Ray LaMontagne "Forever My Friend"

"That's not cool," Ray Lamontagne said to my wife . . .


We worked extra-hard, preparing for our wedding (which was 8 years ago, this week).

We had decided early on that we would personalize as much as possible.

That meant that we wrote the entire ceremony ourselves.  My wife's brother got a certification from the Governor to officiate.  We had friends sings.  We designed the invitations and programs and Save-the-date cards ourselves, and printed them on our home computer.

Party favors?  Well of course, those were CDs.  With a playlist created by us.  With a cover designed by us.  With all 100+ CDs burned by us.

Painstaking care went into this playlist (as it did into all of the above).  We were quite proud of it.


At Newport Folk 2005, my wife and I were strikingly calm for folks just a few weeks away from getting married.  I was working for MVY at the Festival.  She came and helped out at the MVY tent.

She was particularly excited to see, and meet, Ray Lamontagne.

His debut album "Trouble" had come out a year earlier, and he was playing the Festival.

After his set, she made sure to get in line at the autograph tent for a chance to meet him.

Now, I wasn't there, but this is how she says the conversation went:

"I love your album," my wife said to Ray LaMontagne.

"Thanks," said Ray LaMontagne, shyly.

"And I love the song 'Forever My Friend.'  I'm getting married this month, and we put it on a CD of our favorite songs that we burned for 150 of our guests."

"That's not cool," Ray Lamontagne said to my wife, his mood and expression turning dark.


Upon later reflection, telling an artist that you pirated their song dozens of times is probably "not cool."

I have also learned that Ray LaMontagne has a reputation for being extremely shy, and pretty uncomfortable with any social interaction.  So the conversation my wife was expecting to have---where he applauded her decision to included his song on our mixed tape, and offered his blessings on our impending nuptials---was unlikely to ever materialize.

And when we hear that song, or bring up Ray LaMontagne, the embarrassment creeps back into her face again, she gets a little flush and she says, "I wish I didn't have to associate this song with that incident!"

But I love it this story.

Because I love the guileless way of my wife.  I love that she was so in love, and so excited for her to marry me, and so proud of what she and I were creating, that it never occurred to her that anyone would be any way other than equally as giddy about it.

Including Ray LaMontagne.


Hear the song on Youtube.