Hurricane

You Lucky Enough While visiting a friend, I noticed that they had a plaque on their wall stating “If you’re lucky enough to live by a beach, you’re lucky enough.” The phrase stuck with me and I started thinking about all the ways that we are lucky and we just take it for granted. A few days later, I sat down and wrote this song.

Sin Ropa – This song was inspired after a trip to Miami Carnival with some friends in October 2006. While strolling along the beach, at South Beach we came across many topless sunbathers. Many tourists, including the men in our party, stopped to get an eye full that resulted in comments from our wives. I used a little poetic license in writing this song. They were not completely naked but they were wearing thongs, which is close enough to being sin ropa (without clothes).

Susanne’s Song – I wrote this song for Susanne for her 60th birthdays. The song says it all. This song is one of the more difficult songs I have worked on. It took about four months to complete. You would think it would have been easy since we have been married for over 25 years but most of my music comes to me. I went after this one.

All In The Mind - This is a true story. One day while driving in Port Charlotte, Florida, an old man pulled out in front of me causing me to have to break hard to avoid a collision. Then he proceeded to drive about 10 miles below the speed limit. This infuriated me. When I finally got an opportunity to pass him, I saw that he looked younger than me. It got me to thinking how we all think that we are younger than we actually are. I surveyed my friends to see if it was just me but everyone agrees that they feel younger than they actually are. How about you?

Hurricanes Chasing Me – We have lived in Florida for many years. First, in Fort Walton Beach, then in Destin and now in Port Charlotte. We have experienced many hurricanes while living in Florida and lost our first boat to Hurricane Opal in 1995. In 1999, while in transit to Trinidad, Hurricane Lenny, known as the wrong way storm because it went from West towards the East, chased us from Puerto Rico, through the Virgin Islands and caught us in St. Maarten. Our boat was one of the few survivors and one of the few boats with a Single Side Band Radio. We assisted many boaters in contacting family and friends after the hurricane. 1n 2004 we bought a house in Port Charlotte, three weeks later Hurricane Charley hit the city and did enormous damage to our home. Two weeks later Hurricane Francis paid us a visit and finished the damage that Charley missed. Some good friends of ours living in Port Charlotte suggested we move and only come to visit during the non-hurricane season.

Chuck You Farley – After Hurricane Charley, many people spray painted this slogan on their boarded up homes that were destroyed. I liked the play on words and decided to write the song for the Florida Song Contest. I did not win the contest but my friends enjoy singing this one when we get together.

Rhythm Of The Roofer – While we were taking a break from making repairs to our home after Hurricane Charley, we could hear the roofers working on the houses around the neighborhood. With eighty percent of the homes in the city having damage done to their roofs, the sound of the roofer was constant. The rhythm of the roofer inspired me to do this song.

Dumb Monkey – One day, while taking a shower, I started singing the phrase “monkey see, monkey do”. By the time I came out of the shower, I had the idea for this song. This is one of those songs that I wrote in about 30 minutes.

Friends – We have some very dear friends and I wanted to write a song to let them know how much we appreciate them.

See The Devil – The devil is an old time masquerade character of Trinidad Carnival. The characters paint themselves in blue or red paint and try to intimidate you. In the days of old, they begged for money and if you did not pay them they would smear their paint on you. Today, they accept donations but they are not allowed to smear you with paint. A drummer beating a biscuit tin normally accompanies the devils providing a rhythm for them to dance. I tried to capture the essence of the beat with this song.