Sunday Sessions: Start with a Stone
Stones.
Stones may make a path easier to follow, or more difficult,
They might be used as building blocks — or as weapons.
They can tell stories, or suggest mystery. Or both
When writing the song Start with a Stone, Carrie Newcomer and John McCutcheon began with the idea of stones as basics from which to build.
then took that into the idea of touchstones.
Touchstones for clarity.
Touchstones which can be sources of connection and reflection.
Think, perhaps, of the ancient stones at Calanais in Scotland’s Western Isles, and the ones at the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney.
…and of the stones you might find at your feet as you walk on your way each day.
“From this relic of bedrock eternity springs…”
There’s a lot going on in the song, and many ways to think about the ideas Newcomer and McCutcheon offer.
“The past and the future are right here connected…”
As someone who writes about music which draws on tradition, and about place which have to do with music and with history, that is one of the lines and one of the ideas that works especially well for me.
Listen out for poetry in the words and in the melody, too.
there are thongs to be learned from both of those aspects of the song as well as the ideas.
Carrie Newcomer is based in Indiana, John McCutcheon in the US south. Each has a number of albums which will reward your exploration.
You will find Start with a Stone recorded on Carrie Newcomer’s album called A Great Wild Mercy.
Carrie also has an excellent Substack called A Gathering of Spirits. That’s a name from one of her songs which came an an album title also. You might have found your way to my work because a recommendation from Carrie (thanks, Carrie) but if her work is new to you, I encourage you to explore A Gathering of Spirits. I think you will like it.
If you enjoy this song you may also appreciate the music of Karine Polwart, who comes from Scotland, and the music of Irish American musician Cathie Ryan.
You will also find several of Carrie Newcomer’s songs as part of a series I’ve done on songs of protest.
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