17 Best Nanci Griffith Songs
Contents
10. Listen To The Radio
Song Year: 1989
“Listen to the Radio” has a faster beat than any song by Nanci Griffith discussed. It’s a playful song about a road trip with a honky-tonk rhythm.
The pace is perfect because it beautifully captures the impetus of an exhilarating drive. It gives the song an optimistic feel, which is ideal for the speaker. As she severs ties to home and a late boyfriend, she anticipates the bright future waiting at the end of her journey.
The song’s enthusiasm is infectious. If it doesn’t get you dancing, it’s guaranteed to at least get you clapping in time to the music.
11. “I Wish It Would Rain”
Song Year: 1988
“I Wish It Would Rain” is another Nanci Griffith song from the album Little Love Affairs.
Right from the title, the imagery paints a melancholy picture, and the song delivers on that promise. It’s full of metaphors for anguished love. But it’s also infused with nostalgia for the sunny days of first love and longing for the uncomplicated love of the people back home.
It ends on a bittersweet note. As the speaker heads home, the lyrics shift. They’re full of the promise and comfort of home and the beauty of that familiar Texan landscape. Love can be painful, the song says, but it doesn’t have to be.
12. “It’s A Hard Life (Wherever You Go)”
Song Year: 1989
Of the many songs written by Nanci Griffith, “It’s A Hard Life” has some of the most compelling lyrics.
The song tackles difficult issues of poverty, class, civil liberties, and, under it all, the American Dream. But Griffith’s focus is global, not local. The picture she paints is of a world united by its inequality, whether you’re driving through Belfast, Chicago, or an anonymous Texan town.
It powerfully integrates Martin Luther’s famous cry for belief and challenges listeners to do better so that someday, life will be easier for everyone.
13. “Anyone Can Be Somebody’s Fool”
Song Year: 1988
“Anyone Can Be Somebody’s Fool” is another memorable song from Little Love Affairs.
It blends grief over lost love with winter imagery. The result is a mournful meditation on loneliness. The stark white imagery of winter and moonlight creates beautiful analogies for our experiences of loss.
But the use of winter similes and metaphors also reminds us that the loss is temporary. It might linger for a while, and it might feel like it will last forever. But the wonderful thing about winter is that it ends with the thaw and a promise of new beginnings, and Griffith’s lyrics reflect that.
14. “I Don’t Want to Talk About Love”
Song Year: 1988
Despite its title, “I Don’t Want to Talk About Love” spends much of its run time discussing exactly that.
That’s because the title is Griffith’s wry poke at how many songs get written about love. This one is a reflection on the pain love can cause. Even when we love someone, they don’t always understand us, or us them.
There’s also something much more profound at the heart of this song, and that’s that at its best, love feels impossible to articulate. It’s a theme that poets like A. E. Houseman meditated on previously, and this musical exploration of the painful, complicated, and sometimes messy nature of love is equally moving.
15. “Lookin’ For The Time (Workin’ Girl)”
Song Year: 1986
“Lookin’ for the Time (Workin’ Girl)” is one of the earliest songs by Nanci Griffith to succeed.
The song explores the class disparity in America and the way we commodify time. The lyrics juxtapose images of a fantasy L.A. with the cold reality the speaker faces. In this fantasy, L.A. is perpetually sunny, the company is good, and everything goes right.
It’s a stark contrast to the speaker’s current existence, where she gets paid by seconds and can’t spare any to consult her watch. This reality is permeated by cold, loneliness, and lost love.
16. “If Wishes Were Changes”
Song Year: 1989
Many people have heard the expression “If wishes were horses.” The title of this Nanci Griffith song from her album Storms is a variation of that.
It recognizes that people are resistant to change, even when it’s convenient. Consequently, the lyrics are a list of all the things the speaker would change if it were as easy as wishing.
The song blends country and folk music. The result is a song with a melody that has a jaunty accompaniment but mellow vocals. It’s incredibly easy listening – almost like wishing.
17. “Drive-In Movies And Dashboard Lights”
Song Year: 1989
Arguably, “Drive-In Movies” shows its age in its title. But that’s no reason not to listen to it.
It’s a fascinating song to listen to. It’s a nostalgic tribute to the sixties. It’s also a damning condemnation of the valuations we make of women based on appearance.
The lyricism draws you in, and the anger that builds as the song continues keeps you listening. It’s nuanced, powerful, and has some of Griffith’s most compelling lyrics.
Top Songs By Nanci Griffith, Final Thoughts
No two Nanci Griffith songs are the same, though her best compositions share common themes.
What comes across irrespective of genre, style or tempo is Griffith’s artistry. She has the kind of irresistible voice people stop to listen to irrespective of the vocal sound. They keep listening because the messages that underpin her songs resonate years after the fact. That kind of talent is rare, and worth paying attention to.
