High Strung Guitar: Woodsmoke and Oranges

Today’s high strung guitar selection is not as well known as some of the others that I’ve featured this week. Canadian Ian Tamblyn’s “Woodsmoke and Oranges,” which also serves as our Wooden Music Wednesday selection, was actually inspired by a lick he first played on a high strung guitar some thirty years ago. In 2007, he re-recorded the song for his “Superior: Spirit and Light” CD. Tamblyn said that the high strung part sounded like the North Coast of Lake Superior.

The title intrigues me, as I am not sure what “Woodsmoke and Oranges” really means. Perhaps I’m dense, but the oranges may refer to the colors of autumn and of course the fires burning in the distance provides the woodsmoke.

Add to the title’s mystique is the fact that folk-singer Paul Siebel titled his 1970 debut album with the same phrase – yet no song named “Woodsmoke and Oranges” appears on the record. Perhaps Tamblyn was paying tribute to Siebel – unfortunately, I do not know this for a certainty.

I like the tune and if you listen, you’ll hear the high strung guitar.

Live Version from 2012

I have also included a live video where Tamblyn talks about how the guitar configuration motivated the song’s writing.