The Reach

A couple of weeks ago I was in need of repainting my front porch. It was that time again and had probably been that time for more than 2 years. None the less I was taking charge and giving my deck a facelift. I gathered the necessary tools; paint brushes, roller trays, rags and paint stirrers.  The weather was so nice and I knew I was in for a long afternoon so I asked my daughter if I could borrow her MP3 speaker so I could enjoy some music while painting. I knew it would help keep my mind of the mundane task at hand and keep me entertained for a while. Thankfully she agreed and so armed with music I headed off to do my chore.

As I scrolled through my mp3 player, I saw that I had over 1000 songs stored on my MP3 player. Decisions, decisions! What should I listen to? What style? What was going to help me the most in completing my task? After all, what music I was going to listen to was obviously more important to me than getting right to work. I had my priorities, you know. Then I noticed that my mp3 player had a “shuffle songs” option I hadn't noticed before. It was a function that would randomly select from the songs stored on my mp3 player.

After a while of painting, a song started playing called “The Reach” by Dan Fogelberg. The Reach was released on Fogelberg’s 1981 album titled “The Innocent Age.” I had owned this album years ago and although the song sounded a bit familiar it had pretty much been lost to my memory. The album was released when I was a senior in high school, or in other words back in the days when I wondering what the hell I was going to do with my life as sometimes I still do. 

Even though I was a confused teenager, music was very much a part of my life. I was a big fan of acoustic singer/songwriters so Dan’s music was right up my alley. He was a very crafty versatile songwriter and I enjoyed all of his music. Dan had seen a meteoric rise in fame just a few years before with the release of his mega hit “Longer”. With him at the height of his popularity, he became introspective of the fact he was turning 30 and he wanted show it through his music. I didn’t know it then but it seems in retrospect that Dan was to become the last in a great line of 70’s male singer songwriters that would soon move over for hair bands and punk rockers.

The Reach was never released as a single and I doubt got any radio play. It was simply the last song on side 3 of a double album and probably went largely unnoticed by anyone other than Dan’s best fans. Maybe it was all in the timing, hearing the song now, verses hearing it in my youth that made me stop and take notice of the song as it came pouring out of the mp3 player. The melody grabbed me from the first note. The orchestration made the hair on my arms stand up and the lyrics pierced my soul. I could count on one hand the number of times a song had moved me in such a way.

As I stood there in awe of the song, I couldn’t help but think that there was something more for me in this song than just this moment. I asked myself, “What does this song have for me?” “Why am I so drawn to this song?” “What am I supposed to learn?” With these questions I decided to make the effort to learn all I could about the song and see if I couldn’t uncover the deeper meaning it seemed to have for me.

Upon my research I quickly learned the song was inspired by the Eggemoggin Reach, which is located between Sedgwick Maine and Deer Isle, Maine. A reach is a long body of water located between two bodies of land that lead’s out to sea and the Eggemoggin Reach was wedged between the Sedgwick shoreline and Deer Isle. This area, once known primarily for fishing, has become a place for the wealthy to enjoy yachting and sailing. Every year there is a famous Regatta that takes place there.

Deer Isle and The Reach had a personal appeal to Dan. He kept a home there and spent lot of time sailing on The Reach. It had become more and more of a home to him over the years, so much so that it is where he spent his final days before losing his life to cancer at the age of 56 in 2007. 

I had shared my affection of the song with my longtime best friend Tim Connolly who for a long time had ran a Dan Fogelberg internet bulletin board. (remember those) He provided me with the most eloquent explanation of the song’s deeper meaning that was too good not to share verbatim.  

The Reach is about recognizing that work and struggle are two of our main ways of gaining access to true understanding along with peace and happiness. So much of the song is about the unhappy events of the moment. 

The Northers will bluster and blow.
The wind brings a chill.
The morning will blow away as the waves crash and roll.
The days get so lonely and long.
The young boys are cold and complaining.
The lost and unchosen

Fogelberg doesn't paint a picture of pure enjoyment at all- it's effort, overcoming, sacrifice and more than anything else,  it's staring down the elements that try to conquer us. It is in this that the Reach teaches her ultimate lesson, one that can be felt to the depths of one's soul. The easy way isn't the best way.  

Without even using the word one can feel the brotherhood that is felt when all these people come together to do their jobs. You can feel the kinship, the unity and you know that it brings a closeness that can only be realized when people team up to do something worthwhile in overcoming difficult obstacles. The Reach is about finding within the rough personal endeavors that we face and the insight into knowing that's the only place we can really demonstrate responsibility, toughness and greatness.

