“Blue,” the new single from Nova Scotian troubador, is what he describes as a road song, paying homage to the great singer-songwriters of the American tradition and dealing with themes of “duality, idealism and, ultimately, the choice between fantasy and reality.”
That’s a real fancy way of explaining that “Blue” is an Americana Folk version of the Matrix.
In Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical film about a young journalist trying to find his footing in the world of rock and roll only to be carried off in the current, our protagonist asks, “When and where does this real world occur?” It’s a recurring theme in the film, as rock stars justify their behaviour with a romanticized notion that the music industry exists separately from a real world of mortgages, families and consequences, and everyone is doing their best to avoid going home to them.
There’s a whole industry and culture that is perpetuated by the allure of that lifestyle. Some people are there because that is their natural habitat, some arrive at it through all manner of bumpy roads, and some, like Flint, find themselves presented with an opportunity to choose; like they can turn the tie-wearing, 9-5 grind on and off like a light switch.
“I wrote this one after a short period my life when I was hitchhiking and doing odd jobs, etc,” Flint explains about his inspiration for “Blue.” “It’s about that feeling of being on the road and how the days melt into each other. It also deals with reality and fantasy. Or maybe more like humanity or nature, like growing up or not… the real world or the world in my head, this duality being represented by Blue and Red.”
For Flint, that duality comes to be represented on the song with a plush cruiser like a blue ’55 Chevy Bel Air Convertible that’ll take you far and fast, or a wild red horse that offers a very different way of seeing the world if you’re prepared to hold on. That red horse symbolizes a means of approaching life with curiosity, even if it can be inconsistent or not entirely sustainable.
“In the end, I chose the red horse over the blue car,” laughs Flint. “Shows you which way I went, I suppose.
“While I guess I live in the real world, I don’t spend any more time there than I have to. I always think of the song as a sort of Americana fever dream. I was listening to a lot of Townes Van Zandt, a lot of Gram Parsons, some old Bob Dylan tunes and I was in a total writer’s block when I was out there on the road. It wasn’t until I had moved on from that phase and all that music and those experiences had integrated themselves that I started writing again.
“I wouldn’t say no if someone offered me a blue Chevy Bel Air, but, you know… I guess it’s about the pace of life. On horseback you see everything. In a car, you just get an impression. It’s about getting where you’re going, although a life in the music and media industry doesn’t lend itself easily to a horseback pace.”
With his preference for red horses, Flint has set off with Matt Gallant on drums, Tom Easley on Bass, Peter Anthony-Togni on organ, and Asa Brosius on electric and steel. Direction and speed: unknown.