I love the tie-dye t-shirt you're wearing....

Music: my secret lover.

Man, he was HOT! Even with the eyebrows.
I don't have sweet memories of nineteen. I'm taking yours.
Thanks.

I've got one of those guys, too. And we keep in touch, vaguely, and every time I talk to him (about once a year), I'm 19 again. Thanks for reminding me to call him!

Very hot - no nineteen year-old girl could have resisted the heat from that hunk -- not me, that's for sure. What a fantastically sweet memory you'll get to treasure forever.

And perhaps you need to make a little impromptu trip to Nashville one of these days....

I'm trying to get the buttons to actually download the file instead of play the song. I hate the techmology.

DAYUM! Definitely someone I would lose my head over. Swarthy, artistic, TALL. Please tell me - is he paunch and bald(ing) now? Eyebrows reach out to grab ya? Ear hair?!?!?!

Of course I meant "paunchy". I haven't had my tea yet...

*sigh* cutoffs and Keds. I miss those days.

Wonderful post, Laurie. You are indeed a writer.

Nice sound. Nice to look at too. Thanks for the memories Raurie.

I love it. Laurie & Lark. Oh the cuteness! It hurts! If only there were a pic of y'all holding a cat, it be complete.

Sigh. Those lyrical days of summer, being 19, all that love is new and fresh and unexplored, untainted... you took me back. Isn't it great to have those memories? And, hey, what a hunk! No wonder you fell. M.

What a perfect mini-memory vacation. Your recollections of 19 are clearer than mine. I haven't kept in touch with any of those old loves, but I don't think any of them have accomplished anything I can point to as art. Clearly, I hung out with the wrong guys.

awww i like that story. i'll listen to the music when i'm home.

i also like that you two have kept in touch.

and that he's dark and swarthy. i like dark and swarthy.

I enjoy dark & swarthy myself LOL

Ok, so ya'll have to right-click on the stupid button and select "Save target (or file) as..." to get it to download. Sorry. My head hurts from technology.

One word.............WOW

PS: A trip to Nashville may DEFINITELY be a cure for some of your ills.........

hahahahaha ... maybe. I have been craving sweet tea ;)

Hey Purl, when you lived in Nashville, did you ever see Carlene Carter? I always loved her music, as well as her sense of humor. Lark's music is pretty cool - for some reason it reminds me of Rodney Crowell.

Damn, what you and everyone else said. I'm listening to "Truth" right now, great song.

Good gawd girl. This was one heck of a Friday post.

Southern Boys are the best.

Crystal! Come visit me. Was this one too long? I do tend to drone on and on about things. Whoops!

No this wasn't too long! Of course am I the person to ask this? Me of the mile long emails.

I have a package to send to you.

I do want to come see you - but I need to resolve some thigns here first before I can :(

its so nice to see that i'm not the only sappy nostalgic one out there...damn girl, you'd think i was southern belle the way i can go on and on and on and...well you get the picture. but alas no, i'm 100% yankee. your post yesterday made me dig out old school yearbooks...i think the photo boxes will come off the dusty shelves this weekend.

I went to school in Nashville too. I have great memories of my college sweetheart and I hanging out in the college radio station in the middle of the night (midnight - 4am saturday night) with a bunch of really weird friends.

It was before they renovated the student center, so you could smoke inside the radio station, the walls were covered with sharpie grafiti and ratty stickers... and the couch? It was scary.

Wow, thanks for making me think of that!

Your 19-year old love was much nicer than mine. Just as a precaution, Puerto Ricans should be considered carefully. Mine lied about being taller than 4'11" and thought that he was superior to me in every way imaginable.

Kit, your comment made me laugh, even though I know it wasn't supposed to be funny! ;)

Natalia-- ah, the good old days of smoking at the college radio station. I know thee well.

steph... I'm glad to know that maudlin nostalgia disease goes pass the Mason Dixon line!!

Crystal. What...? email me!

marcia -- I saw Carlene Carter twice I think, and atthe time Lark would sometimes play on the same lineup as Alison Krauss & Union Station (this was back before they got big) and I just fell in love with her, too.

Monkey! Sadly, he has aged better than I have!! LOL Not a single strand of hair missing and no paunch in sight. Cruel, I tell you.

