Greg Brown

I was listening to Greg Brown's Milk of the Moon the other day and wishing I could reorganize his song list. I always start that disc on track four, "Smell of Coffee," and play the loop, finishing up with track three, "Let Me Be Your Gigolo." I had arranged some poems into a collection (an order) for a chapbook, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with that this fall. So my head has that emotional, narrative arc in mind and I suppose I bring that sensibility to Brown's work. I can't help wanting to tinker with it. Here is how "Smell of Coffee" begins:

Bouffant hairdo, ne'er-do-well
Warm the car up, perfume smell
Work is there when love is gone
Smell of coffee, crack of dawn

Pheasant clucking, ice cold dew
Backseat shotgun, frosty slough
Chevy coughing, let's move on
Smell of coffee, crack of dawn

Clearly, the lyrics alone say "Morning," which is a good place to start something. But more than that, the rhythm and pacing of this song is a good introduction to the CD. I'm not ready for "Let Me Be Your Gigolo" on the third track. As the third track, it's a little jarring. But by the end, I'm sufficiently loosened up for it. Greg Brown will do that for you. He just sort of kneads away with his voice and his guitar.