Music and events that happen in Key West as observed by Chris Rehm. "What Happens in Key West Stays in Key West" Wrong! Everyone wants to know what's happening in Key West!
This song was written in preparation for my last album, "Shanghai'd and Marooned In Key West (things could be worse)". It's one of those pieces that "ends up on the cutting room floor", so to speak.
It needs to be stated that this song is not autobiographical! As it's sung in the first person, it sounds as though it is. That fact actually played into part of the reason I cut it out. The other reasons were that I hadn't actually given much thought to the instrumentation.
The level of production is something that varies from artist to artist. Some will send a producer an acoustic demo to a producer and they will do the arrangement, organize the musicians, record everything, have the artist do the vocal, then send them the completed piece. In many cases the artist really doesn't have hardly any input.That works well for many. It doesn't work at all for me however.
If it's my work, I'm involved 100% . I will get most of the musicians. The arrangements are virtually all of mine. I'll be there during the recording, making decisions on how/what the other musicians play, so on and so forth.
With this song, as I say, it never really made it past the writing/arrangement stage. This album would be my first foray into the Trop Rock genre and as you'll see from the lyrics below, it paints a pretty good picture!
The inspiration for the song was several people I either knew as friends, was acquainted with, or just saw here in Key West.
As I say, the song was written in the first person and it depicts, quite humorously, a complete Key West blow out's trials and tribulations. I had a lot of fun and laughs writing it!
1)
SUN COME UP MOON GO DOWN
JUST GOT IN FROM PAINTING THE TOWN
BURN THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS
SOMETIMES I JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN TO SAY WHEN, BUT IT'S ALRIGHT
AS LONG AS I LIVE ON THE ISLAND
2)
WOKE UP AT TWO IMAGINE THAT
I FEEL JUST LIKE THE CAT IN THE HAT
SWEPT EVERYTHING UNDER THE BED
COBWEBS CLUTTER INSIDE MY HEAD
BUT IT'S ALRIGHT YEAH, IT'S ALRIGHT
AS LONG AS I LIVE ON THE ISLAND
(Bridge)
SUN RISE IN THE ATLANTIC
SUN SETS IN THE GULF
SO AS YOU SEE, IN SPITE OF ME, ALL IS WELL
AS LONG AS I LIVE ON THE ISLAND
3)
MET A FEW GIRLS AT A LOCAL SALOON
WE HEADED BACK TO THEIR HOTEL ROOM
STRIP POKER AND TWISTER ALL NIGHT LONG
LOST ALL MY CLOTHES HAD TO TAKE A CAB HOME
BUT IT'S ALRIGHT YEAH, IT'S ALRIGHT
AS LONG AS I LIVE ON THE ISLAND
(Bridge 2)
SHOTS OF JUMBIE CHASED WITH BEER
PUSSERS RUM OVER ICE
LIFE HERE, IT'S ABUNDANTLY CLEAR,
IS QUITE NICE, YEAH IT'S QUITE NICE
4)
I HAD A REAL JOB BUT IT WENT SOUTH
I HAD THE VAPORS AIRING ABOUT
NOW I SELL TOURS ON THE STREET SIDE
MAKE A GOOD LIVING BUT IT COLLIDES WITH MY LIFE
BUT IT'S ALRIGHT, YEAH IT'S ALRIGHT
AS LONG AS I LIVE ON THE ISLAND
AS LONG AS I LIVE ON THE ISLAND
AS LONG AS I LIVE ON THE ISLAND
Over the years I've had the pleasure of
running Songwriter showcases. They've all been fun, however there
have been many improvements made over the years through both trial
and error, or just flat out learning from Nashville and how they do
it. Keep in mind that Nashville has perfected the method, having done
them for almost 100 years and literally thousands of events. Believe
me, theirs is the template to use!
I learned from them by being part of
The Key West Songwriter's Festival since 2010, the largest
songwriting festival in the United States. The way they do it just
flat out makes sense.
Besides, why try blazing a new trail with all the trial and error that goes along with it, when the tried, true, proven way is at our fingertips?
On some of my early events, I ran it
pretty much the same as my open mics that I had held. I learned from
the best here as well, but in the end, an open mic is not
a songwriter's event. That was the wrong way to do it.
