It’s a town of just 13,000; a slice of country hidden amid a largely metropolitan Capital District. And unlike it’s larger (and smaller) neighbors, the Town of Malta has its own song.
When I listened to the original song, I said ‘Geez, this really kind of captures the spirit of Malta’ and it immediately popped into my head, said Supervisor Paul Sausville. `I wondered if perhaps the singer would be willing to sing it for us.`
That was about a year ago, when Sausville listened to country artist Dale Watson’s `South of Round Rock Texas` and heard `Malta` in its lyrics. When the town initially reached out to Watson about recording a version for Malta called `In the Small Town of Malta,` Watson was on board. Touring took too much time, though.
`He wasn’t able to do it for us but said if [we] could get a local band to do it [he] would be glad to give us permission to do so,` said Sausville.
Over the winter, Sausville asked local Celtic rock band Hair of the Dog if it’d do the honors and itsaid yes.
`Our home base is in Saratoga County at the Parting Glass, so we hold a great affection for Saratoga,` said Rick Bedrosian, of Hair of the Dog. `We’re rooted her in town we figured we’d have some fun with this song.`
By late June, the track was complete. The town didn’t have money available to pay for the recording, so Sausville said his wife offered to finance the project.
`We didn’t make any money doing it, just broke even, and we were happy to do it,` said Bedrosian.
The lyrics are essentially the same except instead of singing `south of round rock Texas,` it’s `in the small town of Malta.`
`It’s more than a country song. It’s about hometown values, hospitality and it’s very uplifting,` said Sausville.
The song begins with `There’s something going on in our little town, in the Small Town of Malta. We greet you with a smile like it’s goin’ out of style in the Small Town of Malta,` and goes on to capture a close knit and friendly community.
`I think they’re basic values that every community embraces and Malta especially because I know it so well,` said Sausville. `We have volunteer fireman, we’re wedded to democracy, people do look after their neighbors and my feeling is if people really recognize what they have here, maybe this spirit we have can be sustained and will even grow.`
There are many big cities with their own songs, like `Moonlight in Vermont` or `New York New York,` but Sausville said he sees no reason why Malta (despite its size) shouldn’t fit into that group.
`A lot of large places have songs written about them that capture the spirit of the community and I thought the hometown hospitality captured the essence of our town and spirit of small town values,` said Sausville.
The song debuted during the Monday, July 25, meeting of the Town Board and Sausville said he hopes to connect with some local dancers for when he introduces it to the rest of the Saratoga County Supervisors.
`It’s being played all over the Capital District right now, I interviewed with a local radio station we’re going to play it at our community day, various banquets that firehouses have,` said Sausville. `Perhaps the Malta Business and Professional Association will see this as a way of selling our small town values and as a way of explaining to people that Malta is a great place to live and raise a family.`
To hear `In the Small Town of Malta,` attend community events in Malta or visit www.spotlightnews.com.
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