JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Everyone has a story behind the song they wrote. What's yours?

For all you songwriters out there I am sure you have a story behind a song that you have written. Funny or serious, there is a reson or emotion at the tiime that may have helped you come up with the lyrics or idea. Please share your stories behind your song.

The first song Buddy and I wrote, "This is our Time", was written in real time plus two minutes, (5 minutes), after he waited about two years to ask me to do some music with him. I was in a band, and he didn't want to interfere with those events. Some of the lyrics he wrote were double meaning, as they could mean something for a couple, or for us. One of the lines was: "Something I never knew, but it was you, who came my way today".

"Find My Eyes": About seeing my dad die, after four days of his having heart trouble. Also about how he took care of "his Barbie and Ken", my sister and me.

"Breakwater Gang Survived": The band I'm in now has two other members of the band I was in back in '72-75. Somehow we survived that period of craziness, and are once again rockin our world! One line is: "Jimmy kept it low till the long nights end", (bass player). And about us: "We were branded with the heart of Rock and Roll, that left its mark on everyone's soul".

"Just Be Me": I was laid up for while with intense neck pain from two disc bulges pressing on nerves. Being overactive most of the time, and loving to play sports even at that time, near fifty, I just wanted to do the things I usually do. One line is: "Watching others take my trash to the curb, and they shovel my snow".

"Like a Laser in Space": Got a call from my cowriter, who lives next door but didn't feel like coming out, told me he really wants to move back to Virgnia Beach for a couple reasons. The first verse is: "Hung up the phone out went the lights. Have a knot in my gut gonna have to untie. When you told me you might move from here, you might as well said it's someplace in Algiers".

"Want You Girl Only": Jimmy, the bass player in our band Too Little Time, said we need more rock type songs, so I wrote this just a few weeks ago about how us baby boomers still have fun and can refer to our wives as "girl", not really seeing them as the grandmothers some of them are, but as our lovers still. A sort of second marriage vows, of "want you girl only".

"Too Little Time": A friend, Ron, who plays and sings like many known artists, (great impersonator of vocals and music), wanted to do some music with me, so we came up with the idea of composing and recording an album in the style of Lennon and McCartney, (yeah right!), with him going to do Lennon type songs. At home around my piano, I started to sing in a Paul type way and just found this song starting to take shape. The music was upbeat and fun sounding, and I kept singing "too little time" over and over as sounded sort of like what Paul would sound like. I got into the song more and just did it without thinking more of how Paul would do it, but what I was liking about it. I was thinking of how at my age, 52 then, (one year ago), that there is too little time in this life, with how fast each day goes by, and the weeks, and even years. Hell, the decades are becoming like years now! I recorded it over at Ron's and put it on Bud's and my music sites, where I posted that info on the MP3 Feedback Forum here at JPF. I said that is was a rockabilly or country song. Brian Austin Whitney said that is wasn't Country, but rather what a McCartney version of a country song is. And then he asked me to play this out at one of his showcases. From there, I did some more, and got interested in forming a band to play this and other songs with. THEN, Jimmy Calore, (the bass player from the earlier mentioned Breakwater Bay Band) emails me about getting together to jam with him playing his new horn. After I asked him to maybe play the bass again, and him getting one from Ron to see if he wanted to, and he did, I ran into our old drummer, who was also looking for something to do again that would be fun. So he said "I'm in, lets do it"! This band is now called "Too Little Time"! So, as you can tell, this song is going to be a very special one for all of us for several reasons.

"One Moving Mind": Jimmy Calore asked what this song is about, so I'll tell you what I told him: Everything! No real story behind it except for everything that is and always will be. (Too many words to try to descibe THAT!)

Many more, but thanks for reading all of this.

John Daubert

[This message has been edited by dhsongs (edited 01-22-2006).]

Well, the lead song "Rivertown" from my CD Songs of Love and other Natural Disasters\" has 2 stories. The "official" story is that it was written for my beet farmer relatives near Fargo that got caught in that horrible flood a few years back. The real story is that during the same spring we had a real bad storm and our little sump pump pooped out and our basement flooded. So at 3:00 in the morning, sitting at the top of the stairs and watching the water rising in the basement and cat box floating by, I figured there was really nothing left for me to do but write a song.

------------------
Steve West
Steve's Website

[This message has been edited by Steviewest (edited 01-22-2006).]

I can think of three that have a real story behind them.

