When Steven Heighton died suddenly of cancer in 2022, he was in the middle of an intensely creative period of songwriting. He released his first album of original material, The Devil's Share, in 2021, and was preparing to record his second album. Known first as a poet, Heighton had always held that 'music and poetry are two words for the same thing.' As in his writing, in Songbook Heighton moves fluidly between genres and subjects, from political songs like 'The Butcher's Bill,' about the carelessness of nations sending their youth to war, to reimagining the myth of Orpheus ('I'll hold my breath the whole way down / And find your soul in the undertown') and blues tunes like 'Last Living Woman Alive,' and a tribute to the late John Prine, the 'Buddha of song.' With the chords accompanying the lyrics, readers and musicians have the ability to bring the songs to life with their own interpretations. The music in Songbook was the final work of Heighton's life, and it is not only a gift to have his lyrics and chords, but an invitation from Heighton himself, challenging his readers to answer the call and keep singing along.
