In a tradition dating back a decade, stellar singer-songwriter Tim Easton marks the autumn with a new recording intended to raise funds for a very worthy cause: SAFPAW, or the Southern Alliance for People and Animal Welfare. The Madison-based nonprofit helps people and pets in need, homing in on the unhoused community and folks living in or near poverty.
For many years, Easton gathered up some of his many talented friends to record a Dylan cover, but last year he started a new tradition with the original “Delores.” This year, he carries the tradition on with “Ain’t That a River,” cut at venerable Berry Hill studio Alex the Great with producer-engineer Brad Jones right after this year’s AmericanaFest. Three members of country star Lainey Wilson’s band joined in — Kevin Nolan on guitar and an Andean lute-like instrument called a charango, Tommy Scifres on bass, and Matt Nolan on drums and percussion — as well as California songsmith Rosa Pullman and Irish violinist Jayne Pomplas.
As the loping, winding groove unfolds, the lyric contemplates the connection between humans and these fascinating bodies of water from an interesting philosophical angle. Easton sings in the form of a riddle: “What can run but never walks / Has a big mouth but never talks / Has a head but never weeps / Makes a big bed but never sleeps.” Each verse poses a new set of observation-based questions; the answer each time is “Ain’t that a river?”
The accompanying video intersperses footage of the recording session — with the musicians spread around the studio, it reminds me a little of that super cool Ragnar Kjartansson installation The Visitors — with footage of rivers winding their way through the landscape and exploring them by boat and plane. You can support SAFPAW with your purchase of a digital copy of the track via Bandcamp. Or, simply enjoy the film and head over to the SAFPAW website to make a donation. And be sure to follow Easton on Instagram for updates.
