Broken Roses, Withered Dreams
John’s last released album was called The Day the River Sang. That wasn’t what it was supposed to be. We were working on an entirely different concept and had raised the money to do it via a crowdfunding program. Many of the Bloodliners and other fans joined in to raise the money for the recording. It happened that at the same time we were doing this John began to write songs. So, rather than go with our original plan and distribute 500 copies to the fans who had underwritten the project, John went to Jim Musselman at Appleseed Music. Jim had released several of John’s cd’s in the past and not incidentally, helped John financially when John needed the help the most. (Just a note: Support Appleseed when you can. They have a great lineup of artists and Jim Musselman is an anomaly in the music biz. He cares about the artist).
There are some great songs on the cd. Jasmine has turned out to be one of John’s most covered songs though still far behind Daydream Believer in sheer numbers. My favorite song on the cd is also one that I love to play. I butcher it and I know John would give me the dog stare and then laugh at me if he could hear it.
Listen to this one.
Broken Roses
this old song 
this song and sister mercy are my favorites as well.pretty sad so much unreleased or live john stewart just sits and never gets heard.the few crumbs you share are dear.thanks
Thanks Jonah. I’m going to try to regularly post some of the best of the live material that I have.
i remember the period he wrote those songs.i was so inspired being in the audience .i thought he was more inspired than he had been for quite awhile ,and these new songs after a long dry period were great and performed with interest and engagement and passion.to see him perform and write at such a high level as he was aging was just so wonderful,and really meaningful for me it was a last high hurrah.and then he began to get weaker and fade .it was a roller coaster and so very poignant. there was a tenderness in his voice as he experienced his fading health but continued to share his music in performance .the beauty of his humanity and music really was beautiful and sad to hear and see.
My favorite song on this CD is Amanda Won’t Dance. The minute I heard it I thought it was the next Day Dream Believer. It has all the whimsical qualities of DDB. I was priveleged to be part of the project from the get go. And I am holding my copy with John’s note of thanks. It’s me who should be thanking him…
Thanks Paul, for the song and the story. This song did not jump out at me when I first heard it on CD. Only when I heard Jim Dawson’s rendition at the Memorial show in Pawling did it stop me in my tracks. Too bad it didn’t make it to the dvd, but I think I’ve seen it on Jim’s site or an a performance site. Later that year I was in Pasadena for a nephew’s graduation, and oh, did I smell the Jasmine….
Paul, Thanks so much for releasing this wonderful song. I’ve not heard it before, though thought I had every song John released.
John had that distant vision that one can wrap the deepest part of their soul in…
😯💔😔💓