About "Song For My Father"

How this song came to be:

The first two lines of this song actually came to me in a dream, in spring of 2010.,  In the dream,  I was the opening act for Bob Dylan (!!), and I was on stage singing one of his songs.  He was watching me.  There were problems with the sound system, so I wasn't being heard, but I sang these lines:

On and on, on and on
Best before the day is done.

Those words and the melody (which is the exact melody in the song now)  stayed with me after I woke up, and for days afterward.  I kept singing the little tune in my head, and finally wrote it down for later use.  Forgot about it.

Fast forward to July, 2010, when I got word that my father was ill with malignant melanoma.  I had planned to go with my husband and baby son to visit my in-laws, but stayed back to be available for whatever might happen with Dad. I was alone for ten days, absorbing the news about my father.   I had TIME!! I had SLEEP!! But mostly,  I had sadness, and no place to put it.  So I began to write a song for my father.  I took out my notebook where I had jotted down the Bob Dylan dream song, changed the word "best" to "rest", and the verses followed smoothly after that.    It was a quick birth.

But I couldn't finish the song.  I knew it wasn't finished, but I couldn't see how to end it.   It needed a bridge, and one more verse. Then I went home to Baltimore, where I had the great privilege of being with Dad as he lay dying.  I played the song for him, in its unfinished form.  He smiled from his bed as I played and sang.  I did not see the smile, as I was on the wrong side of the bed to see it, but my sisters told me it was there.  So I played it for him again, and again, and again.  And after he died, I finished it.

And that is how the song was born.

May we all be blessed with a death, and a life,  as graceful and dignified as his.

peace to all.

About "Sing Your Blues Away"

This song feels like a scrap paper collage to me.  It came from little bits and pieces of songs that I couldn't figure out what to do with.  What I remember thinking about while I was putting it together is that everyone  gets the blues, life stinks sometimes, but if you can sing your heart out, then all the pain that is in your heart has an exit, and you might feel better from it.

ABOUT "When the Water Calls"

There are two kinds of people:  water people and land people.  I belong firmly in the latter category.    A swimming pool on a Baltimore-hot summer day, yes, of course, I'll go in, but other than that, I'll keep my two feet on the ground, thank you very much.

 Sitting lakeside is lovely.  And there is nothing quite so invigorating as a long walk on the beach.  But don't expect me to get wet.  And don't even THINK about throwing me in.

Anyway, this is all ironic considering I live in a small town on the water.   I look out my window and see the beautiful water, but feel very ho hum about it. I don't feel any sort of connectedness or serenity when I look at a vast body of water, here or anywhere.    I know it's pretty, but I don't FEEL it.  It does not "call" me.   The Rocky Mountains, I feel.  The stark beauty of the desert, I feel.  It calls me, it moves me.  But I am not a water person and that is the way my heart is and that is that!  

To quote the song:

"Me, I don't like swimming, I never do get wet
And if the water's calling me, I have not heard her yet
But take me to the desert, that's where I hear my song
That's where I've done my dancing all along."

So that is what this song is about,  but even moreso it's about the imprtance of answering your call, whatever it is.

"You know some folks like the water, and some folks like the land
others like the great indoors, it's what they understand
whatever blows your hair back, you've got to let it blow
just make sure you're dancing when you go."


Amen.
Alleluia.

About "Since You Never Asked Me"

I surprised myself with this song.  I don't remember where the idea for it came from, I only remember writing it and thinking "Hey!  I am writing a blues song!"

 I can't claim to be a blues musician, would never call myself that.  But Lord knows, I can feel the blues.  So maybe that means something  I don't know.  But I do know that people really like this song.  All sorts of suggestions have been made about which famous person should sing it.  Most commonly mentioned is Bonne Raitt.  To that I say, well, she has plenty of good material, but if whe ever wants to sing this or any of my songs, I would be more than okay with that!

I have a friend who met Bonnie Raitt and says she is a very kind and good person.  All the better.  I like the idea of a kind and good person singing a song that I wrote.