I asked Joshua of The Crux to write the story behind one of their songs instead of just doing a standard, boring ol' interview. Here is that story, as told by Joshua;
My friend, Kate, is a hell of a lady.
She is well into her 60's. She writes poetry and fiery opinion, hikes the coastal mountains of California, and does astrology for her friends and neighbors. She worked for 13 years, organizing the county to get badly needed train service. An actress and world traveler, this lady has seen the best and the worst in life, and she is still searching for new experiences every day.
There is a term in Old English for what Kate's got. They call it "douth," the counterweight of "youth" that is experienced by a lucky few during the later years of life. These people are like magic stones or jewels. The trials of time fail to scuff them up or deaden them, only to polish them and make them shine greater over the years.
There is a lot of Kate in the song "Goodbye, Madgie, Goodbye," the final track on our first album, "Now, Ferment." It tells the story of a douthful lady during the last night of her life. Everybody sings her praises and has a good laugh together, without a care for the morning. Listen to it on here: The Crux Facebook.
In this recording, I sing the song with my friend and co-songwriter, Tim. Our voices cross in and out, each one coming into focus and then falling into the background. It is a nice effect, and it wasn't planned before or after recording. I notice little things like that throughout the album, like a ghost was messing with the equipment. Maybe it's just me, because I was so into the process, but I feel it whenever I listen to the album, specifically this track.
"Goodbye, Madgie, Goodbye" is the kind of song you would sing late at night in a pub that is walking distance from everyone's house. It is about celebrating, sharing a morbid sense of humor with friends, being young, falling in love with strangers, and looking death square in the eye. It is about where youth and old age meet without animosity. Where the beginning lifts a glass to the end and says, "cheers, buddy, you've done good."
The song also takes mutated bits of old Irish songs, from "Wild Rover," to "The Parting Glass." Bits of these songs stick together with episodes from real life and half-remembered dreams. And, like a dream, "Madgie" has some nonsense mixed in as well.
Even though the character of Madgie is getting ready to die in the song, Kate is still kicking like a mule, living in her house on stilts beside the raging Russian River. She has successfully secured a train for our neighborhood and will soon be riding it, sharing stories with whoever is lucky enough to sit beside her. I don't see her passing on any time soon, to be honest, but "Goodbye Madgie, Goodbye" could be sung many years from now, for any number of people. Many songs are like that, they cut through time and they have many different faces.
I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you grow douthful and don't let misfortune turn you sour. As the song says, "goodnight, and joy be with us when we pass."