Loudon Wainwright III & Martha Wainwright - Father/Daughter Dialogue

One of the many beauties of duets is the ability to get two perspectives. This is often done with love songs, break-up songs in particular where there are so often two sides to the same story. But rarely do they involve both of the actual people involved singing their side of the story, and that is what makes this particular duet so powerful.

Loudon Wainwright III married folk singer Kate McGarrigle. Both being singer-songwriters, music was a big part of their life together and their family became a frequent subject. They had two children together, Rufus and Martha, both of whom are respected singer-songwriters for their own generation now. Loudon often wrote songs about his family, about Rufus and Martha, and about fatherhood in general, but he wasn't actually around that much for his children since he was away touring and doing other projects so often. He eventually left their mother for another woman, and had a daughter by her who is now also a songwriter

Martha and Rufus have now both written songs about their father for their own albums, and they're not quite as pleasant as his songs about them. But father and daughter came together on his 1995 album for this brief track to discuss both sides of their relationship in song.

In the song "Dilated to Meet You," Loudon Wainwright III sings along with then-wife Kate McGarrigle, "We really think you'll like it here...We hope that you like us." This song was about their future son (with whom Kate was pregnant at the time), Rufus Wainwright. A large portion of Loudon Wainwright III's back catalogue is about his kids. He ended up with four children altogether: Rufus and Martha Wainwright (both with McGarrigle), Lucy Wainwright Roche (with Suzzy Roche), and Alexandra "Lexie" McKim Kelly Wainwright. Wainwright himself wasn't just prolific in this area in his life; he was quite prolific musically as well, releasing over 20 albums in the last 40 years.

He sang about his new son when he was just 24 years old, on his second album, in a song called "Be Careful There's a Baby in the House," expressing his concerns about being a new father and about the fragility of Rufus. He followed this one up with a song about the joys of breast-feeding, from the child's perspective, in "Rufus is a Tit Man." When little Martha came along, he gave her a song called "Pretty Little Martha." It was quite common whenever a new Loudon Wainwright album came out for listeners to instantly notice the songs about his kids that made it on. Unfortunately, as the albums went along and as time drifted by, these songs about his kids seemed to fill up with regret and remorse about all the time he was missing with them. For instance, in his song called "Five Years Old," about Martha's fifth birthday, he expressly sings that he's sorry he can't be there with her, but "if you got some roses on your birthday, they're from me."

Judging from his lyrics, which were often quite candid, his separation and ensuing divorce from Kate McGarrigle was messy. One problem was the amount of time he spent on the road, as he discussed in an interview: "The marriages were broken when the kids were very little. I wasn't on the scene. I didn't grow up with my kids... I was absent. Missing in action. Out of action... I was on the road, touring, involved in my own life, which they were a part of, yes, but..." It seemed he accepted the challenges of the touring musician, but didn't quite accept the responsibility that his kids brought.


Let me know if you have any requests for Loudon videos. Much respect to the entire Wainwright family.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• wainwright
• loudon
• martha
• rufus
• father
• daughter
• dialogue

[ronrutherford]

Surprised not more comments on this video!

[dragonfoe]

It takes a great deal of personal strength to sing about the truth of your marriage and what really went on, it is deeply personal and most people would rather run from it than deal with it. Just look at Howard Stern and his breakup, he went well out of his way to keep from talking about any information regarding the real reason he and long-time wife broke up. Still won't.

[a3453453452]

Wow... I was wondering why the end of the song Daughter ended on a kinda sour tone.

[homelessbrother]

Thanks for this - great duet from Loudon's 1995 CD 'Grown Man'. The pictures complement the song perfectly.

And from the comprehensive, knowledgeable text accompanying this video, I salute you as another fan of the great Loudon Wainwright. I am going to eight of his shows on his forthcoming UK Tour in May 2011 - can't wait!!!