Dear PG music friends. This will probably be my last song posted this year. It has been a wonderful year of music sharing and thanks so much to all of you for your support, inspiration, and the wonderful music you've provided to the site this year. In Marin County, one of the most beautiful places in the US, is a little town on the bay called Sausalito. My dad used to have a sailboat there when I was young and the family would sail on the SF bay. I have always considered it a magical place. The first few lines for the chorus came to me while driving (as many ideas have). It turned out to be the same day my father-in-law died suddenly of a heart attack while dancing with his wife (I guess there's something to be said for dying while doing something you love). You may note in the lyrics where I sing "village square". It's supposed to be "Village Fair" which was a multi-story open-air market above the yacht harbor. By the time I realized the mistake, the vocal was done and I was happy enough with it. I decided it may be tricky to fix and that it still made sense, although technically less accurate. I can't access the tracks used by numbers (my old PC is flaking) but it is: 1) Liverpool piano, 2) ac gtr fingerpicking, Nashville?, and 3) B-3 organ. Not sure on the bass and the drums are ezdrummer Nashville EZX. Hope you enjoy the song. Comments encouraged. Take care. Greg

https://soundcloud.com/gjohnson-2/sausalito11bgldvoced1expt

Sausalito

When I’m tired and feeling tangled up in life’s defeats
I often seek my refuge on your bayside streets
And gaze out at the water like my dad once did
On those sunny days together when I was just a kid

Sausalito, Sausalito, you bring a freedom to my mind
And set my memories reelin’ back to simpler times
There’s a melancholy sweetness in the heart of your embrace
Sausalito, you’re my kind of place

Looking down upon the harbor from the Village Fair
I think about my first true love I kissed right there
The silhouettes of sailors and their seadogs on the piers
Is like a painting hanging in my mind throughout the years

Sausalito, Sausalito, I love to feel your tender breeze
I’m home among your restaurants and galleries
There’s a melancholy sweetness in the heart of your embrace
Sausalito, you’re my kind of place

Every spirit has a longing for a place to call its own
Every sailor has a port of which he dreams
When the depths of me are burnin’ for a place I feel at home
You are my Valhalla so it seems

Sausalito, Sausalito, I love to feel your tender breeze
I’m home among your restaurants and galleries
There’s a melancholy sweetness in the heart of your embrace
Sausalito, you’re my kind of place

Greg,

This is really beautiful! It has a little bit of a Jackson Browne feel to it, and that's always a good thing for me. Thanks for sharing it! I look forward to hearing what next year brings to you.

Steve

Beautiful song Greg. We all have those special places and it is even more special when there's someone such as yourself with the talent and imagination to create images with words and music to allow you to share such intimate memories with the rest of us. Great job and thanks for posting. Sorry to hear of your father in law's passing and that such sadness is linked to such a memorable bright spot from your past.


Charlie

+1 Beautiful and love those harmonies too.

Josie

Beautiful song Greg. Heartfelt lyrics. Everything so very well done

Stunning! As mountain bikers Janice and I dream
of Marin country.

That is a fine write full of great imagery and nailed
with the vocal and instrumental arrangement.

Have a great Holiday season.

J&B

May your in-law RIP and, yes, if you must go there
could be many worse ways...

Greg,

Another excellent write.

"And set my memories reelin’ back to simpler times
There’s a melancholy sweetness in the heart of your embrace"

THAT is wonderful.

"...silhouettes of sailors and their seadogs on the piers"
(nice alliteration)

Beautiful production and excellent vocal (I think you may have found that perfect vocal place you've been journeying towards...)

Steve is right about the Jackson Browne feel (with the Eagles doing harmonies...those are sweeeeeet) - but it really reminded me of one of my all-time favorite albums... The Great Pretender by Michael Dinner. Never released on CD (few people have ever heard of it - a real shame). I think you would appreciate it. Have a listen to Pentacott Lane https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShcRLkwezuA or Sunday Morning Fool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1okY8mTlHMk
(produced by John Boylan with the whole So Cal gang...)

I will listen to this a number of times.

So glad you found this little corner of the world.

I am a fan.

floyd

A big +1.

You have our condolences and if possible have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Greg - love this one. Condolences for your loss.

We also love Sausalito. Picked out our houseboat already (the brown one in the middle). Only need to save another million dollars.









Merry Christmas!


Bob

Hi Greg, this song is beautiful!! Nice melody and vocal harmonies. And I like very much your voice and the feel you put here.Really good job.

