Home Office Blues
Barbara and I moved to Mendocino in 2004, seeking a more rural lifestyle while working remotely. This necessarily includes a dog, so we adopted Lizzie an energetic McNabb Shepherd shortly thereafter. Is working at home compatible with a dog that needs several walks a day? Uh, no.
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I was working on an Xcel spreadsheet one morning when Lizzie started nudging my elbow signaling it was time for a walk. This was unsuccessful so she climbed into my lap. At that moment this song, subtitled Lizzie Wants to Go for a Walk, tumbled out of my head. It was my first song, and it took only ten minutes. Thanks Lizzie!
Highway 128
After seeing the movie Woody Guthrie's American Song, I was motivated to write a song in his style. Simple chords, a harmonica and lyrics about the places he visited. I live on the Pacific Coast of Mendocino County so I chose to write about this special place as one would see it by driving the local highways. After two verses, the song took an unexpected turn. To me it felt as if Arlo Guthrie walked onto the stage and said, Wait a minute, Dad! Arlo's whacky sense of humor took stage.
Before I Met You
I was thinking one day about the people who came into my life, sometimes out of nowhere, and changed it for the better. As I wrote the song, I expanded it to include those to whom we can all relate -- a spouse, a child, a dog, or a friend. God, as the third verse describes. I then put words and music to these thoughts in a way that expressed genuine gratitude in a normal way. Not a sappy love song!