We have a young friend in her early 20's who was planning to spend a year in another country teaching English as a spoken language. As it got closer, she got more and more nervous. I wrote her a song called "Wanderlust". Don't know if it helped at all but she's halfway through her year and having a great time.

Song for anyone curious is at:

http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/825/music.php

Two others have never been posted. One called "Blue Skies Fall on Me" is based on two very scary vietnam vets I met in a bar back in '78 or so. They were capable of moving back and forth between cheery good humor and violence in the space of seconds.

Another called "Keeper of the Flame" stems from a television interview I saw with one of the Chicago 7. He was hawking his new company. I thought that there must be SOMEone out there who saw this and thought one of their leaders was selling out. Wrote the song from that person's viewpoint.

Scott




[This message has been edited by scott59 (edited 01-22-2006).]

The Title of my song is, "All He Ever Wanted"
It's written for my adopted stepson.
From the time I came into the family as the
Stepmother, he asked me if I could find his
real mother. I have not as to date, but I
did write this song for him. We found the
whereabouts of his natural Father, and he
passed away around Thanksgiving, without him
getting to meet him.

Thanks everyone for you input on this topic. I really enjoyed reading the stories behind the music. Keep posting.

All songs tell someones story...Even if it is just baby, baby baby....
The most important song that I have written (in my opinin) is titled the one in blue, it wasn't until after i had written it that i realized that it was about my grandparents, and their love for one another...
They each lived to be 90 years old and died a year apart, from one another. It was the first time in their long union that they had ever been apart.

Someday I will be able to sing the song without getting all choked up......
Or maybe not....
L.

They all have stories behind 'em. Oftentimes, I'll mention the story behind the song in a "Rap" I'll use to introduce the song. Here's a few.

"BLUEBIRD ON MY WINDSHIELD" happened because I was looking over the shoulder of one of the musicians in our Firday Night Group while whe was leafing through her sheet music, and I thought I saw a song entitled "Bluebird on My Windshield." And I said, "Ooo. I want to learn *that* one." Turned out to be "Bluebird on My *Windowsill*." But I couldn't get the "bluebird on my windshield" image out of my head until I wrote the song. These days, when I play it, I note that my wife said I should emphasize the song is *not* about her...

"TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN" resulted from my getting e-mailed the Plain English Society's list of "Worst Cliches of 2003." (I am on some weird mailing lists.) Prompted the question whether anyone had ever written a song that was entirely cliches. Hearing no answer--which I assumed meant "no"--I did. It was a love song, of course--if you're going to do cliches, you might as well go all the way. And I did include every cliche on the list...

"I MAY WRITE YOU FROM JUPITER" was written for a friend of mine who was having girlfriend problems, and wanted to let her down easy--and explaining he was married didn't seem to be working. I'd heard Sharon Porter (who plays bass on The New CD) complaining that there weren't any good bluegrass songs about alien abduction--and the two kind of came together. I did send the song to the guy, but tried to make sure the wife and the girlfriend didn't hear it--I know all three of them...

"CAN I HAVE YOUR CAR WHEN THE RAPTURE COMES?" literally came to me in church. (It's why I consider it a religious song.) I'd been told about a bumpersticker someone saw that said "When the Rapture comes, can I have your car?"--and when I walked into church, the chorus just hit me all of a sudden. (Divine Inspiration. Had to be.) I held it all inside me, like the old song says, and then the verses kind of wrote themselves on the 15-mile drive home.

"HANK'S SONG" was one of a couple of commentaries on the sorry state of country music. I'd heard a lot of songwriters complaining about what's wrong with country music today, and asking what we-all as songwriters could do about it. I decided what was really wrong with country music is Hank Williams was dead, and nobody really replaced him. What to do about it? Well, that was the first line of the chorus--"Won't someone dig Hank Williams up and make him play some more?"

Nice thread, folks.

Joe
www.soundclick.com/bands/7/joewrabek_music.htm

Great Topic!
I guess my favorite story behind the song would be a song called EVERYBODY WINS.
Joe (my son) who has (Downsyndrome) and I were in Nashville at an NSAI event .We were asked by a fellow we had met Dave Wulfeck from NC if we would be interested in working on a song idea he had for Special Olympics.
Joe my son inspired us alot during the creative process, as we would ask him many questions about how he felt about the Special Olympics games and how he felt about being involved in our local program here in NY.
Working for a year on the song Dave came to Upstate NY and we recorded the song at my cousins studio here in my hometown .We then submitted the song to Nagano Japan, home of the 2005 World Special Olympics program. After review of EVERYBODY WINS the song was chosein among a few others from around the world to be used during the World Games for Special Olympics as a song of support . The song was heard by thousands and played at some Radio stations in Nagano Japan and Newzeland. So that song i guess to me has about the best story behind the song for my own records! Thanks .Fun Topic S.Dee

[This message has been edited by S.DEE (edited 01-26-2006).]