It's not a regular gig either.
The underlining point here is, it's a songwriting event. Big
difference!
The first thing is that a songwriter's event which showcases multiple
songwriters, is held in an In The Round format.
One disaster I had was having the single artist up at one time. The audience was horrible! For them it was just a bar gig with someone playing. They were talking and carrying on just like any other bar gig. At one point C.W. Colt was on stage and stopped his performance, admonishing the crowd "This is a songwriter's event, not a bar drunk!" C.W. never came back after that. For some reason, with the In The Round format, that never happened again. Maybe it's because there are other sets of eyes gazing back at the crowd from the stage? I'm not sure, but it works.
In the In-The-Round format you will have two, three, or four
songwriters on stage at the same time. Five is too many. The
performers sit in a row facing the crowd and go in sequence, one
after the other. Here, they have the opportunity to address the
audience on a one on one basis, explaining on how the song they are
about to play came about.
As the ringleader, you will want to explain to them beforehand to
keep their exchange with the audience to around one to two minutes.
Some inexperienced songwriters will go on and on just having
conversations with the crowd. The issue here is they are taking time
away from all of the performers if they go over. You don't want one
songwriter to get five songs and another four when it's all said and
done because someone got too gabby with the crowd. If someone in the
crowd wants to ask questions, they can do so after the performers are
finished.
One disaster I had was with holding the single artists
The In The Round formula works so well as performers play one
directly after the other. It's not as though one player is up there
for a half hour and is followed by another. Here, you have that two,
three, or four sharing the stage and every next song is by the next
artist in line. Ever get an album where the songwriter's songs all
sound exactly the same? They can be at risk of putting the audience
to sleep. If that artist is on stage, with an In The Round set up,
you'll never have that issue.
Here's one of the true beauties of the In The Round formula: As an
organizer, you set the artists up on stage and you're done for the
next hour! Having single artists up at a time, with a laundry list
of performers, you're like a dog chasing it's tail all day long!
For so many reasons, the In The Round formula is vastly superior to
anything else.
What not to do at a songwriter's event? A couple of things to keep in
mind.
A) This is a songwriter's event. It's an intimate experience with a
songwriter, who is explaining how their song came about, then playing
it, one on one. In a songwriter event you want people in the audience
to feel that the songwriter is talking directly to them baring their
soul about how the song came about, then playing the song in it's
most exposed, vulnerable environment, which is their vocal and an
accompanying instrument, such as a guitar, or a piano. Having a band
at a songwriter's showcase is not a songwriters showcase, it becomes
a bar gig. The intimacy is completely lost and it runs the risk of
now a mumbo-jumbo free for all. Worst of all, if solo acoustic
players play after a band, it sounds as though the bottom fell out.
Before you had this band with drums, bass, maybe electric guitars,
all of which are naturally going to be at a much greater volume. It's
not fair to the performers who follow.
Having said that, often in a songwriter's event you'll have an artist
who has an accompanist, say a second guitar, a violin, harmonica,
etc, playing with them. This works.
B) A songwriter's event is a collective event. When you have multiple
artists being showcased together in the In The Round setting, you
don't have one set aside to do their own set solo. The by product of
this is essentially saying to the other artists “You're just
supporting So And So”. Songwriters events put songwriters on stage
together. Let's look at Chuck Cannon at the Key West Songwriter's
Festival. Chuck of course has a slew of hits! At the KWSF, Chuck will
have his own event. He's the songwriter at say, 8PM at The Casa
Marina on Thursday night. However, Friday afternoon, he will be one
of three or four songwriters sharing the sage together. Same thing on
Saturday. Point being, when he has his solo event, that's one event.
When other songwriters are involved, he's one of featured performers
sharing the stage with the others. It's part of the songwriters
community.
I hope that helps those who host songwriter events!
When most people think of the Florida Keys, they think of Key West, or Key Largo. Others will think of Islamorada, Marathon, Bahia Honda, or perhaps any of the other Keys that are linked by the forty two bridges that are known as Overseas Highway, which is the first 100+ miles of U.S.1.
