“Fresh Baguette”

“Fresh Baguette” is a song I wrote recently while camping in my van alongside the Hoh River on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. It came through relatively quickly over a few days of concerted effort, but it took about another month for the song to finally stop moving and relax into the form in which you hear it. The song reflects my appreciation of life, mentioning many of the things that I personally like with each verse ending with a reflection of the kind of people I appreciate. When the song started to come into being, the verses were alternating between what I like and what I hate, but I quickly came to find that I really didn’t enjoy writing or singing about hate. I don’t mind writing sad or poignant songs but why would I want to regularly remind myself about what really bothers me? Thus the chorus of the song was born which acknowledges that while life isn’t easy, there’s no need to spend what precious time remaining bringing other people down. 

I have found that my van truly serves as a creative incubator, especially when I find myself for an extended time nestled into a beautiful place. The world of responsibilities slows its call and and space arises for creative expression to appear. I often find the process of writing music to be kind of magical, as a song appears seemingly out of nowhere and makes it’s voice heard in the world. It takes focused work to craft a piece of music as concept, melody, chord structure, key, rhythm, pace and story all have to come together in a way that feels cohesive, feels true to my soul and hopefully universal enough for others to relate to. Many different verses kept trying to work their way in but at some point every song begs to be distilled into its essential nature and I believe I’ve found that here. I hope you enjoy…

Fresh Baguette

I like laid back, and cuttin’ slack,
Wandering’ the world with a backpack,
A love bus with a luggage rack,
And people who give up the fast track.

I like a bon fire, a gospel choir,
Singin’ with folks that I admire,
Warm clothes from a tumble dryer,
And people whose smiles can lift you higher.

Life ain’t easy don’t you know it?
Lord knows there’s enough to make you frown,
But sure ‘nough time ain’t standing still,
So you know I will
Not waste it tryin to bring you down. 

I like a sun set, a good sweat,
Tearin’ a hunk from a fresh baguette,
Livin’ my life without regret,
And people with a positive mindset.

I like free will, time to chill,
A cat sleepin’ on a window sill,
Time in the day just for sittin still, 
And people out spreadin’ their good will.

Life ain’t easy don’t you know it?
Lord knows there’s enough to make you frown,
But sure ‘nough time ain’t standing still,
so you know I will
Not waste it tryin to bring you down. 

I like fig trees, bumblebees,
Dreamin’ about who we might be,
An old friend with a cup of tea,
And people agreein’ to disagree.

I like livin’ free, the salty sea,
Soakin up some vitamin D,
A hammock strung from a shady tree
And all the good people fillin’ this world I see. 

And all you good people fillin’ this world I see.

For those musicians who might want to learn the song for themselves, here’s the basic chord structure:

Capo 5^th fret

G Bm7
I like laid back, cuttin’ slack,
C G
Wandering’ the world with a backpack,
G D
A Love bus with a luggage rack 
C G
And people who give up the fast track.

The chorus goes like this:

C G
Life ain’t easy don’t you know it
D G
Lord knows there’s enough to make you frown 
C G
Sure ‘nough time ain’t standing still 
A7
so you know I will
D
Not waste it tryin to bring you down.

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