Click here to listen to an updated version of Cocktails—now called Evensong. |
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Click here to listen to the original demo of Cocktails By The Cattails/Babysittin'. |
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Nature Sounds: "Summer Nights" Copyright © 1997 by Sounds of Nature |
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A dear friend of mine raised cocktail hour to new heights several years ago when I paid her a visit at her lakeside summer getaway. After we ceased our water play on the lake for the day, we staked out our front row chairs on the dock in anticipation of the sunset. She treated me to an array of fine eats and drinks. As the sun landed on the western horizon, we lifted our glasses for a toast. "To Dock Time." Needless to say, "Dock Time" has now become a favorite summer tradition.
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"Cocktails By The Cattails" was written in hopes of capturing the contentedness after a day of hard play, the rays of the warm summer sun, the tang of a cold strawberry daiquiri, and the joy of being with dear friends. The crickets add the perfect backdrop for the slow rolling guitars and a gentle melody. Ah—golden afternoons, thou art eternal!
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The second half of this piece—loosely titled "Babysittin'"—comes from a chord progression that I came up with one evening while "babysittin'" my two dear daughters. Even though they were only one and three years of age at the time, we still enjoyed sitting in the middle of the living room and playing on my guitars—all three of us!
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Pay particular attention to the crickets in "Babysittin'"—they serve as the melody! I could not have planned the outcome of this piece any better if I tried! The crickets always seem to know when to come in!
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I will always remember the glorious sunsets by the lake when I hear "Cattails By The Cattails"—and feel the great joy I experienced when entertaining my two daugthers every time I listen to "Babysittin'!"
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