For the Sake of the Song: Mindy Smith “Raggedy Ann”

My introduction to Mindy Smith’s music came at the Cambridge Folk Festival in 2004, when I was entranced by the pure clarity and beauty of her voice. Performing with acoustic guitar, when she broke a string, she passed her guitar backstage for a new string, then seamlessly moved into an a capella number. Touring to promote her first album, ‘One Moment More’, her release has remained a firm favourite ever since. ‘Raggedy Ann’ references the rag doll featured in children’s stories in the USA from the 1918 to the 1970’s, with Smith comparing herself to the doll, singing “I’m just a little girl/I’m Raggedy Ann/ Making believe I’m happy, hey…Raggedy Ann/ Falling apart at the seams”. The chorus melody is so painfully poignant it still brings a tear to the eye, even after so many listens over the years. Smith was adopted as an infant, and has talked of it being “hard not to have felt unwanted”, and her lyrics skilfully use the rag doll as a metaphor for her insecurities “And tears that I have covered with patches/ Red and yellow patterns nothing I own matches, hey”. An all-time favourite song for sure.

The album featured all original songs, with the exception of her cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’, which Parton has hailed as her favourite cover of the song. Smith, long time Nashville-based, has released four albums since, with a new release ‘Quiet Town’ due out in October.