Jackie, so glad you like it. He wrote and arranged all these songs himself which I guess makes them more awesome IMHO. Of course, I am mighty biased LOL

Oh man. Nashville and 19. We were there at the same time. Summer Lights festival. Running out of stuff to do but not night and driving up to Love Circle to sit and watch the city lights. Bongo Java (but at a later date) Tower records across from Vandy and picking up guys in the classical music section. Driving out to Franklin to "cruise" for the sheer kitsch of it and doing Rocky Horror at the cinema there with armchairs, coffee tables and all. And now Orange County. *sigh*

I'm a nostalgic one too. I joined myspace so I could hunt up my old friends & boyfriends. And its nice to know i'm not the only one. I love this guys music. Thanks for sharing him with us.

Ok. Just finished listening to all of them. At 18 I found Him. Kept Him for awhile, let him go and then at 26 I moved South to be with Him (Pensacola). Let Him go again. The song "Painless" just about puts me over the edge. Nostalgia, I guess if it doesn't kill you it will only make you stronger.

Wow. I'm feeling the nostalgia with you. It kind of makes me miss how devoted to the idea of love I was when I was a young(er) girl.

Purl, Glad you saw Carlene! Have you heard her album "Musical Shapes?" It came out around 1980 - and had Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds on it. Killer album. She did a couple of songs I think you would like - "I'm so Cool" ("Let 'em stare/I don't care/Cause Mama didn't raise no fool/They're only jealous cauze I'm so Cool") and MY all time favorite "Too Drunk to Remember" (I go to the mirror/Filled with dis-grace/Mascara running all over mah face"). And then of course there was the time she told Rolling Stone magazine that she called her long shaggy bangs "Slutlocks" because "They're cut just so that when I'm on top I can do all them Slutty Thangs." If you can't find that album, and you are interested - let me know, I can mail you a CD of it. Oh and by the way, Lark looks like quite the hunka hunka burnin'...... :-)

sweet, sweet, sweet. thanks!

Oops - that last anynonymous post was from me.... I guess I was having so much fun reminiscing about Carlene that I forgot to sign my name. either that or its the Cold medicine I'm taking..

Wow.

If you're anything like me, you are the same person you've always been, with or without the Ex. Or Lark, for that matter. Germophobia notwithstanding. And this is a good thing.

*sigh* I vaguely remember being 19. If I remember correctly, it was one of the best summers of my life. There must be something magical about being 19.

I am still in love with the old love I had at 19--- but I don't think his wife and 2 kids would be too happy....

so have you emailed him yet??

P.S. Don't know Lark, don't the Ex... but this the Ex has nothin on this boy's soul. Sweet tea, yum.

I really like the sound of those songs. Thanks for sharing.

I loved this post, Laurie - it really took me back to my youth, to poignant crazyinnocent times and young love. Thanks for sharing the music, and your story.

Funny, I am listening to George Jones on my iPod this afternoon and while I am reading your posting - "The One I Loved Back Then" was playing. I guess you would have to say, "HE was hotter than a 2 dollar pistol" though wouldn't you.

Thanks for the music to listen to. I'll check that out!

Awww that so sweet. All the boyfriends I had in college prior to the one I still have now (the keeper!) were all loser A-Holes who seemed to be capable of nothing but dragging me down onto their smarmy holes of pitiful existence and destroying my spirit. Glad young love worked out so much better for you, I'm jealous!

long time lurker, almost never commenter fesses up.

Thank you SO much for the nostalgic post. makes me want to walk down that lane as well...

Laurie...thanks for sharing your stories with us. My summer o' love was at age 15, but yeah I can totally relate to a lot of the memories you are invoking.

Good music too...I might have to check out this guy's new cd.

It's funny -- I always think about first love being easier, or more simple. But it's not really.

I don't know if When the Night Falls or Painless is my favorite. Either way, I love all Lark's songs!

Laurie...thanks for sharing your stories with us. My summer o' love was at age 15, but yeah I can totally relate to a lot of the memories you are invoking.

Good music too...I might have to check out this guy's new cd.

