www.cbcmusic.ca Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Anna McGarrigle perform Kate McGarrigle's 'Mendocino' in an Up Close session at CBC's Studio 211.
I was just letting videos play without interruption, and this song came up... and I'd never heard it before. It's like picking a precious jewel out of thin air. It's changed my life.
I believe a lot of the McGarrigle sisters' work is criminally underrated and I don't say that lightly. I absolutely love this song and it too came as a bolt out of the blue.
Feeling this song so much at present. I'm from Kangaroo Island Australia. We lost lots of our island to fire earlier this year. Listening to the words of a sunrise over redwoods I'm hoping with all my heart that they still exist. This song takes me back to my home. The harmonies, the family. Perfection.
What a beautiful performance and tribute to Kate McGarrigle by her talented children. I pray they will have long and bountiful careers. And to see sister Anna playing in Kate's stead is a moving sight to behold, as well.
I never noticed (until now) the juxtaposition of the deciduous trees in New York shining like gold in the autumn, and the evergreen redwoods of California. The beauty of the northeast in fall is something poignant all its own, and leaving it behind would be uniquely nostalgic.
The sweet and rich harmony, the references to different parts of our beautiful country, the mention of "South Bend, Indiana (so random!)" and the redwoods, and the general nostalgia brings to my mind a roadtrip with my precious late father, who was the product of a sweeter time and people with such a sense of wonder and longing and gratitude.
So by the time a person gets to be my age, 62, they begin to think they might have seen or heard it all. I have my favorites; places, books, opera's, music. Rufus has always been a favorite, but until today I had never heard the McGarrigle sisters sing. I spent all afternoon listening and it was such a lovely afternoon. I found all sorts of treasures. So Rufus, your mama sang like an angel and I only just discovered it.
I discovered the McGarrigle sisters in the mid 70’s and have loved their music ever since. This remains my favorite song written by Kate. To see her 2 children and her beloved sister perform it together is so magical. And it has made me weepy.
I realized long ago that this world is a never ending treasure trove. There never is any 'all' to hear, see, etc. if your mind is curious and the urge to search is strong. After all, we are still hunter-gatherers at heart, roaming the world of our imaginations for what's just over the horizon. A person could easily just stop and explore the McGarrigle/Wainwright/Roche families musical legacy and be blown away daily!
@@littleghostfilms3012 What a beautiful comment, I agree. So many people focus on the negative things in life, but there is so much good. The best thing is to switch off the news and explore.
I've been living in Budapest recently and made friends with an elderly American woman from Mendocino. She was amazed when I said I'd been there. I explained that one of the most beautiful songs ever written was named after her town. As a long-time fan of Kate and Anna, I simply had to visit when I found myself travelling around the west coast. So glad I did. As nice as this is, it's impossible to improve on the perfection of the original.
Kate and Anna were a big part of the soundtrack of my "youth" and I have some truly lovely memories of sitting on blankets listening to their amazing lyrics and incredible harmonies at summer folk festivals. Can you imagine what home was like for Rufus and Martha? Like an artist's colony. Singer-songwriters..family and otherwise, musicians and various artists up the wha-zoo. They've been singing 3 and 4 part harmonies since they were very young kids. What a great legacy to leave for and with your children. This is a fave and done with such soul and grace. RIP Kate. I'm sure your family miss you every day.
Nope, doesn't get any better. Fills my eyes with tears. One of the most moving performances of this song, ever. Can you imagine having to grieve the loss of that woman, that mother, that sister (Kate McGarrigle) for the rest of your life? What a song. What a family.
their mannerisms when singing are so similar, you can really tell that they're siblings, and it just adds to their harmony imo. most heartfelt version i've ever heard.
I knew right away that the Mcgarrigle sisters wrote this song. It's so lovely!I dream of playing with my aunt and sister! His voice is timeless and more passionate than any man at least for me. Martha's harmony is nothing short of perfect pitch and beauty. Families making music together is a beautiful beautiful thing. So glad to be a musician... Nothing more satisfying upon the earth. Rufus gives every molecule of himself when he sings. Thank you !
