First Of All
Song Stories & Tunings

Title: Whistle While You Walk *
Tuning: DGDGBD
Story: This is the only song I've written that named itself. What I mean by that is, I heard the title in the song as I was writing it. It's funny because I had this image of a person happily strolling along without a care in the world.

Title: Jed's Place
Tuning: DADGAD
Story: Jed is a friend/co-worker who's father used to own the company where I work. They have a very nice beach house in Nags Head, NC and occasionally they invite folks down for weekends on the beach. It's always a good time! This song was written while spending the weekend there.

Title: Time Gone By
Tuning: DGDGAD
Story: We only get one shot at life and this song reminded me that I let a whole lot of it pass me by before I decided to start playing again. I spent many years with my nose to the grindstone while my friends and family tried to convince me that there was more to living than what I was getting out of it. Once it's gone, you can never get it back. As my father is so fond of saying, "Make sure you take time to smell the roses."

Title: Summer Rain
Tuning: DADGAD
Story: This song convinced me to record my demo CD. I literally could not believe my ears the first time I truly listened to it. It is sometimes difficult for the musician to hear their own music because they are concentrating so hard on the mechanics of producing it. I had no idea that I was writing music like what I heard that night. It was a very emotional moment and one that I will NEVER forget. The harmonics in the song remind me of rain drops hitting a tin roof or maybe falling from the gutters to the cement below. Needed summer rain makes me feel a little sad because it puts a damper on your picnic or plans, but, at the same time, it makes me feel happy because I know how much life depends upon it. I love the smell after a rain (with all the ozone in the air) when you can almost feel the earth coming back to life.

Title: Flyin' Low
Tuning: DADGAD
Story: Flyin' low is a slang term that means moving very quickly. It's usually used in reference to driving fast. This song is a workout for my fingers and I've been told it looks like they are flying all over the place. Every guitar player has to have a show-off tune and this one fits the bill for my first CD.

Title: Rusty's Spirit
Tuning: DGDGBD
Story: This song is dedicated to the memory of my next door neighbor, Rusty Spector. He was the best neighbor a guy could ever have hoped for. He was always willing to help out, lend me a tool, cut my lawn when I couldn't, or use his chainsaw on a tree that had fallen down in my yard. He was murdered less than a mile from his home leaving a wife and two young children. During the afternoon the day he died, my wife was out walking our dog and a large owl swooped in front of her. Everyone knows that owls are nocturnal birds so seeing one is rare - well, that was the first and only one she has EVER seen here. My great grandmother was a full-blooded native American indian and my wife is very "in-tune" with nature. She was compelled to research the indian legends and discovered that seeing an owl in the daylight is associated with death. The owl is said to carry the person's spirit. Since I was writing this song at the time of his demise, I dedicated the song to him and felt that it was a very fitting title.

Title: Best Of Both Worlds
Tuning: CGDGBD
Story: This song is an attempt to combine a little of my rock-n-roll roots with my fingerstyle techniques - to get the best of both worlds. I used the thumbpick to strum the guitar and get a more crunchy sound (by dampening the strings) while at the same time using my fingers in a more traditional manner. It's the most progressive acoustic tune on this CD and a precursor of songs to come. It was recorded using the same guitar that the demo featured - this song is the last song I was able to squeeze out of it before it died.

Title: 12 Roses
Tuning: CGDGBC
Story: I wrote this song as a gift. If you're ever going to get your significant other 12 roses, there isn't a better time to do it than on your 12th anniversary. She loved the red roses and the song just made the day that much more special.

Title: Playing On Dad's New Grass
Tuning: DGDGAD
Story: My father is a huge Bluegrass fan. Almost from the very first minute that he knew I was writing acoustic music again, he wanted to know if I was going to write something "Bluegrassy". I guess Bluegrass reminds me of home (since I grew up listening to it). I also like the newer style known as Newgrass (especially the CD "Skip, Hop, and Wobble" by Douglas, Barenberg, and Meyer). So I wrote this tune for my dad. I played it for him the last time I was home and he really liked it!

Title: If Only
Tuning: CGDGBC
Story: This is only tribute song to Michael Hedges that I have written to date. Following a very stressful, frustrating day at work, I wanted/needed to get lost in my music for a while once I got home. I believe that Michael's influence played a considerable part in the song's inception because I had been so smitten with the sounds and feelings in "Rickover's Dream". I must have listened to that song a hundred times, and I even fell asleep with it coming through my headphones the night before I started writing this. "If only" is a question we often ask ourselves, and while I was composing, I was thinking of Michael as well as what would have happened in my life if I hadn't ever quit playing.

Title: Solar Eclipse
Tuning: DGDFAC
Story: This song was written during the last solar eclipse of the millenium. I remember the reports of fear and panic the eclipse caused; it was said to be the final warning and signal the end of the world. In fact, the song was originally entitled "T.E.O.T.W.A.W.K.I." pronounced "teo-twacky" (The End Of The World As We Know It). For me, the song signals the end of my first CD and the beginning of my life as a musician.

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Copyright © 2007 [Steven Dillon]. All rights reserved.