Album · 2015

The Third Chair

Songs for the empty chair at the table: the people who leave, the lights left on, and the ones who stay up to keep watch.

Tracks

1. Spin Cycle, Midnight LightOne yellow light stays on in the laundromat at midnight, and I've always wanted to thank whoever left it. Starting the record there felt right.late-night, torch song4:27
2. The Last Train Out Can WaitI said I'd leave and I've been packing for a year. The train can wait, and so can I.torch song, slow ballad3:03
3. Keep the Jacket, Keep the RainSomeone gave me a jacket on a rainy night and I've been giving it back, in song, ever since. I think the rain helped me, honestly.chanson-tinged, torch song3:33
4. The Guitar by the WindowA guitar standing by a window collecting afternoons. It's the simplest picture I could find for missing somebody.parlour ballad, acoustic jazz4:03
5. The Fiddler Under the Bridge LightEvery city has a fiddler under a bridge, and every one of them knows more about this business than I do. I tried to sing like I was standing in the lamplight listening.busker ballad, nostalgic ballad4:26
6. The Last Fare of the Night, Mrs. AmesMrs. Ames rides the same taxi every Thursday from the hospital steps, and the driver told me about her. I changed her name and kept everything else.storysong, late-night4:41
7. We Were Right to Let GoWe talked it through at the kitchen table and nobody slammed anything. It's the saddest way for love to end, and the most grown-up.torch song, kitchen-table ballad3:31
8. Last Dryer, Warm Towels, Half Past TwelveA warm dryer is the closest thing to a lullaby a tired person gets. I sang to the rhythm of the drum, which was an actual dryer on the first demo.lullaby, cosy jazz3:41
9. Corridor Lights Out, Door Left OpenThe night clerk dims the lamps one at a time and leaves one door open. It's a song for the person whose job is to wait for everybody else.hotel noir, late-night3:43
10. Who Remembers the Last Slow DanceThe gym is quiet and the janitor hums. I'm in the song as the one who stayed behind to hear it.nostalgic ballad, waltz3:17
11. Ten Fingers, Ten Toes, One LampThree in the morning, a baby, and one small lamp. It's the quietest closing track I've ever picked, and I'd like you to stay up for it.lullaby, family ballad3:24

Liner notes

There were always three chairs at my mother's table, one for her, one for me, and one that nobody sat in. This record is for that third chair, and for the laundromats, corridors and street corners where somebody keeps a light on for whoever's late. By now I had the quartet I wanted, and we played to tape, all in the same room, all at once. The bass player says he can hear the building breathe on the quiet songs. I believe him.

Ruby Delacroix