I had an interesting conversation with a couple of old friends recently. It was about regrets, about the paths not taken. I said that I had made peace with most of my choices, but you know that isn’t entirely true.  There is always the “what if” game that we play, that of the parallel universe, the other life that could have been. But we soldier on, and one foot goes in front of another, always looking forward.

I am inspired by our video subject today.  It is Cindy Bullens, who came to our studio in Nashville during the Americana Fest in Nashville in September.  Her very first album from 1979, Desire Wire, has been rereleased and is available on CD Baby. Cindy Bullens Live, recorded during a 2006 European tour, is out on the German label Blue Rose. And Cindy contributed music to the documentary, Space Between Breaths, which tells the tales of families dealing with the loss of children, a subject that Cindy herself had to work through after the loss of her daughter Jessie.  Her 1999 album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth is the aftermath of that soul searching.

Today’s song comes from her latest album, Howling Trains and Barking Dogs, a collection of Cindy’s 1990’s Nashville collaborations with Radney Foster, Bill Lloyd, Matraca Berg, Kye Fleming, Mary Ann Kennedy, and Al Anderson.  She co-wrote the song, “In A Perfect World,” with Bill Lloyd, and our performance features George Marinelli on electric guitar, Michael Kelsh on guitar and dobro, and Chris Donahue on bass.

- Jessie Scott