Well, forty two bridges would link forty two islands, but of course there are also islands not connected by the bridges, such as Geiger Key, or No Name Key, which are off islands which are. I'm strictly guessing here, but I'm estimating the archipelago of islands which have people living on them could be around sixty five to seventy five.
However, the Florida Keys amount to much more than seventy five islands. In total, there are actually over three thousand islands in the Florida Keys!
By the way, a Key, or Cay (both pronounced Kee) is a small, low island.
How can one not be curious about exploring some of these? Back around seven years ago, my friends Rick, Cindi, and Jeff went out to one of these remote keys, and I've been going there ever since. With group of friends of ours, we recently went out there again earlier this week, renting a pontoon boat to get there.
Our destination was Marvin Key, or more correctly "The Marvins". There are two islands in the Marvins, neither of which has a singular name.
We rent the pontoon boat from Backcountry Boat Rentals, which is at Mile Marker 17 ( 17 miles north of Key West), Summerland Key. Every time we've gone, we've had fabulous service from them. The boats are in great shape and the man who sees you off, Alfredo, is very pleasant, yet also quite precise in his instructions, so there is no confusion.
Marvin Key is about nine miles west of Summerland Key, where the boat disembarks from, and the ride out there takes about an hour. You must stay within the guidelines of the trip, because it's very shallow and it doesn't take much to run aground.
The pictures will better explain what it's like out there. They really do speak for themselves.
A channel the route takes you through shortly after leaving the dock.
Dani Hoy piloted this trip.
Some of the 3000 islands in the Florida Keys on the way out.
New keys are constantly being formed. The sands are constantly shifting throughout the Keys and new islands sprout out of nowhere. A mangrove starts growing in it and next thing you know, there's a new island!
Marvin Key is in sight!
Marvin Key
My dogs Cajun and Tooloulou always come on the trip. Here Cajun is the scout, making sure the island is safe for the rest of us.
Following the trail Cajun blazed up the island.
A sandy spot that looks like it would make a fantastic campground... one of these trips!... What? it's illegal.... hummmm...
Cajun and Tooloulou checking out the other side of Marvin Key.
The other side of Marvin Key.
Coming back out the island path
Fun in the crystal clear waters of the Florida Keys
My friend Bill Cockrill's coozie kept the beverages cool on a 90 (32C) degree day! Thanks Bill!
We spent six hours at Marvin Key! It never gets old!!!!
I suggest keeping a link to this page for when you are at work and need a breath of fresh air!
BackCountry also has skiffs, in addition to pontoon boats. To contact Backcountry Boat Rentals:
(Quick note: I've been putting these "Story Behind The Song" posts in Facebook for several years. I came to the conclusion that putting them in the blog is better for access, so I'll be posting them here from now on. Thanks! Chris)
The name Cayo Hueso is the Spanish name for Key West. It actually translates to Bone Key, because when the Spanish first came to the island, they found human bones all along the beach, the result of a Native American war between tribes, long past.
I first came up with the name, then wrote the song. When I mentioned it to my friend Joe Gowran he said “I say that all the time”. My friend Gary then said “Yeah, Joe says that a lot!”. I couldn't recall it at all, however I spent a lot of time with Joe, so I figured it must have crept into my brain somehow.
My philosophy is if someone comes up with a saying that I use in a song, they get a co-writing credit. This isn't the norm. However, I feel that if someone never stated it to begin with, the song would have never existed. I did the same with my song “Raise My Glass To The Upper 48”, where I credited a co-write to my friend George Cornejo. Likewise, Joe gets credit on this one. In both cases, I wrote the whole song, music and lyrics.
Yippie Cayo Hueso is a euphoric, upbeat, celebration of living in Key West and getting out on the water. I recall I was playing at Captain Tony's one MOTM (the Trop Rock festival in Key West held annually) and I was about to play my song “Sailing”. This was on the last day of the event and as I introduced the song, I asked the packed bar how many had been out on the water? Not one person raised their hand. My jaw hit the floor. Here we were, one hundred and six miles from the mainland on a tropical island, and not one of the crowd had been out on the water! No day sails, no sunset cruises, nothing. I've always felt that one of the most beautiful things about living here is getting out on the water! All of these people were missing out!
