Emmylou Harris & Beck "Sin City"

If you've had a kid in the last decade, chances are pretty good you've had a copy of "What To Expect When You're Expecting" in your house.

One of the pieces of advice that I remember from it, was about singing to sooth a crying child. Something about how babies like singing and don't even notice the worst, out-of-tune off-key warbling. They just like the sound of your voice.

My wife has been singing to our kids at bedtime ever since they were born. She's got a really nice voice, and I'm sure it's a very pleasant way to go to sleep.

After teeth-brushing and a few books, she turns out the light and goes into her repertoire of songs.

Usually it starts with the song from Dumbo, "Baby Mine," which Bonnie Raitt and Alison Krauss have both recorded. On a good night, one song is all that it takes.

But not every night is a good night. Sometimes it takes a bit for the kids to settle down.

So she'll sing "Lullaby" by Billy Joel. Then maybe "Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon for my son. My daughter has always been inexplicably calmed by my wife's version of Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am."

Some combination of those songs sung by my wife, usually is enough to get the kids to drift off.

But on certain occasions, my wife isn't home for bedtime.

Consistency is the key to parenting, so with great care I make sure we go through the same pajama-putting-on, teeth-brushing, story-reading routine. In exactly the same way my wife does it.

Then I turn out the light.

My voice is no where near as good as my wife's, but it's not a total disaster.

I do just fine with "Baby Mine." I'll even repeat the last verse and chorus 3 or 4 times, to stretch out the song.

If that doesn't do the trick then it's on to "Lullaby."

Their still awake and need more?

"Beautiful Boy" then "The Way I Am."

No? Not asleep yet?

Okay, a medley of The Beatles' "Golden Slumbers" and "Good Night."

At this point, if they're not asleep, I'm out of lullabies.

It used to be that panic would set in, and I'd start over with "Baby Mine."

Then I realized that the kids probably don't care too much about the words, as long as the melody is pleasing.

I'm not the best singer. But within a limited range, I can do alright.

So if all else fails, I usually sing "Sin City." The version that Emmylou Harris did with Beck, falls within (what we can be liberally described as) my wheelhouse.

The lyrics don't, in any way, qualify as restive, lullaby-ish or sleep-related. The mix of religion and politics and its "whole town insane" vibe won't ever replace "Rockabye Baby."

But to a Dad just trying to do the best he can, it works.

Emmylou Harris "The Road"

I got to interview Emmylou Harris once, by phone.

Being an interviewer gives you license to ask questions. It even gives you license to ask questions that you wouldn't ask a total stranger under any other circumstances.

In short, you can ask personal questions---up to a point---without seeming . . . unusual.

Musicians (and actors) have been asked probing questions thousands of times before, and if your question crosses a line, most know how to simply deflect it if it's something they don't want to answer.

Knowing this as an interviewer, I'm aware of the kind of question a particular interviewee has been ask before, and I usually try to avoid asking it if I know they're not going to answer.

Talking to Emmylou . . . I really wanted to ask probing questions about her relationship with Gram Parsons. But geez, Gram died nearly 40 years ago, so if she were going to talk about it in detail, she would have done it somewhere else already.

I mean, she'll talk about him. I asked her an open-ended question about him, to see where she'd take it.

I'm my interview fantasy world, I'd ask her to talk about what her relationship with Gram Parsons was like, and she'd refuse to answer, and instead tell me that everything she has to say, is in the song, "The Road."

And really, telling you everything you want to know through their art, is how pretty much every musician (and actor) would prefer to answer all questions . . .


See the video on Youtube.