Story Behind The Song "Yippie Cayo Hueso!"

Story Behind The Song - “Yippie Cayo Hueso!”

(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

Yippie Cayo Hueso

Yippie Cayo Hueso

An Island In The Stream

© Christopher R. Rehm/Joseph Gowran BMI

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!"