Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Eilen Jewell, The Half-Broke Horse Of Idaho, Returns Home

By Leah Scarpelli | NPR
Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.

Eilen Jewell at Military Reserve Park in Boise, Idaho.

Otto Kitsinger / Courtesy of the artist

When Eilen Jewell was growing up in Boise, she says she had a sense of wanderlust.

"I always felt like I wanted to leave," Jewell says. "And I remember when I learned the word 'wanderlust,' I felt like I finally had a word to describe myself."

Jewell did wander. She went to college in New Mexico and busked on the streets of Venice Beach. She even went back to Boise — that didn't work out. Next, she tried Boston.

"I remember hearing, when I was working in a very urban coffee shop in the Boston area, on the radio, suddenly out of nowhere, was Loretta Lynn, and she was singing 'Honky Tonk Girl,'" Jewell says. "The song and the twang in her voice and the simplicity of the music and the space between the notes made me think of Idaho. Eventually, it slowly dawned on me that home was Idaho, and that's where I wanted to come back to."

Back in Idaho, Eilen Jewell headed to the mountains north of Boise to Idaho City, a former mining center during the Gold Rush. It was there that she wrote what would become her new album, Sundown Over Ghost Town.

"It's a ghost town, essentially," she says. "I mean, that's how it's listed on the map. It's about as Western as it gets."

Jewell's family has a place in Idaho City.

"It's a funny bit of land, because it's really mostly rocks," Jewell says, laughing. "So its beauty is not very pedestrian. It's not something a lot of people would appreciate. But I think that's part of why we love it so much."

Jewell's dad farms trees on that land. He also keeps a horse, a mustang named Pyro.

"Pryo was partly broke, meaning that he's still partly a wild horse," Jewell says. "If you go to the corral where he's kept, he'll trot over to you, but then if you hold your hand out to try to pat him or something, he'll try to bite you. I see him as being a very kindred spirit to a lot of folks around these parts. I often feel that tug-of-war myself between my mustang and my tame side."

With her wanderlust behind her, at least for now, Eilen Jewell lives in Boise with her husband. They own a house and have a new daughter, Mavis.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

View this story on npr.org
Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

Most Viewed

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a News Tip
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.