Each week I will feature one song and accompanying painting from my project, Peace or Drama, A Journey Through Music And Art.
In the spotlight this week is I Only Cry at the Movies Now.
This song always makes me feel nostalgic. It’s one of the first I ever wrote. I was living in Houston at the time, having a strong desire to sing and not knowing what to do about it. My friend Tim proclaimed himself my manager and carted me down to the Mucky Duck open mic to perform poorly-executed a cappella renditions of Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” and The Sundays’ “Wild Horses” (does this bring anyone else back to 1997?).
I was just feeling my way here, realizing at age 26 that no talent scout was going to come knocking at my door. If I wanted to sing, I’d have to find a way to do it on my own. I didn’t have much self-awareness back then – didn’t realize how deep my connection to music was, even though I’d drive around town making up melodies and lyrics just for the fun of it. I never thought that anyone else would care to listen.
This song is about movies and it kinda feels like a movie itself. There’s plenty of drama, but the song is somewhat playful, too (maybe it’s the long-as-your-arm title). I got to perform this on the historic Ryman stage here in Nashville, and I reckon it doesn’t get any better than that.
“Now sometimes when I’m there at the picture show
Staring silently up at the stars
I imagine that maybe somewhere you
Are watching that same lonesome part
At the last of the credits
I always regret it
I want them to go on and on
‘Cause when they turn on the lights
It’s so hard to hide
Just how much I been carrying on”
(verse from I Only Cry at the Movies Now)
Song by Eve Fleishman. Image by Hilary Williams (San Francisco CA). Read more about I Only Cry at the Movies Now in the exhibition book. You can also bid on the painting, with proceeds to benefit PeaceTones.
Here’s a video from one of my recent shows: