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Karen Dalton

In My Own Time

Something On Your Mind

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Review

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by Ryan on 01/15/2007

There are just certain songs that transcend space and time. Everything slows down. Edges blur. Couches become more comfortable. And you remember where you were the first time you heard them. For me, one of those tracks is “Something On Your Mind” by Karen Dalton.

I’ll never forget the night I first heard this song. A few years ago, I took a trip to a Poconos cabin in the winter with a group of friends. Fresh snow was on the ground and it was a beautiful scene. We sat around a campfire and spat Wild Turkey into the fire for the drunken amusement of seeing the flames flare. It soon became too cold for even flash fire to warm old bones and we retired to the warmth of the picturesque cabin.

Now, everybody there was very passionate about music and seeing how there was only one laptop with a speaker set-up we decided to be very democratic and play a game of sorts. We set up an iTunes playlist that everybody got to drop two songs into and then set it to shuffle. We all sat back and just took it in. Most of the chosen tracks hit the spot like the whiskey we were drinking. But there was one song that nearly had me spitting my whiskey once again. It was “Something On Your Mind.” My jaw dropped... I really couldn’t believe the intense beauty of it all.

Karen Dalton’s Billie Holiday by way of Okie folk croon is simply mesmerizing. And this tune in particular highlights her extreme talent of feeling a song and belting it out like no one could. Steel guitar, fiddle, and plodding bass dance around the minor chord bliss that Dalton’s backing band create. And, damn... her delivery is just mind-blowing. She’s ahead of the beat, behind the beat, and on the beat in any given 30 seconds.

In My Own Time is a treat in its entirety, but nothing touches the majesty of this song. The version I came to know was a scratchy vinyl rip that in its own way may have made the moment more magical. But, you can now hear it in all of its remastered glory thanks to the fine folks at Light in the Attic Records. So, here’s what you need to do: Set aside the measly 99 cents and download it from iTunes. You’ll thank me.

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Lyrics

Yesterday any way you made it was just fine,

So you turned your days into night-time,

Didn’t you know, you can’t make it without ever even trying?

And something’s on your mind, isn’t it

Let these times show you that you’re breaking up the lines, (?)

Leaving all your dreams too far behind,

Didn’t you see, you can’t make it without ever even trying?

And something’s on your mind.

Maybe another day you’ll want to feel another way, you can’t stop crying,

You haven’t got a thing to say, you feel you want to run away

There’s no use trying, anyway.

I’ve seen the writing on the wall,

Who cannot maintain will always fall,

Well, you know, you can’t make it without ever even trying.

And something’s on your mind, isn’t it

Tell the truth now, isn’t it

And something’s on your mind, isn’t it

Album Details

Year: 1971
Label: Paramount
Producer: Harvey Brooks
Musicians: Karen Dalton (Vocals, 12 String Guitar, Banjo), Harvey Brooks (Bass), Richard Bell (Piano), Amos Garrett (Guitar), John Hall (Guitar), Bill Keith (Steel Guitar), Bobby Notkoff (Violin), Ken Pearson (Organ), Dennis Siewell (Drums), John Simon (Piano), Gregg Thomas (Drums), Dennis Whitted (Drums), Marcus Doubleday (Trumpet), Robert Fritz (Clarinet), Hart McNee (Tenor Sax)