Guest Post/Music Monday: Tony Daniel (author of Return to Sender: from the Files of Pyramid Investigations)

photo courtesy Tony Daniel

[Your first guest host is a dear friend and one of my "big brothers," Tony Daniel. We crossed paths plenty, I'm sure, at our alma mater, YHC, but only got to know each other once we figured out we were both writers. Check out his debut novel here.]

When I think about music, I think about the power of the songwriter. Their ability to bring you into their world, their vision, their ability to tell a story. A great song will capture your brain for a moment and just transport you into a place where everything else vanishes for a moment, and you find yourself living in the song, an observer, seeing everything, taking it all in. For me, Nanci Griffith did this with her beautiful song " Love at the Five and Dime." It's a very simple song, nothing fancy or intricate, yet it sends me into a sublime comfort zone of the true art of storytelling. Close your eyes and listen. You can hear the distinct "ping" of the elevator doors in this magical store Griffith sings about, hidden in the rhythms of the song. You can see every detail described in the lyrics. And the blend of voices, hers, and Darius Rucker's, mix perfectly. Enjoy, people... 

Love at the Five and Dimeby Nanci Griffith and ft Darius Rucker
Rita was sixteen years, hazel eyes and chestnut hairShe made the Woolworth counter shineAnd Eddie was a sweet romancer, and a darn good dancerAnd they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dime
And they'd singDance a little closer to me, dance a little closer nowDance a little closer tonightDance a little closer to me, 'cause it's closing timeAnd love's on sale tonight at this five and dime
Eddie played the steel guitarAnd his mama cried 'cause he played in the barsAnd kept young Rita out late at nightSo they married up in Abilene, lost a child in TennesseeStill that love survived
'Cause they'd singDance a little closer to me, dance a little closer nowDance a little closer tonightDance a little closer to me, 'cause it's closing timeAnd love's on sale tonight at this five and dime
One of the boys in Eddie's band took a shine to Rita's handsSo Eddie ran off with the bass man's wifeOh, but he was back by June, singin' a different tuneAnd sportin' miss Rita back by his side
And he sangDance a little closer to me, dance a little closer nowDance a little closer tonightDance a little closer to me, 'cause it's closing timeAnd love's on sale tonight at this five and dime
Eddie traveled with the barroom bands'Til arthritis took his handsNow he sells insurance on the sideRita's got a house to keepDimestore novels and a love so sweetThey dance to the radio late at night
And they singDance a little closer to me, dance a little closer nowDance a little closer tonightDance a little closer to me, 'cause it's closing timeAnd love's on sale tonight at this five and dime
'Cause Rita was sixteen years, with hazel eyes and chestnut hairShe really made the Woolworth counter shineEddie was a sweet romancer, and a darn good dancerAnd they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dimeAnd they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dimeAnd they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dime