My Texas Ireland Connection = Nancy Griffith

(Check out my Granbury Texas Historic Bed and Breakfast - www.theironhorseinn.com)


It is an amazing thing to me that so many of the places names in Texas were familiar to me, long before I ever came to live here to run the Iron horse Inn Bed and Breakfast in Granbury. The reason was the music of Nancy Griffith the Austin singer songwriter who I have loved for over 20 years now. I remember the first time I ever saw her on Irish TV in 1988 when she was doing her "Lone Star State of Mind" tour. I bought that album and played it over and over - I still love it today. I remember listening to it while I was expecting my youngest son back in 1989. When he was a baby and a toddler he loved to dance in my arms to this album - he used to want to "cuggle dance" when I played this album - he is now all grown up and living in Virginia!
So many of her lyrics come back to me now that I live in Texas in the "Lone Star State" that she sang so beautifully about. Her song "Gulf coast Highway" spoke about the Bluebonnet and that "this is the only place on earth Bluebonnets grow".


Anytime I find myself in Austin on Congress Avenue I remember her music and in particular her talking about her trips to the Woolworths store. She sings a wonderful song called "Love at the Five and Dime" which is a beautiful today as it ever was all these years ago.


Her poignant song "Trouble in the Fields" talks about her farming family's experience during the dustbowl years in West Texas when the "dust was as thick as snow" - the words of this song are so moving - driving through West Texas now the song always comes to my mind.

Here in Granbury we have one of the rare remaining drive in movies The Brazos Drive-In,
and our guests tell me about their nostalgia when they see it - Nancy also told me about that period of her growing up years in the song "Drive in movies and Dashboard Lights". Driving past it here brings Nancy's music back to mind for me every time.






Nancy was a huge success in Ireland and she recorded a few songs she wrote about my home country. I am reminded of the song "On Grafton Street" - this is a favorite street among Dublin people, especially at Christmas time when the shop windows were all filled with animated characters and the christmas lights were sparkling. In this song she reminisces about an old flame who "lives near Dallas now" - strange for me to live near Dallas now too!!

I have loved the Austin singer for many years and then I met and married my Austin man who brought me to live here in Texas, life is quite amazing really!!

I have all of her albums and I have been to many of her concerts in Dublin, and if you have not heard her music I would encourage you to listen to her - She is wonderful! Click on the links in this blog to hear a few of her songs.