Doug MacNaughton takes us on a comforting walk through grief with his new single and video So Lost Without You — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The first single from the Manitoba singer-songwriter’s upcoming album Old Enough To Know Better is an introspective, ’70s-style folk-pop ballad whose sadness is overlaid with a resilient optimism:
“I use your spirit as a lantern, your memory lights my way
Lift my eyes to what’s around me, get me through from day to day
Chasing dreams is easy when you’re the dream I’m chasing
I think of you as if we’re still together.”
The song was simultaneously inspired by the loss of MacNaughton’s siblings when he was a young man, as well as the sadness that can come from the deth of a beloved pet.
“My brother was killed in a motorbike crash when I was 18, and my oldest sister died of cancer when I was 29,” MacNaughton says. “I wrote this song when I was 55 as a way of dealing with that loss. People are not always comfortable talking about that kind of tragedy, but not talking about it makes it more difficult. It’s also a song for anyone who has had their dog or cat pass away. It’s hard, but there will always be a piece of them in your heart.”
MacNaughton grew up in Brandon, playing in the school band and singing in choirs, but what really sparked his interest in music was Mike Oldfield’s 1973 album Tubular Bells — he loved that one person played all the instruments. At Brandon University, he had to choose between majoring in tuba or voice, and chose the latter. That led to an eclectic career, which included a Frank Zappa tribute with a Montréal electronic music ensemble; a stint with Les Misérables; a summer at the Stratford Festival; musicals, Shakespeare roles, orchestra work, operas and more.
He wrote his first songs in 2017 and started hanging around the Toronto singer-songwriter scene. Five years later, he recorded eight of his own songs for Old Enough To Know Better, slated for release this summer.
Watch the video for So Lost Without You above, check out the track below, and find Doug MacNaughton at his website and Facebook.
