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Dylan’s Ghost- Songs of a Lifetime- Track 6- Journey
Journey by Robert Garcia- Copyright 2015
This May will mark three years since I underwent major cancer surgery; a 7-hour operation that resulted in the removal of more than half my stomach, about 10% of my liver and my gall bladder. Five months earlier I had suffered a perforated ulcer, a dangerous situation in which I was within an hour or two of going into full-fledged septic shock, which would have been fatal. The ulcer saved my life because it was a follow-up endoscopy a few months later that found the cancer that would later be removed.
All’s well that ends well and I have been cancer-free ever since. The smaller stomach has allowed me to maintain my girlish figure. The liver regenerates, so no loss at all really. With no offense to God’s design, the gall bladder, whose main function seems to be processing fatty foods, I have not missed for a single moment.
After a combined 15 weeks of recovery from the two operations- I returned to work and got back into the swing of life, and I wrote the song, Journey. My Producer, Jeff Severson, says he thinks it’s the first time anyone has ever rhymed the words “journey” and “gurney.” One would hope it doesn’t happen too often.
The inspiration for the song actually came after the first operation when a friend of mine drove me home from the hospital and it felt in some strange way like I’d just been let out of prison. I’d been in there for a very long 7 days and I was just grateful to be alive. As the beginning of the song notes, the leaves were starting to change- Fall had arrived. The colors were beautiful. The cold nip in the air was refreshing. Like the tune says- “so much better than being dead.” And that’s the story I try to impart in Journey– the appreciation for a second chance at life.
Half way through the project, I decided to drop the song from the album. Musically, Jeff and I were not really connecting on it. It also seemed like a totally self-absorbed story. Lots of people go through stuff like this- what makes me so special and why should anyone give a crap what I have to say on the subject? But Jeff convinced me to put the tune back in. He pointed out that several hundred people had supported me and went along through my little health odyssey with me, following the thing on my blog and on Facebook; they might be interested in my take on all this.
I decided to make the song brief and to produce it as basically as humanly possible. No separate vocal and guitar tracks. No other instrumentation of any kind. I asked Jeff to just set me up like I was playing at a café or something. A mic on my voice, a mic on the acoustic guitar- and we’d record what amounts to a live performance.
So we did the first take. The song ended, and the last drop of sound from the harmonic that closed the tune faded into silence. Jeff turned and said, “That’s it.”
One take. First take. Bam.
I swear I could play Journey a hundred times over and it will never sound as spot-on as the version we recorded that day. It would be the very last thing we recorded for the album.
Journey
By Robert GarciaSomewhere along a tree-lined road
I lost a heavy load
The leaves were turning orange and yellow and red
I was thinking to myself
This so much better than being dead
It’s been a journey
It’s been a long, long trail
I was lying on a gurney
Just an hour or two from heaven or hellYou learn to take things a day at a time
Sometimes an hour at a time
Sometimes, well, there’s no time at all
Sometimes, time flies- next thing you know it’s the fall
It’s been a Journey
It’s been a long, long trail
But it’s really kind of lucky
To have yourself another chance to prevailI ain’t ready to say goodbye now
I ain’t ready to say farewell
Taking off into the deep, blue sky
Climbing back onto the carousel
It’s been a Journey
It’s been a long, long trail
And it occurs to me
It’s time to unfurl that sailAnd so it goes
And here we go
Wherever the wind will blowRobert Garcia- Copyright 2015
Dylan’s Ghost- Songs of a Lifetime is available for digital download at I-Tunes, CD Baby, and Amazon Music. Purists who would like a hard copy of the CD can contact me directly at robert.garcia.56@gmail.com and we’ll make arrangements to ship it out to you.
Dylan’s Ghost- Songs of a Lifetime- Track 5- Through the Line
Through the Line
By Robert Garcia
Initially written as a salute to love and the communications devices used to express it, I wrote most of Through the Line almost 30 years ago and it is the happiest song I’ve ever composed. In tempo and in the basic philosophical optimism, it is a thoroughly feel-good tune.
Producer, Jeff Severson, created a Motown-like instrumentation that adds to the positive energy. Through the Line is quite simply an expression of appreciation to those who love us and stick by us, despite life’s vagaries.
From a lyrical perspective there are two sets of phrases that I was particularly happy with. There is a totally new 2nd verse that picks up from the theme of the 1st.
Don’t you now that life has a plan for you
Maybe not what you thought you were supposed to do
You won’t be given more than you can handle
Make a wish and light another candle
And the break has a simple set of words that captures what’s been a central philosophical strain that has run through my entire life- basically- life can be arbitrary- and so what? Deal with it! With happiness and love in your heart.
