This song and the next are cut from the same vine. They are branches of the same tree of inspiration. A story that is personal but hopefully universal at the same time.

I posted this like a week ago and realized I didn’t label it in the right category. So, it showed up on the iTunes podcast but not here on the website. There are some thoughts and lyrics missing instead of me doing my usual fill in mumbling (ala Michael Jackson or Stevie Wonder studio demos if you have ever heard some of those).

I stood up one evening in my normal state of sleep deprivation and started playing the opening guitar riff and lyric as if I was covering someone else’s song. Admittedly, the feel of the tune has a current flavor as well as maybe harkening back to that “U2″ power rock thing so that could have been the familiarity for me. But, the lyric just poured out and started filling up this story that I didn’t know I wanted to tell. I think the story of someone leaving home to start a new exciting life has been told many times. The thing is, it’s never been MY story. I live in the same 12 block radius where I grew up and have watched many of those adventurers head out for a new life. I thought it would be interesting to speak for those who are left back at home.

The thing that really hurts is not that they are just physically gone, but that they don’t even seem like they are missing you. In fact, I wonder if they were ever really here to begin with. The song Like a Rolling Stone by Dylan has a line that says “No direction home”. It’s also the name of a documentary put together by Martin Scorcese where Dylan talks about being born in a place that seemed far from where he was supposed to be. So, his life has been a journey to find his true home. I wonder how his brother David felt about that?

More Ways Than One

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For the past 3 years, my Uncle Neal (co-writer of She Makes Me, subject of Been Watchin’ You and overall mentor in writing, song writing and life in general) has been living on the small Island of Grand Turk, the capital of the Turk and Caicos Island in the British West Indies just South of Haiti. I was fortunate enough to get to visit there and it was this environment that was a direct inspiration for this song. Obviously, if you have listened to it, you will hear the blatant Reggae island feel but the inspiration goes a little deeper than that.

Neal explained that the culture on the island is a bit mixed up. The island has a population of about 2,500 made up of a few different enclaves. There are Jamaicans, Haitians and a some random others. The majority of the island, though, is populated by the native inhabitants who seem to have no cultural identity outside of the island itself. In fact, the race of people that are there are officially called Belongers.

The Belongers seem to have a fairly strong distain for anyone whom they call Outsiders and it causes moderate racial tension on this 7 mile by 2 mile stretch of land out in the middle of the ocean. Although, as I consider my social existence here on this much larger chunk of land, I can see some of the same similarities. Not in the form of racial tension here in the Midwest, but definitely in people’s sense of community and desire to belong. As I consider my close friends and acquaintances, a pattern appears where (generally speaking, of course) these people seem to have a lot in common. I wonder if I surround myself with people who look, think, act, speak and make decisions like I do. There is something about this that makes me want to apologize, even though I see it across the board as people find their place to belong. My heart says I would much rather find myself among around a variety of people who I can share life with. People who can challenge me, help me grow, expand my palate and hopefully, allow me the reciprocity. But, that’s not what my environment shows.

This song is a bit apologetic, although I hope the message gets across that I’m not trying to exclude anyone. I know that the people who don’t call me friend aren’t trying to exclude me either. We all just want to find a place where we belong. That doesn’t mean I won’t try to break out of this complacency.

Belong

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So, as you can tell there has been a big gap in the postings. I haven’t been meaning to leave anyone hanging. This journey has brought its share of everything so far and writer’s block is no exception. I don’t know if you can really call it writer’s block because I understand that to be a serious (in perspective of course) creative issue to get over. But, like my friend Kenny says, “Creativity doesn’t always show up when you want it to.” The thing that I would really like to apologize for is not keeping up with postings on a weekly basis. If I could hand myself some criticism, looking back at the last couple of months, even if I didn’t have the recorded songs to post, I really should have made sure to post something each week and keep you up to date with just how hard this has been to come up empty week after week. I promised the “journey” more than the content and I realize I have been letting you down with that.

In these absent weeks I have been to the Gulf of Mexico, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Indiana for tours. I have been to Michigan to buy a new bus, to Alabama for an incredible house concert, and L.A. for a co-write with Universal Publishing’s Jeff Blue (look him up), not to mention promoting a few great local shows with my band. This has been an incredible refueling period and I feel like the well is full again.

As for the state of the union. . .songwriting is a funny thing. I come up with nothing for so long and can’t even finish some songs that I’ve started, and then in Ireland, I write 7 brand new songs. Two nights after we got home, creative insomnia kept me up all night one night and I wrote 6 more. I can’t keep up with the outpouring at the moment. I feel like there is so much so say and the melodies won’t stop. What’s more, I really like the stuff that’s coming out. I will, of course, let you be the judge. I will be posting as fast as I can in the next week getting caught up so we can be back on schedule with postings. I would like the week number of the year to match the number in the catalog again.

Please, stay connected. Keep those comments coming. I can’t tell you how overwhelmed I was with the positive encouragement I received during this period of creative drought. I thought for sure that I would be chastised into submission from you all to whom I am accountable. But there were some of you who sent some words my way that made my eyes well up. I really feel like we are doing this together and I won’t let you down. 52 songs in 52 weeks!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Check the next posting for a new song!

Jared

With “More Than Fortune” just released, I remembered I had a song that I wrote that people have called “the wedding song”. In fact, I have sung this song at more than a handful of weddings by request. (humbled) When I started this project, I was told my more than a few people to make sure I released that song as a part of this project so they could have a recording. So, I offer to you this one as well.

It speaks of a love relationship that pledges forever and the idea that once two become one, nothing can separate that when there is real love involved. I’m not talking about the loving, heart-fluttering, dreamy feelings that two people might have for each other. I’m talking about an active, verb-style love where a person sets out everyday to joyfully practice the art of loving another human being as they promised to. The two belong to one another, not in a possessive way where one person reigns over the other in a master slave fashion, but in a giving and submissive way as one humbly serving another. Real love doesn’t set out to enslave, but to set you free enough to cause you to WANT to belong to the other. My blog, my soap box. Let me know what you think.

For All Time

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