In my friend’s eloquent dissertation of what is in my opinion Fogelberg’s finest work, I find I identify with that struggle. As I proceed towards ministry there will be ups, downs, highs and lows and all will have a lesson for me. And I will take from the experience all it has to teach, to the depths of my soul.

Here are the lyrics in their entirety and the you tube link to the song. 

The Reach (video)

It's Maine... And it's Autumn
The birches have just begun turning
It's life and it's dying 

The lobstermen's boats come returning
With the catch of the day in their holds
and the young boys cold and complaining
The fog meets the beaches and out on  the Reach it is raining --

It's father and son It's the way it's been done
since the old days
It's hauling by hand ten miles out from the land

where their chow waits
And the days are all lonely and long
and seas grow so stormy and strong but
The Reach will sing welcome as homeward they hurry along.

And the morning will blow away
As the waves crash and fall
And the Reach like a siren sings
as she beckons and calls
As the coastline recedes from view
And the seas swell and roll
I will take from the Reach
all that she has to teach
To the depths of my soul --

The wind brings a chill There's a frost on the sill
in the morning
It creeps through the door  On the edge of the shore
ice is forming
Soon the northers will bluster and blow
And the woods will be whitenedwith snowfall
And the Reach will lie frozen for the lost and unchosen to row --

Labor Day

This morning I was given the opportunity to roll over, hit the snooze button and rejoin my sleeping angels in dreamland for it is Labor Day! I hate to report that old habits die hard and that I got up close to my regular time and went through my normal morning routine.

This official last day of summer has been with us now for 131 years. It started in New York when the Central Labor Union planned a picnic to celebrate the workers. Working conditions were a little different in the 1880’s. The average work day was 11 and a half hours, 6 days a week. Workers really had no rights and benefits. One could speculate that this picnic might have been to boost morale.  The picnic was a hit with the workers and so the trend continued henceforth each year.

A large number of people are unhappy with thier current working conditions. In May of 2012, Forbes magazine reported that only 19% of workers were satisfied with their job while 44% were completely unsatisfied. That is almost half of all workers. Even though these statistics seem overwhelming, I contend most would be even MORE unhappy if they had no job. A job not only serves a financial need but an emotional one as well. 

My work as a musician doesn’t come without its frustrations but I find it a unique gift and ability to really uplift people with my craft. Even in this blissful dreamy job, there are times I feel like smashing my guitar and never playing another note. Of course then I remember I can play a blues song and everything will be in balance again. 

Work related songs have certainly weaved their way into our pop culture.

Here is my list of the greatest work songs

#1 The Pretender – Jackson Browne –  chart position # 58 

This song proves that a great song is not always indicated by its chart success. No song’s lyrics are more cutting than these. A depiction of life, we can all relate to. Here is a sample:

“Caught between the longing of love
and the struggle for legal tender
Where the sirens sing the church bells ring

And the junk man pounds his fenderWhere Veterans dream of the fight

Fall asleep at the traffic light

And the children solemnly wait

For the ice cream vendor

Out of the cool of the evening strolls the pretender

He knows all of his hopes and dreams

Begin and end there”

#2 Working Man Blues – Merle Haggard – Chart position#1

This is a great country song that is one of Merle’s best. Very catchy 12 bar blues song with a country twist. Lyrics are pretty straight forward….

“Gotta keep on workin’,

 as long as my 2 hands are fit to use”

Drink my beer in a tavern

Sing me a bit of those workin’ man blues

#3 The Work Song – Nat Adderly – Chart position Unknown

This is one of the most classic jazz melodies of all time that was recorded by Nat Adderly in 1960. The melody proved so hypnotic that it inspired Oscar Brown Jr. To add lyrics to it. I like both versions of the song. Which one do you like best?

To compare here is Oscar Brown Jr’s version 

#4 She Works Hard For the Money – Donna Summer –chart position #1 

The queen of disco rocked the charts with this all time classic. Great energy and very inspirational for women.

#5 Millworker – James Taylor – uncharted 

written for the musical “Working”. Beautiful melody that I saw James perform live on Saturday Night Live. I have always been fond of this song and its lyrics are reminiscent of the Pretender. One might wonder if he gained inspiration from the song. 

#6 Chain Gang – Sam Cooke – chart position # 2

Inspired by a real meeting of men on a chain gang. Chain gangs are not really in use anymore with the exception of Maricopa County Arizona, where inmates can gain credit towards a high school diploma by volunteering for the chain gang.

#7 Blue Collar Man – Styx – Chart position #21

This song came out on their “Pieces of Eight” album. An album that I wore the grooves off listening to “Sing for the Day” and a song that still makes me feel joy…. I digress… Blue Collar Man is a is a good song among many great ones from Styx and shows their harder edge. It has a signature rock organ lick that accentuates the song. 

