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Lyrics
by Anais Mitchell
HereThere
Staff Article
Anais Mitchell's song, "Out of Pawn," from
her latest album, The Brightness, is a song that she'd
originally hoped would be "a polemic poem about
what happened (and didn't happen) in the wake of Katrina,"
but turned out to be a love song instead. Mitchell says
that she hasn't really found her voice as a poet the
way that she has as a songwriter. "Melody, rhythm,
rhyme, form… All those things are a real compass
for me when I write lyrics. I'm a bit adrift without
them," Mitchell explains.
If Mitchell is adrift as a poet, she certainly seems
to be sailing steadily ahead as a songwriter. In the
media, Mitchell's been compared to the likes of Gillian
Welch, Joanna Newsom, Cyndi Lauper, Shawn Colvin—even
Bob Dylan, and several other heavy-hitters. How is Mitchell
handling her
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photography
by Emma Gluckman |
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| success?
"For me, feelings of success are rare and fleeting. Mostly
what I feel is struggle—creative struggle. And the struggle
to pay the bills. But sure, I hate the idea of getting soft
one day. I tell myself that when I start writing songs that
suck, I'll just go do something else-write plays, or novels,
or get a job."
Mitchell
doesn't seem to be in danger of getting soft any time soon.
She's playing nine shows in four different states in April
alone! According to Mitchell, her best lines usually come
to her when she's in a car or taking a walk, so one could
imagine that being on the road might suit her as a songwriter.
She also likes to write in hotel rooms, bathrooms, and stairwells.
Mitchell claims, "Something about hearing my own voice
bouncing off the walls is fun for the muse."
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____________________________________________________________________________________________
Click on the icon below to read Anais Mitchell's handwritten
notes on her song, "Out of Pawn," in PDF format.
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