So the stage was set for Yippie Cayo Hueso. This would be a song highlighting sailing out on the waters off of Key West. The song is written in the key of E in both the chorus and the main body of the song.
“Yippie Cayo Hueso”
(chorus)
Yippie Cayo Hueso, Yippie Cayo Way, Yippie Cayo Hueso, An Island In The Stream
Verse 1
Sailing out to Sand Key, a little bit north of the light
a pod of dolphins started playing, right off our port side
Verse 2
We came about and we headed south, the sea was quite serene
and that pod of dolphins showed the way, right off of our bow
(bridge)
back on the mainland they're wound so tight, sometimes I can't believe my eyes
just take a sail on a sunset eve, in the twilight you can't believe
(chorus)
Yippie Cayo Hueso, Yippie Cayo Way, Yippie Cayo Hueso, An Island In The Stream
Verse 3
Pelican flies like a B25, a half a foot off the waves
and when they're high they sure can fly, always carrying a smile... sometimes a fish!
(bridge)
back on the mainland they're wound so tight, sometimes I can't believe my eyes
just take a sail on a sunset eve, in the twilight you can't believe
(chorus)
Yippie Cayo Hueso, Yippie Cayo Way, Yippie Cayo Hueso, An Island In The Stream
The structure of the song has the chorus kick the song off, which isn't unheard of, but it's not all that common either:
Yippie Cayo Hueso, Yippie Cayo Way, Yippie Cayo Hueso, An Island In The Stream
The line, “An Island In The Stream” is of course reference to the Hemingway book “Islands in the Stream”. The fact that the Gulf Stream rolls right by Key West, makes it specifically fitting for the song.
The first verse starts out with the line: Sailing out to Sand Key, a little bit north of the light.
Sand Key is a former key actually, located nine miles west of Key West. Today it's a shoal with a lighthouse. It's also the finish line for The Wrecker's Race, a sailboat race held on the last Sunday of January, February, March, and April organized by the Schooner Wharf Bar. I've been lucky enough to be in several of them over the years with my friend Larry Poff, on his boat, Transition.
In the same verse the song talks about coming across a pod of dolphins.
A pod of dolphins started playing, right off our port side
Dolphins are often seen in the Keys and always a fascinating experience, as you would expect!
The second verse starts off by underlining the fact that this song is about sailing.
We came about and headed south
The term, here in the past tense, Came About, refers to the sail on a sailboat being switched from left to right, or visa versa. Power boats don't come about.
The song also underlines the fact that quite often dolphins will often swim with boats here.
And that pod of dolphins showed the way, right off of our bow
The song then switches to the bridge. Here is the awakening awareness of how fortunate those of us are who live in the Keys, be it Key West, Key Largo, or anywhere in between. The keys mentality is quite different from anywhere else.
Back on the mainland they're wound so tight, sometimes I can't believe my eyes
This is followed with the solution to the aforementioned angst
Just take a sail on a sunset eve, in the twilight you can't believe
For those who are musicians, this section takes on an interesting, fun twist. Up until now the song is in the key of E. Here it steps out of E as the progression goes Em9, B octave, F#m7, C#m7, C#7, F#sus4, F#, F#m add9, B, Bsus4, B.
The song then returns to the chorus of the song, then to the instrumental portion.
For the instrumental interlude, instead of using the structure of the body of the song, I took elements of both the bridge and the main body of the song. This time starting off with the B octave, then again utilizing the Em9, which is the reverse order of those two in the bridge. At this point it goes back to the B octave then to A. It does that twice and with it resolving on the A, it lends itself to a easy transition back to E and the standard progression of the song for the third verse.
Pelican flies like a B25, a half a foot off the waves, but when they're high they sure can fly, often carrying a smile... sometimes a fish!
Notes on this verse: Pelicans often will glide inches over the water. It's an amazing sight indeed! I likened it to Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who's B25s flew just above the water to avoid detection in the first bombing raid on Japan during WW II.
The song then revisits both the bridge and the chorus, then has a definitive, staccato ending.
Thanks for reading the blog! This song will be on my upcoming album "Jump Into De FiYa!"
