I’ve been listening and re-listening to a Marc Cohn Greatest Hits cd these past days. And it’s all Link’s fault!

Much as I liked “Walking in Memphis” and “Walk Through the World,” I had never really made the effort to seek out his other music. Then, a couple of weeks ago, Link (bro-in-law) invited me to a benefit at which his firm had bought a table. The entertainment for the night was Marc Cohn.

It was a great show. I always had thought of him as a piano player (and singer/song writer), but he’s also very good on guitar. And funny, to boot! He told us the whole story behind “Walking in Memphis.” It was a stroke of luck (or maybe genius) that it came about.

Anyhow, I came home hungry for more so ordered the cd. I especially like “One Safe Place” and “Olana.” (Click here to hear selections.) The latter is about the Hudson River School painter Frederic Church and Olana, the Persian-style house he built in Hudson, NY. I found it very moving. It talks about him giving up painting (he suffered from rheumatoid arthritis) and finding solace in the house (he spent years designing and decorating it).

They say my final masterpiece
Was this house upon the hill
High above the great and mighty river
My hand could not hold the brushes
Yes I guess I lost my will
And you can’t keep painting paradise forever
Oh forever

From the Andes to Niagara
To where we stand today
I drew the great creations of my master
‘Til the oil and the canvas
Lord I threw them all away
And traded them for stone and brick and plaster
I traded them all for you

(Winter wind blows and the river lies frozen at my feet)
I traded them all for you
(Springtime come and the river wanna run above the street)

She came to me one night
While I was tossing in my dreams
She said she’d give my family protection
I recall the night I died
Beneath her arches and her beams
I thanked her for the shelter and direction
I was lost until Olana

(Sun beat down on a summertime town — he left me there)
I was lost until Olana
(Watching these hills turning gold for one more year)

Oh I’ve been from Jerusalem to Rome
Now I’m floating through these rooms tonight alone
And looking back on everything
All I ever wanted was a home

I was lost until Olana
How sweet the sound
How sweet the sound

They say my final masterpiece
Was this house upon the hill