I guess my story would have to be a song I
wrote and had a chance to play at a church for a special. One line in the song said: "They've been together now 62 years . . . . " After I finished playing the song, I sat toward the back of the
church to enjoy the rest of the service. A lady tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Thanks, you must have written that song for me" and I said, "I did? How's that?" She said: "Yes, you did. My husband and I have been married this year for 62 years."

It's moments like that when it feels great to touch a person's life with music.

To all you songwriters out there keep up the good work and never stop writing.

[This message has been edited by CountrySongwriter (edited 01-23-2006).]

There's a story, in every, song I write.
Though some, might be, hard, to see.
They're there, for sure, I guarranttee.
And all, crystal clear, to me.

i write to remember, I write to forget.
I write, because, its, something, i do.
And though what i write, might sometimes seem trite.
There's a story, in all that i write.
And that is an end to my story.
3/4 time.
Graham



------------------
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/2/grahamhenderson_music.htm

Keep up the good work. I love to hear the story behind the story. Please, keep them coming.

I have a song that was inspired by a friend of mine. He called me one day and wanted me to come by his place of work. He had received a phone call from a client, and he wanted me to hear her voice. He was taken with her soft, sweet, sexy voice. I didn't think much about it until later. He kept the message on his machine for weeks and always wanted to play it for me. One day when I stopped by, he was on the phone with the lady, and again he told me how much he enjoyed hearing her voice. Well, needless to say, this went on and on. The "butt kicker" to this whole thing was when he told me he was falling in love with her. I asked if he had lost his mind....you don't fall in love over the telephone. But he insisted he was and that she felt the same way too. This phone relationship lasted 6 months before they decided to meet for the first time. He lives in North Carolina, and she lives in Florida. The relationship lasted for 3 1/2 years before the "distance" became too much. I was so taken by this phenomenon that I wrote JUST LIKE AN ANGEL TO ME.

------------------
J
Music is my passion..my joy and my second career..and I'M LOVIN' IT!
http://sounclick.com/johnwebbsingersongwriter

Great story. Hope to hear the music with that one soon. Post the lyrics in the "Lyric Forum".

OK, I'll do it.
John

I guess a song that sticks out in my mind is "Please Don't Run". I had a friend who was addicted to heroin and we had grown up in church together. She stopped coming to church because she felt God couldn't love her in the state she was in. I was going through my own process of recovery so this song was a bit personal as much as it was for my friend. The night before I wrote the song I had attended a concert where the artist related the story of his son who had run away from home. The story had a happy ending and really exposed the unconditional love this singer had for his son. The power of his experience, my friends dilemma, and my personal journey gave birth to this song. It's on my first album and many people have been touched by this artistic expression of God's undying love for his children.
I actually enjoy remembering the process I was in for writing a song. Believe me I have other stories as well.

Please share them here becuase you never what will happen. Someone reading these posts my be inspired, touched emotionally/spiritually or find a friend that has had some of the same expriences. So please keep posting.

Thanks for your post "spiritual"

When I was recording my album 'Unplug' last year, I was totaly not aware that most of the songs were sad ones or songs about decisions. It was a friend of mine who brought it to my attention. And, while I am one of the happiest people you would ever meet, and inspite of the fact that this is one of my favorite albums musically, I was going through a tough time with my mate. All is better now, but it was quite an interesting process.

Orlando Luckey
www.orlandoluckey.com

When I remarried in 2003 to a woman I have known since I was 4 years old, she already had a 17 year old son.
Hes a great kid and I wish he had been mine since birth. His real fathers been too busy to care since the divorce when he was 2.

So I wrote a song called "The Absent Father" from the perspective of a possibly dead beat dad who realizes how much he missed and how few memories he has with his child after its too late.

Doug

That kind of reminds me of the song by Brad Paisley: "Half the Dad" I think it the song. Or maybe it was "Didn't have to be" Not sure of the title. Good song though.

I was in a similar situation but I was the 10 year old child. My mom and dad divorced when I was 1.5 years old and I never got to talk to him and he never tried either.

