The New York Songwriters Circle

2008 Songwriting Contest

The Finalists

Second place winner:

Gillian Grassie

Silken String

myspace page

Photo by Tom Reber

More about Gillian

Silken String

Gillian Grassie is a harpist/singer-songwriter who blends diverse influences into a unique brand of jazz-minded indie folk/pop. A Philadelphia native, Grassie’s wordy, imaginative lyrics display a lush sense of poetics and a knack for turning “seemingly insignificant events into songs worthy of everyone’s attention,” [Origivation].

Classically trained in both voice and harp, Gillian’s unconventional use of her instrument has prompted critics to call her “an innovator par excellence,” and she has collaborated with many artists, including John Legend, Jim Boggia, and Kuf Knotz [Ticket Magazine]. Featuring vocals that are “sure to haunt you like a reassuring and melodious ghost,” her first full-length effort, Serpentine, has been hailed as “an album that belongs on every critic’s top-ten list not only for the year, but for the decade,” [Music for America].

There was a man
he was a tall man
but he never stood up tall
and he hid thick books
behind the cash register at work
to make the time pass better

and the bells clattered
when I opened the door
and he picked up his head
as I walked in the store
I could see the sweat falling
down his face in the heat
like beads on a silken string

I was waiting for a ride
so we chose to pass the time
sharing words and coffee
and as he told me his story
I could feel something funny
like my reason was deserting me

Oh I’m in love with a man
from the North country
he’s got hair like a bear
it grows wild and free
I can feel myself slipping
like a kid with new skis
like beads on a silken string

Nobody knows where the time it goes
so I hope you’ll follow me
nobody knows when love will show
inconveniently

My friend drove up
in a black Ford truck
and said, “C’mon, I’m sorry,”
so I turned and said,
“Goodbye, sir,” and
“Thank you for your time, sir”
he said, “I’ll be seeing you later,”

Oh I’m in love with a man
from the North country
he’s got hair like a bear
it grows wild and free
I can feel myself slipping
like a bird on the breeze
like beads on a silken string