Song of Last Week: Harrisburg by Josh Ritter

Last week I saw Pittsburgh, one of many trips to the river city I have made in my day. This time I saw it from summer's approaching breath, from love's bedroom, from the pavement of a hangover, and from the wide window of a train. Accompanying me on that train was the music of Josh Ritter, who I first saw at Club Cafe in Pittsburgh's southside. He had a broad smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. I was hooked.

Josh Ritter allows me to keep having faith in many things, namely the joy of music for music's sake, small town pleasantries, good lyrics, and trains. His song Harrisburg, from his wonderful "Golden Age of Radio" album, is exactly the track you want to hear on a 9-hour train ride through Pennsylvania. It opens with a brooding Am and you know this ride is going to be a thoughtful one, though not necessarily grim. It tells the story of Romero, his marriage, his kids and his flight away from it all. But really, it's about leaving for no good reason other than the fact that the train is departing. I love to be moving and I always have one eye on the escape route, so I can't help but empathize with Romero. Anyway, the lyrics are beautiful:

It's a long way to Heaven, it's closer to Harrisburg
And that's still a long way from the place where we are
And if evil exists its a pair of train tracks
And the devil is a railroad car ...

Rose at the altar withered and wilted
Romero sank into a dream
He didn't make Heaven, he didn't make Harrisburg
He died in a hole in between
Some say that man is the root of all evil
Others say God's a drunkard for pain
Me I believe that the Garden of Eden
Was burned to make way for a train

Josh Ritter is worth keeping an eye on. You can give him a listen at his myspace page. While I prefer Golden Age of Radio and Hello Starling to his latest, The Animal Years, he's pretty solid. His music is simple, feel-good, country-inspired folk, his lyrics are above par and the man has the most joyful smile I have ever seen.