Dan’s DJ Pick of the Week is “Once Upon a Time in Ballard Town” by Griffin House!
If you’re a fan of Griffin House, you’re familiar with his ability to tell stories through song. Early in his career, he opened for the likes of Patti Scialfa, John Mellencamp, and other great storyteller-songwriters. Soon after, he became a headliner and further honed his abilities. With 2022’s aptly named “Stories for a Rainy Day,” House reached new heights, outdoing himself as a songwriter. With this release, he returns with more songs to sing and stories to tell.
In this nearly five-minute tale off of his latest EP “The Tides,” House takes us to Ballard Town. We walk alone as he depicts the sights and sounds of the community. The shuffle beat, reminiscent of “A Horse with No Name,” gives the town a sense of familiarity. Details such as the “the salty breeze” and “the dug fir trees,” quickly bring the story into the third dimension.
Masterfully, the production illustrates the town as vividly as his lyricism. A guitar faintly squeals from behind the track as we’re told of a place “where the seahawks fly,” and a rain stick intermittently appears throughout the song. It keeps the temperature cool and misty, as it always is in Ballard Town.
House’s warm baritone contrasts the colder weather of which he sings. It makes lines like, “I dreamed my dream and I drank my fill, and I wrote my story while the time stood still,” both tender and melancholic. Like the rest of the songs on The Tides, “Once Upon a Time In Ballard Town” is artful display of House’s strengths. You can listen to the bittersweet track below:
