Rani Arbo had been driving her then young son to school.
After dropping him off, as she ehaded back home she found her mind buzzing, distracted, unsettled, filled with a lot of things she had to do, a lot on her mind.
Rani is a musician, a singer, songwriter, bandleader, a wife, a mother, a cancer survivor, a writer, active in causes she believes in, an educator who designs and presents workshops and residencies, so yes, she had a lot to think about, alongside just the comings and goings of day to day life.
Rani is a songwriter, though, in the midst of all this.
Her driving route took her through a small state park where there was a place to pull off the road.
Rani did that, and wrote this song, Keep it in Mind.
Songwriting doesn’t always work that way.
And the still small voice
Says I am what I am and I am right here
And I am with you in the starlight honey
And we’re gonna shine
Keep it in mind
Ask any ten songwriters how they write songs, how songs come to them and you’ll likely get thirty seven (or more) different answers. Ask any one songwriter, you may get that many answers as well.
At times songs come in unexpected circumstances and places.
“On the day I wrote it, this song was a prescription,” Rani recalled.
She had dropped her son at school, was driving home, "8.05 am. and I already was distracted, anxious, buzzing.
“I pulled over, stopped, and worked this one out on the trail. Been glad to have it in the medicine cabinet ever since.”
Works that way for me as well. Perhaps it will for you also.
Keep your ear on the river
On the whipoorwil call
On the quiet of an evening
On the rise and fall
Is it cryin’ ou to you?
Is it whispering?
You gotta lean in
Keep listening
Photograph by Julian Parker Burns
Rani Arbo is a founding member of Rani Arbo & dairy mayhem, a New England based band whose take on Americana, Celtic, blues, soul, folk, and other genres comes together in music that is by turns lively and thoughtful, always exploring hope, community, family, and connection. All members of the band sing. Arbo’s main instrument is the fiddle. Anand Nayak plays guitar. Andrew Kinsey is on bass, and Scott Kessel pilots Drumship Enterprise, a collection made up of pizza boxes, cookie tins, a suitcase, and other percussion items. The band members are based in New England.
Another Sunday Sessions with a song from Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem
The band offers a variety of residencies and programs in addition to their concerts for adults and children. If you happen to be associated with an organization which hosts such events, you’ll want to have a look.
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