I saw many a true love, but I never saw mine

Samamidon - Saro

In adapting old dusty American-settled songs like this, Sam Amidon is being pretty damn postmodern about love and loneliness and the unbearable lightness of being apart. It's a bit easier to understand the great depth of these feelings in a historical setting, with oceans between outstretched hands and fingers, but it's not the context that makes this little piece of music great. It's all the little angels fluttering about the poor narrator's head, winging this way on that on violin strings like living puppets, attracted by the full-hearted thoughts that send his gaze to the ground he's found himself walking, like moths to a flame. It's the weird way that even when caught up in feelings like this one, so alone and distracted by your longing that it's as if you've forgotten to get out of the rain, you are a bit closer to life, or God, or humanity or whatever it is that makes such depth of sorrow possible and real.

Samamidon - Milltown Girls (Reel)

Oddly enough, he's also recorded an album of traditional Irish music, including this reel, which I include because I seem to be a lot more open to trad than I once was, having played a bit this past Christmas.

Samamidon - Head over Heels (Tears for Fears)

I include this just because it's pretty cool. Also worth hearing is an old banjo version of Saro, downloadable on this folk site, and more songs downloadable on his site and MySpace. You can buy All is Well here.
Lastly, here's the beautiful new video for Saro: