Paper Jams: Lyndy Butler sings in ‘stubborn’ style

FEATURE — Singer-songwriter Lyndy Butler recently stopped by the Canyon Media offices to perform a few of her favorite songs.

Butler’s half-hour “Paper Jams” session, a portion of which can be viewed in the player above, is the latest installment in St. George News occasional music series showcasing local musical talent.

Singer-songwriter Lyndy Butler during “Paper Jams” session at Canyon Media offices, St. George, Utah, Sept. 13, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

From the self-revelatory “In My Skin” to the invitation to take a nostalgic ride on a child’s red wagon in “Radio Flyer,” Butler’s infectious tunes bespeak her playful personality.

A native of St. George who graduated from Snow Canyon High School and Dixie State University, Butler now lives in Hurricane with her schoolteacher husband and their four young children, ranging age from 11 to 2.

“I went to school for education as well,” Butler told St. George News during her visit. “I had my teaching degree and I always thought that I would use music to teach, but raising my kids I’ve just kind of just been writing instead, just doing my own songs. It’s been really fun.”

Butler said her latest single, “Stubborn,” was inspired by an argument she had with one of her sons, who is now almost 9.

The whimsical song features lyrics such as “I don’t have to, you can’t make me … I can hold my breath till my face turns blue.”

Butler elaborated further about the episode that inspired the piece:

He was little and it was the silliest little fight. I cleaned his room and he had like a million sticks, a million of them and I was like, we can only keep for like four or five of your favorite sticks and branches.… So then we cleaned the room and he got to keep a couple. And then we went to the park that afternoon and he found another amazing stick and for some reason I was so tired of it and I was like, no more sticks and he freaked out. It was, you know, the whole ‘pick your battles, you need to pick them’ and I shouldn’t have picked the silly stick battle, but I wouldn’t let him bring it home.

It was at that moment, Butler said she realized “his grit, his defiance … had come from me.”

Singer-songwriter Lyndy Butler during “Paper Jams” session at Canyon Media offices, St. George, Utah, Sept. 13, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

“We were just so the same,” she recounted with a laugh. “It wasn’t the keeping the stick, it was his attitude. So we went home and I wrote ‘Stubborn.’”

Although there’s hardly a hint of conciliation as the song winds to a close, Butler ends the tune with a justification for stubbornness that most parents can relate to: “I’m never giving up … on you.”

“It’s kind of my theme song right now,” Butler said with a laugh as she put on a baseball cap emblazoned with cartoon mule and the word “Stubborn.”

Butler’s musical talents have taken her throughout the West, performing at folk music festivals and other events. She recently opened for EmmyLou Harris and traveled to Nashville in early October to work on a new project there.

For more information about Butler and her music, visit lyndybutler.com, which has audio files, videos, and links to her related social media accounts.

Fittingly, Butler chose to end her “Paper Jams” session with a poignant song called “At the End,” which features the following lyrics:

We don’t have to win to be a winner … just gotta be somebody’s friend.
It’s not about how fast we get there … It’s about who’s waiting for us at the end.

On Oct. 10, Butler launched a kickstarter project to help fund the release of her upcoming fourth album, titled “Buffalo Skater.” To preorder the album, either as a digital download or a CD, and otherwise support the fundraising campaign at various levels, click here.

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Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

 

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