Well it wasn't my intention to write a song today, it just kinda happened. We hung around here til the afternoon, greeting a stream of guests, most of whom stayed 5 minutes or less, made a toast, shook hands and then out the door to the next place. I did an imitation, which got a laugh, come in, sit down raise a glass and say goodbye. Hello Goodbye, yeah, I thought of the Beatles tune.
By the time 3pm rolled around, I was feeling lazy, kinda sugared up, a couple of beers in me, not a lot of energy, but the moment presented itself and i grabbed my guitar and headed for the river. I went back to my spot under the bamboo grove, strummed a little bit, revisited a couple of musical ideas but had basically nothing going. Oh well, no big deal, you can't hit it every day.
So I put the guitar back in it's carrying backpack, and figured if I did some walking, maybe something would shake loose in the exertion, so I hit the road, waving at those who waved to me, smiling for everyone, getting some energy going. It was late afternoon by this point, a quiet day as no one was working, and the only folks out were riding their motorcycles or bikes, often with a passenger on the back. Everyone was pretty interested in the giant gringo carrying the guitar and I got many 'Hello's' and 'Happy New Years' and many smiles.
I crossed a different bridge back across the river, so now I had to navigate my way back to the place I knew, and I chose a dirt road that looked like it was going the right way. There were people out, parents and kids, many smiles, and something started welling up in me, the more smiles and 'happy new years' I heard and said. It was just so sweet, and it started getting emotional, I was almost crying every time I said it. Every once in a while there'd be a stone faced guy riding past, but the vast majority of folks were super warm and open and interested.
I got the instinct to try and capture that feeling in a Happy New Year song, a late afternoon reverie. Some musical idea popped into my head and I ended up finding a park to sit in, then pulling out my guitar and working out a real folkie thing, the kind of pregression I'd have used twenty years ago, not a diminished chord in sight. Here's the first draft, and it's in the key of D, (the people's key)
Walking through the quiet town
The sun was slowly sinking down
I felt the kindness all around
Have a happy new year
A man comes up to shake my hand
Says words i can not understand
But the thought's the same in every land
Have a happy new year
I've been around this big old world
And I've learned a thing or two
If you fill your heart with love
It all comes back to you
Leave the angry thoughts behind
Let gratefulness fill your mind
Soon contentment you will find
Have a happy new year Have a happy new year
Happy new year, everybody.... rich
