America is mostly a place where folks move around. “Ebony Revisited” tells a story about being a stranger in your “hometown.” I didn’t know my birthplace, Washington, DC as I wrote the song and I don’t know it now. Earlier versions had more verses and I first wrote it without a band in mind. Put away for years — unfinished — the pandemic inspired me to look at “Ebony Revisited” with fresh eyes, changing it to better tell today’s story. As a songwriter, I’m not immune to what goes on around me and so today’s “Ebony Revisited” is influenced by America’s ongoing conversations around race, identity and belonging. A studio version of the song, with full band, appears on upcoming album, “Janus,” releasing January 2022. “Ebony Revisited Unplugged” is stripped down and recorded to evoke being on a front porch unfussy — just two musician friends with a dobro and ukulele. On this recording I’m joined by band multi-instrumentalist Darren Loucas. Our hope is many listeners see themselves in “Ebony Revisited.” —Paula Boggs, songwriter