Thanks for posting.

My wife is a great bartender--She makes a drink that tastes great, goes down like water, then kick your ass. Our friends gave her a nickname "The Chemist" because of her mixing ablility. I penned a song with this title about a guy who unsuspectingly goes to a party where she is the bartender and what happens to him.

Hey Joe,

I'm not desiring to sound like a real git, but John Prine wrote a song many years ago called 'Big Old Goofy World', which was also made of cliches...section that stays with me is

I know a woman, she's a cute little dish.
Smokes like a chimney, and drinks like a fish

I'd be curious to see if any of your cliches overlap?

Midnite

[QUOTE]Originally posted by roxhythe:
[B]They all have stories behind 'em.

"TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN" resulted from my getting e-mailed the Plain English Society's list of "Worst Cliches of 2003." (I am on some weird mailing lists.) Prompted the question whether anyone had ever written a song that was entirely cliches. Hearing no answer--which I assumed meant "no"--I did. It was a love song, of course--if you're going to do cliches, you might as well go all the way. And I did include every cliche on the list...


Joe

------------------
Satchel was right...Something is gaining on me....
www.jackcouldntmakeit.com

[This message has been edited by Midnite Bob (edited 01-29-2006).]

Hey Roxythe? Post the lyrics to your song full of cliches. I am sure alot of people would love to see how it all fits together.

Thanks for posting

Here 'tis. I posted this a while (like, maybe a couple years) ago. The recording is up on the Soundclick site.

Joe
www.soundclick.com/bands/7/joewrabek_music.htm

[THE RAP: When the Plain English Society released their 2003 Worst Cliches List earlier this year (I am on some weird mailing lists), I asked whether anyone had ever written a song that was entirely cliches. Hearing no answer–which I assumed meant "no"–I did. It's a love song, of course--if you're going to do cliches, you might as well go all the way. Recorded it for my wife for our anniversary. She still hasn't said whether she liked it...]

[3/4, brightly]

TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN
–J. Wrabek

CHORUS:

Twenty-four seven, you boggle my mind,
Any which way you slice it, you're my bottom line;
The cream in my coffee, my moment of truth–
If wishes were horses, I'd marshal my forces
And have a field day with you.

1.
When my cookie crumbles, when there's tears in my beer,
And my great expectations have fell on deaf ears;
With no leg to stand on, in a race against time,
I know I'm all right ‘cause you're my guiding light
At the end of the line.

CHORUS:
Twenty-four seven, you boggle my mind,
Any which way you slice it, you're my bottom line;
The cream in my coffee, my moment of truth–
If wishes were horses, I'd marshal my forces
And have a field day with you.

2.
Make no bones about it, you're my cuppa tea,
All I want for Christmas is on the edge of your seat;
Through Hell or high water, we'll make it somehow
It's not rocket science, it's just fear of flying
So don't have a cow.

CHORUS:
Twenty-four seven, you boggle my mind,
Any which way you slice it, you're my bottom line;
The cream in my coffee, my moment of truth–
If wishes were horses, I'd marshal my forces
And have a field day with you.

3.
When the show has been cancelled, and we've bid our farewells,
And we're called on the carpet, in Heaven or Hell,
My cup runneth over–what more can I say?
It'll come out in the wash when the fat lady sings
At the end of the day.

CHORUS:
Twenty-four seven, you boggle my mind,
Any which way you slice it, you're my bottom line;
The cream in my coffee, my moment of truth–
If wishes were horses, I'd marshal my forces
And have a field day with you.

(C) 2004 J. Wrabek dba Outside Services Ltd. All the usual rights reserved just in case. No cliches were harmed in the writing of this song.

[This message has been edited by roxhythe (edited 01-30-2006).]

[This message has been edited by roxhythe (edited 01-30-2006).]

Thanks for the lyrics

Hey Gang, Midnite Bob here, Posting for your 'lyrical cliche' comparisons...(Hi Joe..:-))

BIG OLD GOOFY WORLD
-J. Prine

Up in the morning, work like a dog
Is better than sitting, like a bump on a log.
Mind all your manners, be quiet as a mouse.
Someday you'll own a home, that's as big as a house.

I know a fellow, he eats like a horse.
Knocks his old balls, 'round the old golf course.
You oughta see his wife, she's a cute little dish.
Smokes like a chimney & drinks like a fish.

