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Saturday, August 20, 2016

Story Behind The Song, Plus in Depth Analysis On How it Was Written - Garrison Bight

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

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All the best from Key West!

Key West Chris Rehm

1 comment:

  1. I always enjoy the history lesson Chris and the story behind the nusic.
    Thanks man
    The Tiki Man

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