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Songs come from the weirdest places. I used to live in Prescott Arizona and one of my hobbies was looking at cemetaries, especially old ones. This one was next to a small airport, strange place for a cemetary I thought and there were graves on both sides of the road coming into the airport. (found out later it's because they didn't move any of the bodies, they just removed the headstones)... it was a paupers grave yard. One grave stood out. The boy was 9 and someone had suspended these toy airplanes above his grave site , creepy I thought. So I had to go the archives in person and find out what this was all about and boy did I.

I even called his Aunt on the phone to get the whole story. he died in 1939 and had polio, that's why he didn't walk so good. So here's my lyric.


DANIEL KEENAN

Chorus
Daddy I wanna watch the planes fly
Taking off up to the sky
I wonder where they go, Daddy do you know?
My legs are hurtin Daddy pick me up
I can’t see over that pick-up truck
Oh I see it now, headin for the clouds

Bridge melody
There’s a rusty white gate next to the runway
That’s where all the angels go , when they can’t pay
Children and babies only hours old
Scattered about, underneath the road

Chorus melody
Daddy I promise I’ll behave
Take me out to the field to day
You know that I’ll be good, and he always would
I can’t walk too far in the snow
Carry me Daddy let’s go home
And he’d lift him up, and he’d never know

Bridge melody
Daniel Keenan’s Daddy was a miner in the west
Poor but proud he put his son to rest
Out where he could watch the planes go by
And everyone would know, he loved to watch them fly……

Bridge melody
At the rusty white gate next to the runway
You’ll see three toy planes suspended in the air
Daniel’s Daddy didn’t take the chance
If noone else could see the planes, He made sure that Daniel can…..

Daddy’ I wanna watch the planes fly
Daddy I wanna watch the planes fly.

Did you ever record this?

Nope, but I can tomorrow........... (smile) I still remember the melody. Took me weeks of research.

Post it when you get it done.

Will do...... thanks for asking.

Well its full of furniture , See what it sounds like

Awwww. you said furniture............. thanks buddy!!

Yeah I try to act like I know something , Add furniture , lip stick on a pig all them lovely things publishers like to say like pass , I'm grown to hate that word.

Ron your being sarcastic . I do like that comedian

Chair is in the kitchen
But couldn’t get the sofa through the door
Got my shuffling ruffled
Moving day shoes
On the floor

Rusty white gate

That’s , that’s ,….what? …. Shiver

Awww you made me say shiver!

Daniel Keenan

Love the story and lyric and watching for the music.

https://suno.com/s/VjC5kKRCqXs0WEs2

my sample I played for suno

and it gave me this.

https://suno.com/s/uxZGwHxJFML8oSJ9

Gonna load the rest of the lyrics and see what happens. But this isn't the way it should be ...lol

I don't know if adding a name works and 2 different stories . Who's this first person ? in v1 ? Did the kid die ?

Yes, he's dead. This is an observational song. I was imagining what the boy would have said when he was young and why his Dad put those planes there.

when they can’t pay . what the funeral ?. I read the song lyrics . You should not have to explain the story first . I should get from the lyrics , see if it all makes sense . I kinda get it but lost me in a few places. Publishers say push play , they don't want hear an explanation . If they get in by v1 and chorus , it's back to their office for v2 . I think once you hone it in more , you'll have a touching story and make publishers cry


its just a opinion

You mean like Candle in the Wind? (smile)

they can't pay (it's a pauper's cemetary)..that's why nobody cared when they buildt a road right through the middle of it.

It's like the first page of a book, you gotta get the listener to wonder.. "and then what happened"?

it is what it is........... Thanks for listening.

Ok , well ya got Rob, Marty to listen to it , see if it all works , just my 2 cents

2
The Irish name Keenan comes from the Gaelic surname Ó Cianáin, meaning "descendant of Cianán," with Cianán being a diminutive of Cian, translating to "ancient" or "enduring". It signifies wisdom, longevity, and a strong connection to heritage, associated with a clan of hereditary historians in medieval Ireland.

His name connected to wisdom and longevity.

Lots to do on this project of yours. I like what’s there so far. Story line needs work. Did he live out by the airport to see the planes. So aspects of story will have to be fiction?

Bill

Bill: I don't know what his address was for pete's sake, he died in 1939!

I will find the article for you, this story is very close to my heart.

✨ 1. Daniel Morris “Danny” Keenan — a child buried in Prescott

This Daniel Keenan was a young boy who lived in Prescott in the early 20th century. According to cemetery records at Rolling Hills Cemetery in Prescott, Daniel Morris Keenan died from acute rheumatic fever and carditis on October 11, 1939 at the age of 9 years old. He was born on February 25, 1930, the son of Jack Keenan and Marian Terrion. His grave is noted with a model airplane — indicating he likely loved watching planes fly.
APCRP

***************** This is from chatgpt, but I have a newspaper article.

https://chatgpt.com/c/69547ce7-46d4-8332-b298-8ce385b2558b


If you scroll 1/2 way down this page, you'll see the actual picture of the grave site.. and for some reason my song is next to it in the article... how weird is that?
https://www.apcrp.org/Rolling_Hills...Cem_Text_Mast.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Seems a rich storyline.

More later…suppertime here. Talk to you in a bit.
Bill

The airport was officially dedicated on August 28, 1928, and renamed Ernest A. Love Field in honor of the local World War I aviator who had died from wounds sustained in combat during World War I. Prior to World War II, it functioned as a municipal airport primarily supporting private and recreational flying, as well as early pilot training initiatives. The Prescott Flying Club, formed in 1934, utilized an old boxcar as a makeshift terminal to promote civilian aviation education and local flights. The facility also hosted air shows, including a notable 1928 event that drew 17 Army planes, two Navy aircraft, and several civilian machines, fostering community interest in aviation. These activities aided regional travel by providing a hub for short-haul flights within northern Arizona, though operations remained limited by the unpaved dirt runways until improvements by the Work Projects Administration in 1940; the first city-owned hangar was added in 1928 to accommodate growing local aircraft use.[15][13]

Looking at Wikipedia and such…..Prescott has some interesting history.

And the Rolling Hills Cemetery article with lyric…so cool.
I enjoyed that history lesson!
Bill

So my point was, if you saw that gravesite at a cemetery, wouldn't you have wondered what the heck was going on???

I couldn't let it go. And I'll never forget it. did you see the picture? Wasn't that the oddest thing you've ever seen?

p.s. The big plane got stolen by teenagers, so the aunt had to go back out every few years and put more planes up. I wonder if it's still there.

Yes I see it. A lot of love going on in that family is what I’d think. Good eye!

Potential for a film maker?

Depression era. WW I war hero. Aviation history. Immigrants. Any good novelists in the area? Script writers. Film makers. Music supervisors.