She sells sanctuary

To say that Nashville-based singer songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman has had her ups and downs over the past few years would be a major understatement. Just before the release of her 1997 album, Sand And Water, her husband Ernest died, having lost his long battle with a rare form of lymphoma. Then, in August of 2000 while putting the finishing touches to her latest album, Deeper Still (with songs partly inspired by her husband’s death), she herself was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I’m pretty much in the clear now,” she says “but there’s a ten per cent chance that it will come back.”

Despite her ordeal, Chapman says she is stronger for it and has learned to take more care of her health. “It was a big lesson to me,” she says. “You have to keep reminding yourself that life is precious. I discovered that getting enough sleep is one of the most important things you can do to improve your immune system. In the past, I used to burn the midnight oil too much.”

Over the past decade, Chapman has quietly amassed a following for her distinctive, melodic, blend of folk, pop and country. Apart from a string of country hits in her own right, she has written or co-written for artists ranging from Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Ute Lemper and Michael McDonald. Elton John covered her ‘Sand And Water’ on his 1997 tour, dedicating it to the memory of Princess Diana. Recent songwriting successes include Trisha Yearwood’s ‘Down On My Knees’ and Faith Hill’s ‘This Kiss’. Her songs have also featured on several soundtracks, including The Prince Of Egypt, Message In A Bottle, ER and Dawson’s Creek.

Deeper Still, the album she was working on when she was first diagnosed, features a plethora of top-notch guests including John Hiatt, John Prine, Vince Gill, Kimmie Rhodes, Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris. It showcases her considerable talents as a lyricist, as well as her ability to weave a memorable melody. One of the highlights of the album, ‘Every December Sky’ came about when Nielsen found herself sitting looking out of the window as her hair was falling out. She cleverly utilises the imagery of the trees losing their leaves as a metaphor for the effects of chemotherapy: “Every December sky must lose its faith in leaves/And dream of the spring inside the trees.”

“That song brought me a lot of comfort through that winter, while I was recovering.” she says. “When you’re stripped of everything and you’re in this darkest place, there’s a grace that exists if you can just allow it.”