Music Reviews
John McCutcheon

John McCutcheon

Field of Stars

Folk Music

Field of Stars was originally scheduled to go into production in 2020. Musicians were hired, studios were booked, and everything was ready to go. Then the pandemic hit. John set this batch of songs aside and turned his attention to current events. It’s been four years and four albums, but Field of Stars is finally getting dusted off and brought to the light of day as McCutcheon’s 45th album.

McCutcheon is a storyteller. His songs tell personal stories and historical tales and often tug at the heartstrings. I sometimes think his goal is to leave his audience in tears. Sometimes, his songs take on a moralistic tone that he uses to comment on current affairs.

“Field of Stars” is the song that drew me into this album. The song tells the story of four pilgrims walking the Comino de Santiago. One carries the ashes of his brother, fulfilling a promise to hike the trail with him. Another is a soldier taking the pilgrimage to shake the ghosts of the Afghan war. The Comino is a centuries-old pilgrimage route covering 500 miles from the French Pyrenees to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. I encountered pilgrims when I was in Spain a few years ago (there is a really good 2011 movie about the Comino staring Martin Sheen and directed by Emilio Estevez, called The Way).

McCutcheon puts on a bit of a passion play with “MS St. Louis.” The St. Louis was carrying Jewish refugees and was turned away at ports in Cuba, Canada, and the USA. Ultimately they were forced to go back to Germany and the Nazis. No similarities to current events here, are there?

My favorite historical song is “Rednecks.” The song tells of the confrontation between the mine owners and unionized workers in the early 20th Century. The workers wore red bandanas and the bosses called in the army. It’s a bit of US labor history that has been almost forgotten, even in the mountains of West Virginia.

Two songs celebrate sportsmen. “The Hammer” is a eulogy for Hank Aaron. “Peter Norman” is about the Australian sprinter who was the third man on the podium in the famous 1968 Black Power protest. Norman knew what John Carlos and Tommie Smith were planning. Norman wore an Olympic Human Rights badge in solidarity. ”In the battle between right and wrong, there is no second place.”

On the personal side, “Too Old to Die Young” is about the realities of growing old. When you get past 70, the end is in sight. When the Reaper comes, well, what did you expect?

“Blessing” closes the album with a prayer of thanksgiving. I really relate to the chorus, “we all are saints, we all are jerks.”

As I said, John often tugs at the heartstrings, and sometimes I feel like I’m being manipulated. Well, I’m being manipulated by a master.

John McCutcheon


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