Culture
Loudon Wainwright III talks about ‘forgiving parents,’ his favorite songwriters, and how he knows if a song is ‘working’
By: Emily Votaw
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MARIETTA, Ohio (WOUB) – Loudon Wainwright III is an American singer-songwriter known by many for his early ’70s “novelty” hit Dead Skunk. (There’s a lot to be said about the intrinsic artistic integrity of “novelty” songs in general, but that’s a topic for another time.)
Wainwright’s songwriting stands out not just for its humor, but also for how seamlessly it blends that humor with a deep, world-weary melancholy and raw self-reflection.
Wednesday night Wainwright performs at the Peoples Bank Theatre (222 Putnam Street) as a part of Marietta College’s Esbenshade Series. Ahead of that performance, the songwriter spoke with WOUB’s Emily Votaw.
Find a transcript of their conversation, edited for length and clarity, below.
Emily Votaw:
So you’re a famous songwriter. Who are some of your favorite songwriters?
Loudon Wainwright III:
Oh, gee. Well, my dad had a great record collection, so I heard Broadway musicals and songwriters like Rogers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe and Cole Porter and the great songwriters of the ’20s and ’30s and ’40s. You sound like you’re certainly a lot younger than me so you may not know all of these people. When I was a young person in the early ’60s, I heard Bob Dylan and that whole crew of great guitar slinging singer songwriters. I love Merle Haggard and Hank Williams. I mean, it’s a long list.
You’re right, I’m considerably younger than you. From my point of view, both you and Bob Dylan are really humorous, even though Dylan gets pegged as being only serious a lot of the time. Why do you think you get pegged as being only humorous a lot of the time?
Wainwright:
Well, see, the thing with humor is that if you’re in a club or a concert hall singing something that’s supposed to be funny, there’s an immediate litmus test because people will laugh or they won’t. So it’s “funny” when you get that reaction. If it’s a serious song, people are generally quiet and you’re not quite sure what they’re thinking. But if that big burst of laughter comes from that audience, you are onto something and you’ve provided them a great service. Bob Dylan has a great sense of humor. I mean, he doesn’t employ it all the time, but I always appreciate it when somebody can make me laugh or smile or roar or with delight in a show or on a record.
What music are you listening to these days?
Wainwright:
I’m listening a lot to myself, and I’ll tell you why. And normally I don’t do that, but I’m putting together a live record, a record that was recorded back in March in London, three nights in a little club there called Nell’s. And so we’re listening to those tapes and I’m trying to make decisions about what we’ll use and what we won’t use. So every day it seems, I just listen to myself for hours on end.
What are some of the things you look for in a song that indicates to you that you should include it on the record?
Wainwright:
Well, we’ve talked about whether a funny song can elicit or bring about laughter, so that’s a sure way of knowing something is working. I think though, when I listen, when I’m listening to these tapes, certainly, or even in a situation where I am performing live in the moment, there’s just an instinct that whatever it is that I’m trying to do, amuse, move, agitate, whatever it is – you sense if it’s working or not. Or, at least somebody who does this for a living for any length of time should know when something is working with an audience.
I’m really pivoting here with this next question, but I really wanted to ask it. You’ve spoken about how difficult it was for you after losing your mother. What helped you through that period?
Wainwright:
It took time. I mean, I was very close to my mother. She died quite a few years ago, in 1997. My father had died in 1988, and I knew when my mom died, it was going to be tough, but I had no idea how tough until it happened. I kind of just stopped doing everything for six or eight months. I couldn’t write. I lost a lot of weight, I couldn’t sleep. I was very depressed. And I think time and some help with some friends. I also saw a doctor who prescribed some medication for me. I think all of those factors, but time – I think there is a kind of corny expression about time healing all wounds – and of course sleep helps too. That’s what I would say: time and sleep.
So I listened to your interview with Marc Maron from a few years ago, and during that interview you said something along the lines of, ‘you need to forgive your parents before you can forgive yourself. ‘ I feel that to be true even with my very limited life experience. Could you elaborate on that a little? What does that mean to you?
Wainwright:
Parents are the giants. They’re gigantic, literally. I mean, they’re so much bigger than us when we’re very little and they have so much effect and power over us, and it’s not a surprise to me anyway, that we have difficulties with our parents. I certainly had difficulties with my parents in particular, my father. We had a kind of competitive, at times combative relationship.
I loved him a great deal, and he died a long time ago. But I am still working on my relationship with him, and I think forgiveness is important. I’m 78 now, and he died when he was 62, so he missed out on plenty, but I still go back to how much I wish that we were closer, but I continue to forgive him and I think understand a little bit more about what he went through.
I’m calling because you’re coming to Marietta, Ohio. I’m sure you’ve been to Ohio before, but I was curious if you had any particular memories of performing in Ohio? What are we, Ohioans, from your perspective?
Wainwright:
You’re the most delightful people ever. My daughter, Lucy (Wainwright Roche), who’s a wonderful singer songwriter and a human being, went to Oberlin College. So I have lots of good memories of visiting her there and doing shows there. And so that’s a particular spot that I like. I’m a Yankee fan, so I’m trying to be enthusiastic about The Guardians, but it’s not so easy this week, but I’m looking forward to getting out there into the Heartland.
I just have one last question for you. What sort of advice do you have for aspiring songwriters? Maybe for artists in general?
Wainwright:
Well, hang in there. I mean, I could throw a lot of quotes, cliches at you. Try to have a good time. Hang in there, and try to be nice to yourselves.