Riveting Riffs Magazine

_{Dar Williams - Prolific Songwriter}

_{Ken
Rich (who also was the sound engineer and mixer), Dar Williams and her
accompanying musicians have created an exquisite collection of songs for
her album Hummingbird Highway
with a release date of September 12 (2025). It does not take long to
realize, while speaking with Dar Williams that you are engaging with a
thoughtful, deep thinking, beautifully creative and highly intelligent
individual, who cares passionately about the world in which she lives.
At the midpoint of the record, there is a brief tonal shift that caught
this writer by surprise. David Chalfant co-produced “Put the Coins,” and
“What Bird Did You See?” at Grand Street Recording and Norfolk Studios
at Northampton, Massachusetts.

We open our
conversation with Dar Williams inviting her to talk about one of the
prettiest songs you will hear in 2025, “Tu Sais Le Printemps.”
“The best way to
go about writing a song and if you feel something coming on, is to do
your best to feel curious about it. This seemed light, breezy, spring
like and romantic. I thought well let’s just keep on going. I pulled out
(she laughs lightly) all the pictures of France, pictures of spring, of
gardens and bridges and then I looked at them to see where the story
(was going). My favorite part is the dog standing outside of the
restaurant (she chuckles

– referring to the music video).
It is a French bulldog and then the aerial views of France and the
cherry blossoms. The song is left open and evocative for people. You
can’t help to find your way back to love or to love in that kind of
setting.
I had this interesting melody that kept on being the best setting for a
return to romance, as aided by the spring. When I wrote the line, “And
of maddening times, we will laugh and say that’s how it goes…,”
I actually had a really emotional understanding of how much of my
heartaches I had let go and they had transformed into humor and
friendships in my own life. There is kind of a lightness to letting go
of all of that,” she explains.

We
would be remiss if we did not mention the musicians who are the music
accompaniment to the cinematic feel that Dar Williams’ beautiful lyrics
and music paint. We wonder who will first feature this song in a
romantic film. There is such a distinct European feel with about
one-third of the lyrics in Frenc and the rest in English. Bryn Roberts
is magical on piano, Dan Reiser is subtle and smooth on drums, Todd
Horton’s flugelhorn and alto trumpet add another layer, as Mike
Visceglia plays acoustic bass and Rich Hinman provides an acoustic and
electric guitar accompaniment. That last word in the previous sentence
is what makes this song work so well. The instrumentals never overpower
the vocals. Imagine if you will a conversation between the instruments
and the vocals and that is what you have in this song, one more it seems
that arises out of reflection and fondness.

Throughout this
album, it appears that Dar Williams enjoys weaving stories, but rather
than perhaps forming a misguided opinion, we posed that very question to
her.
“Yeah, I think that is probably the best
description. I was a theater major

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