Lucy Kaplansky & Shawn Colvin - Heart on Ice, live at The Bottom Line, May 10th 1986

A gorgeous duet between noted singers Shawn Colvin & Lucy Kaplansky recorded at The Bottom Line.

The Bottom Line was a popular folk music venue in Greenwich Village during the 1970s—1990s. For this recording, Fast Folk Musical Magazine drew on performances from a show recorded on May 10, 1986. This is a companion recording with volume 3, number 7, of the magazine.

--

As I sit in the all night diner
You return to your easy chair
You awake to your work and your woman
And I'll dream that it's me lying there
You can look in my eyes but you'll never know
There's an ache inside that I never show
A defensive device
Meant to keep my heart on ice
I keep my heart on ice I chill my holy soul
I shield my fragile eggshell love
From attack during the groundswell
I'll act the part so well I'll play my finest role
But the furies take their toll and their price
Is to keep my heart on ice
As I sit in the all night diner
You leaned back in your nightclub seat
I went out with two friends and a stranger
With a laugh and a pang of defeat
But I looked in your eyes as I turned to go
Was there something there that you couldn't show
A defensive device
Meant to keep your heart of ice
You keep your heart on ice you chill your holy soul
You shield your fragile eggshell love
From attack during the groundswell
You act the part so well you'll play your finest role
But the furies take their toll and their price
Is to keep my heart on ice
As I sit in the all night diner
I was thinking of you at the bar
And the smiles and the jests and the whispers
As I watched once again from afar
But I looked in your eyes and I never knew
Did I read you wrong did I misconstrue
The defensive device I will keep my heart on ice
I keep my heart on ice I chill my holy soul
I shield my fragile eggshell love
From attack during the groundswell
I'll act the part so well I'll play my finest role
But the furies take their toll and their price
Is to keep my heart on ice

References:

[FeatheryBird]

The story is they were a Duo and had an agent in the late 1970s. They were offered a record deal and Lucy tells Shawn she doesn't really want to be a singer, she wants to be a Docter. Shawn was pissed and they broke up.

[ZZZZAS]

Brilliant!!! What can you say? So poignant now! It never got any better than this! Peace

[wmsimpson]

Wow, and I thought I was the only one mining these old Fast Folk recordings. What a time that must have been for folk music lovers in NYC. Legend says these two were often sent out together as a duo. There must have been a lot of great music, but very little of it was recorded other than on the FF records. Shawn doesn't elaborate on it in her memoir, and Lucy hasn't written hers yet. Perhaps someday they'll talk about their early partnership.

[JimDexter]

For the record, this piece was written by fellow Fast Folk artist Judith