About That Song: Weary Ramblers
About That Song #97
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
For our 97th installment, I got to chat with Chad Elliott and Kathryn Severing Fox, who together lead the delightful Iowa-based Americana act Weary Ramblers, about influential songs in their journeys as artists.
Weary Ramblers. Photo credit: Natural Expression Photography.
Sarah: Hi Chad! Hi Kathryn! Hi, Weary Ramblers!
Chad, I first met you in the dusty, lovely heat of Kerrville Folk Festival. A few years later, I had the chance to meet you and Kathryn in the pine-y, cooler, up-north summer of Storyhill Music Festival. I was as impressed by your songwriting as by your kindness. In recent years, you two have joined forces to become Weary Ramblers. Iowa Public Radio says, “Weary Ramblers are nothing short of an Iowa-based super duo.” And it's true! Individually, you've shared stages with people like Gloria Estefan, Pharrell, Greg Brown, Odetta, Loudon Wainwright III, and Joshua Bell…the list goes on. This past fall, you released your second album, Driftwood. I'd love to learn a bit more about your journeys—the songs that have been part of all your rambling!
For instance, do you remember the song you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Chad: “Shenandoah” by Stephen Foster. I was in the ninth-grade choir, and every time we sang it, it moved me in such a way that I wanted to know more about the composer himself. I learned about him and his life, and it was inspiring that a single person could write such a beautiful piece of work.
Sarah: WHOA, that’s so interesting to me. I, too, sang that song in 9th-grade choir. At the time, I didn’t think I liked it. However, it also stayed with me. I sang it to myself far more than other choir songs. And recently, I’ve started singing it occasionally with Kelley Smith, and as a grown-up, I LOVE it. I love the idea that that is the song that began this journey for you. How about you, Kathryn?
Kathryn: “Stardust” by Hoagy Carmichael. I grew up listening to 30s and 40s jazz standards. I was absolutely obsessed with the lyrics, harmony, and melodies. Though I didn’t start writing my own music until the last handful of years, songs like “Stardust” have stuck with me and inspired the way I write.
Sarah: Oh gosh, YES. That’s such a gorgeous song. Once you began writing, did you feel like a writer immediately? It took me a few years of writing before I believed it - was there a song that gave you that “a-HA! I AM a songwriter!” moment? Tell us about that song.
Chad: My mom was an English teacher, so I was writing poetry at an early age. It took me several years of trying to write a song and failing before I wrote my first song. I finally gave myself permission to write 20 songs in one week. It didn’t matter how good they were. I needed to silence that critical voice in order to become a songwriter. I felt like a songwriter immediately once I paired my poetry and music. Sure, I was a bad songwriter, but I felt like I could finally call myself a songwriter.
Sarah: 20 songs in a week! Yeah, that pace leaves little to no room for the critical voice to get loud. I like it!
Chad: There was a song early on called “Half a Man” that I wrote about a boss that I worked for. He was kind of a jerk, and while I worked for him, his rebellious teenage daughter stole their checkbook. She used it to buy a car and fled to New Mexico with her boyfriend. That was the first time I realized I could write songs about the people I meet instead of just my own story. It gave me an open door into infinite stories and songs.
Kathryn: Beginning the process of songwriting was difficult for me. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit and all shows were canceled that I started tapping into that creative outlet. As a hired gun fiddle player (now utility player), I was busy playing shows where other people had written the music or doing covers. I wasn’t doing any singing, even though I grew up singing with two high school choir director parents. I was desperate to find a way to create and connect, so I turned to songwriting. Initially, my sister sent me her poetry, and I would write music to it. It took a lot of inner work to get to a place where I felt like I could (and wanted to) share my story through song.
I’m not sure that any one song I’ve written gave me that “I feel like a songwriter” moment. Each one that I write opens up another door to my soul and lets new leaves blow through. I cherish the process of writing on my own, and absolutely love writing with my dear friend and duo partner, Chad Elliott.
Weary Ramblers. Photo credit: Jeremy Fox.
Sarah: Can you tell us a bit about how songwriting works within Weary Ramblers? Were you writing together before becoming “duo-official”? If so, was there a song where you realized, “OH! THIS is a project, separate from our individual projects”? If so, will you tell us about that song?
Weary Ramblers: Inspiration is a way of life for us. We write in the car, hotel rooms, green rooms, at the Carter family fold … and every story we hear, or bird that sings sends us to the next song. We both set aside our egos when it comes to co-writing. We’re there to find the muse and serve the song. No genre is off limits. There’s no exact system for our creative process. Words flow freely, as do melodies and harmony, and we seem to always agree on the same outcome. We are grateful to have found a mystical, creative space together. From our first writing session, our voices blended immediately, and our instruments worked perfectly together. We wrote 3 songs without a hitch. It was as easy as breathing.
Sarah: Wow. How special—to find someone where the creation process is so effortless. You hear that sense of “this is natural, organic” all over your new album. The title track, “Driftwood,” sings of the push and pull of a relationship—“the way things turn around / Like old records played too long / The same old song we found.” Can you tell us about that song?
Weary Ramblers: The song is a time of reflection for us—thinking about past relationships, current relationships, friendships, life mistakes, challenges, and everything in between. To surrender is to be free. The driftwood metaphor is a perfect representation of how we’re trying to find our way as artists in this world.
Sarah: The album closes with the absolute stunner “Hang On.” Featuring a gorgeous string arrangement by Jeremy Fox, the lyric offers what I heard as deeply grounded hope – an offering that just about everyone I know needs, now for sure, but maybe always. What can you tell us about that song?
Weary Ramblers: “Hang On” is a perfect example of how inspiration can strike at any moment. We were packing up our gear in Decorah, IA, and a fan of ours noted how busy and successful things were becoming for us. And he just said, “Hang on to your heart.” We both looked at each other and knew we were going to finish that song when we got to the hotel that night.
Sarah: As a fan of this song, let me say … thank you, fan in Decorah!
Weary Ramblers: We agree that the song is very timely right now. It’s a hopeful song for the world, but also for us personally. We feel like this song is good medicine for all souls, which is why we ended the album (and end every show) with “Hang On.”
Sarah: In keeping with your name, Weary Ramblers maintain a robust tour schedule. What does 2026 look like for you two? Are there any places in the upper Midwest where we can come to hear you sing some of these songs soon?
Weary Ramblers: We have shows booked around the country through the end of the year. This past November, we accepted an award on the Grand Ole Opry stage for “Americana Song of the Year.” We just won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, so both of these acknowledgments open up a lot more doors for festivals and events across the country. We’ll be playing a couple of festivals and shows in Minnesota in the coming months. We can’t wait to head back to the northwoods!
Listen to “Hang On”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