Ah, Mainstreet. I'm probably one only a few of your readers who has been there, drunk-danced there and closed the mother down a few times. I LOVED the mural of the man on the horse, it made me horny. Life made me horny back then. The building has gone through many incarnations and last time I drove by the window above the main entrance was boarded up with scorch marks all around. I guess there was a fire but the place still stands!

Laurie, what a beautiful story. It truly warms the cockles of this girl's jaded heart. He's hot and I love swarthy.

Dollie!! Remember the time your ID got stolen and some girl came to the bar, and I let her in because I thought she was a friend of yours? I hadn't thought of that in forever. She was not a friend of yours after all, as I recall, but apparently I let her break the law thinking you'd given it to her. I was maybe not the best girl to hire to work the door LOL.

I loved when Government Cheese would play there, too, and everyone would be on the floor, "Grandma drives the bus!"

drowning. in. nostalgia.

Wow, you really *are* a woman of mystery & intrigue. You've even had a song written about you. Hmm. So when are you going to Nashville? You know, just to visit. See what's new. Ahem.

wow, that's wonderful.

My "old" friend plays music too. Unfortunatly, I can't bear to listen to it. His speaking voice to me and his singing voice don't mix well in my head.

Ok, now we're getting down to it! Enough about Mr. X. You have been hiding the good stuff--tell us more.

Oooh. Laurie! Love you! First the roll-brim-hat pattern... now music! Good, good music! Woo! Loving it. I'd melt for that voice, even though I don't go for "swarthy". Damn.

*melting*

WOW! His voice is amazing...that is my kind of music. Memory lane keep us young..thanks for bringing me back! I am going to sit here and smile thinking about those years...

Jodi

Love the songs! You have made my ipod happy :)

What a story! And GREAT music. He's got a John Mellancamp vibe to him. It'll be rockin' my IPod in a minute. Thanks!

Me again. Hey, don't worry about the technology -- when I click on the link, it takes me to a new browser page and plays the music via Quicktime.

And I agree -- he reminds me a lot of John Cougar (before he became Mellancamp), but way h-h-h-h-otter.

Hey...is Lark the one who had to cut you out of your fancy panties on Valentine's Day? :) I didn't say so then, but that story you told on V's Day had me in hysterics. And today's story is just beautiful.

can you stop in nashville on the way back from paris? just for a quick peek? pretty please?

Wow! That's some voice he's got there. Thanks for the music, and the trip down memory lane. It's so great to have memories like that to warm you right up. Incredible isn't it: the way those thoughts can transport you back through time. Thinking about my musician-who-got-away and I can almost smell the air in that bar where he used to perform; the beer, the smoke, all the perfumed people. Why is it you never fall in love like that again?

Wow, it's so great that you still have a close friendship with your ex.

He's the only ex I have a relationship with. What does that say about me, I wonder? That I cut and BURN? LOL

I cannot answer the fancy panties question on the grounds that his mama 'n them may one day read this. heh.

p.s. I am so glad ya'll like the music!!

Hey there!

Ok, you have me hooked on this music too. Gawd, what I wouldn't have given for a Lark when I was 19...

Closest I ever came was Matt, a bad boy in a leather jacket and a fast car. Now there's some of MY best memories. I think I cried when I found out he sold that Camero.... *sigh*

dude, he's HOT!

and, as usual, what a wonderful post.

O. M. G., Laurie, What a great voice he has! I am in love. So sexy..Can't begin to thank you for this wonderful music. BTW, Mardi Gras was wonderful here in New Orleans. Everyone had a great time.

Laurie, this was so sweet. Thanks for sharing.

I adore good eyebrows like that. But that's beside the point. What a treasure, to still have someone like that in your life. And you? Unbearably cute. :)

Damn you were smokin' hot then... and from the pics I've seen smokin' hot now =)) I like your writing a lot. You have a way with words. You make pictures with your writing not just sentenses. I hope you find someone who deserves such a wonderful person such as yourself

Laurie,
thankyou for sharing. I lived in Nashville when I was 19-20 too....funny coincidence. That place stays with you forever, there is just something special about it.
Heidi

Great story - I love your writing.

