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I am very pleased to present “Corrine,” a song born in the lost lockdown years, a songchild of the pandemic.  When a nursing home where I work playing music shut down to all visitors and “non-essential” personnel, the residents were sorely affected, but so were all of us who cared for them. It was a tough time for everyone, beginning in March of 2020. You know. You lived through it too.

The song was named after Corrine, a young woman who worked with the residents in various activities, such as games, musical performances, and other social events. Corrine was great at her job and beloved by many of the residents. But when the schools closed, Corrine needed to leave her job to care for and homeschool her young son. 

The bonds between staff and these elders are deep, and I knew how difficult Corrine’s departure would be for them. I sometimes write songs with and for the residents, so the idea of writing a “going away for now” song saying goodbye to Corrine popped into my head. 

The first line wrote itself: “Corrine, Corrine, wonder where you been?” But the song had ideas of its own.  “Corrine” did not end up being about the real Corrine at all.

Almost immediately after lockdown, I began singing via tablet to the residents, who were confined to their rooms.  With the new mandated restrictions on any group activities, the staff could offer very little by way of entertainment. No bingo, no games, no visitors. Even the dining hall was closed. But the staff could bring in an iPad and virtual Elizabeth to chat and sing their favorite songs with them. Not the same as in person, but it was still wonderful to have music and contact. And since the residents knew me already, it was a throughline from before the pandemic.

Many of the elder men love old cowboy songs set in the West. Coyotes, the open prairie, horses, “where the skies are not cloudy all day.” These men embody a stoic but heartfelt and deep connection to wildness. The freedom felt watching a hawk circle above. The stillness felt staring into a campfire with cricket song as the only music humming in your ears. When I’d sing to these men on the tablet, I could sense their loneliness and pain, even beyond the normal challenges of living in a nursing home. They didn’t complain, but the hurt was in their eyes. Some still had a spouse alive, who was barred physical access to them. Some were just sad, even more lonely because of the lockdown.

Although the characters are entirely fictional, “Corrine” morphed into a song for these men, a way of saying “thank you” to them for sharing a bit of their hearts and their wisdom with me. Because of them, I learned “My Sweet Wyoming Home,” “When It’s Springtime in the Rockies,” and other great Western songs.

In my work with people near the end of life, I sometimes feel I am watching the sands of time disappear as I witness the constantly flowing change that is life. When someone I love dies, I see the ending of a human era of consciousness in one more tiny increment, one more successive vignette. Once the present slips away, it is gone forever. So, writing “Corrine” was also a way of preserving the rich mythologies of these men to share with future generations.

Although “Corrine” is a sad story of a man whose wife has left him, it has a fun country beat.  And yes, there are coyotes, and yes you can howl with me!

Thanks to Trevor Pendras for his delicious harmonies.  Thanks to the incomparable Canadian drummer and composer Morgan Doctor (who played on my 1995 album, The Cauldron) for her kick-ass country beats. Thanks to Paul Roberts (who used to play with my father in the Olympia band, Snake Oil in the 1970s!) for visiting the Waterwitch Cathedral and tracking some sweet and twangy dobro. Thanks to Jordan Hughes for his always-brilliant production insights. And thanks to my partner in love and music Brian Castillo for another wonderful job of engineering and mastering. And kudos to myself for making a fun video!

It took us a few years to bring this song to fruition, but we are very proud of it. Hope you enjoy it too!