A Love Song I Couldn’t Write: A sit-down with Winnie’s Jazz Bar pianist

Daniel Broadhurst at Winnie’s Jazz Bar

Performer Daniel Broadhurst is, at heart, a storyteller. When he sits behind the piano every Monday night at Winnie’s Jazz Bar, he shares a piece of his story with the audience. He isn’t interested in just singing a few Bob Dylan covers and heading home at the end of the night. Broadhurst is more concerned with truly connecting to his audience through the stories he chooses to tell with music. At the end of a song Broadhurst doesn’t wait for the clapping to begin — instead he shares the inspiration behind the song.

We asked for the story of “Love Song I Couldn’t Write.” What kept him from writing that love letter? “One day I was fantasizing about writing a love letter to an ex-girlfriend,” responds Broadhurst. “Sometimes I am on Facebook wondering what my friend is doing, or what my ex-girlfriend is doing. And then I find myself Facebook-stalking them. I see that now they have kids, and I think, Oh shit, they have kids now. My ex-girlfriend has kids. Then I start thinking, What if that was me? I’d be in my old hometown now, and not here in this life. Is it better? Is it worse? Does it matter? Then I realize, it’s just different. This song is about telling that person: ‘This is everything I should have told you before you moved on.’ For me this song is about not taking what we have for granted, and about not being afraid to imagine or dream what your life could be.”