stories

[Cindy M]

oh Cindy...….

.there are two songs particularly that stick out for me that I've not heard before; one is Family Tie and of course the other is Martha...
(Also, I have stories about both. But I still have my Friend of Mine is Going Blind story to put up. I wish people would nag me. ) 

nag...……...nag...……..nag

So both Family Tie and Martha are Hugh Prestwood songs.

Martha is about the last passenger pigeon. Michael sang at least three different variations.
When you left Ohio, Martha, you were gone for good
When you left St. Louis, Martha, you were gone for good
When you left Cincinnati, Martha, you were gone for good
I'm not sure why St. Louis. When I first heard it, he sang the Ohio line which I assume was Hugh's original lyric. I gave him a photo copy of an article about Martha with a photo from the People's Almanac. He hadn't known Martha died in a Cincinnati zoo and was going to give Hugh the article. After that, that's when MJ always sang the Cincinnati line.



Re: Family Tie
Maura O'Connell recorded this song. I knew of her when she was with DeDannan, an Irish group. Maybe MJ toured with her briefly - I can't remember the exact details when he first mentioned her. A few years later, he appeared on her American Music Shop segment which included a beautiful duet of Nanci Griffith's "Trouble in the Fields" (Video: https://youtu.be/6mgJhdgS63Q). Anyway, he told me Maura shared with him the details about how she had changed a couple words (I no longer remember which), Michael told Hugh, Hugh made Maura re-record the song with his correct lyrics, and Michael told me she was not happy with him, to say the least.