The Answer is You

The process by which I write songs some times can be odd. In late December of 1990 I was on the 118 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley [Northwest Los Angeles] on my way with a new girlfriend to A Michael Bolton / Kenny G. concert at the Universal Amphitheater. We were late. Half way there a phrase popped into my head:

The Answer is You.

I knew right away it was a seed for a new song... Usaully I'd write it down and then let it germinate in the back of my mind until it was ready to be written. But I could not write it down I was flying down the freeway in my 1984 White Jimmy 4x4.  So I started repeating it over and over under my breath afraid I would for get it. 

When we got to to Universal City we found out the concert had been canceled and we were turned around and dumped right back on the freeway. I still had not written the song down --  I was desperate! I took the first exit -- Lankershim Boulevard which is the street that runs in front of the Universal Studios.  

All the while my date is looking at me like I was crazy. I pulled over in the first place I could find... an alley way by the Los Angeles River and I started digging madly in the center console to find a scrap of junk mail and a pen. Once I had it written down I explained to my date, Cynthia, what it was I had written down and explained that sometimes I got seeds for songs this way...

On December 31st, 1990 I sat in my tiny apartment in the West San Fernando Valley and wrote the song. I was happy that Cynthia was with me then, as I am happy now that she is still with me... 

The song is written in a Caribbean / Reggae arrangement.

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The Answer is You


I was troubled, I was down
Lookin' for what couldn't be found
Runnin' `round de every where
Draggin' `long my every care
Didn't know what i should do
Was so lost, was so blue
'Till a voice inside a me
Said deez words dat set me free


Chorus #1:
De answer Is I, My Friend
De answer is I
What ever you want from life,
De answer is I

Verse #2:
Deez crazy words, what do dey mean?
Look in my eyes, see what dey seen.
Cos i got up, i look all around
Love was all dat i found
From de mountains down to da seas
Down in de valleys an' up in de trees
i heard de words to dis song
Askin' me to sing along:

Chorus #2
De answer Is Love, my friend
De answer Is Love,
What ever you want from life,
De answer Is Love

Bridge:
Say de words: i am true
Now i know what i must do
Say de words: i am free
Now i know what i must be

Verse #3
Wherever you go, well dare you are
Follow your dreams, become a star
All you needz inside a you
Follow your heart, it know what to do
An' like de beach on de cloudy day
When de sun burnz dem clouds away
Let deez words open your eyes
To de bright, joyful sunny skies

Chorus #3
De answer Is You, my friend
De answer Is You,
What ever you want from life,
De answer Is You,

repeat bridge and chorus #2

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Lay Your Burdens Down

In 1997 my wife and I took a vacation trip up U.S. 395 along the Eastern Sierra mountains. We spend several days wandering around Lee Vining, Mammoth Lakes, and Bodie. During that trip we discovered the "legends" of a couple of  "Ladies of the Night" : Rosa May and Lottie Johl.

Lottie was a good girl fallen from grace who "worked" the mining town of Bodie. One of the local butchers Eli Johl, fell in love with her. Against her better judgement they married. The "good" side of town would have nothing to do with her. In the end she died under mysterious circumstances... a medicine that had been prescribed for her was in fact laced with poison. When she died the towns folk refused to allow her to be buried in the town cemetery.  see http://www.explorehistoricalif.com/feb2006.html if you'd like the whole tale.

Rosa May was the "archetype" of the "Hooker with the Heart of Gold".  For more about her see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_May  and http://www.weeklypioneer.com/2009/07/rosa-may.html

In any case we thought we might write a stage play about them... not much came of that but  this song.

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Lay Your Burdens Down

Some stories have no beginning
Others have no middle or end
Here he is on the edge again
Abandoned by his friends
     And he wants to tell her
     He wants her to know
     He wants to tell her
     But his heart says it's time to go
     His heart says its time to go

She cast her fate to the four winds
And followed them where they will
From the kingdoms of Heaven
Down into the Darkness Deep and still
     And she wants to tell him
     She wants him to see
     She wants to tell him
     But her heart says this cannot be
     Her heart says this cannot be

Down on the street drifts a melody
It's the song of a love un-spoken
For if you never ever say a single word
Your word can never be broken
     But I want you to listen
     Can you hear the sound?
     I want you to listen
     When your heart says lay your burdens down
     When your heart says lay your burdens down
   
Somewhere above some lonely street
Two hearts beat as One
And what once was torn and broken
Now outshines the mornin' sun
     So I want to tell you
     I want you to know
     I want to tell you
     But the words your heart already knows
     The words your heart already knows