Songwriting Perspective

Dear Carly,
What I love most about your music is that it gives me a glimpse of the world through a woman's eyes. It may seem strange, but sometimes I wonder how well a man and a woman can understand each other, but your music does help me to see things from a different point of view.

When you write, do you consciously set out to provide a female perspective on the world, or is it exclusively Your perspective? And can man and woman truly understand each other?

Looking forward to your forthcoming albums, and I really enjoyed the Radio 2 interview.
Doug - Essex, England

Oh how I love to get letters from England. I wish I was there. I've always loved London and all of England and would like to come there this year and just hang out.

Women's perspective? I don't consciously do it. I know that it is obvious that my songs come from my own patterns of self-consciousness in all of it's ramifications. Songs like "I Forget" from "The Bedroom Tapes", is a song I have had lots of men tell me that it reveals 'depression' from their deepest sense of themselves. It's a particularly unisex song, though I never thought it at the time I was writing it.

If you get into the material that is not necessarily on compilations or best of albums, you'll find more that is not feminine in the sense of separating the sexes, but universal in the less 'commercial' ways. I think often that profundity leaves radio programmers cold. Thank you for that question. Love Carly - 9/29/02

Dishonest Modesty

Dear Carly, I'm surprised no one has ever asked who "Dishonest Modesty" was written about. Will you share? Or is locked away with You're So Vain? Leo - Royal Oak, MI

Dear Leo,
It was a meanspirited, nasty song and I was clearly jealous of the person. There is no need to reveal, as the aspiration was not kind and the song is just not that good. Love Carly - 9/25/02

That Incredible Smile

Carly,
Who do you get your incredible smile from, Mom or Dad, or is it uniquely yours?
Roger - Tacoma, WA

Thank you for the 'smile' comment. I guess my mom, although I have the shape of my dad's lips and the size of my maternal grandmother's. What a conglomerate. I thank God for my lips on a daily basis. They feel good around my slightly oversized teeth. That may be more than you wanted to hear. Love Carly - 9/23/02

Cross The River

Last night my aversion for housecleaning lifted somewhat and I put several of your cd's in my player to help me along. It has been some time since I listened to The Bedroom Tapes and one of the choruses in Cross The River made me stop what I was doing and my eyes filled with tears. It sounded so mournful. It made me wonder what that song means to you. Sally Canuel - Calgary, Alberta

The river for me is usually a metaphor for all that has to be delved deep into or crossed over. It is to me: If only I could get where I want/need to go. It is a yearning. When I'm meditating (five minutes a year) I realize that I am exactly where I should be, but the rest of the time I'm the girl in New Jersey (for me, it was the Bronx where I grew up) wanting to be a fancier, happier, more beautiful, famous, desirable yourng woman. Love, Carly 9/19/02

Rain / James

Dear Carly,

I have been a fan for some time and just have to thank you for all the inspiration and hope I have found in your music.

I was lucky enough to see your son (Ben Taylor) perform at the Mercury Lounge in NYC a few weeks ago and have to say the show was incredible! I purchased the cd and have been listening to it ever since. There is a track on there ("Rain" #11) that really reminds me of the song "James" from your album Come Upstairs. There is a line "when I lift this shell to my ear" and the melody seems similar. Just curious if this was an intentional tribute to you. They are both beautiful songs. Also curious about your thoughts on the Ben's album.

Again, thanks for everything, a truly devoted fan! You are the best and can't wait for more music from you and your family! Tim - NYC

Yes, I do believe that it was less of a 'Tribute' as you say, than a betterment. Ben has an unbelievable talent and I am so pleased that you picked up on his using 'James' as the basis for his song 'Rain'. Love, Carly - 9/16/02

Songs for Children

Dear Carly,
My question is a little silly but, do you have any kid song recordings? I am a single dad with a little 4 year old daughter who loves, and I mean LOVES music. She saw you on the Sunday morning show and was immobilized by your voice. She just watched as you played your acoustic and sang. Anywho, I love your music and am glad to see that you are in the happier side of things on the scale of life. Now I have to go buy some CS CD's for Little K... Thank you, DC Anderson

Dear DC,
My sister Lucy, made a lovely record of songs for children which I sang with her on. It actually was a Simon Sister's album. I believe it's out of print, which is a shame.

I recorded a tape of Mother Goose Rhymes about a year and a half ago. It was released by Target and then by Simon and Schuster. And I have a Christmas album coming out in a few months. I imagine it would be quite nice for young people as well as us medium types. Best, love Carly 9/4/02