I keep listening to this and marvelling at how he can sing "Indiana" so beautifully... not a simple thing to do at all... you have to find the music in that word...
What sends real chills down my back is that for years I've listened to the version of this song from The McGarrigle Hour - and inevitably Kate's voice echoes in my memory of that performance, and again in my experience of this.
Makes me tear up listening to this majestic song and thinking about Kate's kids (and my one-time producer Brad Albetta's wife Martha) singing with their aunt Anna on piano shortly after their mother's passing.
I grew up outside of Saratoga Springs NY, where the Caffe Lena was and heard Kate and Anna whenever they played. I used to stare up at them on the stage, just a few feet away, amazed at their beauty and talent and commitment. One night I heard myself tell myself that I could be anything I put my mind to.. they were that inspiring. I remember Kate looking down at me and smiling. Maybe she heard me.
know this song for decades - always moves me deeply - great to see the next generation doing it so well - it is pure ode to their mother: Kate McGarrigle looking from Heaven :-)
Very beautyfull song with splendid Singers like Rufus and Martha Wainwright : my heart is broken and I want cry very hard this big emotion, the sad, very sad feeling and I love them and this Song : We thought about Kate of course ! There Mother - Very very nice Woman !!! I thing very often about Her and her children ! Marie-Laure (from France)
Maybe the people who heard Kate sing it right after she wrote it??? Those who lived with her in those days, like me? Those who have enough musical discretion or history to know um...this ain't it!
I turn into a blubbering sob case every time I hear this. Their mother and author of this song, has already passed away from illness. Knew nothing of the McGarrigle sisters until I read a piece in Stereo Review claiming they had the best album of that year. Later Rufus and Martha came along and became stars themselves.
That song just leaves such a timeless and lasting memory for those of us that see and hear the beauty in these lyrics, Kate sure passed on some seriously great genes to her children , they have mannerisms like her and the harmony is hauntingly familier , and also their father has had his share in how they have grown and developed into who they are today , I just can't listen to them without seeing their mother and how she sang with such grace and Anna also the Legacy lives on thru them and their offspring ! Thank you so very much for being so gracious in sharing Kates gift and your own with us all .
Easily, one of the most talented families in the music industry. The Wainrights and McGarrigles really hit the genetic lottery when it comes to innate musical talent...
It's a very very troubled magnific dramatic and splendid song whose I cry when I listen it, your voices are together a magic symbiose woman, man : GOD Light ! Marvellous ! many thanks ! Marie-Laure
Where poetic songwriting and harmonious performance gel into one amazing piece of art. This is one of the great ballads, underrated, lacking the fame it deserves. Ditto for Rufus Wainwright and his sister although that is changing among those in the know. Rufus' vocals on songs like "Go or Go Again " "Going to a Town," and "Angus Dei" are some of the best make pop vocals in the last 25 years.
This song has been sung so many times by so many major talents eg: Linda Ronstadt that any new interpretation is going to be judged. I will not do that, the song stands on its own. every version that I have ever heard brings tears to my eyes.
Love this. As a now-New Yorker who has longed for decades to return to CA, this really strikes me in the heart. Thank you for a beautiful rendition of a gorgeous song.
maybe it's moving across country and maybe it's losing my mother and maybe it's growing old and maybe it's too many photographs of dead people on my coffee table.. but this song brings tears to my eyes every single time
Los Angeles' KCRW used to have a video up of Kate supporting her son on piano (among other innumerable ways). I had forgotten how wonderful her voice (which I'd last heard in the Seventies) was. A very moving document, should they ever choose to repost it.
september 2019 i met the story of a great singer rufus winwrigth i´m in love with your trajectory what a beautiful family. you are a precious instrument of God praise the name of the lord for his all honor and glory and without him we are nothing we are just dust God has called you to a higher purpose and better if you can imagine one day you will praise in heaven together with the angels in a place where there is no weeping in pain, God bless.