(chorus)
There's a big old goofy man dancing with a big old goofy girl.
Yeah buddy, it's a big old goofy world.

Elvis had a woman, with a head like a rock.
I wish I had a woman, could make my knees knock.
She'd sing like an angel, and eat like a bird
And if I wrote a song, she'd know every word

(repeat chorus)

Kiss a little baby, give the world a smile
And if you take an inch, give 'em back a mile
'Cause if you lie like a rug, and you don't give a damn
You're never gonna be, happy as a clam

I'm sittin' in a hotel, trying to write a song
My head is just as empty, as the day is long
It is clear as a bell, I should've gone to school.
I'd be wise as an owl, instead of stubborn as a mule.

Yeah baby,,,,It's a Big Old Goofy World


TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN
–J. Wrabek

CHORUS:

Twenty-four seven, you boggle my mind,
Any which way you slice it, you're my bottom line;
The cream in my coffee, my moment of truth–
If wishes were horses, I'd marshal my forces
And have a field day with you.

1.
When my cookie crumbles, when there's tears in my beer,
And my great expectations have fell on deaf ears;
With no leg to stand on, in a race against time,
I know I'm all right ‘cause you're my guiding light
At the end of the line.

CHORUS:
Twenty-four seven, you boggle my mind,
Any which way you slice it, you're my bottom line;
The cream in my coffee, my moment of truth–
If wishes were horses, I'd marshal my forces
And have a field day with you.

2.
Make no bones about it, you're my cuppa tea,
All I want for Christmas is on the edge of your seat;
Through Hell or high water, we'll make it somehow
It's not rocket science, it's just fear of flying
So don't have a cow.

CHORUS:
Twenty-four seven, you boggle my mind,
Any which way you slice it, you're my bottom line;
The cream in my coffee, my moment of truth–
If wishes were horses, I'd marshal my forces
And have a field day with you.

3.
When the show has been cancelled, and we've bid our farewells,
And we're called on the carpet, in Heaven or Hell,
My cup runneth over–what more can I say?
It'll come out in the wash when the fat lady sings
At the end of the day.

CHORUS:
Twenty-four seven, you boggle my mind,
Any which way you slice it, you're my bottom line;
The cream in my coffee, my moment of truth–
If wishes were horses, I'd marshal my forces
And have a field day with you.

(C) 2004 J. Wrabek dba Outside Services Ltd. All the usual rights reserved just in case. No cliches were harmed in the writing of this song.

[This message has been edited by roxhythe (edited 01-30-2006).]

[This message has been edited by roxhythe (edited 01-30-2006).][/B][/QUOTE]

I know there has to a more stories out there. The world is full of great songs. So keep them coming because you never know who you might insipre with your words.

I LOVE the fact that ya'all are sharing stories behind the song. Actually to me, that's my FAVORITE part of any song. I love listening to a radio station that shares that kind of information!

That said, I have stories behind most of my songs but the ones that really stand out to me today are:

That's When I Had My Heartbreak - In October 2004, out of the blue, a trip to the emergency room turned into surgery - a quadruple by-pass! When you face something like that, you can't help but wonder why. I started to think about broken hearts - why it happens. The year before this surgery I had three major "heartbreaks" and I couldn't help but wonder . . . and thus the song.

Next would be "Just Like Hank" - I lead a sing along for seniors, and Ray (Curly)showed up one night, brought along his guitar and sang some songs for the ladies. They just love him! December 2004, I made a video and a CD of him, which has been a big hit! (at least in the Senior Group around here. He loves to tell this story about meeting Hank Williams. His sister Jody, told me that with the "no good father" that they had (the father actually caused their mother's death, a very sad story) that it was Hank Williams that Ray tried to be like when he was trying to discover what a man should be. Ray talks about his life, and how he wishes he had done so many things different. Says he went through four or five wives, and currently has a girl friend a third his age! He's quite a guy! The song was to remind all of us that what we do is being watched by someone, and they may want to be 'just like' us, so we need to be a good example.

Ray isn't doing very well right now, and all prayers are coveted for him.


the last one, may not be the best of my songs by a long shot, but I've got to tell you that it has more passion in it than just about any other. The title is What Is That Man To You? I work with Seniors. Seeing how the aging process affects men so much more than women, I was thinking about the cultural thing we have about what a man really is. This is a tribute to my dad, and all the other real men in this world that grow old

Thanks for asking us to share. I love it!

