Song036_Houseboat

A few people have asked questions about the 'Low Hum' album artwork. Although I don't think it needs an explanation, I did want to say that I was particularly pleased with this design. I gave Carly a few photos and the general idea and she was able to make it work perfectly. You'd never have known that it wasn't a real photo if I hadn't told you, right? Anyway, I thought it was great...dark, surreal, and humorous.

This week's album will be titled, "Carly." I knew a few days ago that I wanted to dedicate an album to my wife, but until this morning I didn't have any music prepared. Fortunately she's an easy subject for me to write about, but that's still a lot of pressure. To ease the pressure of trying to write her the perfect song every day (for 7 days) I decided to start with this song, Song036_Houseboat.

LYRICS: "When I first met you I was already old. I was saving for dentures. You were too young to vote. Everyone said we were crazy at best, but we'll outlast them all. Yes, our love will attest. Darlin', you should know we're gonna make it just fine. We'll rent us a houseboat and just drift for a while. If the current is strong we're sure to be alone. Eating candle-light dinners from a propane stove. When I first met you it felt like I'd struck gold. You're worth more than China, but I was poorer than broke. True love can't be bought, not at any price, so I don't want to be rich...just wanna drift for a while. Don't need a camera to remember these times. Leave the TV at home, and just talk for a while. We can go anywhere that you want to, as long as you drift there with me too."

I like to think that somewhere in the world there's a country music songwriter that will hear today's song and say, "It's like he read my mind."

Other points of interest: I bet I'm the only country music songwriter from Texas that has used the word "China" in a love song. Also, this doesn't happen often, the vocals for this song all happened during the first take. I thought about recording more, but the first take just felt right. Also, the neighbor's dog barked for an hour during this recording. I could hear it in the background of individual tracks, but I think it's hidden in the final mix.

Those of you that know Carly and I probably know that the lyrics of this song don't accurately represent our story. I have good teeth, and we actually met in Euless (2003). I was playing poker with some buddies at the VFW, and Carly (who had been old enough to vote for months) was the new cigarette girl. I must've bought 3 cartons that night...one pack at a time. And I don't even smoke.

-Matthew