The way it has unfurled
There is no reason to this world
Just chance and fate and a little bit of luckRide with the changes
And just take what life arranges
With love and faith and a little bit of fun
When I first wrote the song in 1987 and made a rudimentary recording of it, I played it for a friend of mine, Dave Arlington, who was, at the time, the morning-drive DJ for what was then WLTT-FM radio (Light Rock- Less Talk) in Washington, D.C. He liked the tune and thought it was catchy but didn’t quite understand what I meant by “Through the Line.” What “line?” I meant the telephone. And if I could have convinced AT&T to use the song in an ad, I’d still be collecting residuals.
And then the internet came along and “Through the Line” could be anything from Skype, to a land-line to WhatsApp to the Web itself.
Yup that’s my style- accidentally ahead of the times.
Through the Line
By Robert GarciaDon’t you know life’s full of surprises
Never turns out the way you surmised it
Villains can turn into allies
You can be at the bottom and still be on the riseSure bets can go down the drain
A day full of sunshine can turn into rain
Only sure thing I can depend on- is you baby
You send your love on
Through the Line
Right on timeDon’t you know that life has a plan for you
Maybe not what you thought you were supposed to do
You won’t be given more than you can handle
Make a wish and light another candleAngels from heaven surround your head
Devils from hell pull you down instead
Only sure thing I can depend on- is you baby
You send your love on
Through the Line
Right on timeThe way it has unfurled
There is no reason to this world
Just chance and fate and a little bit of luckRide with the changes and just
Take what life arranges
With love and faith and a little bit of funOne thing I can always depend on- is you baby
You send your love on
Through the Line
Right on timeDon’t you know life’s full of surprises
Never turns out the way you surmised it
Villains can turn into allies
You can be at the bottom and still be on the riseSure bets can go down the drain
A day full of sunshine can turn into rain
Only sure thing I can depend on- is you baby
You end your love on
Through the Line
Right on timeBy Robert Garcia- Copyright 2015
Dylan’s Ghost- Songs of a Lifetime is available for digital download at I-Tunes, CD Baby, and Amazon Music. Purists who would like a hard copy of the CD can contact me directly at robert.garcia.56@gmail.com and we’ll make arrangements to ship it out to you.
Dylan’s Ghost- Songs of a Lifetime- Track 3- Hold Up
Scene from the movie, Dog Day Afternoon
Hold Up– By Robert Garcia, Copyright 2015
Hold Up is a pretty old tune, dating back to around 1975 or so. The Al Pacino movie, Dog Day Afternoon, had come out and I don’t know if I was inspired by it or my concept came coincidentally around the same time the movie was released- but the song is a first-person account from the point of view of a nervous bank robber who is not exactly enamored with his “life of crime.” In Dog Day Afternoon, a modern day Brooklyn bank robbery perpetrated by inexperienced criminals goes horribly awry. Hold Up is set in the late 1800’s and the robbery goes better than Pacino’s- but it’s still a pretty stressful deal.
One way to approach listening to this song is to treat the “Mexico” verses like dream sequences. There are three of these verses and all of them feature almost a calypso quality, with Producer, Jeff Severson, adding classical guitar and his wife, Sally Swan joining my friend, Ben Mason in creating some smooth, easy, gentle harmonies. When the song is describing the actual robbery, the music is much edgier- Jeff’s electric guitar doing its best rendition of the British rock band, Free.
The song went through significant changes and is actually a kind of odd-duck in its structure. I think that’s what makes it interesting- kinda don’t know where it’s going next. The final Mexico verse was all new and gave our bank robber a romantic motive for his crime and his burning desire to get across the border.
Hold Up begins quite purposely basic with just two acoustic guitars and a light conga-like drum. On the album it is preceded by the highly produced We Miss You, so the contrast as the album transitions to Hold Up is very cool- a case of “less is more.” And when the full compliment of bass and drums does kick in about 30 seconds later- it really packs a nice punch and escalates the drama of the lyrical narrative as the bank robbery begins to unfold. Credit to my buddy, Ben Mason for the idea of letting the start of Hold Up be subtle and understated.
