Between 1975 and 2005, Kate and Anna McGarrigle released 10 albums. Kate died in 2010, but she left behind a shared discography that we could (and should) spend decades unpacking.
But as is so often the case with famous women in history, the McGarrigles’ creative and professional accomplishments have been long overshadowed by the messy and fascinating tangle of their famous musical family.
Kate and her former husband, folksinger and actor Loudon Wainwright III, produced two children who would join in the family business, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, the former eclipsing all of his relatives from the spotlight, albeit briefly. There was also Kate and Loudon’s very public breakup, which informed numerous songs by both artists, ultimately spilling into the next generation as their children grappled with the continued fallout in their own songwriting, too. It’s that very willingness to write about their lived experiences — the good, the bad and the very ugly — that makes their songs so personal.
But, what gets obscured over and over again, is the power and magic of the music that Kate and Anna McGarrigle made. There’s a reason Loudon was jealous over his then-wife’s rising fame: she and Anna were brilliant, insightful musicians with incredible voices and a sharp tongues, who held nothing back. Here we celebrate 10 of the McGarrigle sisters' most formidable songs.
‘Heart Like a Wheel’
And it's only love and it's only love
That can wreck a human being and turn him inside out
‘(Talk to Me of) Mendocino’
Let the sun set on the ocean
I will watch it from the shore
Let the sun rise over the redwoods
I'll rise with it till I rise no more
‘Kitty Come Home’
No being however mighty
Where chaos reigns alone
Will see his feeble love grow
When cast upon a stone
Kitty come home
‘Goin’ Back to Harlan’
Underneath the silver maples, the balsams and the sky
We popped the heads off dandelions
Assuming roles from nursery rhymes
‘Heartbeats Accelerating’
Love, love, where can you be?
Are you out there looking for me
‘Complainte pour Ste-Catherine’
Y’a longtemps qu’on fait la politique
Vingt ans de guerre contre les Moustiques
Croyez pas qu’on n’est pas chrétiens
Le dimanche on promène son chien
‘Go, Leave’
Go leave, don't come back
No more am I for the taking
But I can't say that my heart's not aching
It's breaking in two
‘I Eat Dinner’
Never thought that I'd end up this way
I who loved the sparks
Never thought my hair'd be turning to gray
It used to be so dark, so dark
‘Love Over and Over’
You ask me how I feel
I said my heart was like a wheel
Why don't you listen to it sometime
‘Excursion à Venise’
Tard, au cours des veillées, les propos aimantés par les villes
Je t'y plaçais volontiers, bien à l'aise dans les tramways
Hang out with me on Twitter: @_AndreaWarner
Related
Kate and Anna McGarrigle are #52 in CBC Music’s list of the 100 best bands ever.
