TOES IN THE SAND (c) 2009 Jill Dawson. As happy sounding as this song is, it was actually spurred from a tragic event, which goes to show how music can be medicinal to the spirit. Several weeks after some devastating family news, my niece asked me to play a song for her on a plastic guitar she received for Christmas. I started playing a song I actually just finished writing for her called Dancin in a Rainstorm. I strummed in a reggae style, as she and her friend thumped on bongos and shook a tambourine. Someone very close to me was in the room sitting on the sofa. For those 3 to 4 minutes, he sat and listened, all the while with a slight smile ... the first I had seen on his face in nearly a month. I realized there is hope for us all to heal and smile again after tragedy strikes. Later that week, I kept his face in the forefront of my mind and heart, with the intention to write a song that would ignite his smile again. Toes in the Sand is for you, Dad. Toes in the Sand Lyrics
FAITH (c) 2009 Jill Dawson. Ironically, I wrote Faith and Toes in the Sand at the same time. The focus was more on accepting the moment, and providing comfort rather than an escape. Some of us face unimaginable suffering, while others face challenges less piercing, yet still deal with stress and worry. I've been told on more than one occasion that I need to write more "love" songs. To me, "Faith" is a "love conduit" as I wrote it with the intent to provide compassion and respite to anyone struggling with hardship. Faith Lyrics
TOP OF MY WORLD (c) 2009 Jill Dawson I wrote this song last spring, after a brutal Chicago winter FINALLY retreated. I was sitting on the step of my patio, guitar in hand, watching my children play with the ice in a cooler we had abandoned outside the fall before. They were blissful, absorbed in the moment, and the first half of the song literally spilled from my lips. Children have an amazing sense of wonder and amazement with what most of us take for granted, and we want them to dream without limits. As adults, we know things don't always work out as planned, but want to protect our children from disappointment. It is my way of saying to my children, I dream the biggest dreams for you, and want you to do the same. No matter what the outcome, you'll still have a place on the top of my world. I'm posting a 2 minute clip of a very rough recording I was working on.
SONG OF BLUE copyright (c) 2009 Jill Dawson, John Bernstein. It is the outcome of a collaboration with John Bernstein, a lyricist. He shared a song he wrote with me, from which I loved many lines and used them to shape the first verse of Song of Blue. My muse was so inspired the chorus wrote itself. Regardless of the story of love lost, the universal truth is it hurts the same. Originally, it was a folk song, and I remixed it with more of a jazz flavor.
