Continuing the music thread from March, I want to talk briefly this month about the songwriter Guy Clark. (Think of this as the B-side to last month’s A-side.)

I’m not allowed to listen to Guy Clark in my home—not because his music is inappropriate, but because “L.A. Freeway” is such an earworm. I don’t mind earworms I like; they can replace the ones I don’t. But for my partner, the song is so catchy that she only needs to hear Clark’s voice to get it stuck in her head. She doesn’t even need to hear the song itself.

What I tell my partner is that if she could just get past that one issue, she’d find that Guy Clark was a cool dude. 😀 He wrote songs with and about his wife, Susanna, and songs about how old friends “shine” in your life like few others can—songs of pure affection. Clark also wrote about heartbreak, misunderstandings, other legends like Ramblin’ Jack Elliott; he wrote about the humanity of immigrants and he wrote about … tomatoes. He was also full of great aphorisms, such as: “Mistakes are only horses in disguise. Ain't no need to ride 'em over. Because we could not ride 'em different if we tried.” Amen.

But what I keep coming back to is the line in “L.A. Freeway”: “Love’s a gift that’s surely handmade.”

I like how Guy Clark promoted working with your hands throughout his music. In addition to being a songwriter, he was a luthier—someone who builds stringed instruments—and his songs feel much like his guitars: handmade.

It’s springtime here in Lancaster, PA. Spring is my favorite season, which I know is a controversial opinion. But despite the chaotic and sometimes miserable weather, seeing life wake up is the real start of my year. When the spring ephemerals emerge, they validate hope and patience; then, as their name implies, they disappear, letting you take it from there.

Once the first nice weather hits, I get my seeds started and begin to work the garden earth. Even if it’s too early to do much, it is still meaningful to begin.

Having lived in several places, I have had gardens in several places. I like going back to them sometimes—moving things around, inspecting, weeding, admiring the growth that happened while I wasn’t watching. IYKYK: building your own garden is a gift you get to give every minute of every day. Taking over someone else’s garden is a way to appreciate them. I’ve done both, and I’m grateful to have had the chance.

Guy Clark understood that love—like making a song, fixing a guitar, or growing tomatoes—is something you feel, but it is also a craft. And like all handmade things, you have to understand that even though you will screw it up sometimes, if you take care, it will live forever (though that’s a different Texas songwriter).

I’m a musician in private, but my public work is in local journalism, and I see parallels there, too. Journalism is handmade work—something you hope will add to history, but not something that does so on its own.

Today is my birthday—and Local News Day! Grant me my wish and do some work with your hands—whether in the garden or through handmade journalism. And please, support your local independent news organization.

Enjoy some Guy Clark songs on me.

Each month, I put together a Spotify playlist of the songs that caught my ear. Some are familiar to me, some aren’t. Some are old, some are new. The playlist tends to span eras, genres, and sounds. It’s probably not for everyone but here it is!

2026

2025

2024