Hold Up
By Robert Garcia
Pulled into town about half past three
We were hungry for silver- we were gonna be free
Had a little whiskey to calm our nerves
Walked right past the Union reservesBrother Luke turned to me and said “You’re the one”
Said “You’re the one who’s gonna have all the fun”
Tell that teller what you want and make it clear
We’re going to grab that silver and get out of here
Oh yeahMexico, oh Mexico
I’m headed down your way
I got pockets full of silver but I got no time
That sun-baked land gonna feel so fine
So fine
So fine
So fineThis hold-up’s taking such a long, long time
My legs are weak and I’m going blind
I can’t shoot straight- I got a worried mind
And I’m oh so tired of this life of crimeTell that teller what you want and make it clear
We’re going to grab that silver and get out of here
OhMexico, oh Mexico
I’m headed down your way
I got pockets full of silver but I got no time
That sun-baked land gonna feel so fine
So fine
So fine
So fineMexico, oh Mexico
There’s a lovely girl there I used to know
Never really wanted to say goodbye
Always really want to give it just another try
So fine
So fine, (bye, bye)
So fine, (bye, bye)By Robert Garcia, Copyright 2015
Dylan’s Ghost- Songs of a Lifetime is available for digital download at I-Tunes, CD Baby, and Amazon Music. Purists who would like a hard copy of the CD can contact me directly at robert.garcia.56@gmail.com and we’ll make arrangements to ship it out to you.
Dylan’s Ghost- Songs of a Lifetime- Track 2- We Miss You
We Miss You- Robert Garcia, Copyright 2015
Well, one thing is for damn sure. The longer you live the more times you say goodbye. There must be a list of at least a dozen people who I think about regularly who are no longer with us. Like every, single damned day, I think of them. Though years and years in the past in some cases, their passing seems like just yesterday- and I still can’t believe- I am astounded- that they’re no longer here.
Where are they? Where did they go? Wherever they are, do they think of us? Will we see them again? And if it’s true that you die twice, once physically and then again when the last person dies who had memories of you- then, my goodness, how important is it for us to remember them and miss them and keep them in our hearts?
And that’s the meaning of the song titled, We Miss You.
I wrote it a little over 20 years ago after I lost my father, Alvaro. This scratched up old photo is probably the best shot ever taken of the two of us.
And the photo below is a scan of the two-decades-old, water-stained piece of paper where I first put down the words, about a week after Alvaro had passed, about two years after the shot above.
The lyrics spilled out all at once. I remember the process as an emotionally intense experience. It’s amazing actually, how many of those words are in this final version. But they don’t quite add up to a complete song, so urged on by my Producer, Jeff Severson, I doubled the break in the song and wrote an entirely new final verse. There’s a thread about new life at the very bottom of the water-stained page that I never followed up on. Which is good, because it kinda sucked.
We Miss You
By Robert GarciaThese are the times that shake us all
These are the times in the fading light of the fall
When we recall
The spirits of our mothers and fathers
Sons and daughters and sisters and brothersSleds and trains and dolls and horses
Ride off in the night like invisible forcesAnd we miss you- yeah we miss you
These are the times when we breathe deep
These are the times when we’d really rather be asleep
When we keep
The memories of our mothers and fathers
Sons and daughters and sisters and brothersChristmas trees and candy canes and laughter
Do you think of us in the great hereafterYeah we miss you
Shimmering sparkles they play in the ether
Dancing together the light is their keeper
The stars in the sky point the way for the dreamers
And heaven it seems is not only for believersThese are the times that pull us under
These are the times when we hear God’s roaring thunder
And let no man put asunder
The undying love of our mothers and fathers
Sons and daughters and sisters and brothersWhere you’ve gone we cannot follow
Sometimes our prayers they just seem hollowBecause we miss you
Yeah, we miss you
Robert Garcia Copyright 2015
Musically- this is Jeff’s baby. My unplugged version of this song is slower and sadder and played on one lonely acoustic guitar.
Jeff’s version is crazy good. I can’t even get into the layers and layers of guitar work, key boards, and harmonies that went into this. The guitar lines in this tune are incredibly strong- they make the tune, musically. The build-up to the bridge (Shimmering sparkles)- those electric guitar hammer-ons, I guess you call them, are just perfect. And, yes, those are Beatle-like harmonies in the break. Thank you Ben Mason for your Beatleness! And for your portion of the We Miss You voices.
Easily, the best and most extensively produced song on the album. Jeff once said he wanted the music to do justice to the lyrics. I appreciated the compliment, and, uh, yeah. I’m not used to functioning without “thumbs up” emoticons. Hundreds of ‘em. Thank you, buddy- nice work.
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Dylan’s Ghost- Songs of a Lifetime is available for digital download at I-Tunes, CD Baby, and Amazon Music. Purists who would like a hard copy of the CD can contact me directly at robert.garcia.56@gmail.com and we’ll make arrangements to ship it out to you.
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