Ray LaMontagne - Empty

Ray LaMontagne幼時跟媽媽和兄弟姊妹一起為生計漂泊不定，作音樂人四處尋演的父親很早就放棄了對他們姊妹的撫養。年幼的他把對父親的思念寄托在對其幻小說的癡迷中，寡言少友，喜歡獨自在樹林裏閱讀。這樣的家境造成他學習差，在校惹事，幾乎不能高中畢業，這不奇怪。成年後他似乎也自甘做一個農民，木匠和鞋廠工人。當每周65個小時的鞋廠工人，為了趕早班，一天淩晨4點，鬧鍾響起來，收音機裏自動播放的一首Stephen Stills的Treetop Flyer居然像一隻幸運鳥給他帶來了靈感和希望。他從此決定放棄工作，專心從事音樂創作和演唱。又一位singer song-writer誕生了。他原本就是一個有天生資質的音樂人。這個故事似乎還告訴我們，一個人內心的音樂靈魂在淩晨時候才能蘇醒。:)
略沙啞的嗓音和仿佛遊魂不定的旋律塑造了這樣一位悲傷歌手。他的歌曲表露了他對童年的痛苦的記憶和內心的的掙紮，單從他的三個專輯名稱trouble, Till the sun turns black和Gossip in the grain就可見一斑。還有下麵這首歌。

she lifts her skirt up to her knees,
walks through the garden rows with her bare feet, laughing.
i never learned to count my blessings,
i choose instead to dwell in my disasters.
i walk on down a hill,
through grass, grown tall and brown
and still its hard somehow to let go of my pain.
on past the busted back of that old and rusted cadillac
that sinks into this field, collecting rain.
will i always feel this way?
so empty, so estranged

and of these cut- throat busted sunsets,
these cold and damp white mornings
i have grown weary.
if though my cracked and dusted dime-store lips
i spoke these words out loud would no one hear me?
lay your blouse across the chair,
let fall the flowers from from your hair
and kiss me with that country mouth, so plain.
outside, the rain is tapping on the leaves,
to me it sounds like they're applauding us the the quiet love we made.
will i always feel this way?
so empty, so estranged

well i looked my demons in the eyes,
laid bare my chest, said do your best, destroy me.
you see, i've been to hell and back so many times,
i must admit you kind of bore me.
there's a lot of things that can kill a man,
there's a lot of ways to die,
listen, some already did that walked beside me.
there's alot of things i don't understand,
why so many people lie.
its the hurt i hide inside that fuels the fire inside me.
will i always feel this way?
so empty, so estranged