Margaret Glaspy-Somebody To Anybody

The moment a baby is born it depends on others. It can not survive without care and love. As one grows and becomes more self sufficient, does the need to be loved change?

I don’t think the need ever changes.

Ever.

So I am curious about this incredible song. There is something about the lyrics that tugs at my heart in a way I can’t fully understand.

“a little rock on a big mountain… a little drop from a big fountain…”

Perhaps, there are moments when I feel as she does in this song. You know, sort of lost in the mix. Yeah I know, it is just the highs and lows of life, but still, I connect.

Margaret Glaspy captures something profound with the idea of feeling small and insignificant and not wanting to deal with the mess of others. Is it an odd human condition? I am guessing from time to time, many people feel like camouflage in a room of the bright and sparkly.

But, unlike her, I care a bit more than I probably should about how I fit in. Where do I draw the line? How do I balance my need for love with my ability to be independent?

Perhaps, I am sensitive to Margaret Glaspy’s formidable guitar strumming and her carefully crafted indifference to close personal attachments.

Whatever it is, I am seriously crazy about this tune.

“I’m a little rock, on a big mountain

Nobody’s calling my name

Nobody’s payin me mind

I’m a little drop from a big fountain

Oh I blend in and that’s fine, fine

And my sister she is gonna die tryin with her heart ablaze and a fightin song

Not me, I’ll be a dandelion

Ooh, Give a gust of wind and I’m gone, gone

Cuz I don’t wanna be somebody to anybody no

I’m good at no one

Once I was loved and I wouldn’t dare take a compliment or give a kiss

Just thinking of bein a pair

Had me suffering and made me split

Oh because I don’t wanna be somebody to anybody no

I’m good at no one

I keep my head down and both eyes wide

I don’t look up just side to side

And I stay well kept so they can see

There’s nothin wrong with me

Its just that I don’t wanna be somebody to anybody no, no, no

No I don’t wanna be somebody to anybody no

No, I don’t wanna be somebody to anybody no

I’m good at no one”

Margaret Glaspy is a singer/songwriter in Brooklyn, who arrived there by way of California and Boston. With influences from Elliot Smith and Joni Mitchell, just to name a couple, she focuses her talents into fiercely raw, guitar-driven pop songs. She clearly has command of her thoughts, as she weaves the bluesy words into song. Glaspy has a new album out in June of this year, Emotions and Math, and it is at the top of my must hear list. Even the title suggests a play of opposites and has me intrigued. Margaret Glaspy explains,

“In a lot of ways, it’s kind of how I operate,” says Glaspy. “I’ve always considered myself a free spirit, someone who goes with the flow, but actually I’m not exactly like that. This record really taught me that I’m super analytical and process-driven. I think they really do go together, emotions and math. Nobody is just one thing.”

As I listen to the tune “Somebody To Anybody” again and again, I begin to recognize the song isn’t about insignificance or not wanting to connect anymore. I believe it is really making a strong statement about standing firmly on your own two feet and being exactly you.

Nothing more, nothing less.