------------------
Reni Kay
As Al Jolson sang so many years ago, "if my song can make you smile, laugh, cry, I'm happy!"
www.soundclick.com/renikay
ReniKay@comcast.net

Reni Kay, thanks for posting. Plese share any of those songs with us on the "MP3" page. Include a link if you have music or a demo and I am sure people will listen and give you a critque if you would like. I would like to hear what you have done.

Thanks again, CountrySongwriter

Hi There,

Two of my best songs

"When The Good Comes Around"
I was a drifter going from town to town
And one day it happened, I met someone
who I wanted to spend my life with, but like me she had never met someone, sincere, and not wanting to get her into bed , as quick as possible, I changed the song, to give it a more commercial angle, like we all do. That song is now on hold with a top publisher.

The other song titled "No Reflection In Your Eyes" is based on someone I knew
who could not forget a past love, and when
the singer looks into her eyes he only sees the face of her former lover. The lines are purely from my imagination.

Number two Country Charts Sweden and Switzerland. and recorded by Ronnan Keating and many others.

Split Level



[This message has been edited by Split Level (edited 06-16-2006).]

My brother and I have been estranged since my fathers death. My Dad was very encouraging about me being an artist. He bought me art supplies and later I became a graphic designer. When at 30 I picked up a bass and starting playing in clubs, he was the only one that understood and supported me. I played at his club often and he was quite proud of his middle son.

I was just learning to write when he passed. I took part of the money he left me and bought a keyboard workstation to help write. The first song I wrote on it was excoriating my brother about his lack of sensitivity.

My father was a very forgiving nurturing type of individual the complete opposite of his first born. As much as I intended to really roast my brother I couldn't get dad out of my mind and it ended up being a song of support and forgiveness, 180 degrees from where I started. A few months later I did it at the JPF showcase, the first time I ever played guitar and sang in public. It got a nice reception.

My mother loves the song. I love the fact that my brother doesn't even know he's the subject and inspiration for it.

Someday I might even tell him.

Great posting I like the storys.

My song is "Baby Girl". My Nephew and Niece had there first baby and I was thinking about my baby girl and how I felt when she was born. I wrote the song for them and deicated it to there baby girl.
I was reluctent to put it on a cd, but my Niece and Nephew wanted me to. Turns out "Baby Girl" has sold more downloads than all my other songs. WOW..

With "Eternal Optimist", I was working miidnights, broke to the point of buying foods over smokes, and had a baby on the way. I woke up in the dead of "night"(about 4 p.m.) shaking and not able to sleep. Brenda, my wife, looked at me funny as I stumbled to the living room and actually asked "What's wrong?"

I said "Need paper."
I sat and wrote the song in 30 minutes. Looking back over it six years later I think I've changed two words. I think that is as close to epiphany as I've come to.

Check it out.

Eternal Optimist
By Mike Littrell
Copyright 2000

A little girl huddled in a corner
Her belly growls from too little food
She looks at Daddy for something to eat
The pain she sees is nothing good

There’s someone out there who can help her
Someone who can give a part
Someone with some food and shelter
The Eternal Optimist in their heart

Daddy lost his job last winter
Power got cut off this fall
Gonna have a bad December
Don’t know how to get through it all

There’s someone out ther to help him
Someone who can play a part
Someone with some work and shelter
The Eternal Optimist in their heart

She wants to be a ballerina
Taking steps up to the stars
Flying across a stage to heaven
She prays to God she’ll get that far

Won’t someone out there please, please help her
Won’t someone please take the part
Someone with some hope and shelter
The Eternal Optimist in her heart

I was working in a cabinet shop for a while, a little down on my luck. Most of the guys I worked with were having "hard times", I think our employer hired us maybe because we could be had cheaper. Any way, one afternoon two deputies from the sheriff's department came in the door. I swear four of us looked at each other thinking it was us they were coming for. Well it wasn't me they took that day. I went home and wrote my first and only country song "If I'm in Jail". He wasn't gone long, it was a warrant for outstanding tickets. The next day my buddy was back and I had a song to share with him. The hook was " but you won't get a check if I'm in jail". All of my songs have a story, I guess I write to process my feelings. If I've got nothing to process, I don't feel compelled to write

Michael

My song "Where Did Country Go?" came to me right after I saw George Strait's reaction to Cowboy Troy at the CMA awards and also when I was watching CMT the next day and saw The VanZants doing their song. I'm a fan of the classics.


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ric4music
"Have Guitar, Will Travel"