Girl To Country: A Memoir
Amy Rigby
Broken-down vehicles. Premenopausal libido. A punk rock-loving teen to share the culture shock with. I don't think Hank done it this way.A few years after her 1996 breakthrough album Diary Of A Mod Housewife, singer/songwriter Amy Rigby is still figuring out who she is. Closing in on forty, a newly-divorced mom trying to tour, work temp jobs, and keep a car running, Amy is ready for a change. She trades her beloved NYC for Nashville, where she navigates music, men and motherhood to learn the hard way that outside validation is no substitute for self-belief.Following on from her...
Episodes
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Minivans, and the men who sell them. Snow and heat and finding friends in Canton OH.Track in this episode is Astrovan, from (spoiler alert!) Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby - but that's a story for the next few episodes...
Chapter Twenty-Seven
"...have you ever been to Cleveland in the middle of winter?"Spelling tests, loneliness and snow...Dream Baby Dream.Thanks for listening!
Chapter Twenty-Six
Recording Little Fugitive, leaning on New York. What're things like in Shaker Heights? Hello Astrovan, goodbye NashvilleSongs in this episode:So You Know Now from Little FugitiveRode Hard, The Sugar TreeThanks for listening!
Chapter Twenty-Five
New York City, December 2004. Robert Quine's memorial, Shams reunion and Wreckless Eric at Maxwell's. Are things looking up, or about to get more complicated?Songs in this episode:Shams File Clerk Blues, live at AS 220 , 1990 (you can watch the whole show here https://youtu.be/H9uXsljPGUE?si=CNdTWP0v10BWrM7m)Rode Hard from The Sugar Tree
Chapter Twenty-Four
Seeing a way out; feeling regret. Barney Miller. The things I left behind. Some of the people in this episode are gone now: Kris Kristofferson, Chet Flippo, Martha Hume. I'm glad I could remember them for a little while.Songs used:I Don't Wanna Talk About Love No More from Little Fugitive (d'oh just realized I haven't put that one up on Bandcamp yet!)Lonesome Valley (a home recording I made for my Diary podcast, available here)
Chapter Twenty-Three
A wedding, a loss. I find myself lady of the house in a fancy neighborhood in Birmingham—so how come my daughter's living in Cleveland? Something's got to give...Songs in this episode:Dream Girl, unreleased 4 track demo from about 1984Rode Hard from The Sugar TreeThanks for listening!
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mother & daughter on the road in 2004, the last hurrah?This episode brought me to tears a few times. I cut out the big sobs. It also made me laugh.Includes I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts live from Barry's Pub Grange Ireland by Hazel & Amy RigbyYou can watch the whole show on YouTube
Chapter Twenty-One
"I'm not just a girl. I'm a girl with a guitar..." I wrote in Girl To City. Guitar is part of my identity, and it's not always easy how that works. A big part of it is about feeling free.Writing Dancing With Joey Ramone, touring with Steve Earle.Early solo version of DWJR from an interview on KUT in Austin. Thanks for listening!
Chapter Twenty
It hadn't been an easy tour...but then what tour was ever easy? Ireland, the UK; Charles tightens the screws even with an ocean between us. Back home, an ending approaches.I don't think I realized until recording this episode how sad, and how strong I must've been back then. Thanks for listening.
Chapter Nineteen
“If I hadn’t been up on a stage, he wouldn’t have looked at me twice. He was the type of man who measured his self-worth by the kind of woman he was with. I was definitely not that kind of woman.If I hadn’t been a singer-songwriter, he wouldn’t have thought he knew me when we’d barely met.If I… if only… why do things happen the way they do?”
Chapter Eighteen
Recording Til The Wheels Fall Off. Gaining traction but getting weary, heading for some bumpy road...Tracks in this episode:The Deal from Til The Wheels Fall OffRode Hard from The Sugar Tree
Chapter Seventeen
The ins and outs of living in Nashville circa 2003...my picture on the post office wall; Angelo and Chuck, Rosie and LucindaDon't Know Nothin' circa 2003, me and Tony Gilkyson on guitarsThanks for listening!
Chapter Sixteen
On the road again...and again: Dallas, Dublin and a promising encounter in Hull.Thanks for listening. Back to our weekly schedule!
Chapter Fifteen
Going out of print...the end of one thing and the beginning of another.My daughter's growing up, how does that work?Song in this episode from Til The Wheels Fall OffChapter Sixteen coming next week.