I do remember the stolen I.D. incident! I lost it at the Kwik-Sak on Greenland drive and some ho tried to pass herself of as me at the bar, it probably gave her a start when you said "this isn't you!" I concur witht the other commenters, you are a hell of a writer... I would love to read your screenplay if you ever give in to the Hollywood cliche.
"It's raining, ya'll" is Mike's new favorite quote, btw.

Oh, child, the memories you inspire. My lad will always be frozen in time as a matchless golden boy of 22. He lives XX years and 3000 miles away, but I still stalk his work place area at lunch-time sometimes when home for holidays. Once had lunch with his dad, but that was it. Great eyebrows as well. He didn't make music like Lark, but we used to hum along to Leonard Cohen together.

"And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah"

I can't imagine the hair-washing episode. Maybe because at 19 we were still infallible, invincible, infertile. Uninfectable as well? I know where my head will be for the next few days. Thanks Laurie, and Hallelujah. Knit Lark a beanie.

Totally missed the Alison Krauss reference the first time I read the blog. Do encourage your readers to go have a listen to everthing she has recorded. Love her, love her, love her. Any recordings of her with Lark?

Great music. Thanks for this- the music and the memories. Me & 31 have just shook hands, and I really miss 19 something awful today.

Laurie - wow, this post just sent me back to when I was 19-22. The years I spent with J. He, too, was a musician and I spent many a night in icky bars, recording studios, crazy clubs, rehearsals (LOTS of rehearsals) and the inevitable time spent waiting in the van while all the guys loaded up the equipment. My groupie days took place in gritty New York City but I still totally relate to your post. Especially the chicks groovin' on my boyfriend while he was onstage. Whew, did the claws come out.

J. is married now (me too) and I've seen him on TV on occasion but nothing brings me back to those crazy days more than one of his songs. *sigh*

Great post. I have been reading this blog for 3 or 4 months now and it has risen to the top of my list. Keep up the good work!

You look so happy in those pictures, with a little touch of mischief and mystery together. I married a guitar picker/singer!! He'd bring his guitar on dates and sing to me--how could I NOT marry him and have his babies!! That was 40 years ago---we are still in love and married. The babies have grown up and had babies of their own!! I thank the good Lord everyday for sending him to me..........

remember being 19??? hell, my daughter is turning 22! but i do love the knitting so and i do love the wine so and i am in my jammies on a Saturday night in Hollywood trying to decide if i should order indian food...or just drink more wine and eat cookies or some leftover flan in the fridge brom a knitting party on thursday...love the music...

remember being 19??? hell, my daughter is turning 22! but i do love the knitting so and i do love the wine so and i am in my jammies on a Saturday night in Hollywood trying to decide if i should order indian food...or just drink more wine and eat cookies or some leftover flan in the fridge brom a knitting party on thursday...love the music...

good boyfriend memories are just too sweet. *sigh*

My friend has you on her blogroll, and I've read you from time to time, but I've never been moved to comment. I love to look back sometimes too, and reading your reminiscences made me think of fond memories of my own. Great post.

I like his songs, I'm gonna look for that cd!
Thanks for the preview, I love country music!

Just ordered a CD... :-D Must. Have. More!

you looked like Melissa Joan Hart a la Clarissa Explains it All days. and yer bf during those days was a hottie too. shit

How cool is that? To have a song written about you! That's has always been one of my dreams.

How cool is that? To have a song written about you! That's has always been one of my dreams.

Good God Woman, where have you been hiding him?! His music is just incredible!!!!

I think everyone has the story of their big love at around the age of 19. Reading yours sure does make me think back to that time in my life.

It also makes me look at my middle daughter and how her life right now is like yours was back then but with a twist. She's 19, head over heels in love with her musician, and having her first baby, making me a Grammie again the end of July.

Funny how life is different but the same!

Carrie

This was one of my favorite posts ever. I love to remember the good stuff that has happened. About 8 years ago I met the guy that would wind up being the absolute love of my life (and drive me completely nuts about half the time!). We've been married now about 6 years, and just last night I found old pictures and the first letter he sent me. I read it again and listened to the tape he sent, and I was there again. It was great. Thanks again. I enjoyed hearing your story so much. Love,love, LOVE the blog ;)

thx for the tunes, chica

Take me back to the tie-dye days and 1993.
Great and love those eyebrows.
Maria