Oh Dear Reader
OH DEAR READER
VALERIE SMITH
Track Length: 2:43
ISRC: QMEU32503250
h and Donna Ulisse
Publishers: © Buckle Down Music Publishing (BMI) / © Uncle Hadley Music (ASCAP)
Bell Buckle Records
Album: Maggie's Journal
Genre: Slow ballad, acoustic folk, Grassicana Musicians on “Oh Dear Reader”
• Valerie Smith – Lead Vocal & Maggie’s Voice
• Cody Kilby – Acoustic Guitar & Mandolin
• Steve Burwell – Violin
• Evan Winsor – Upright Bass
• Harmonies: Donna Ulisse, Josie Smith, Rosa Vestal, Aaron Vestal Studio & Production Credits:
• Produced by Donna Ulisse
• Vocals and instruments recorded & engineered by Scott Vestal at Digital Underground, Greenbrier, TN
• Mixed and mastered by Chris Latham at The Gorilla’s Nest, Ashland City, TN Full Lyrics – “Oh Dear Reader” Store Link: https://ampl.ink/ezG5E
Valerie Smith Releases Emotional New Single “Oh Dear Reader” – A Heartfelt Lament for Education and the Human Spirit from the Acclaimed Album Maggie’s Journal
IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE
Somerset, VA – Bluegrass powerhouse Valerie Smith unveils her powerful new single “Oh Dear Reader” from the acclaimed 30-track double album Maggie’s Journal (Bell Buckle Records, UPC: 085218111151). This slow, acoustic folk ballad serves as a poignant centerpiece of the album, giving voice to her great-grandmother Margaret Attebury Brooks-McCamis’s raw journal entry about the education denied to girls in post-Civil War rural Missouri.In the song, Maggie laments a life without learning, crying out in the unforgettable closing lines:
“Where were you God, the day that I was born / You left me here alone in this place that I would call home.” Inspired by Ralph Stanley’s soulful longing and arranged with tender precision by guitarist Cody Kilby, “Oh Dear Reader” blends acoustic folk and Grassicana with Valerie’s evocative lead vocals and lush harmonies featuring her daughter Josie Smith alongside Donna Ulisse, Rosa Vestal, and Aaron Vestal.
Quotes:
John Apice, Americana Highways (January 5, 2026)
“The ambitious album is a trip. Almost cinematic in scope. You can ‘picture’ the characters in your mind as they’re spoken about. Well-written, performed & respectful of a person & her era, which has long since passed. Divergent lives coming together (Maggie & Valerie) to celebrate a singular life. Now that we know who Maggie is, she doesn’t need to be famous to be known by strangers. We always knew her. Or someone such as her.”
“Music doesn’t get much better.” americanahighways.org
That Eric Alper (January 5, 2026)
“What emerged from those pages is the gripping, unvarnished truth of a woman married young to a violent man, carving out survival in rural Missouri while hiding a gentle spirit behind a hardened exterior. Her words reveal a life shaped by hardship yet defined by strength, offering powerful insights into American history, women’s and children’s rights, education, and the enduring human spirit.” thevaleriesmith.com
Christian Lamitschka, Country Music News International
“Maggie’s Journal is a monumental achievement. It succeeds in making the personal universal. While it tells the specific story of Margaret Attebury Brooks-McCamis, it speaks to the broader history of women’s rights, rural Missouri life, and the enduring human spirit.” countrymusicnewsinternational.com
Al Cunniff, Country Standard Time
“Ken Burns was not involved in the making of ‘Maggie’s Journal,’ but one gets the feeling he was looking over Valerie Smith’s shoulder as she built this epic project… Perhaps the most poignant song is ‘Oh Dear Reader,’ taken from a phrase in the journal that makes listeners feel as though Brooks is speaking to them directly.”
countrystandardtime.com
Fervor Coulee (roots music review)
“‘Oh Dear Reader’ (a ballad of childhood lament)… ‘Jim O’Dell, Straight From Hell,’ a gritty and driving bluegrass song capturing the final hours of a tragic marriage.” (Highlighting standout tracks)
fervorcoulee.wordpress.com
Jack Mesenbourg (December 15, 2025)
“A true labor of love, Maggie’s Journal seamlessly blends bluegrass, Americana, and roots traditions into a vivid sonic tapestry.”