An American singer/songwriter with a nice voice, a sharp wit, and a haunting way with words, Josh Ritter has built a name for himself on the contemporary folk scene. Born in Idaho, Ritter bought his first guitar after hearing the Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash classic "The Girl from the North Country" which started his wonderful musical journey.
Boston was the place Ritter chose to follow his dream. He recorded and released his self-titled debut in 1999, but it was 2002's The Golden Age of Radio that got him noticed by both critics and folk fans.
Among all his songs I personally like “Kathleen,” a folk sounding song with impressive guitar strumming and reminiscent lyric writing. I think it captures that innocent and hopeful mood for parties or homecoming dances in high school. You know, hopeful teenagers having expectations for the night.
This song feels like what boys went through in movies or even in real life back when the word “friendzoned” was not yet invented. The boy adoresa girl, but they’re 'just friends although they want to be more than friends but don't know how to do anything about. So you become that friend that drives her home at the end of the night. And she goes off into the house, thanking you for the ride and you always wonder if she knows you're in love with her and just doesn't want to go there, or if she feels the same way and doesn't know how to express it either or if she has no idea how you feel about her. So he drives her home. She sneaks into the house then rolls down the driveway so her parents don't wake up and find her sneaking in. And at the very least you have had that glimpse of a chance -- that wee bit of a moment with a girl.
In the song, even though he isn't her first choice, he's the good guy who'll take her home a make sure she's safe, and be hers "for a song", so he's not asking for anything more than to just drive her home and give her this song she's been looking for, but it turns into more with the "new kind of hello" and all that.
I think this song is magical and enchanting to both the ears and the heart for it has the listeners remember their days of youth or provide a theme song for their recent prom or homecoming experiences, especially for those “friendzoned” people. It lights a spark of hope and nostalgia into the hearts of the listeners.
