Story Behind The Song, Plus in Depth
Analysis On How it Was Written - Garrison Bight
A few moths back, I was talking with
a friend who is a DJ and a wonderful guy. He said “Well, your music
isn't exactly Trop Rock”. I laughed and in a friendly way,
corrected him saying something like “Well actually my music is more
Trop Rock than 98% of the others you play. You see, they live in
places like Michigan, New York, Maryland, California, or Illinois
and are writing songs and singing about coming to the tropics, and
more often than not, Key West. Their viewpoint is coming here,
spending a few days, then heading home where they write about their
experience, albeit from a tourist, or visitor's (there's a
difference!) perspective”. I'm not being critical of their
approach, only defining that mine is coming from a different angle.
Myself, I live
here. Keith Richards says of songwriting “Songs just float through
the room and you grab them”. The songs I write didn't float through
a room in Michigan, Maryland, California, or anything like that. They
float through my room in Key West. As my neighbor Many, The Coconut
Man, says with his long, slow, sage African/Cuban/American accent,
“It comes out of the groooouuuuuund!”
The subject matter
is likewise different in that my songs are largely about day to day
life here. It's not about visiting Key West for a few days,but rather
living here 24/7/365. It's about my dog Cajun chewing up a coconut,
or taking a day and going out sailing off of Key West, or the South
being north of here. It's Key West music that comes from Key West.
Blowing through the room, as Kieth Richards says, or “Out of the
ground”, as Many says.
Here's a song I
wrote, Garrison Bight. Garrison Bight is an inlet in Key West which
has several harbors. Many people visiting know the large building
there which is part of Naval Station Key West and says “Fly Navy”
at the top. The one “hill” we have in Key West, the Palm Avenue
overpass, goes right over Garrison Bight. Again, this is a story
about living here, not visiting.
It was a funny
story, in a awkward way. To set the stage for this song, I had been
away from Key West for a short time and I returned when my marriage
went south. My friend Gary had graciously offered to let me stay with
him on his houseboat, which was docked at a boatyard in Garrison
Bight, one of the two bights in Key West. During my stay there, I
didn't have a job, or at this point, much of anything.
Garrison Bight was
written one morning on the back of the houseboat. The song relates to
my stay there, the things I saw, and the people I met. One of the
things that I liked about this song is that it's completely a 100%
true Key West living adventure, start to finish.
What you will see
here in the video, is an in depth analysis of, not only the story
behind the song, but actually much more. This video highlights how
that story was transformed and fit to the particular chord
progression. More specifically, how words are matched to specific
individual chords.
Hear “Garrison
Bight” on Soundcloud
There are of course, different ways of writing songs. for me, this format is very natural. It may be for you. I found out many years after writing in this way that it was likewise used by Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards, and Garcia/Hunter.
GARRISON BIGHT
Esus
SUNRISE OUT OF THE BIGHT
G A Esus
IT'S GONNA BE A HOT ONE AND I THINK I
MIGHT
Esus
START OUT WITH COFFEE, CUBAN COFFEE
DARK, THICK AND SWEET
G
YOU DRINK IT LIKE WHISKEY
A G G A Esus
WITH PASSION TO A RHUMBA BEAT
II
Esus
HOUSEBOAT, SHE'S A TENNENT
TWENTY SIX YEARS DOWN FROM TENNESSEE
G A Esus
SURVIVED WILMA THOUGH SHE'S LISTING
FIVE DEGREES
Esus
SAILBOATS IN THE BOATYARD GETTING
RESTORED AND LOOKING SO FINE
G A Esus G A Esus
FRESH COATS OF PAINT, BAR B QUE RUM ICE
AND LIME
(chorus)
G E9 E7
FISHING BOATS ARE HEADED OUT THIS
MORNING
G E9 Em add9
TRAWL THE WATERS LAY THEIR LINES DOWN
G A Em
SHE CAME HERE WITHOUT A WARNING
G A Esus
AND NOW SHE'S ANCHORED ON THIS SIDE OF
TOWN
III
Esus
TALES, NEVER ENDING
CHARACTERS ABOUND
G
WAVES AGAINST THE HULL,
A Esus
TEN BUCKS GETS YOU PUMPED OUT
IV
Esus
A PLACE ACROSS THE STREET
THEY TELL ME IS GOOD TO EAT
G A
I HAVEN'T TRIED IT
Esus
'CAUSE I'M DOWN AND OUT
V
Esus
SUMMER DAY,
YEAH, IT'S A HOT ONE
I AIN'T COMPLAINING, IT'S BETTER THAN
PAIN
G A Esus
PERSPIRATION BEATS TEARS ALL THE SAME
(chorus)
G E9 E7
FISHING BOATS ARE HEADED OUT THIS
MORNING
G E9 Em add9
TRAWL THE WATERS LAY THEIR LINES DOWN
G A Em
SHE CAME HERE WITHOUT A WARNING
G A Esus
AND NOW SHE'S ANCHORED ON THIS SIDE OF
TOWN
G A Esus
AND IT'S A HOT ONE, AT GARRISON BIGHT
G A Esus
YEAH IT'S A HOT ONE HERE AT GARRISON
BIGHT
G A Esus
YEAH IT'S A HOT ONE, HERE AT GARRISON
BIGHT
©
2009 By Christopher R. Rehm - BMI
Please also take a look at my last blog and help the new album cause! Thanks!
Thank you for reading my blog!
All the best from Key West!
Key West Chris Rehm
I always enjoy the history lesson Chris and the story behind the nusic.
ReplyDeleteThanks man
The Tiki Man