Bonny Light Horseman “Old Dutch” – it’s a masterpiece

Bonny Light Horseman – three words that say “the finest in modern folk influenced Americana sounds for the cool kids“.  We feel, though, that we should put out a warning with this song – when Anaïs Mitchell sings “I got lost chasin’ your wild heart / Wildflower in the meadow / I’m pullin’ the petals off ‘ / Do you love me? / Do you love me? / Or love me not” you may, dear sensitive listener, just melt.  But if you survive that then you’ll probably hold it together when Eric D. Johnson sings in return “I wanted to see you  / But I couldn’t even look you in the eye / And I got a feelin’ / That I couldn’t shake if I tried.”  Oh, but really it might be a close thing. 

Have we ever mentioned just how much we adore Bonny Light Horseman?  Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson, and Josh Kaufman together have the kind of magic, very different magic, that you might have encountered before with CSN.  They are not CSN, they are themselves and that is so much better.  Infinitely better.  God, but we love Bonny Light Horseman.

The band would like you to know this about the song: “This song began as a backstage voice memo when we were performing at the Old Dutch Church in Kingston, NY, so iPhone named it for us. It came together fast with the three of us just finger-painting until there it was. It took a few fits and starts before we realized that it should be a duet and–importantly–a conversation.  We recorded it live at Levis’ and when the whole crowd started singing ‘yeah I got a feelin,’ we all experienced a moment of collective lift-off. Josh looked over at Joe’s (bar owner) partner Caroline behind the bar, eyes wide open, arms outstretched, singing along and deeply feeling it. We’d never had that kind of moment tracking a song for a record before, seeing and feeling the connection (beyond the musicians in the room) in real-time as it’s all going to tape. It feels like this recording has some of that ‘real-life’ energy to it.”