I wrote the chorus to this song after exactly two and half hours of sleep, the morning after I graduated with my MBA. It’s based on a true story (with a few artistic liberties taken, of course). I’ve just finished it two days later after being struck in the face by the muse this evening (it all just gushed out). I recorded and posted it because I can’t get this song out of my head and figured I’d share that with the rest of you. Let me know what you think… and seriously, go bake some pancakes!

Pancakes!!

Surprise

My mom sent me a poem she'd written called Hurricane and asked if I could write a song from it. This is what I came up with.
 

Hurricane

I wrote this song while in college, and there have been only minor changes to the chord structure since then.  However, the bass line and the lead guitar were all created and recorded within the last week.  

Lady

I wrote this song while at the Naval Academy - inspired by my first encounter with the Sirens of the Odyssey. I'm starting to wonder if they, the Sirens, were the antagonists that everyone believed them to be. Could it actually have been the sailors' collective belief in their inevitable demise, should they listen to the Sirens' song, that led to that eventuality? &nbsp;Perhaps there were sailors out there who listened to the songs, appreciated their beauty, and sailed on? &nbsp;I'm going to have to look up Homer and ask him :)



Sometimes I wish we could capture moments of life to relive over an over. The many moments of my English Lit classes would be high on my list.



Sirens

Man in Black

Heaven

I wrote this song for a songwriting competition hosted by my bank, USAA. The songs were required to be about "the open road" or "home" - I chose home. I hope you like it.

Into Open Arms

Yes, I've heard it before - I like my coffee sweet and my songs pretty.  And I'm ok with that.  I grew up listening to the Beatles, Michael Hedges, Albinoni, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Clannad, and Pat Metheny.  Lately (as in the last 12 years or so), I've really come to enjoy artists like Lewis Taylor (incredible funk/soul), The Swell Season (the couple from the movie Once), Andrew York (classical guitarist and composer), Alison Krauss (beyond bluegrass), and jazz greats like Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday.  While they span a great range of musicality, I think I most appreciate their abilities to write and perform beautiful melodies - especially those that are haunting and perhaps a bit sad - as they serve to remind me of the lovely impermanence of life.  

I've been writing my songs since I was sixteen or so, and many of them came while at the Naval Academy.  I like to play in front of a crowd, though I think much of the thrill comes from the fact that I'm still not at ease with it.  I think one of my fondest memories was when I performed almost all of my songs in a crowded train station in Shibuya, Japan, before being very politely asked to leave by a Japanese police officer.  By leaving my guitar bag open in front of me, I had made 1030 yen - 50 yen short of paying for my round trip train fare that evening.     

Thank you to all of you out there who listen, and to those of you who make life so intoxicating - music just wouldn't have the same meaning without you.    

Cecil's Refrain