Whoa - this one ended up with a lot of words. But it's all 100% true. Plus I got to use the Latin plural of "ultimatum" which is either adorably nerdy or super annoying depending on your perspective.
Calista and her sister got the ultimatum
from their dad, who was significantly richer than their mom
Their father, who was richer, was actually named Richard
and he laid out the proposal with benevolent aplomb
He said, girls, I’ve quit your mother but it isn’t for another
You’re my world and I will gladly lay my riches at your feet
I have but one condition – I take back my permission
for you to ever see your mom again though she lives right down the street
Oh can you imagine
Calista and her sister were up against the wall
so they ignored the implications and agreed to take the deal
Calista’s older sister started college in the fall
There was tuition but no time to gauge exactly how she’d feel
about the empty chair that stared at her the day of graduation
or the empty chair that gazed back when she walked down the aisle
or the shock of recognition that took away her breath
when the youngest of her three beamed out her mom’s familiar smile
Oh can you imagine
Calista’s sister’s eldest son grew up, became my father
We were bound for California but before the move was done
His mother as a throwaway said, you’ll be near Tacoma
Might as well look up my mother, she might like to meet my son
And my dad had just turned 30, he could not believe his ears
He hadn’t known that she existed but now he could not wait
It was barely weeks between when he learned that he had a grandmother
and arriving in Tacoma waiting at her garden gate
Oh can you imagine
He said, hello, I’m your grandson, she said, yes, you are my grandson
I’d have known you anywhere, let’s waste no time, please come inside
That’s how I met Great Grandma Ida, I remember her quite well
and we had many family visits in the year before she died
And as I climb down from my family tree I think on family legacies
and how deep and wide the river of our family dramas runs
and whether we can ever safely navigate those waters
so we don’t pass the cost of ultimata to our daughters and our sons
@richaaaay Feb 2022
Captivating. Beautifully sung.
@suehaney Feb 2022
What a story! I think you hit just the right tone - the factuality actually underscores the real-life drama!
@jonmeta Feb 2022
Well, this had me on the edge of my seat. Just listening, not reading. The "empty chair" is all the image you need to communicate the personal vacuum. "Climb down from my family tree", what a great line.
I don't think I've ever heard the word "ultimata" in a song before! Barely ever in an academic paper.
"Oh can you imagine?" Yes I can, 'cause you put me there. This rollicks along and is a great story. And I love happy endings.
@elesimo Feb 2022
So beautiful, the lyrics, the playing, the voice, everything is just amazing. What a great way to tell a story!
@mikedebenham Feb 2022
My lord, what a story. Such huge Shakespearean tales tucked away inside our family trees. And such deft, humane storytelling. There was a lump in my throat by the time we reached the garden gate. Excellent stuff, Erin.
@andygriff Feb 2022
What a sumptuous feast this lyric is! Marvelous toe-tapping tune too :D
@jorh Feb 2022
Incredible story telling through the generations, and breathe control I must say!! Love how it comes the full circle from the ultimatum in the first line to the not passing on ultimatums in the final verse. Love this
@jennakole Feb 2022
What an awesome story! Excellently told! And while it’s got the motherlode of content it’s definitely not too long.
It can imagine this broken up over the course of an album and the parts of the story unfolding between songs throughout.
@coolparadiso Feb 2022
Amazing, a true story, great telling if the story, moves along beautifully.
Great listen. Classy structure and great internal rhymes
@guatecoop Feb 2022
A true story?!? So crazy. Haha…you really have the knack of storytelling. I kind of felt how my boys feel when we read to them—silently absorbing everything. Again this also sounds so nice! Well done again.
@liz561 Feb 2022
This was a riveting story and the rhythm was really impulsive- it just carried the listener along on the flow. The internal rhyming was great too. But as always, your singing was so lovely and pulls you in.
@davidtaro Feb 2022
Magic! There’s such amazing internal rhythm in your lines, the fact that the story’s all true is the icing on the cake! And I love the way you deliver the story, really familiar and affable and warm. Thoroughly enjoyed listening :)
@leslie333 Feb 2022
Oh my goodness this is wonderful! I love the wordplay and the nerdy ultimata too. And it's just an amazing story too. Awesome!
@kenmattsson Feb 2022
Wow! Wow! Wow! Erin, you constantly amaze me.
This is tremendous storytelling, and there might be a lot of words, but I can't imagine not having them here. Your singing is phenomenal and the playing just fits and damn am I jealous!
Keep doing more of these!
@prsongsmith Feb 2022
What a story! And you've turned it into a marvelous song -- it brought a tear to my eye before I even got to the second verse... Lovely recording and performance, too!
@ericlord Feb 2022
Loved this! Awesome storytelling. I can never write stories, let alone as well as this. Also: wtf, calista's father?!
@tukayandryan Feb 2022
Seriously Erin this is so clever and quite simply awesome. Brilliant lyrics! Gorgeous vocal as ever. Love the contrasting sparcity of 'Oh can you imagine' in the chorus.
And you taught me a new plural!!
@anthonykapfer666 Feb 2022
this is an awesome song. great voice! nice work all around
@bethdesombre Feb 2022
Also, I vote for "adorably nerdy," but I would, wouldn't I?
@bethdesombre Feb 2022
Yay!!!! You tell these stories so well (and have such interesting stories to tell; what history you're mining). I love the language in the verses and how solid the meter is (and the contrast with the SO simple refrain). I particularly love "as I climb down from my family tree" and how appropriate that is.
@kovbleu Feb 2022
What a lovely story and ride you take the listeners on. Sad, and yet happy, and then sad again. I wish they had more than a year together! Beautiful storytelling. It's a lot of words, but you wove them together really well! Your driving, yet gentle guitar works as the perfect backdrop. Nicely done!