Lost Gem: "Walking On A Wire" - Richard & Linda Thompson (1982)


"I wish I could please you tonight. But my medicine just won't come right."
--> Richard & Linda Thompson <--


When Richard Thompson & Linda Thompson went into the studio to record..."Shoot Out the Lights"(1982)...it would be their final album together.

The marriage was failing. Emotions were running raw.

The album is a frustrating journey to the inevitable.  No amount of bandages will ever be able to stop the bleeding. Yet through all the hurt and sadness, when it comes to their craft, the couple obviously trusted each other to bring their best
Richard & Linda Thompson

LOST GEM--> "Walking On A Wire" <-- is an emotional chainsaw. Linda's vocals are both sultry and weary. And finally, accepting. The couple's harmonies are back of the throat...and personal.
Finally, enough can not be said about Richard's guitar work. It is an exercise in restrained pain.
And then, on the final refrain...he joins in one last time offering a sweet guitar solo as if to untie the binds.

Have you heard this gem?


I hand you my ball and chain.
You just hand me that same old refrain.
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling.

I wish I could please you tonight.
But my medicine just won't come right.
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling.

Too many steps to take.
Too many spells to break.
Too many nights awake
And no one else.
This grindstone's wearing me.
Your claws are tearing me.
Don't use me endlessly.
It's too long, too long to myself.

Where's the justice and where's the sense?
When all the pain is on my side of the fence.
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling.

It scares you when you don't know
Whichever way the wind might blow.
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling.
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling.

Good stuff!

Casey Chambers
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Comments

whiteray said…
Oh, a brilliant choice! I find the entire album to be desolate and chilling, well worth a listen, but only at a time when you're secure in who you are. If you're even a little bit on the edge, the Thompsons' recorded despair can be brutal. Nice call!1
Casey said…
Whiteray...
From reading my description of the record...along with your dead-on critique...one might turn away from the experience.

But when music is performed so honestly...an occasional sad recording, for me....actually can hurt so good and oddly make me feel better?!

That's weird, but it does. (Jackson Browne's Late For The Sky is another good example) that works for me in the same way.

I'm really glad you dropped by...and don't be a stranger!!

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