‘Life is short, but the days and nights are long’
Singer-songwriter Cheryl Wheeler on returning to performing after time in rehab
In the fall of 2022, even the most cautious music venues had reopened, and audiences were finally reconnecting with artists. But one treasure of New England’s folk scene remained absent: Cheryl Wheeler, who since the late ’70s has been spinning both deeply poignant and wickedly funny songs about modern life. Fans were told her shows were canceled while she dealt with a “serious mental health challenge.”
After months in rehab, Wheeler is celebrating sobriety and is back on tour. She plays the Spire Center for Performing Arts in Plymouth on Friday with longtime collaborator Kenny White, as well as a solo two-night stand at Club Passim July 26-27. She recently spoke from her South Coast home via Zoom.
Q. You’ve spent your life on the road. Was this something that had always been a challenge, or was it because you were forced off the road during COVID? A. I think it was because I wasn’t working. I started writing songs and playing gigs when I was 17. So I had just never not done it. And then all of a sudden I wasn’t working or writing, so I started drinking a lot and smoking pot and taking whatever pills I could find.
Q. It’s interesting that you mentioned pot, since of course it’s now legal here and we think of it as being benign.
A. I don’t think pot’s a terrible thing. I don’t think that drinking is a terrible thing. But I think if the reason you’re drinking or smoking pot is to escape something that you feel, that becomes a terrible thing. I’m almost 73 and I’d like to face the rest of my life without being altered. Now I’m in a good place as far as not using substances. And there was a time in my life when that was OK to do. And now it’s not.
Q. You’ve said that your wife got you into rehab. Did you go kicking and screaming?
A. What happened is that I fell down and cut my face. I was just really, really messed up. First we went to one place, and that [wasn’t a fit], and then I went to Herren Wellness, which is in Seekonk, and that place is just unbelievable. I still go there every Wednesday night for alumni night, and I just love seeing everybody and all the staff and the people. They brought me out of it and helped me understand it. Yesterday I celebrated being 11 months sober.
Q. You’ve always been very open about mental health issues — one of your songs is “Is it Peace or Is it Prozac?,” a funny song about a breakdown.
A. I do have a family history. My mother was very troubled; she died when she was 50. She was an alcoholic, and she at one point tried to end it all, and, you know, I am her daughter. Fortunately for me, I grew up in a different time and my dad was just wonderful. And I have a wonderful sister and a wonderful family. But I believe some of this at least is just kind of a little on the hereditary side. And the thing that had saved me prior to this was writing songs. I hope I write again, but I have to be grateful for the songs I’ve got. If the song god is done with me, then so be it. Then I can enjoy the songs that I’ve already got.
Q. A lot of artists who had to cancel dates to go into rehab would just say it was due to “unforeseen circumstances.” A. No, that’s dishonest. I mean the reason that I can’t work might be an unforeseen circumstance, but what was not foreseen is that I would go nuts. And I don’t want to pretend that I didn’t. I don’t think that helps anyone.
Q. Now that you’re back onstage, are there any of your songs that have taken on a different meaning?
A. One is “But the Days and Nights Are Long.” It starts: “Life is short, but the days and nights are long/Time will heal all these wounds/Some day soon I’ll be rising, I’ll be strong.” That line just came to me one day when I was sitting on the sofa in this hotel and I had to get moving and get dressed. I was pretty depressed about a break-up or something. I’ve always just called it “Boulder Hotel Room,” because I wrote it in a hotel room in Boulder. And right now, that song is really important to me.