Portions for Foxes: Dawn Landes

"Portions for Foxes" is a series of weekly posts, each about one song by a woman or a band led by a woman. See the introduction for more.

There must be other cases of this - I'm just not thinking of them right now. Surely there are other creative couples who broke up, and both made art about the breakup? (I'm thinking there must be a relevant Richard & Linda Thompson example here, surely?)

Singer-songwriters Josh Ritter and Dawn Landes were married, for not quite a couple of years, a decade ago. It didn't go well: they've both been polite and vague about it since. And they both made records coming out of the break-up: Ritter with 2013's The Beast in Its Tracks (where I would highlight the lovely, reflective, ringing, positive Joy to You Baby), Landes with 2014's Bluebird.

And the song I have today is my favorite from Bluebird, a fine record of lovely sadness and an eye that's trying to look forward. Today I want to celebrate Cry No More.

No matter how hard I try pain lingers
Our love's gone dry like grease on my fingers
To need a reason why, just pull out the stingers

It's a quiet, contemplative song, mostly Landes's voice and her strumming guitar - with her own voice in the background, harmonizing, as a support, as if it's all the parts of her coming together to remind herself that she can and will get through this.

The title is something between a wish and an imperative. I'd like to think it's already happened, but it could be a vow:

Not gonna cry no more
I know what tears are for
I don't need to cry no more

We all have things that made us cry: big or small. And we all have that moment when we have to say enough and move on. This is a song for that moment, or the moment just afterward. It is lovely and true.