“On a lonely dusty trail
Walks a lonely broken soul
He’s so far from home
There’s nowhere left to go…”
For those of you that know me personally or follow along regularly on Instagram and the other social media channels, you know that I am in a perpetual cycle of writing, recording, and releasing albums. Honestly, I find my mental health is in a better state when I am being creative and working on music… So, I constantly work on music.
As I wrapped up the Haunted Cowboy Sounds album, I jokingly told friends, “Don’t be surprised if this becomes a double-album by the time release day rolls around!”
And… it did… sort of… While I didn’t release a double-album, I did release two albums on the same day - Haunted Cowboy Sounds and The Wanderer EP.
You see, while working on the album, I jokingly made a point of telling people “It’s called Haunted Cowboy Sounds, but it’s not a country album and it has nothing to do with cowboys!”
After saying this repeatedly, I thought it would be funny to put a “secret song” at the end of the album - a country song.
So, at 2am on my final day of recording, I grabbed the guitar that was best-suited for this task - one with a sticker of Johnny Cash’s famous giving the middle finger to the San Quentin Warden picture, and I set to work on a 20-second bit of tongue in cheek humour.
I already had the two lines I wanted to use, so it would be a quick and easy process…
You see, months ago, my youngest daughter had asked about a family member’s passing, and she asked if he had “died to death” - what an interesting phrase that was! I was reminded of that line part way through recording Haunted Cowboy Sounds, but it never made it into a song. The other line I had was a saying that an old farming friend of my dad’s used to say when someone passed away in their sleep. They “woke up dead” he would proclaim…
So, grabbing my Johnny Cash guitar, I played the first 3 chords that came to mind and I wrote:
“He died to death on a monday. Some say he woke up dead.”
Well, as fast as my hands could move and my pen could write, I found myself adding to those lyrics. I put in every cliché I could think of - the stranger, the preacher, the lost love and a broken heart. I had a full song in the blink of an eye: He Died to Death on a Monday.
Everything was recorded in one take, and to my ear, it was fantastic! Only one problem, it wasn’t a joke song any more and it didn’t fit onto the Haunted Cowboy Sound album style-wise; not even as a secret song.
As I wrote in a previous blog, when my friend Liam was working on the Haunted Cowboy Sounds album cover, he created a painting entitled The Wanderer first. It was a way for us to zero in on the colours we would choose for Haunted Cowboy Sounds. The two paintings were similar, but had very different moods because of the colour choices.
I began to think about a companion album for Haunted Cowboy Sounds, a concept album revolving around “The Wanderer”. My inspiration came from all the hours I had spent listening to Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson over the years. The legendary stories they would tell of wanderers, and strangers, riding the dusty trails righting wrongs or seeking some kind of revenge or redemption.
He Died to Death on a Monday was quickly joined by The Wanderer and The Stranger Came to Town, and a narrative began to emerge. A story was unfolding, with its own unique sound. The result was The Wanderer (7 Classic Country Songs).
The Wanderer EP became my ode and tip of the hat to Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and with the vocal effect I used, the early sounds of AM radio.
The story brings the listener into the world of “The Stranger”... A man whose life was turned upside down by outlaws. A man destined to wander ancient trails, righting wrongs, seeking revenge and redemption along the way.
While it is different from my previous albums, I honestly feel it is some of my best work - hope you get a chance to check it out. I have a feeling we haven’t heard The Wanderer’s whole story yet…
Haunted Cowboy Sounds and The Wanderer (7 Classic Country Songs) are both available to stream or purchase on Bandcamp.
Haunted Cowboy Sounds is also available on Spotify and the streaming services. The Wanderer EP arrives there on November 21st.
Stay tuned here for more news about the album and some special online events.
See ya next time…
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