The Story Behind the Song

One of the things I'll do with this blog is tell you about why I wrote a particular song, the inspiration behind it, or what it means to me.
People have sometimes asked, so I thought it might be a good thing to do.

The thing is, just because I wrote a song, that doesn’t mean my own interpretation of it is the only possible one – or even the best one.
Take vocals, for example. I’ve written some things --- like Noble Heart – that I wrote with somebody else in mind to sing, not me. I might sing it, and I might do all right with it. But the other vocalist does it a little different, different inflections and so on.
We're doing the same song, but we interpret it differently because of who we are. There can be more than one “right” answer to a question and often there is.
So maybe what a song means to you is a little different than what it means to me even though I wrote it. That’s okay.

I write what I believe to be true.
Sometimes, if something is true, it’s true in more than one way and on more than one level.
There's one particular song about a horse. In fact, I wrote it for her while riding her one day, a long slow ambling trail ride to nowhere in particular. Most people hear that song assume I wrote it for or about a woman, a past or present lover.
I didn’t.
But it works for them from that angle. And it's equally true and valid, because what the song is REALLY about is love. Loving and being loved. Finding another being with whom you're like Siamese twins joined at the heart.
If you ever get to experience that kind of thing, I think you'll find it doesn’t really matter one bit how many legs your beloved has.

Anyway, if you’re take on my song is different than mine, that’s cool, daddy-o.
This isn’t a situation where I have the right answer and you have to guess what it is. So if a song of mine does mean something to you, speaks to you, touches you in some way --- especially if it's a positive way --- and if you feel like writing to me and letting me know your thoughts or, more importantly, feelings about it, I’d like that a lot.

And I’m not fishing for compliments, here. It doesn’t all have to be praise. I’ve heard songs where I just wanted to find the writer and give him a good smack. If that’s how you feel about it, say so. Even if we disagree, at least I’ll respect you for being honest.