#8 Takin' Care Of Business – Bachman TurnerOverdrive – chart position #12

One of the most motivational rocks songs of all time. It is the perfect rock song in my opinion. Great driving beat, great chord progression, great message, singable chorus that was not only an anthem of the bands greatest song, it was recently used in a FEDEX commercial.

# 9 - 9-5 Dolly Parton – chart position # 1

Despite her iconic look, Dolly is an extraordinary songwriter. This song gained her an academy award nomination in addition to winning a 2 Grammy’s . This was another very empowering song for women and was featured in a wonderful comedy movie of the same name.

#10 It’s my Job – Jimmy Buffett chart position # 57 

This song was one of Buffett’s last hit songs in his prime. I’ve always loved the chorus. It strays from his typical island sound motif.

Do you have a favorite work song? Write about it here.
To hear the songs listed click on the titles. 

Enjoy your Labor Day! 
Chris  

The Power Of Gold

It was January 24th 1848 when John Marshall first discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in California. Despite his attempts to keep it a secret, it was the beginning of the California gold rush. Over the next seven years, three hundred thousand people migrated to California to find their fortune. Others found their fortune piggybacking on the hopes and dreams of those with gold fever by supplying the essentials needed to survive. 

Gold has been an addiction of man since before recorded history and it remains a symbol of richness and wealth. It is also used to back up the value of our paper money by virtue of the gold standard. The word gold is derived from Latin “aurum” meaning “glow of sunrise”.

Have you ever stopped to wonder how hard it was for people of the 1800’s to leave all that they knew to go to a remote area of California and mine for gold, all for the chance to live a more lavish lifestyle. One could speculate that prospectors imagined themselves saddled high on a horse, directing hired hands to manage their new sprawling ranch. Wouldn’t this be the life for an 1800’s period cowboy?

Let’s face it, gold is gold and it is pretty and all but if it had no value, no one would be clamoring to get it. What gives it its value? In my opinion it is the hunger for power and prestige which is a hangover from our earliest days of human beings where the rules were to eat or be eaten. Gold is the currency of the survival of the fittest and those with a win at all cost mentality.

Material wealth is not bad, until it becomes all consuming. More than once have I performed in front of well to do people who’s emotions go up and down with  the market. Even sadder are those who are just unhappy with how they spent their life. The hollow feeling of asking yourself, “Is this it? Is this all I am? Is this all I get out of life?” This line from the song “The Power of Gold” by Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg express this beautifully.  …. “Balance the cost of the soul you lost with the dreams you lightly sold….”

While gold can motivate my dreams, it is not the thing I strive for in life. My goal is success, but not for money’s sake. I want to be successful but a big part of that success is personal happiness and contentment. Money is just the bi-product of success but once the focus becomes money, you lose your way and become wrapped up in your own gold fever. One of my favorite books of all time is “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. He mentions the 12 steps to TRUE Wealth

1. A Positive Mental Attitude
2. Sound Physical Health
3. Harmony in Human Relationships
4. Freedom From Fear
5. The Hope of Future
6. The Capacity for Applied Faith
7. Willingness to share one's blessings with others
8. To be engaged in a labor of love
9. An open mind on all subjects toward all people
10. Complete self disicipline
11. Wisdom with which to understand people
12. Financial Security

And he points out that Financial Security is the last on the list. How do you stack up in these areas.

Gold is the color used to indicate the sale of 500 thousand records. When record plates were worn out, they were gold plated and presented to the artist as a token of their success.

Gold is also represented quite well in song. Here are my top “Golden Songs” . What are yours?

Click the song title to listen.

1.     Gold – Britt Nicole

2.     The Power of Gold – Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg  

3.     Fields of Gold  - Sting

4.     Gold – John Stewart

5.     Sister Golden Hair - America

6.     Heart of Gold – Neil Young

7.     Golden Slumbers – Beatles

8.     Black and Gold – Adele

9.     Silence is Golden – The Four Seasons

10.  Gold – Owl City

Dream World

A few days ago I was doing some work on my computer. After working for a while I needed a short break. Instead of getting up I just leaned forward, placed my left elbow on the table and rested my head in my hand. As I did, my bookshelf came into view. The bookshelf is waist high and sits by my front door. It is accented by a platter of candles that sit on the very top. It contains two shelves. The bottom shelf is lined with books as you might expect. The top shelf however showcases a 3 dimensional sign that spells out the word “DREAM”.

