Gauthier was raised in Louisiana, after being given up at birth by a mother she has never known. At age 15, she stole her parent’s car and ran away from home. She spent her 18th birthday in prison. She has spent much of her younger life either in rehab, or being dependent on drugs. At the age of 35, she wrote her very first song. Now leading a clean life at the age of 45, she shares some of those experiences in her latest CD. Her follow up to her successful CD Mercy Now is perhaps her best yet. Producer Joe Henry recorded the CD with a more bare-boned live acoustic feel than Gauthier’s previous releases. This allowed the music itself to flow freely and speak volumes. Gauthier is a true poet. Her lyrics could stand alone even without music accompaniment, and amaze you on how easily it rolls along. Her music may not be simple and bright; It paints a dark picture that leads the listener think. Gauthier captures the listener with her tired and cracked vocals that are very reminiscent of Lucinda Williams. From the first song called “Snakebit,” which was co-written by Hayes Carll, Gauthier draws you into her world of misery and blind faith. It is a beautifully constructed song of how one may deal with her dark issues. Gauthier’s ability to put her own vulnerability on display is best highlighted with the songs “I Ain’t Leaving” and “Soft Place to Land.” Both songs are equally mesmerizing lyrically, as they tell about dealing with your own demons. The harmonies on these two songs are provided by none other than Loudon Wainwright. One of the many highlights is the song called “Same Road.” Gauthier writes about two lives passing each other; one on the way down and one on the way back up. It is a fight not to be dragged in a downward spiral on the same road again. It is truly an uplifting song that allows the listener to feel the emotional struggle to endure. “Last of The Hobo Kings” is a classic railway song which has never been told. Gauthier reflects on how life has changed, even for the hobos, and not for the better. It is perhaps a life that she has longed for, as she writes, “The last free men are hobos, Steinbeck said.” This CD, while dark, has many positive things to say. Gauthier is living proof that one can fall into the depths she puts into her music, and still have the ability to fight back and come out on top.

For a guy like me and apparently a woman like Mary also, mercy and forgiveness are vital parts of living. If there is no mercy, we are condemned by our past, (and at least in my case, some of the present as well), and might be better off dead. Mary points out that not only we as individuals, but also our church and our country, even the whole otherwise damned world in which we reside is in dire need of this blessed sacrament.Mary pleads on our behalf.A couple of things about mercy and forgiveness: Those that have the most to regret tend to be the most grateful with they find it. And finding it usually requires an honest evaluation of where you are in life. This is rarely easily done. Mary shows the way in her songs, peering into dark recesses without flinching, and describing what she finds there. Mary’s experience provided plenty of dark recesses to peer into, not only her own but also in the lives of others she encountered and tried to love along the way. Some of Mary’s hardships resulted from her own actions. But other problems awaited her arrival into the world and were therefore beyond her control. Here (http://www.marygauthier.com/press.html#bio) is a bio that provides more detail to that story, better than anything I can come up with. For those that won’t go there, a brief summation: Mary was adopted at the age of one by a couple in Louisiana. The family that took her in became dysfunctional—her father, an alcoholic, her mother, a victim of cancer and depression. Mary rebelled in her teens. She used drugs and booze. By fifteen she stole the family car and ran away. She spent her 18th birthday incarcerated. She failed to master the skills needed to break her habits in one stint after another at various rehab clinics. Early adulthood proved equally difficult.Mary didn’t take a drink of life on the dark side of town; she guzzled it to the brink of killing herself. After thirty-five years of living through and then searching for a way out of her own private hell, Mary found at least a few answers or at least better understood the questions. She kicked the drugs, the booze and other self-destructive habits. Mary worked for a time as a restaurateur while dabbling with song writing. She took the leap into working full time as a musician and a performer late in life and against all odds is now one of the best in the business. If the list of publications that recognized her album as one of the best in ’05 is any indication, I am not the only one that thinks so. Check out recent news on her homepage .After buying Mercy Now I went back and bought a couple of her older albums. I’m not saying they aren’t good, because they are, but Mercy Now is far and away the best work she has done. Unlike artists that hit a lick and then fade, Mary is getting better and better with time. What was once her greatest weakness is now her greatest strength—she’s a truth-teller, even when it hurts.Here’s her page at Lonestarmusic.com. -------------------- About the Author - Don Henry Ford, Jr. When Don's not writing books he lends out his talent to Americana Roots to put together great articles like this. If you've enjoyed what you read, then pick up Don's latest book Contrabando: Confessions of a Drug Smuggling Cowboy at your local bookstore or online at Cinco Puntos Press.