Richard Shindell is great story songwriter, and wow can he play guitar. Both of those skills — songwriting and guitar work — are on vivid display on one of his trademark songs, “You Stay Here,” off of his album “Somewhere Near Paterson” which was released in the year 2000. It’s a song about foraging and living off the land. At least that’s what we think it’s about.
There’s a vein of every man for himself that runs across this album — sadness, darkness, loss, addiction — but he does it with such amazing ear candy and stellar production, with such poetic lyrics, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the journey.
In this episode, Aaron examines the song’s unorthodox structure, and how Shindell takes a formula used to great effect by Bob Dylan and turns it on its head, helping give “You Stay Here” its unsettling vibe. You can listen to the song here. And check out Willy Porter’s cover of the song here.
