I recorded this version for a television show a few years ago. Thought I'd share it with you today and wish you all a Merry Christmas!

All The Best,
Todd

Silent Night

In 2021 I was fortunate to be chosen as an Artist In Residence by the historic, Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was given a grant to write and record two songs associated with Mount Auburn. Here's some background on both songs:

Louisa May
Just five months before he would give his Consecration Day address, Joseph Story lost his beautiful daughter, Louisa May, age 10, to scarlet fever. He had lost seven children previous to her, and of his ten children, only two survived to adulthood. It was clear that this man was well acquainted with tragedy and grief. I couldn’t help but wonder what he must have been feeling on that September day in 1831, as he spoke those beautiful words in Consecration Dell.

I knew right away that this was a story I wanted to tell. It contained all of the elements I intended to investigate. Loss, grief, hope, faith, and undying love. Through Joseph Story’s own writings, and the accounts given by his son, William, I was able to gain glimpses into some of what Joseph was feeling and thinking during those months following Louisa May’s passing, and leading up to Consecration Day. I worked hard to stay true to those accounts, and only extrapolate in ways that felt honest and realistic.

The bridge of Louisa May, which begins, “Farewell, farewell, my darling child...”, is inspired by a beautiful and heartbreaking poem written by Joseph Story after Louisa May’s death. The full text of the poem appears in, “Life and Letters of Joseph Story”, Volume 2, by William W. Story.

Sweet Auburn
Early in my research I stumbled upon a Boston area newspaper article written after Consecration Day, in 1831. The article explained that, in the late 18th century, prior to being known as Mount Auburn, the area had been affectionately referred to by visiting Harvard students as “Sweet Auburn.” The nickname coming from the poem, “The Deserted Village”, by Oliver Goldsmith. Almost immediately, I knew that one of the songs I would write would be entitled Sweet Auburn.

For songwriters, a good title can often provide a creative launching pad, allowing one to visualize a fledgling song as a completed whole. Not word for word, of course, but conceptually and directionally. I thought to myself, what if this beautiful place could tell us a bit of its own story? What would it want us to know? What would it say? This idea provided me with a clear framework to work within as I wrote my own version of Sweet Auburn.

Treating Mount Auburn as a living, breathing, sentient character allowed me to look at the landscape and its history in a more empathetic and personal way. Over the course of a few verses I could treat the love and respect, felt by so many for Mount Auburn, as a two way street. Doing so opened creative avenues that would have been harder to access had I taken a different tack. I’d never before taken this approach in my writing. I thoroughly enjoyed the process.

I hope you find as much enjoyment in these songs as I have in creating them.

On a personal side note: over the course of this past year, and while I was deeply embedded in my work for this project, my mother was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. After only a four month battle, she passed away in late October of 2021. My own experience during this time of personal grief could not help but inform my writing. I know that my mother would be pleased that my immeasurable love for her, along with the shared pain of her passing, might be transformed into something meaningful and beautiful. Something that may even have a life beyond us both. I’d like to dedicate these songs to my beloved Mom.

Dedicated with love to: Susan Jane Thibaud
August 5, 1943 - October 31, 2021

Todd Thibaud Spring, 2022

Sweet Auburn

Louisa May

The theme song I wrote for the NCAA College Baseball World Series, held each year in Omaha, Nebraska.  It was originally commissioned by ESPN (I think, in 1999...)for their coverage of the series, but has somehow continued to find life among fans, players and coaches across the country. As a baseball fan, and someone who values tradition, I'm honored to have contributed a small piece to the greater landscape of this very special event. And I'm thankful for the continued interest people have shown for this song. It holds a special place in my heart.

Back Home In Omaha

1999

Back Home  In Omaha - Original Version

The theme song I wrote for the NCAA College Baseball World Series, held each year in Omaha, Nebraska. It was originally commissioned by ESPN (I think, in 1999...)for their coverage of the series, but has somehow continued to find life among fans, players and coaches across the country. As a baseball fan, and someone who values tradition, I'm honored to have contributed a small piece to the greater landscape of this very special event. And I'm thankful for the continued interest people have shown for this song. It holds a special place in my heart.