As I stared at the sign I started to think about dreams. I tried to grasp the impact that dreams have on our very existence. There are the crazy dreams that we have that make sense while we are having them, but lack logic and reason when we try to explain them to others. There are dreams that wake us from a dead sleep. There are flying and falling dreams. I’ve personally had dreams with melodies that have been so strong that they have motivated me to wake up and capture the tune before it leaves me.

Dreams are not limited to our sleep time. There are of course day dreams that can take us away at any given moment. They can be just as motivating and just as powerful as the ones that we have during the night. I recalled thinking at one time how EVERY little thing that we see around us that was made by man was first a dream.  From the tiniest screw, to the largest rocket ship. They were all first created in the factory of the mind.

Dreams allow us to conceptualize things that may never happen. Right now, I’m recalling my dream from childhood in which I wanted to be an airline pilot. I was fascinated with planes. Little did I know color blindness would stop me in my tracks. Yes, I know, I could still pilot a small plane but that wasn’t my dream. I was going to work for Eastern and pilot a Boeing 727. To this day, I still feel a certain excitement when I enter an airport.

Dreams are a fascination to science for it remains a mystery WHY we dream. The study of dreams is called “Oneirology”. Sigmund Freud was a psychiatrist who studied dreams and the purpose behind dreams and had a belief that dreams represented our deepest inner desires. It has also been conceptualized by philosophers such as Parmenides that our very existence is a manifestation of a dream. “Ontology” or “Metaphysics” is the study of existence. Modern thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson , Phineas Quimby, Mary Baker Eddy, Charles Fillmore, Myrtle Fillmore and Ernest Holmes have redefined religious philosophy and lay their foundation in the idea that your thoughts (dreams) produce your experience.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Consciously or subconsciously, dreams are the catalyst for creation. Being a songwriter I have found myself many of times lost in thought trying to mold my ideas in the most concise manner. Writing a song is giving my thoughts and dreams the vibration of sound. The moment when the song goes from my head to the paper is that sacred moment of creation. The very act of writing a song has made me think of God and the moment the universe was created. Just like my song, it was an idea in mind put into motion.

As I continued to sit with my head in my hand, I started to recall a number of songs that were about our dreams, daydreams or imagination. After much consideration, I decided to put together my top ten list of the dreamiest songs:

#1 - Imagine  – John Lennon – upon its original release in 1971 it reached #3 on the US Billboard charts. Upon Lennon’s assassination in 1980 it topped the charts at #1

#2 - What A Day For A Daydream – The Lovin’ Spoonful (John Sebastian)  Reached #2 and was Sebastian’s attempt to rewrite Baby Love by the Supremes.

#3 - Dream A Little Dream Of Me – The Mamas and Papas – This remake of the 1931 song reached #12 in 1968. John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas was personal friends with Felix Andre. Andre was one of the songs original co-writers with Gus Kahn.

#4 - Don’t Dream It’s Over – Crowded House – reached #2 in 1986. The song lyrics are non-rhyming lyrics. A feature I appreciate as a songwriter.

#5 - Pure Imagination – from Willy Wonka. (uncharted) Who can forget the scene at the end of the movie when Charlie gets to push the button and take off in the Wonkavator. Charlie (Peter Ostrum) declined a career in acting and is now a large animal Veterinarian in Lowville, NY.

#6 - Dreamboat Annie – Heart  - Charted at #42 and was frequently played as the intro to “Crazy On You” which itself cracked the top 40 at #35. The acoustic guitar in Dreamboat Annie and Crazy On You was played by Nancy Wilson. The skill and dexterity of Wilson was a tremendous influence to me in my early years of playing guitar. 

#7 - Dream On – Aerosmith  - peaked at #6 on its re-release in 1976. The song is one of the best Rock Anthems of all time and is the bands signature song.

# 8 - You Make My Dreams Come True – Hall and Oates – Reached #5 on the charts in 1981 and is by far my favorite Hall and Oates song despite having 6 songs that were #1.

#9 - The impossible Dream – from Man of La Mancha – Peaked at #35 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list but reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Jim Nabor’s did a stunning version of this song on the show Gomer Pyle USMC.

#10 - I Dreamed a Dream – from Les Miserables – There is only one thing to say about this song: SUSAN BOYLE. Her performance STILL brings tears to my eyes!

Honorable mention

California Dreamin’ – Mamas and the Papas

These Dreams – Heart

Dream Dream Dream – Everly brothers.

Imagination – Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra

Daydream Believer – The Monkees

Dreams - Fleetwood Mac

What are YOUR dreamiest songs? Write about it on my blog. 

NOTE: click the song titles to see videos of the songs