October 4, 2024 — “What can I say? I love sad songs,” confesses singer/songwriter/mandolinist Darren Nicholson. “I have since I was a small child. In an odd way, sad songs bring me comfort and happiness.” That sentiment has driven decades’ worth of country songs, so it’s no surprise that “Windows Have Pains,”his newest single for Mountain Home Music Company, walks straight down the country side of the bluegrass street from the moment that labelmate and award-winning fiddler Deanie Richardson kicks off the mournful ballad.
Backed by Richardson; master studio musicians David Johnson (guitar, dobro) and Tony Creasman (drums); Town Mountain upright bassist Zach Smith; labelmate and award-winning banjo player Kristin Scott Benson, and with a prominent harmony vocal from Jennifer Nicholson, Darren delivers a compelling vocal that fits seamlessly into the long line of bluegrass singers who regularly tipped their hats to country influences, as he works his way through a sad story that culminates in an equally classic country play on words:
Keep hoping, my heart says, keep hoping
But these tears say I’m hoping in vain
I don’t think I can take it much longer
Even windows have pains, they cry when it rains
“I’m drawn to things that evoke emotion,” notes Nicholson. “When I first heard these words and this hook as a kid, it just got all over me, and I never forgot how the spirit of the song impacted me as a listener. So, all these years later, Mark Bumgarner and myself got down and dirty and wrote some more lyrics to it. I love this one. If you like ole timey music and to enjoy your hurtin’…this one’s for you.”
“Windows Have Pains“ is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.
About Darren Nicholson
Darren Nicholson is a bluegrass and Americana musician based in Haywood County in the mountains of western North Carolina. A GRAMMY®-nominee and recipient of multiple International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, Darren has appeared countless times on WSM’s Grand Ole Opry, at the Ryman Auditorium, CMT, GAC, and many of the world’s most famous venues and networks. Darren is also renowned as a solo artist, session musician, and songwriter. After concluding a 15-year tenure as a founding member of award-winning bluegrass quintet, Balsam Range, Darren took the next step forward and began releasing music of his own, beginning with his album, Wanderer, featuring No. 1 song “Arkansas Without You.”