Chapter Fourteen
Homeownership, the world changed; van trouble and playing anywaySongs in this episode (What's So Funny `Bout) Peace Love & Understanding live Sept 21, 2001Don't Ever Change April 24, 2026
Chapter Thirteen
Farewell to a forefather; ciao Roma; keeping onTracks in this episode:Flashback from Girl To CityBabysitterRode Hard from The Sugar TreeThanks for listening!
Chapter Twelve
Still hanging out at the artist door - late night TV, lots of touring; Patti Smith's backstage rider.Songs in this episode: Cynically Yours live on Late Night with Conan O'BrienThey Don't Know live at Village Underground Jan 2001 (you can find that recording along with other old live & demo tracks on Faulkner, Dylan, Heinz & Me
Chapter Eleven
Songwriting in Nashville: writing dates, song demos; publisher and friendsTracks in this episode:Keep It To Yourself demo and cassette tape discussion with co-writer Bill DeMainOne More Time cassette demo - Joy Lynn White and me, Joy recorded this song for her 2005 One More Time album co-produced with Kyle Lehning
Chapter Ten
Dip top cones, John Prine, Whole Wide World and a family slide showLive recording of Cynically Yours (circa...2003?)Rode Hard from The Sugar TreeThanks for listening!
Chapter Nine
Ups and downs of my first UK tour, back in the year 2000Includes a clip of Wait Til I Get You Home from The Sugar Tree and a little interview snippet, from an archive recording of The Tom Morton Show on BBC Radio ScotlandRode Hard from The Sugar Tree (as of last week, this album is finally available to stream on Apple Music, Spotify, etc )Thanks for listening!
Chapter Eight
A music convention in Cleveland circa 2000 and the Beachland; summer in Nashville; love with a drummerTracks in this episode20 Questions and Give The Drummer Some from I've Got The World On A Broken StringRode Hard from The Sugar TreeThanks for listening!
Chapter Seven
Making an album in Nashville circa 2000 with a talented bunch of players; aiming for the heights but falling a little short with the cover photo shoot.Songs in this episode from The Sugar TreeYou Better Stay GoneLet Me In A Little BitHappy For YouRode Hard
Chapter Six
Touring with Warren Zevon; Skeeter at the Opry; seeing in Y2K back in Brooklyn; getting it together to make a new albumSongs in this episode:Reconsider Me live at The Space Hamden CT Everything's Different Now rough demo 1999Rode Hard from The Sugar Tree
Chapter Five
The challenges of adjusting to Nashville 1999, and a few of the benefits tooSongs in this episode:The Good Girls (from Diary of a Mod Housewife)Always With Me (from Little Fugitive)Rode Hard (from The Sugar Tree)Thanks for listening!
Chapter Four
Leaving New York City for Nashville the hot summer of 1999 - can you say car trouble?Songs in this episodeThe Purgatory Principle - live recording circa `93, Faulkner Dylan Heinz & MeBargain Bin - original Last Roundup demo 1983As Is - MiddlescenceThanks for listening!
Chapter Three
Love - a major inspiration and near-constant distraction.In the round at the Bluebird, oh lord I want to be in that number.Songs in this episode:Magicians demoRode Hard from The Sugar TreeThanks for listening!
Chapter Two
A nice guy from Springfield...The road is long and the struggle is eternal1998 - Still looking at Nashville and Making MiddlescenceA cat named James and a smart kidSongs in this episode:Snippet from Sleeping With The Moon recorded by Jay Joyce (unreleased)Rode Hard from The Sugar Tree
Chapter One
NYC alternate side parking burnout; sophomore album second-guessing, and the siren song of late 20th century Nashville.Songs in this episode:Farmer's Daughter - Shams rehearsal tapeThe Good GirlsRode Hard
Prologue
New York singer songwriter Amy Rigby finds herself at a church service in Nashville. Thirty-five years old—uncomfortably close to being over the hill —she's exploring the possibility of a songwriting career while she tries to find someone to release her first solo album Diary Of A Mod Housewife."It was 1994, the year Kurt Cobain killed himself and Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley. A few months later, OJ Simpson would be arrested for murder...Church sounded like it could be interesting, or at least amusing. Maybe even helpful? I didn't know what I believed anymore."Songs in this episode:Rode Hard, from The Sugar Tree