It’s time to get to know Mary Gauthier, if you do not already know her. Her gravel-toned musings and poetic flare make for one hell of an artist, in the Lucinda Williams singer-songwriter mold.
Here’s the opening stanzas to “Wheel Inside the Wheel”:
The parade of souls is marching across the sky
Their heat and their light bathed in blue as they march by
The All Stars play “When the Saints Go Marching In”
A second line forms and they wave white hankies in the wind
Satchmo takes a solo, and he flashes his million dollar smile
Marie Laveau promenades with Oscar Wilde
Big Funky Stella twirls her little red umbrella to the beat
As the soul parade winds its way down Eternity Street
Souls ain’t born, souls don’t die
Soul ain’t made of earth, ain’t made of water, ain’t made of sky
So, ride the flaming circle, wind the golden reel
And roll on, brother, in the wheel inside the wheel