I grew up in Cheraw, SC, once and perhaps still known as the “Prettiest Town in Dixie.” It is a small town, something I miss having lived in or surrounded by Houston for 20 years. Like most songwriters, a few of my songs were either directly based on or inspired by things that relate to my hometown.
I thought it would be fun to create a list of those songs, along with a brief summary of the inspiration for each. Here, in alphabetical order, are some songs inspired by my hometown and the (mostly) good people there.
Each title is a link to the song page, where you can read the lyrics and hear a full MP3 of the song.
This one only relates to Cheraw because it mentions Johnny’s Red Door Lounge and cars driving through town on the way to the beach. I co-wrote this one with recording artist Kelly Kessler of The Texas Rubies.
One night we were playing Rummikub in my mom’s kitchen. Not much of a drinker, she had a couple of glasses of wine and got a little tipsy. She was losing the game and claimed that her poor results were because we got her “all wined up.” The song is actually about a friend of mine from Texas, but the title came straight out of mom’s mouth.
Named after home, but purely fictional.
Pretty much the story of my high school years. Discussed in great detail as one of my Songs A-Z.
A tribute to a fine man, and previously discussed as a Songs A-Z pick.
This one has something to do with Chatham Hill, where both my parents are buried, and the struggles of the family farms. The Duck Man was the County Coroner, so he saw a lot of bad ends. He’s also a buddy of mine, and I wanted to put him in one of my songs.
You can’t tell it from the song, but this is a very old one I wrote about a conversation I had with a girl one summer when I was home from college. Watson Road is a made up name. All of this actually happened on the dirt road that leads to the Eutslers’ (my “other” parents) cabin. But as much as I love them, it’s hard to sing “Eutsler.”
Every songwriter does a song about a high school beauty. This is a rewrite Ronnie and I did of a song I wrote back in the 80s.
The first song in a “friendship trilogy” I did a few years ago. Kinney is a good man, and if the pictures he sent me are real (which knowing Kinney, is no sure thing), a pretty good fisherman. The musical arrangement on this one, done by co-writer Ronnie Jeffrey, is the most complex of any song I have written or co-written to date.
Marcie (Eighteen Jack-O-Lanterns)
This is a very old song about a friend of mine who was killed in an automobile accident. While it was written for her, the facts are only remotely accurate. Again, often the inspiration for a song comes from a different place than the actual story the song tells.
The second part of the “friendship trilogy.” Along with Dreams of McKenzie, the song on this list that I think has the most commercial potential.
I wrote the words and the music to this one while packing up boxes in my mom’s house during the three days after her funeral.
This one is based on a story I heard about a skirmish that happened in Cheraw during the civil war.
That’s it for now. Part 2 later.
Err Bear Music 