Take Up Your Spade

Album: Sun Midnight Sun (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A track from Nickel Creek fiddle player Sara Watkins' second solo album, this song was inspired by gardening. "I've always loved farming and gardening analogies to life," she said in her Songfacts interview. "I used to work with my Grandma in her garden and there'd be these berry bushes and weeding things and everything had an analogy to life: keeping your garden clean, keeping the weeds out of your life, all of these things that I keep remembering every time I am out in my yard."
  • Watkins started writing this song in 2010 when she was performing as part of Transatlantic Sessions, a series of concerts broadcast by the BBC and RTE networks. She found these shows wonderfully congregational, and she envisioned a group of people singing on this track when started composing it.
  • Jackson Browne and Fiona Apple sing harmony vocals on this track and make appearances in the video, which features footage from the recording sessions at Zeitgeist Studio in Los Angeles, including shots of Watkins and her producer Blake Mills goofing around playing basketball.

    Watkins has performed with Browne and Apple at the Watkins Family Hour shows she does with her brother Sean at the Largo theater in Los Angeles. Sara has also toured with Browne, and Apple appears on another track from the album, "You're the One I Love."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Francesca Battistelli

Francesca BattistelliSongwriter Interviews

The 2011 Artist of the Year at the Dove Awards isn't your typical gospel diva, and she thinks that's a good thing.

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock Photography

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock PhotographySong Writing

One of rock's top photographers talks about artistry in photography, raising funds for a documentary, and enjoying a County Fair with Tom Waits.

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)Songwriter Interviews

Richie talks about producing the first two Kiss albums, recording "Brother Louie," and the newfound appreciation of his rock band, Dust.

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

Gavin Rossdale of Bush

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."