Meyer & McGuire
Songwriter Notes
Song
of the Month #2 - “The Good House Is Built Upon A Rock”
(Track #7 on the Caught in the Middle CD)
Lyrics: If
you want to listen to this song while you read, go to the following link: http://free.napster.com/view/artist/index.html?id=12355412. Click on "The Good House Is Built Upon A
Rock." You can listen to it for free.
Since
1974, I have lived in Canandaigua, a beautiful little town in the Finger Lakes
region of New York. However, my good
fortune did not start when I came to Canandaigua. It started long ago in another little New
York town nestled in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains along the Hudson
River shore. Saugerties, the place where
I spent my childhood and teenage years, needs no description for anyone who has
grown up in small-town America. Like all
small towns, it has its memorable characters, great stories, wonderful events,
and genuine friends, those people who are always there when you really need
them. “The Good House Is Built Upon a
Rock” is a tribute to those people who were there when I needed them.
You
see, when I was sixteen, a junior in high school, I went blind after sustaining
a fall during a cross-country race. Most
of you know the details of the event because I think I have told it at least
two or three thousand times, usually while sitting on some bar stool in some
local watering hole. It’s amazing how
much people need beer to ask you what they want to know, isn’t it? Anyway, if you don’t know the details, and
you want to know, e-mail me, and I will give you the scoop.
Following
my accident, the people of Saugerties rallied to give me an unbelievable amount
of support. The obstacles I faced were
difficult, but these people made mountains seem like rolling hills. I could never come close to repaying them for
all the wonderful things they did for me, so I wrote this little tune as an
expression of my deep appreciation for the outpouring of their love for me.
Now
that you know what motivated me to develop the song, it’s time to get into the
nature of its construction. Siobhan and
I usually get back to Saugerties about three or four times a year to visit my
parents, who, by the way, still live on quiet little Elm Street. When we are there, we inevitably go out
walking to burn off the millions of calories we absorb from my mother’s
cooking. One night we were walking up by
Cantine field, the local park where just about every sport is played. If you are from Canandaigua, just visualize
Jefferson or Baker Park, and if you are from somewhere else, put yourself in
your local park, and you’ll be with me.
As
we walked across Cantine field, we were each engaged in our own thoughts. Mine reflected back to when I used to watch
the Babe Ruth League baseball games.
When I stood in the grand stands years ago, I would often look to the
west and look at the sun setting on the beautiful majestic Catskill Mountain
range. As Siobhan and I walked, I
thought about Saugerties being nestled between these mountains and the Hudson
River, and the first line of the song was born.
I love internal rhyme, so when I stumbled across the phrase, “foothills
of the Catskill’s,” I knew the line was a keeper. Although I am not really proud of this, the
first verse emerged like the introduction to a five paragraph essay. I’m afraid when you teach something day in
and day out for thirty-two years, it stays with you on a subconscious level
forever.
The
first verse concludes with the lyric “those good things that small town gave to
me,” and this becomes the driving force for the rest of the song. While driving back from Saugerties to
Canandaigua, approximately 250 miles, my mind kept identifying just what those
“good things” were. When a song won’t
leave you alone, it’s like having popcorn in your teeth; you don’t feel right
until you get it out. Upon returning to
Canandaigua, I took all those “good things” and carved out a meter and rhyme
scheme for them. Once again, I fell into
that five paragraph trap. Oh well, I am
too old and comfortable to try to be something I am not.
After
the verses of the song were in place, I worked at developing a chorus that
would unite them. During the thirty-two
years I have been in Canandaigua, life for me has gone very well, and in
reflection, I see that much of that success can be attributed to what I
absorbed while growing up in Saugerties.
The seeds that were planted in me in Saugerties blossomed when I got to
Canandaigua. This is also true for many
of my friends and acquaintances from Saugerties who are now spread throughout
the country and the rest of the world.
We are all ambassadors of this little town and its wonderful
values. To represent these ambassadors,
I developed a chorus with a series of metaphorical clichés concluding with “the
good house is built upon a rock.”
Following
the completion of the song, Siobhan and I tossed around some options for
arranging it. We settled on a hard
driving sound with somewhat of a bluegrass flare. I liked this decision for two reasons. One, it is a song about going on the road to
travel back to a previous point in time and place, so it is nice to have the
movement of the song reflect its content.
Two, Siobhan bops around when she’s playing a fast tune, and everyone
enjoys watching her.
We
recorded this song in 1998 at The Garage, a little studio in Rochester, New
York. The Garage, as I have told you
before, is owned and operated by John and Joe Dady, two quintessential
musicians. When you record with them,
you can always count on great coffee, good stories, and an aching stomach from
laughing.
John,
Joe, and Tim Chaapel, another fine musician, truly enhanced the sound Siobhan
and I brought to the studio. With just a
banjo, guitar and snare drum, they capture the “road tune” feeling we want the
listener to have. I am no Doc Watson, so
John Dady backs me up with some hot licks on the guitar. Joe Dady, who can play with the best of them,
picks a mean banjo on this one. Joe and
Siobhan drive the song with just the right touch on the snare drum and the
acoustic bass. Tim Chaapel, who
occasionally plays with Siobhan and me, sings back up harmony. Tim developed a nice idea for the start of
the song. It opens with him and John Dady and me singing an a cappella version
of the chorus. I like it, and I hope you
do too. When I hear the song start, I,
once again, begin to see those foothills of the Catskills.
I
highly recommend John and Joe if you are interested in recording. Also, The Dady Brothers, John and Joe’s
group, have many recordings of their own, and they tour the United States and
Ireland. Check them out on the web.
Tim
Chaapel owns Mobile Music, a great music store in Canandaigua. If you think you might be interested in
playing an instrument, stop in. Tim will
get you off to a great start! He has
guitars that make you look really sexy!
Also, if your instrument has fallen on hard times, Tim will get it
sounding like new in no time.
Well,
there you have it. I’ll have another
song of the month for you next month. If
you have any comments or suggestions, please pass them on to me. This is a work in progress, and I am always
looking for new ways to improve it.
(E-Mailed 5/18/07)
E-mail us at McRiley@Frontiernet.net