I'll Tell You a Story, then...
voice and piano
low voice (a-c") - SEA-069-00
medium voice (b'-d") - SEA-069-01
high voice (d'-f") - SEA-069-027 minutes - $7.00/copy "The second half opened with just [Ruth] MacKenzie and [Dan] Chouinard at piano for a tender treatment of the Nancy White/Elizabeth Alexander ballad "I'll Tell You a Story, then..." One can't help but be transported by the exquisite poetry...and how MacKenzie so passionately delivered such a nuanced performance, filled with soaring vocals and gestures of awakened discovery." - Michael Reinbold, Saint Joan of Arc Event Report
In Nancy White's compelling poem (originally entitled "Just Once I Want to Write a Gentle Thing"), the writer undertakes an earnest search for the source of a mysterious, deep and elusive scent. Elizabeth Alexander's intimate setting of this warm and earthy poem is deeply rooted in the vocal nuances of folk song and the harmonic complexities of art song. This 7-minute song stands on its own, as an unforgettable story about human nature's complexity and beauty.
I'll Tell You a Story, then... - score
I'll Tell You a Story, then... - recording (2.2 MB)
(performed by Ruth MacKenzie, alto and Elizabeth Alexander, piano)
(performed by Ruth MacKenzie, alto and Elizabeth Alexander, piano)
I'll Tell You a Story, then... is also a movement from Go Out! - A Musical Celebration of Liberal Religion and Freedom of Thought
I'll Tell You a Story, then...
Just Once I Want to Write a Gentle Thing
I'll tell you a story, then,
of how as I was walking, I smelled something sugary,
elusive, spicy, you could call it,
and smoky in a sad sort of way. Also
like blossom barely born, pale and half-undone
to the wind that still might even be carrying snow.
this scent I decided to follow.
Sometimes I stumbled on the path, silver
with stones worn smooth as kindness,
or had to stop and rest among pines
where the smell settled a little, at home
with their religious and sensuous twang. Other times,
I moved fast, snatching at its mulchy sweet threads
through the air, the leaf and rotten-meat ribbons of scent,
rough tongues of tigers who have recently feasted, the living decay
of happiness, and saddle soap, the lemon urgency of sex,
honey of the air - where did it come from?
I rose panting up the slope, muscles strung on the searching
bow of my body, raised the back of my hand
to wipe away the sweat
salting my lips
and realized the smell -
the smell is me.
From "Sun, Moon, Salt," published by The Word Works
Copyright © 1992 by Nancy White. Reprinted by permission of the author.
Just Once I Want to Write a Gentle Thing
I'll tell you a story, then,
of how as I was walking, I smelled something sugary,
elusive, spicy, you could call it,
and smoky in a sad sort of way. Also
like blossom barely born, pale and half-undone
to the wind that still might even be carrying snow.
this scent I decided to follow.
Sometimes I stumbled on the path, silver
with stones worn smooth as kindness,
or had to stop and rest among pines
where the smell settled a little, at home
with their religious and sensuous twang. Other times,
I moved fast, snatching at its mulchy sweet threads
through the air, the leaf and rotten-meat ribbons of scent,
rough tongues of tigers who have recently feasted, the living decay
of happiness, and saddle soap, the lemon urgency of sex,
honey of the air - where did it come from?
I rose panting up the slope, muscles strung on the searching
bow of my body, raised the back of my hand
to wipe away the sweat
salting my lips
and realized the smell -
the smell is me.
From "Sun, Moon, Salt," published by The Word Works
Copyright © 1992 by Nancy White. Reprinted by permission of the author.
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