Grahhhs

Singing The American Accent

Every once in a while on Adjusting the Dial, I’m going to dive into niche, or what might feel like “insider” topics regarding music, creativity and process. I’m aware that when I moved my mailing list over to Substack, not all of you signed up for that. I’m grateful to those who are taking the leap and enjoying the journey but I understand some might want only to receive concert and album notifications. So, as a reminder, you can change your settings and select only NEWS if that’s your preference. I’d rather keep you here with me than lose you on an essay about Nin Jiom.

With that said, here before you lie my thoughts on something verrrrrry niche.

British music icons who sing in American accents and cannot (will not?) include the word “grass” in their adopted tongue.

I was reminded of this the other day when listening to Peter Gabriel’s new album I/O.

There it was, in his beautiful new song “And Still,” sticking out above every other word, just like a tall blade of “grahhhss:”

Still all the rivers flow
And still the green grahhhss will grow

There’s a quietly raging debate amongst cover band singers, me included, on whether or not to give a nod to this British idiosyncrasy—an accent idiosyncrasy derived from the south of England, I’m told by my editor and northern-England-born accent advisor.

Even the Rolling Stones, with all of Jagger’s countrified leanings and stanky drawn out vowels (ie. “I laid a divorcaaaay in New York Citaaaaaay” [“Honky Tonk Woman”]) manage a little bit of it in their 1967 song, “In Another Land.”

I stood and held your hand
And the grahhhss grew high and the feathers floated by

When all of us male lead cover band vocalists had to sing Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” for 3 wedding seasons, we had to decide how to serve the happy couple of the weekend.

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark
With you between my arms
Barefoot on the grahhhss

Which maybe speaks to the bigger conundrum of, “Should I try and sound like Ed Sheeran or should I try to sound like me?” Not an easy question to answer when you are singing mega hits whose every nuance has been indelibly carved into the psyche of your audience.

Peter Gabriel, head in his multiple hands, because he too can’t figure out why he does this.

Similarly, if you sing The Proclaimers “500 Miles” without a Scottish accent, somehow, the song doesn’t quite sound right.

But I’m getting off the mainline here.

“Grahhhs.”

Why?

Is it a choice? A choice not to completely hide the esteem of the southern accent. An accent, generally speaking, most similar to the RP (Received Pronunciation) accent, traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English.

Or is it an inability of the southern British tongue to Americanize that word, with its particular order of consonants and vowels.

Amongst RP speakers ‘grass’ falls into what is known as the ‘trap-bath split.’
“Trap is pronounced as /træp/ (with short a), and bath (or grass) is pronounced as /bɑːθ/ (with long a).” - Brittanica.com

That’s all well and good. But why is it that Peter Gabriel, Mick Jagger, and Ed Sheeran can Americanize every other word but this one?

We may never know.

Until then, it will continue to produce a small spark of joy in me every time I hear it.

“Grahhhs.”

So refined. So elegant. So English.

Location unknown which could make this grass or grahhhss.

Today, when I’m asked to sing “Perfect” for a couple’s First Dance, I no longer sing “grass” as “grahhhss.” I’m trying to lean further and further into sounding like me, with the vague thought that if I do this while singing Sheeran, I’ll be more in tune when singing my own work.

But when I am called on to sing The Proclaimers’ “500 Miles”…I’m about 50/50.

Love,
David