Country Tales and Hobo Trails single

The title song from Country Tales and Hobo Trails was actually the last song I wrote for the album.  I’d had the title for a couple of years and knew that the song would come along when it was ready – and it did, thankfully.

The first inspiration for me I guess was a book I bought in a library, Kenneth Allsop’s, Hard Travellin’, The Hobo and his history.   Shortly after that I saw John T Davis’ documentary, Hobo, on television.

I was, and am, fascinated by the life of the hobo.  There was a photograph from Life magazine from the 1930’s I believe that is so poignant to me, a man walking along railway tracks, everything he owns on his back.

I had also visited an old trail just outside Hartsville in Tennessee, Holston Trail, complete with a small cemetery with its graves and headstones of pioneers from a time long gone.  This trail was also the inspiration for the song Ghosts of Tennessee that’s on the album.

One night I was playing around with tuning on the guitar.  We were sitting outside our home in Mount Juliet as we usually do most summer evenings and the song just came within a few minutes.  The back cover of the Songs From a Trailer Park shows me recording it outside on my iPad.  I wrote the lyrics properly the next day.

Johnny Cash once said that his favourite sound was the horn from a freight train.  When Bob Harris was staying in Nashville a few years back he said that he too loved the sound of a train’s horn.  The train Bob could hear was the Music City Star, the passenger train that runs from Lebanon right into Nashville, and we’re woken every morning by the sound of its horn as it approaches the small station at Mount Juliet.

It seemed fitting to start the track, and indeed the album, with the sound of its horn.  I hope Johnny Cash would approve.

Country Tales and Hobo Trails album is available now from iTunes, Amazon and all good websites, or you can order a CD direct from jonjohanson.com.

Country Tales and Hobo Trails single is released on July 4.

Summer; A Trilogy - behind the stories

It all started with an idea; I have them occasionally!

I liked the idea of three separate plays that could be performed individually, but at the same time could be ‘joined’ to make one longer play.

I’ve been fascinated with certain ‘celebrities’, people who are constantly in the media and yet have no talent – they don’t act, they don’t sing and yet their publicists secure column space in the tabloids daily.

There is though also the obsession with celebrities; the magazines that act as publicity vehicles for PR people who feed them constant ‘exclusive’ stories, that are in every paper!

There have been stories of stalkers though that are disturbing and indeed of course, tragic, as in the awful case of Rebecca Shaeffer who was murdered by a ‘fan’ in 1989.

That gave me the basis of the story.  I liked the idea though too of ‘cry wolf’, where an imaginary stalker is created, only for a real one to appear.

I’ve also observed how people reinvent themselves – Stephen Fry is a prime example, Leslie Grantham another, both sent to prison for serious crimes.  Everyone has a secret, all families have secrets.  The ‘secret’ in this story is actually based on a true situation that friends of my parents were involved in when their teenage daughter, my mum’s goddaughter, got pregnant.

There is usually an innocent victim.  Where the title The Murder of Summer came from I have no idea, but gave the name Summer to the young girl in the stories.

I also liked the idea of a ‘one-hander’ play; all my previous plays have been two handers, for two actors.  This is how The Haunting of Owen came about - a man driven crazy by the voices he heard in his head, the split personalities inside him. There is a great episode of Criminal Minds with James Van Der Beek, (best known as Dawson in Dawson’s Creek), in which he plays a schizophrenic murderer who is his bible-bashing, obsessed, violent father and also himself at the same time.  One of Michael Jackson’s guitarists once told me that working with Jackson was like working with two different people - a ten year old kid one minute and then he’d be like a sixty year old man; Jackson was ten or so when he was thrust into the spotlight and his childhood was killed then - the sixty year old man was his father who controlled him.

As I was writing Summer the images came fast and furious; I was there in the bare and dark bedroom with Owen, with his demons.  In some ways I felt sorry for Owen, he had been deceived, but good doesn’t always win. 

I hope you like the stories.

SUMMER; A TRILOGY is available now from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Summer-A-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00CMN94W8

Take it as it Comes

Take It As It Comes

Jump into the taxi

that pulls up to my side

I can’t see the driver

no such thing as a free ride

Cruise along the front page

Not sure of what we’ll find

Pass an all night website,

time to press rewind

Print an image of a dream

that I don’t recognise

I’m sure that I’d remember

if I had survived

Racing now past curfew

they’re pulling up the bridge

Shoot an arrow across their bow

They’re telling me how to live

(Don’t take me to the bridge)

Can’t change what’s done,

Life’s a loaded gun

Take it as it comes

If I don’t go crazy

I’m sure to go insane

I really need to find myself

but when did I escape           

Don’t close me in these four walls

I really need my space

We really must do lunch sometime

Same time, another fake

(Gotta get away)

Move a little closer,

have you got the edge

Parallel two-step,

on a narrow ledge

The chorus of a morning,

mass murder of midnight

Life’s a price we all must pay,

does anyone get it right

Time’s the untamed master,

hands faster than the eye

Reaching the conclusion,

not a theory in sight

(Driving blind)

