Constance Street

Album: Clear Pond Road (2023)
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Songfacts®:

  • Kristin Hersh named this song after the New Orleans street where she once lived. It is inspired by memories from her time on Constance Street, acknowledging loss but also finding beauty and hope in the past.
  • The unique culture and musical scene of New Orleans has provided inspiration for Hersh's songwriting for a long time now. "New Orleans is a very rich place, not as in wealthy but rich in experience, beauty and culture," she told Music OMH. "It's an island in America so it doesn't feel like America. If you get music, I think you get New Orleans."
  • "Constance Street" is a track from Hersh's autobiographical 11th studio album, Clear Pond Road. She recorded the record at Stable Sound Studio, Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and co-produced it with the owner of the studio, Steve Rizzo.
  • In contrast to Hersh's direct 2010 autobiography, Rat Girl: A Memoir, Clear Pond Road paints a less literal picture of her life. Instead of traditional storytelling, the album relies on mood and imagery to weave a deeper, more emotional narrative.
  • So where is Clear Pond Road and what does it lead to?

    "My youngest son and I were the last two people in our family of six, and we were traveling around the world together a little bit, and certainly subject to the ripples on the pond," Hersh told Uncut magazine. "And we wanted to be stronger than that and more hopeful and more clear."

    "We were in a junk shop somewhere on tour and we both stopped in front of that Clear Pond Road sign and decided, 'Oh, that's where we're trying to go so we bought it and we carried it around and put it up and everywhere we lived – it's still in my kitchen," she continued. "When we achieved a bit more solidity and clarity we decided, 'Alright, this is Clear Pond Road and now I'm allowed to make this record.' It's probably a street somewhere, but I've never been there. I just have the sign."

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