The Americana and roots music authority

Bill Morrissey, RIP

Bill Morrissey passed away yesterday. I came across his music about a decade ago and it grabbed me. His songs make you nod in agreement, chuckle in recognition, and cry in empathy. He played my house concert series and was about the nicest man you could imagine.

He was 59.

Tags: bill, morrissey

Comment by TenLayers on July 24, 2011 at 8:15am: I will miss him.

Comment by Kyla Fairchild on July 24, 2011 at 11:41am: Here's a link to a long feature article from the ND archives that Peter Blackstock wrote on Bill from No Depression Issue #33 May - June 2001.

Comment by Tim Forsman on July 24, 2011 at 12:14pm: I met Bill Morrissey long ago through a mutual friend who was a childhood friend of Bill. Had the opportunity to see him live twice (maybe it was three times) ... always a wonderful show, he'd twist our minds in one moment with a funny aside ( "We don't have drive-by shootin's here in New England, they're more like drive-by shoutin's ["Hey, you frickin' peckerwood"} ... and then he'd break our hearts with a song like "Birches" . Rest in Peace Bill, we'll always remember you!

Comment by Tim Forsman on July 24, 2011 at 4:39pm: Another great story from Bill, again probably told between two songs of lost love, hard times, mills closing in small New England towns, or a guy skipping work on a winter's day at one of those mills so that he can go ice fishing ... so at this particular concert, here in Maine, Bill postulated what Sigmund Freud would have been like if he had been born a "Down'Easter" in Millinocket, Maine... "so there's Sigmund in this office with a patient laying on his couch. Sigmund is wearing a red & black checked flannel shirt, he has on woolen pants, held up with bright red suspenders & a belt. He's got knee-high mud/muck boots on and he says to his patient ... "You know, that thing you got 'bout your mother is wicked weird" ... Yes, just another example of life from Bill's perspective. He will be missed.

Comment by Jerry Foster on July 25, 2011 at 8:20am: A musical friend for 25+ years, a NH na'bor, I've enjoyed his music, stories, and humor both on records and live.

I"ll miss him but his music will live on.

Comment by Jack on July 25, 2011 at 11:13am: Bill was one of the best.

Comment by Kyla Fairchild on July 25, 2011 at 6:09pm: Here's a link to the obit from the Boston Globe.

Beautiful song with Suzanne Vega on backup vocals:

Comment by Mary Margaret on July 25, 2011 at 10:54pm: I just found out yesterday about Bill's death. I discovered his poetry put to music after purchasing the CD "He Was A Friend of Mine" feauturing Bill and Greg Brown singing a wide variety of covers and making them their own. Favorites include "Aint life A Brook", "He Was A Friend of Mine" and "The Road". They sounded like old friends who had played and sung together forever. Wonderful !

I loved hearing Bill sing his beautiful sad songs like Birches, and These Cold Fingers- lovely melancholy melodies, an emotional "been there-felt that -way" voice and acoustic guitar picking is just right for those songs.

Thanks Jim and Kyla for the lovely videos. I'm feeling blessed to have known of him and believing he's at peace now.

http://youtu.be/hvlQFhm6X9Q These Cold Fingers

http://youtu.be/VO5LACfQdDs The Man From Out of Town

http://youtu.be/nlHvXkVEYbs She's That Kind of Mystery

Moving Day lyrics:

Moving Day

Lock the door and say goodbye

There's new folks moving in
Leave the key in the mailbox now
and kiss me once again
Kiss me for the ones who say
all love comes to an end
Though we never let it go that way
we start alone again

Our years they ran in circles
It was a long and stormy ride
No pot of gold for the happy groom
No brass ring for the bride
Nothing but the two of us
and the promises we made
Love disappeared in a summer wind
so soft she could've stayed

Two stars hanging in the sky
behind a drifting cloud
And when two hearts must say goodbye
love cannot be proud
Love cannot take sides
or take a stand or answer why
Sometimes two hearts must fall away
no matter how they try

Moving day is over now
This house is just a shell
Say goodbye to the sights and sounds
we came to know so well
Your car is loaded to the roof
It's just the same as mine
There's no room for the dreams we had
I guess they stay behind

Comment by Kathy Sands-Boehmer on July 26, 2011 at 7:33am: I got word of Bill Morrissey's death while at Falcon Ridge. Was glad to be among others who truly understood the loss. I had put his name down on the survey to have him considered for next year's fest. Sigh.

Would like to share a somewhat humorous interview I did with him in 2009. We did this over the phone and we laughed for 90 minutes or so... One of the best phone conversations I've ever had. Also do a YouTube search and find him playing with one of our beloved patrons, Betty "Bones" Gordon who accompanied him on percussion for "Keep It Clean." You had to be there. It was classic Bill.

Here's the interview link

http://meandthee.org/blog/txp/blogspot/186/thirty-things-you-never-...

I sure hope Bill is havin' a helluva time with some of his good buddies right now, including Mississippi John Hurt.

Kathy

Comment by Jazz Lunatique on July 26, 2011 at 12:22pm: RIP Bill. I'll be playing his tune Letter From Heaven. I hope he's not surprised to see Robert Johnson there.