommending the “Gallery of Regrettable Food.” The website I thought was quite disturbing, sometimes funny…but mostly disturbing. I laughed out lound when they showed a picture of what appeared to be a roast of some sort? and then referred to it as Jabba the Hut’s prostrate…I like said, funny but very, VERY disturbing!
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Hey Kelsey! Of COURSE I don’t hold the Catholic thing against you! More power to you for being one of the cool ones. (The Jesuits are the cool ones too!) Thanks for the note and the funny story!
Okay fivecats, I get it now. I’m a little slow sometimes! (and shivermetimbers makes me think of Tom Waits. I can only hear him singing “…and shiver me timbers, I’m a sailing away!”) Oh good, more funny books about food!
Thanks Tammy. I used to listen to every Joseph Campbell interview I could get my hands on. He was the first voice of deep spiritual connection I ever found. I am still grateful for that.
Susie, I wasn’t aware there was a website. The book is worth getting though. It’s just so funny. I had this very antiquated “Betty Crocker’s Childrens Cookbook” when I was little. And my brother and I would laugh at this canned pear salad, where you make the canned pears look like bunny rabbits (it involves cottage cheese and raisins, or something like that.) And we always threatened to show up at each other’s weddings with that and set it on the buffet table…. so he was my obvious choice for the Gallery of Regrettable Food as a gift.
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Hi Christine,
I’ve always loved this song. Being raised a Southern Baptist, I have absolutely no idea what the stations of the cross are, so the next time you see me, please enlighten me! And if that is general information that even a Baptist SHOULD know, then, oh well! I am very grateful that I never had to go through the tuna cassarole thing! I never minded tuna salad, but the cassarole thing was never my idea of food.
Pam
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What a wonderful song! And I like your commentary about it. Your website is really a refreshing place. I always feel better and smarter when after visiting.
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Friday Dinner is so familiar!!!
Not the Stations of the Cross re-enactment!!
Much chortling here in Australia!
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A friend of mine just shared this on Facebook. I laughed so hard I had to play it twice to listen to all the words the second time. And then I shared it on FB. (I would have been laughing right alongside that woman in your audience had I been there.) I’m sixth of seven, raised in a Catholic family. This was my life. Did you also have a May altar for the Virgin Mary? I have to agree with Tammy on the opening up to the Goddess via Mary — being raised Catholic results in a lot of baggage, but there is a lot to be said for the good it inspires. Love your music, your emails, your blog.
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Brilliant songwriting and performance — what a treat.
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aww….Mom tried so hard to be creative!!!!! As a Catholic mom…….I’m trying…..(not to be Catholic???!!!!)
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I loved discovering this song tucked in at the end of your album a couple years ago. I’m Catholic and this song makes me laugh that spontaneous out loud *real* laugh again, and again — and, at the same time is so touching I almost always tear up at some point. The tuna casserole, face smeared with ashes, so glad I’m unitarian… etc. area all so familiar, and therefore so funny. The brother reenacting the stations has always been my favorite image, especially the “when he falls the second time” part… and I always thought it was funny because it was sooo over the top. Well, I have to tell you, we just did a family stations of the cross hike at my church this past weekend. We tried to make it all really accessible to the kids, lots of hands-on stuff, like warm cloths to wipe faces like Veronica at station 6, stuff like that… well, low and behold, my nearly four year old was soon “reenacting” the stations and fell a few times more than the requisite three. So, I dug up your song on my iTunes again this week and laughed/cried as I listened to it 1,2, 3, times in a row … then sent this blog to the group of folks who were on the hike with us. Thanks for adding some humor to this often too sombre season!
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