They Came to Nashville

Mary Gauthier

28   Mary Gauthier I met Mary Gauthier in the summer of 2007 at a party at Beth Nielsen Chapman’s house. Only I wasn’t aware I was meeting Mary Gauthier. I thought I was meeting someone named Mary with no last name. Like Cher or Charo. I was making my way through a buffet line of Mediterranean food when someone said, “Hey Marshall, have you met Mary?” I looked up at the bright-eyed woman standing across from me. “Oh, hi Mary,” I said. At first, I thought maybe she was the cook. She exuded that kind of confidence. It wasn’t until later that I realized “Mary” was Mary­ Gauthier, a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter I’d been hearing about for several years from artist friends in-the-know. Harlan Howard once made the distinction between run-of-the-mill songwriters and those few he considered “dangerous at all times.” From everything I’d been hearing, Mary was one of those few. That night at Beth’s, my husband Chris and I retreated with our plates of food to a cozy sunken living-room-type area where we found ourselves in the company of Ashley Cleveland, Mary, and two or three others. As I recall, the food was delicious and the conversation lively, as Ashley regaled us with stories of her recent escapades as a soup kitchen volunteer. At one point, Mary and I engaged in conversation about something, I can’t quite remember what—maybe global warming. I found her bright, openhearted, and intense. Usually, I feel like I’m the one who’s too intense at social gatherings. It’s true. Small talk has never been my forte. But with Mary Gauthier in the room, it was like the intensity quota was filled, and I could just relax and enjoy myself. One thing I’ve noticed about Nashville: you hear about some new    Mary Gauthier   29 singer-songwriter moving to town, and you don’t run into them for years. Then when you finally meet, it’s like—bam! They’re suddenly everywhere! The Village Cleaners, Walgreens, Target, Prince’s Hot Chicken off Dickerson Road, you name it. Sure enough, a few days after I met Mary Gauthier, I ran into her at the Produce Place on Murphy Road. After exchanging stories in the parking lot, I warned her I might be stalking her for this book. And now, here we are. Mary’s townhouse A clear, cold Nashville day January 9, 2008 So Mary, when did you first hear the word “Nashville”? Umm . . . I don’t remember. But when I ran away from home as a kid, [I] stole my parents’ car, which only had AM radio. So there were only country radio stations or gospel-preaching stations, so I stuck to the country radio stations. And I’m sure that’s probably when I first started hearing about Nashville. Either that, or it was The Lynn Anderson Show. When I was a kid, television would go dark at night. Then when it would come on in the morning, it would come on with the national anthem and then Lynn Anderson on Sunday morning. So it was the national anthem and then, (sings) “I beg your pardon / I never promised you a . . .” And then maybe they announced it coming from Nashville, Tennessee. I remember that show. It was on one of the networks. So we sat there waiting for it . . . you know . . . waiting for the buzz to go away. So when you ran away from home, was “home” New Orleans? Well, I was born in New Orleans, then lived in Baton Rouge as a kid, so I ran away from Baton Rouge. So you stole your parents’ car? I did. 30   They Came to Nashville What age were you? Fifteen. That sounds like a book in itself. It is. I look forward to reading it. (laughter) What kind of car was it? It was one of those station wagons with the fake wood on the side, like a Brady Bunch car. So where’d you go in that car? You know . . . I . . . it’s hard to put all that together. It’s a strange story. I stole a car, and . . . and ended up somehow in a detox. I’m not sure exactly how it all came together. So there were some missing years. There was some missing stuff, but I ended up in...