The Floating Opera

Visually Cool and Pleasantly Numb

This song was mostly written on the beach in Belize after a morning of bonefishing. It just says what I was thinking at the time.

The Floating Opera

James White and I played at an establishment called Gecko’s which is on Kent Island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. The owners refused to pay us until we took a boat trip with them around the Chesapeake and made an appearance at a party that was held at a very nice estate overlooking the bay. After nearly seven seconds of intense negotiations, we decided to do it; after all, they were holding our paycheck hostage. I got the idea for this song as we motored along. It’s for all my crazy Chesapeake Bay fans from St. Michaels to Baltimore.

Gulf Coast Highway

I had hoped to finish this song before the Gulf Coast Highway tour last summer, but it didn’t happen. Sunny Jim and I tinkered with it a bit while on the tour, but we kept laughing too much. One crisp morning on the east coast of Florida, the remainder of the song fell out of my pen. Imagine leaving Kemah, Texas and driving to Key West, Florida. There is no one Gulf Coast Highway, but you can piece together roads like Hwy 82 through southern Louisiana, Hwy 90 through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, Hwy 98 through Alabama and Florida, Hwy 19, the Tamiami Trail and US 1 through Florida. All will give you glimpses of the Gulf Coast, and there are a lot of connecting roads that will take you to some rustic little towns by the water. Give yourself several weeks to do the trip right, and don’t forget to sample the seafood.

So Bad Last Night

I first heard this song when Jerry Jeff Walker did it at his show at Tipitina’s in New Orleans back in 1993. I have been singing it ever since.

It Won't Bleed But It Hurts Real Bad

A fishing guide was pointing out the crushers deep in the throat of a redfish. Redfish eat a lot of small crabs and other crustaceans, and they use the crushers to break up the shells. The guide said, “go ahead put your finger down there. It won’t bleed, but it hurts real bad.” Once again I have taken the words of a crusty old salt and turned them into a love song.

Gimme A Ride To Heaven Boy

I heard Joe Ely sing this song at a show in Austin, Texas in 1994 and I really liked it. Then my friend, Jim Hoehn, sent me a Terry Allen CD with this song on it, and I fell in love with it. For some reason, the best music is written in Texas.

Helping Out A Dear Old Friend

Except for our parents, unconditional love is probably impossible to come by. Occasionally in the course of human misadventures, we come across someone who likes us without giving a thought to what they might get in return. It’s just a ton of good karma that we don’t appreciate until years later when we finally learn what is truly valuable.

Laid Back Attack

If you see a bunch of restless, well groomed, type A personalities in flowered shirts, it must be the annual business meeting in Florida. I know because I have been to them. I guess I never fit in with my associates because I knew how to act.

Montana Moon, Montana Sky

This is the third song in the trilogy that began with “The Road” on the Bocanuts CD and continued with “Montana Moon” on the “Bar Stools and Beach Chairs” CD.

Don't Know Nothing 'Bout The Blues

I had this blues melody for a long time, but I didn’t know what to do with it because I don’t do the blues. I remembered a blues song I heard that had the hook, “you can’t give it if you don’t live it.” Then it came to me: I live on the coast of Florida, I play music for a living, and I spend my free time on the water pursuing my interests. Hell, I don’t know nothing about the blues.

The Girl With The Blueberry Eyes

The chorus to this song came to me on a dark, rainy New Orleans morning about twenty years ago. I guess I was looking for something I couldn’t find. It stayed with me all of these years.

I Don't Even Know Your Name

This song also came out of my New Orleans years. Just like “The Girl with Blueberry Eyes,” I’ve had this chorus for about twenty years. The line, “My last good kiss” is a reference to the poem, “Degrees of Gray in Phillipsburg” by Richard Hugo, which was written about Phillipsburg, Montana. One of my favorite writers, James Crumley, also wrote a novel by the same title.

Instant Billionaire

A friend told me that he bought 1000 acres of land on the moon for seventeen dollars. He did it for the novelty of it, but I started thinking about how he could cash in on his investment. This song explains what I conjured up. It may sound a little farfetched, but this much is true: Someone is selling land on the moon, and people are paying big bucks to have their heads cryogenically frozen. This could be a moon-floor opportunity for you.