Tha name Sausalito transports me to my fifteen years, 1973, when my first guitar hero, Santana, released the album Welcome where a beautiful instrumental song Samba de Sausalito is included. Sausalito, a beautiful name for me, that opened my imagination, which remained forever in my memory...

Hi Greg,

what a beautiful song. Great lyrics and nice tune.
I especially love the background vocals.
Condolences for your father-in-law.

Guenter

Well there it is again. THE VOICE! Another spectacular piece. The background vocals are great. The feel is definitely the Cali sound. This could have been written in Laurel Canyon in the seventies, but it stands up perfectly today. Jackson Browne wishes he could sing like this. The beauty is so overwhelming to me, all I can say is I get emotionally involved in the song and it is a great pleasure to be a part
of your music, if only as a listener. I Feel It. Unbelievably written and produced. Tom

Hi Greg,

Did we tell you you're getting better any song (.... oh, yes we did :))
This one is The Eagles all over again.
Beautiful composition and we especially like the backing vocals (we assume you did those yourself?)
This way we're looking more and more forward to your next contribution.

Keep the coming,
Rob and Anne-Marie

THanks for the kind words Steve. Jackson Browne has always been one of my favorites. I basically taught myself to sing by singing along with Late for the Sky. It is a very flattering comparison for me. Thanks again. Take care. Greg

Thanks Charlie. It has been many years since I wrote this song. My father-in-law was a sweetheart of a guy. I still miss him. My son was named after him (middle name Jesus-that's in Spanish for all who think I'm being irreverent) Take care. Greg

Thanks Josie! I'm sure you know I'm always anxiously awaiting your feedback. Love to hear from you and thanks for the nice words. Take care. Greg

Thanks so much Scott. The town always will be a part of me. I tell people that if I win the lottery (not much chance since I very rarely play) I will buy a house on the hill in Sausalito. Thanks for taking time to listen and comment. Take care. Greg

Thanks J and B! It was quite a long time ago that my father-in-law passed but I still miss him. I'm sure he's watching over us when he's not playing bingo in heaven (I bet everybody wins there!) Thanks again for your kind words. Take care. Greg

THanks so much Floyd! A compliment from you about lyrics is certainly high regard in my book. When I first recorded this song, the bridge had no backgrounds and it seemed to drag. I got the idea for the feel from Late for the Sky (I don't know how much you've listened to it, but you should check out THE LATE SHOW-I think that's the track the cover came from-"It's like you're standing in a window of house nobody lives in and and I'm sitting in a car across the way. Let's just say...it's an early model Chevrolet, Let's just say...it's a warm and windy day. Pack up all your sorrow, the trash man comes tomorrow, leave it at the curb, and we'll just drive away"----BRILLIANT! Love those BG harmonies. Thanks for the musical link-I'll check it out in the next day or two. Thanks again. Take care. Greg

Greg,

"Sausalito" is a magnificent peace of song-crafting. What really grabbed me was how you used personification to strengthen and to develop the lyric experience.

I loved everything about this song. It's really beautiful and very skilfully assembled.

All the best,
Noel

Thanks Mario! Absolutely loved your newest one! Always nice to hear from you. Thanks for listening and commenting. Take care. Greg

THanks Bob! Very nice to get such a nice compliment from you. It has been a while since my father-in-law passed but I still miss him. Yes, Sausalito is incredible! I really regret that the SF bay area has become so wealthy-it is so beautiful but the money and traffic make it less accessible. I grew up in San Mateo, about 30 miles south of Sausalito. Interesting bit of trivia-I imagine you remember the franchise H Salt Esquire Fish and Chips. I believe they were bought out by KFC. My first fish and chips were from Sausalito and the older English couple who prepared them were the originators of that business. They were delicious (the fish and chips that is). Take care, and thanks again. Greg

Thanks Rafa!! And thanks for the link. I'm guessing this song also relates to the town of Sausalito. Santana is a SF native. A kid who went 2 years to my high school (Aragon High) named Neal Schon dropped out to join Santana at age 16. Turned out pretty good for him. I remember hearing my brother and other kids talking about him when he played in dances at Borel Junior High (I went there too). In fact, a guitar player I knew when he was in 7th grade and I was in 5th grade once said "I'd kiss myself if I could play like Neal Schon". I had no idea who Neal Schon was but I thought it was a pretty unusual thing for a junior high kid to say. I guess I'm rambling. THanks again and take care. Greg

Thanks Guenter! I really appreciate the kind words you always have for my songs. THanks again for listening and taking time to comment! Take care. Greg