Emotionally Bankrupt in a Garden of Lies

Emotionally Bankrupt in a Garden of Lies

You say the words

But they're not meant

they don't sound true

How could they

But it’s the only way you know

To survive

And your words do fool most

Those who want them to be real

Want it to be real

Sometimes though

I think your words

even fool you

Have you been swept away

By your own charade

Lost in your garden of lies

Lies which grow

And spread

And multiply

As you nurture them

As you feed them

Bring them more to life

To a point

When even you believe them to be true

Blurred and lost between the lies

And the truth

You know which buttons to press

A caring caress

A gentle touch

When you want someone 

to do something for you

With a lingering look

You control

Because that's what it's all about

With you

You manipulate

To get what you want

What you desire

You offer false hope

But none of it is real

And the price is far too high

Will leave them

Emotionally bankrupt 

But still they pay

Desperate to believe

That they are the one

For you

Is it sympathy

You are after

So they want to rescue you

When you tell them

one of your hard luck stories

Or are you really looking to be loved

To find true love

But if they knew the truth

They'd feel sorry for you

Or is it just a game

With you the controller

The puppet master

You pull the strings

The heart strings

Cut them with a knife

Because in the end

It's you

Who will lose

And who will end up

alone.

Country Tales and Hobo Trails Track Companion

The stories behind the songs ......

COUNTRY TALES AND HOBO TRAILS

Vocals

Dobro

Guitars

Piano

Bass

Drums

Accordion

Percussion

I had the title for sometime and then one night sitting outside our home in Tennessee, which we love to do, drinking wine, watching lightning bugs/fireflies, the lyrics just came, the chorus first.  I’d been playing around with tuning on the guitar, tuned down the top string, and the ‘riff’ played itself!  Having been fascinated with the lifestyle of a hobo for years, this was the hobo’s song.  The theme of trails runs through the album.

TELEGRAPH ROAD

Vocals

Guitars

Piano

Organ

Dobro

Violin

Bass

Drums

Percussion

I had a dream, famous words, not mine of course, but I actually did, and I remember it vividly, (it certainly though wasn’t as world changing as Dr. King’s dream!).  I was deeply influenced by Rod McKuen as a teenager, his poetry, and in his books would be little illustrations, roads with telegraph poles.  Also, one of my favourite songs, as it is with many people, is Jimmy Webb’s classic Wichita Lineman, and all the pieces just seem to fall into place.  The first line “There’s a road on the outskirts of my mind” set the tone of the song really.  That image also inspired the drama series we’ve created, based on the song really in some ways.  The song is more about life, and where we are in our own life, whereas the series is about a small town called Waterville and a prodigal son.

HEART OF THE SOUTH

Vocals

Guitars

Piano

Organ

Bass

Drum programming

Percussion

Tim – electric solo fade

Having crossed the might Mississippi many times I couldn’t fail but to be in awe of the great river and it seemed to me to be a symbol of the heart of the southern states.  I remember driving out of New Orleans some years ago, parallel to the river and seeing just how important it is to the South.  I have also been to the all the states I mention in the song and find the people so, so friendly.  I started writing this one day in the theatre I used to have.  I wasn’t sure of it but played part of it that night on the piano to Julianne Regan from All About Eve, she sharing the piano stool with me, and she loved it, so I worked on it some more the next day and finished it.  The only line I changed for recording was “I bought a farm in Tennessee”. 

           

BLUE MOON OVER NASHVILLE

Vocals

Guitars

Piano

Bass

Drums

Keyboards

Percussion

Last year there was indeed a blue moon over Nashville, (there’s a picture of it I took I think in the Country Tales lyrics and pictures book).  I wrote the song that night.  When we came to record it Tim and I tried to recapture the Sun recordings feel, this time though with the Jondonaires on backing vocals!  The effect on the voice is replicating the old microphone used.

HARTSVILLE

Vocals

Guitars

Piano

Bass

Drums

Keyboards

Percussion

I’ve told this story on numerous occasions, but it never fails to surprise people, so here it goes once more.  I wrote the song some years ago.  I saw in my mind a small town, the stores, people, Main Street, even down to the sign welcoming you to Hartsville.  Two years later through eBay I bought our land and when we went to visit it a few months later I was amazed to see that the nearest town was called Hartsville.  The town sign is almost exactly the same as I imagined it.  Spooky eh?

MIDNIGHT IN MEMPHIS

Vocals

Guitars

Piano

Bass

Drums

Keyboards

Percussion

Think of Memphis you think of Elvis, quite rightly, but there is so much more to the city.  The mighty river, separating it from Arkansas, with the barges travelling north or south.  Also of course Beale Street and the blues!  I’ve been to Beale Street when it was packed, and also when Tim and I were the only ones walking down the street.  In this song though you could be in any motel room in any city, it just happened to be Memphis and so of course the spirit of Elvis has to make an appearance, riding shotgun in my car!

