Just Us Folk

As you go through life, you’ll occasionally hear a saying that involves a horse. Think of “hold your horses,” “put the cart before the horse,” “have horse sense,” “a horse of a different colour” and many more. Now courtesy of Prince Edward Island singer-songwriter Lennie Gallant, we have a new one.

‘It Takes a Lot of Liquor to Bury a Horse’ is the title of one of the songs on Lennie’s new album, Shelter from the Storms.

A friend of Lennie’s by the name of Dave works in the woods with heavy horses. When one of his horses died, it had to be buried. As Dave and an elderly friend of his dug the grave, they also shared a bottle of booze. At the end of the task the senior citizen remarked, “Dave, it takes a lot of liquor to bury a horse.” It was a line Lennie couldn’t resist and now forms the basis of a humorous element to the new album.

“It’s a line that was crying for a song,” he said.

Shelter From the Storms is the fifth album Lennie has put together with producer Davy Gallant in Drummondville, Quebec. Although they’re not related Lennie refers to the producer as his “long lost brother.” Davy owns Studio Le Pond which includes a house in the forest where the musicians can stay, an orchard and a vineyard.

The new album has another horse song on it as a result of some visits to Sable Island off of the Nova Scotia coast. Another friend of Lennie’s takes people to the island on tours. Lennie’s interest in the horses was piqued once he found out they were descendants of the horses that were taken from the Acadians during the expulsion of 1755. They’ve not only survived all those years, but they’ve also thrived and now number between 400 and 600 animals. Lennie went on two tours to Sable Island, and each time did a little concert for his fellow tour participants.

“The second time some of the horses came around and listened to the music, so it was pretty cool!” he said.

Shelter From the Storms is Lennie’s sixteenth album, if you include the two Sirène et Matelot ones he’s released with Patricia Richard. That’s a lot of songs over a career spanning 38 years. They come from observation, personal experience and Lennie’s imagination. But having the time to write them is not as easy as it used to be. The business of maintaining a successful career takes up a lot of his time so he’s not able to write as much as he’d like.

“But if a line hits me, I’ve got to take the time to sit down and write,” Lenny said.

A great motivator for songwriting is a deadline for a new album. Even though he has a backlog of songs he hasn’t recorded yet, Lennie likes to have a handful of new songs to choose from.

“It just feels right to do that,” he said.

As his career has progressed Lennie has changed his approach to touring. Wanting to spend more summers on Prince Edward Island, and not to miss so many family gatherings, he developed the stage show Searching for Abegeit. Presented at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, the show was a mix of Lennie’s songs along with island legends and stories. Images of his sister Karen’s paintings were projected onto screens during the show.

“We thought we’d run it for one summer, but it ran for six summers and over 200 shows,” he said.

There’s been talk of having another run of shows and perhaps launching a sequel. Lennie also has an idea for yet another album. But for now, he’s pretty tight-lipped on details.

“I don’t want to talk too much about projects before they happen.” he said. “It’s bad luck.”

For more on Lennie Gallant and Shelter from the Storms, go to https://lenniegallant.com.