You are too kind Tom (but please stay that way, you make my day!). The California sound, and California itself (as much as I despise the crowds, the expense, and the flaky politics) are part of my soul. I first became aware of the Eagles when I heard Take it Easy on the radio in about '72 while my brother, I, and a friend were driving to the beach in Half Moon Bay. HMB is another beautiful town I've thought about writing a song about. You've probably heard of Maverick's (renowned big waves). That is right over the hill in northern HMB. I used to body surf there as a kid and never knew it existed, nor did anyone I knew. There is a film about it I want to see (Chasing Mavericks). Anyway, I fell in love with that sound immediately--"We may lose or we may win but we will never be here again, so open up I'm climbin' in,to take it easy". That still gets me, even though I've heard it a thousand times. Thanks so much for your great support this year. I love what you're doing and I love hearing from you. It would be great to meet you and Floyd when I make it someday back to Florida. THanks so much Tom. Take care. Greg

R and AM, thanks so much!! You guys are unbelievably prolific and such a great presence on the forum (that 90s thing was really cool and unique on the forum-I have a song that I'm going to shape more that way after hearing what you pulled off). Your productions are first class and so diverse. Those BG vocals were me. I remember my harmony teacher in community college saying, when a part was really high, "the sopranos are going to have to tighten their belts on this one". Well...I hit about the highest note I'm capable of. The BGs in the bridge were an afterthought and I think they helped prevent the song from getting too boring. THanks again for all your encouragement, AND great posts! Take care. Greg

Thanks Noel! Always appreciate your very thoughtful comments. I don't know where I got the idea to use personification. When I think about it, the example I remember from relatively modern pop is Winchester Cathedral. I did enjoy (and still do) those oldies. People seemed to think and explore much more in those days than they do now-guess their too busy on their iphones! Thanks again Noel, and keep posting! New Xmas tune is great! Take care. Greg

Greg...

I WORE OUT Late For The Sky. At school - McGill University, Montreal '74 - my roommates were a Who fan and a King Crimson fan... I wore them down and they both became JB fans...

Yeh I TOTALLY agree with floyd.

I like your style of music and really look forward to what 2015 brings,

Happy Christmas,

Alyn

Yeah Floyd, I pretty much wore out his first 4 albums. I believe Running on Empty was the 5th. It was very good but I felt that it did not hold up to the first 4. That was when he caught on with the mainstream. Funny how the general public is always a little late. Funny that you mention THE WHO. I have always been a huge fan. Pete Townshend, along with JB, is one of maybe 20 people in rock/pop that I consider to be a true genius. Take care. Greg

Thanks Alyn! Really appreciate you taking time to listen and comment. Really got a kick out of your new one. I guess telemarketers are as bad in the UK as here in the states. Thanks again. Take care. Greg

Hi Greg.

I love a song which paints pictures and this one filled my mind with wonderful images.

A beautiful song, expertly delivered. I particularly liked your arrangement of the BVs.

Regards, ROG.

Wow... I really like that song. Yeah, I too caught a Jackson Brow kinda vibe from this and like someone else pointed out, that's a good thing.

You are one of the better wordsmiths here... you have a natural way with turning a phrase.... Loved it. Painting pictures with words....

Greg,

When I think of personification, the songs that always spring to my mind are "Galveston" (a Jimmy Webb composition sung by Glen Campbell) and "I Write The Songs" (Barry Manilow). The town/city 'Galveston' in "Galveston" is personified in second person and 'music' in "I Write the Songs" is personified in first person: two different approaches with two different lyric effects.

Like your song, "Galveston" also uses a construction technique called apostrophe. This is a great lyric writing strategy and has been used by a number of highly successful lyricists. Apostrophe involves addressing an absent person, thing or place in second person and as if it is present and will 'answer' (hence the personification).

I really like what you've done with "Sausalito". I agree with Herb. You are definitely one of the forums best wordsmiths.