GOOD TIME ANNIE

Vocals

Guitars

Piano

Bass

Drums

Keyboards

Percussion

I’ve known a few Annie’s in my life but this was inspired by a singer who felt it necessary, one morning, to call me to tell me that she had been up all night, doing line after line.  She was still buzzing at nine in the morning!  Her story though is quite sad in that she so much wanted to be a singer, and was good, but her demons and her desire, or need, to party, and to be loved, simply controlled her and she blew it.  She was also on the verge of losing her ‘day job’, due to her coming in late and general appearance and lost her chance to sing.  Every bar in every country nearly has an Annie.

THE GHOSTS OF TENNESSEE

Vocals

Guitars

Piano

Bass

Drums

Keyboards

Percussion

One afternoon a couple of years ago we went for a walk along a trail called Holston Trail, between Hartsville and Gallatin in mid-Tennessee.  There’s an old house there, a coach stop I think, and also a small cemetery from the frontier days I guess.  It was all quite moving really.  Walking down the tree-covered trail, I just imagined the ghosts of those travellers from a century or more ago still there in those trees along the trail.  The area of course is also known for many battles of the Civil War and the deaths of many young men.  I wrote this in one night, and it was more a question of editing the lyrics as the visions were blinding me almost, if that makes sense, making my head spin, they were so vivid. 

JAILHOUSE JESUS AND THE PREACHER

Vocals

Guitars

Piano

Bass

Drums

Keyboards

Percussion

I have to admit that when writing these notes I skipped this track, as I’m not too sure how much to say.  It was inspired by a certain preacher and his life, and also Nashville’s weekly newspaper.  His story intrigued the hell out of me; can someone really change that much?  I’m not so sure, neither is the paper.  I’ve just deleted a sentence about two of my family meeting him and their personal impression of him, and his church.  Not good.  People do ‘find’ Jesus in jail, in prison.  Being skeptical, it helps with their parole appeal.  Some are sincere, they do repent, they show remorse, (to the best of my knowledge he never has for the murder of a totally innocent woman, for which he was tried and convicted); some though will say whatever they need to.  I found the recording of the preacher I use on the track, not the one in question here I hasten to add, and the cell door Tim found for me – it sets the mood I hope.  With the arrangement I wanted to show the contrast, the starkness of a cell, the freedom of true faith.  Many people need to believe, believe in something or someone, and many people take advantage of that.

COUNTING MISSISSIPPI BLUES

Vocals

Dobro

Cigar Box Guitar

Harmonica

Cajon

Stomp box

The Delta Blues.  The blues are of course as American as apple pie.  There was a wonderful programme on television recently with the cook Rick Stein where he visited the home town of BB King and also looked in to the history of the blues.  He told me he loves the blues, and so do I.  I bought a dobro last year (still trying to learn to play it properly) and a cigar box guitar, that was made especially for me.  I’m still trying to really play them.  Put them together though with a cajon, a stomp box and a harmonica and you’ve got Wolfman Jay and the Smokin’ Catfish Blues Band!  We put on another effect on the voice and also Tim found the scratch effect.  Do not adjust your set!

GHOST DANCE

Vocals

Piano

Keyboard

Percussion

I originally wrote this as an up-tempo song, on guitar.  I’m a huge fan of Robbie Robertson, and I’m also fascinated by the Native American culture, having had someone called Pretend Eagle III work for me in California, his grandfather had been a Sioux chief.  I worked on the song though, changed the tempo to mid-tempo and then changed it yet again, slower, when I was working with the female singer Olivia Sparnenn, (now the vocalist with Mostly Autumn, and who has easily one of the best voices in the business).  I had also changed it to piano, made it more haunting.  I don’t class myself really as a singer, Olivia’s version is wonderful, but hopefully the feeling still gets through.

DIARY OF A SMALL TOWN

Vocal

Guitars

Piano

Bass

Drums

Keyboards

Percussion

It will not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me but I love America and especially small town America.  That’s it.  As I kid I used to dream that my bed could fly, just like in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and I would inevitably end up in America in my dreams, in LA usually, with a basketball hoop over a garage!  When I first went when I was seventeen or so I thought it could never live up to my expectations, but it did, and more so.  My father had instilled pictures in me, he had been in the U.S.A.F. based in San Antonio and had spent quite some time in New York.  I am sure I will end my time on earth living in a small town in Tennessee.  I love the drama of Friday Night Lights or To Kill a Mockingbird, or the community feel, Sweet Home Alabama (I know, a guilty pleasure!).  Keller’s Bar exists, on the town limits of Hartsville.  My favourite town though is Watertown, about twenty minutes east of Nashville on the i-40, although I may change that soon to Lafayette, which is just north of Hartsville.  Hartsville and Watertown make up the fictitious town Waterville, used in my drama series, Telegraph Road.  All three, Hartsville, Watertown and Lafayette, are complete with town squares, grocery stores, a grill/bar, small town high school and again that community spirit.  I also used Michael J. Fox’s movie Doc Hollywood, and imagined him forth years later, still living in that small town his car breaks down in.  “Where all the days can seem the same ……..”.