Back Home In Omaha - Rock Version

August 28th, 2019, R.I.P. Neal Casal
Recorded in 1998 at Sound City Studios during the sessions for my Little Mystery album. We tracked this just for the fun of it one night. I remember being pretty fried at the time, and it shows, but Neal's voice is beautiful as always. I was very fortunate to be playing with some really wonderful musicians at the time, including Neal Casal on guitar and vocals, John Ginty on B3, Rick Harris on lead guitar, Jeff St. Pierre on bass, Milt Sutton drumming, and later, Greg Leisz overdubbed a beautiful pedal steel track. Produced, engineered and mixed by the incredible Jim Scott. Nick Raskulinecz, a very accomplished producer in his own right, was assisting Jim on those sessions. The record ended up going through some unfortunate record business turmoil, which is another, much longer story, but those sessions were a very special time in my life. I feel very grateful to have collaborated with each of these folks, and I'm indebted to them for the love and care they put into my songs. I hadn't connected with Neal in many years, but I've remained a fan of his music and musicianship, and have enjoyed keeping tabs on his career. I've always remembered him fondly as a very kind and beautiful soul.  Losing him this week is a tragic shock, and extremely sad. We lost Milt several years ago in the same way. I hope they both have found peace. And I hope they know how much they're loved, appreciated, and missed.

Total Stranger

Tomorrow's Such A Long Time (With Neal Casal)

1 What May Come

4 When The Evening Falls Apart

10 Wears Me Down

12 Evermore

Lost Dogs

Nine Tree Falls

Todd Thibaud is a Vermont born, Boston based Singer-Songwriter who’s songs are a slice of what life is really like...the pains and pleasures, love lost and life reborn. Using songwriters like Elvis Costello, Neil Finn, Johnny Cash and John Hiatt for inspiration, Thibaud has built a sound that is entirely his own. His music is meshed with elements of Americana, Folk, Country and Roots Pop Rock, making it seem at once familiar and new. After fronting his band, “Courage Brothers” and releasing two independent records in the early ‘90’s (Something Strong & Wood), Thibaud went solo and recorded two critically lauded albums for Doolittle Records (now New West Records), 1997's “Favorite Waste of Time” (produced by Bostonian musician Kevin Salem) and 1999's “Little Mystery” (Co-produced with Jim Scott: Wilco, Crowded House, Kathleen Edwards). In addition to various live recordings and DVD’s he’s since released several additional studio recordings, including 2002’s “Squash”, 2005’s “Northern Skies” (Both produced by Adam Steinberg- Patty Griffin, Dixie Chicks) and 2009’s “Broken”. You’ve probably heard Todd even if you haven’t listened to one of his albums or attended his buoyant, high-energy shows. His songs are regularly featured on TV, where ESPN especially has taken Todd’s straight and true art to heart, and most recently on episodes of NCIS and Justified. His work has also appeared in films, such as John Favreau’s Love & Sex. Plus, the Boston-area singer and picker has been played on Americana radio since the early ‘90s. Thibaud’s most recent album, “Hill West” (Produced by Ed Valauskas, Juliana Hatfield, Gravel Pit), was released in the spring of 2019. His project, Water and Sand, with fellow singer/songwriter, Kim Taylor, released their debut album in early 2016, and their follow up, “Catching Light” in October of 2019. He tours throughout Europe regularly in both full band and acoustic formats and performs regionally at home in the U.S.

“...it would be a mistake to peg him as merely a sum of those who came before him”
- No Depression

“His roots-based music and tremendous sense of melody grab your attention; his perceptive and intelligent lyrics give his songs exceptional depth.”
- Twangville

“...a terrific, endlessly listenable album that in a perfect world - or even an imperfect one - deserves to make Thibaud a star.”
- The Boston Herald

ToddThibaud

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