Regards,
Noel

THanks ROG. Much appreciated! I always loved the use of BG vocals. I had none in the bridge originally but I thought the song dragged a bit and then got the idea for putting them there, which I think helped. Really nice to hear from you. Loved your last video! Enjoyed the song even more the second time around-great vocal and vibe! Take care. Greg

Thanks for the kind words Herb! It still sticks with me what a great compliment you gave me on Take Me Down. I love your thoughtful feedback, and really love hearing your music. You can really play!! And your vocals are pretty darn good too. Thanks for listening and taking time to comment. Merry Xmas! Take care. Greg

Thanks for the great compliment Noel!! I hear a lot of great lyrics on this site and it is indeed very flattering to be considered among the better. I remember Galveston somewhat but I'll have to listen again. I LOVE Jimmy Webb (Wichata Lineman, My Beautiful Balloon, Adios, McCarther Park, etc.....). You should check out What Does a Woman See in a Man by JW. It combines extremely clever humor with some touching sentiment. It is one of his many gems. Thanks for the kind words. Merry Xmas! Take care. Greg

Greg,

I enjoyed the song and now I enjoy your stories in the replies.

Great song, great stories.

My ears are glad we met on this forum

Have a good Christmas

Alyn

Hi Greg,
What's more to say? Beautiful backing vocals, loved all of it!
Have a great Christmas time!
Fred

Greg

Exactly what we have come to expect from you. Songwriting genius.

This is a really beautiful song of nostalgia. A great arrangement, perfect balance, laid-back with a really nice easy country feel.

I've actually been to Sausalito. What a beautiful harbor town

This song should definitely be in the charts.

Thanks for all of your songs over the past year.

Trevor

Hi Greg!

I'm late to the party, but only because today is the first time I could get the song to play! Everybody else must have been wearin' it out, tying up all the bandwidth! And now that I've heard it, I can see why! Lots to say here...

first of all, your vocal range really blind-sided me... I was not expecting that after SCOTCH AND CIGARETTES, which had a different vocal feel altogether... both of which are excellent, by the way!

I'm a big Jackson Browne fan, but what I heard was Eagles all the way... especially since SAUSALITO has the same number of syllables as DESPERADO, and the notes sung on the word are almost identical to the notes of the word DESPERADO. Add the richly crafted backing vocals and that California 70s sound, and it was almost impossible NOT to hear the Eagles!

The song also resonated with me because I visited the Bay area for the first time last September, and the memories of the things you sing about are still fresh. I didn't make it to Sausalito... the closest I got was the ferry ride from Alameda to the ferry building marketplace in San Francisco. Just BEAUTIFUL there! I loved being out on the bay!

Getting back to the song, I liked the way you rhymed loosely to keep a natural feel for the song. Rhymes like "MIND + TIMES" and "BREEZE + GALLERIES" aren't perfect matches, but they work wonderfully in terms of painting the images you did so well. Very cool!

Also, I liked the way you deviated from the strict cadence of the beat in order to speak the phrase as opposed to letting it get "sing-songy" (for lack of a better term).. for example, the first time you sing "Sausalito, you're my kind of place". But I notice you also pushed the words ahead of the beat at the end of most verses. I thought that worked VERY well.

And regarding the clarity of the song's mix... well, it really is! (clear that is). It really shows off the real tracks too... the guitar intro just sparkles!

Another home run here, my friend! Keep 'em coming!

Hi, Greg !:))


This is simply great !
and your vocals are top notch
too ! I congratulate you for
this wonderful tune and wish you
a Most Merry Christmas as well as
a Most Happy New Year !:))

Cheers
Dani

Thanks for the kind words Alyn. My ears are just as glad we met! You are a river of creativity and I enjoy all of your songs. Merry X-mas! Take care. Greg

Thanks Fred. You are no slouch at BG vocals (or lead vocals for that matter) yourself! Your recent vocal harmonies on one of your last posts were amazing!! Thanks again and Merry Xmas! Take care. Greg

THanks Trevor. I think you're overstating my talent BUT don't think I don't appreciate it! Always love hearing from you. You've given me great support over this past year. Merry Xmas and take care. Greg

Thanks so much Pat! I know I can always count on a detailed listen from you. You pointed out things I did not realize. You're right about the Sausalito/Desperato comparison. I do love that song! It's particularly interesting you commented on the acoustic guitar. I originally had the piano as the dominant instrument but in this song the steady bang/bang got to be overwhelming but the picked guitar really humanized it and sweetened it. There was a place where the beat was supposed to push. At the "heart of your embrace" I wanted the suspended chord for 3 beats and the next for 5 but it didn't work in BIAB. I've occasionally had some issue with that. Anyway, thanks for all of your kind words and great support as of late. It is a HUGE deal to me! Take care, and Merry Xmas! Greg

THanks Dani!! Always love to hear from you. Really loved your last Dixieland tune! AND, I'm so glad you're having a great time with your new novia. I'm looking forward to getting to the point where I get to travel more. Have a great time and a Merry Xmas!! Take care. Greg