Happy New Year forum friends!! Here's to hoping '21 is better. Listened to a lot of great stuff over the past week and will continue to catch up. This song is a tribute to an old friend. We were college roommates. He was warm, charismatic, and funny as hell. He was also extremely wild and out of control at times. Around 2016, I looked him up on Facebook after not having seen him for more than a decade. The song pretty much tells the story better than I can in a narrative form. He apparently was killed as a pedestrian in Oklahoma City. I'm guessing some kind of chemical alteration was involved. So sad. I will always love him. Always love to hear what you think. Will post the lyrics soon. Take care. Greg

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

The players:

Bass. 366
Piano 1725 (midi conversion through NI grand)
Picked acoustic. 364
Strummed acoustic 368
Organ 2692
Guitar solo 2690

Strong emotions always make for great songs.

Sad story.
Great job capturing the memories of friendship.
Sounds wonderful!

Well done.

moto

Killer song! A great tribute to a close friend. When you dropped the drums it was very effective. The organ gives it a spiritual feel. Expertly written and beautifully sung. I’ve been a fan for several years now. This is your best. So very glad to have listened, Tom

Greg ..

Simply said - you are a very special talent. Your talent leaves an indelible and worthy footprint where ever it touches. Some folks make music. Some folks make fabulous music. Some folks make music that's simply superb. They all have one thing in common : they aspire to equal your talent that produces the element of near-perfection.

You've turned 6 of my pretty okay songs into pieces of musical magic with your added musical fairy dust. I hope we can do that again sometime soon.

You fully understand the true voice of the human soul and the muses of the human heart like no one else I've heard. And this song is just one more piece of evidence to validate that claim. Simply amazing, my friend.

Nothing but the warmest greetings from both of us.

Akan & Di

Greg,

A giant WOW. Color me "floored".

The BAND is great. Excellent production.

The vocal is, of course, stellar (as all of yours are).

The writing is beyond belief. As good as it gets. (Better than "Song For Adam")

Why you aren't at the top of the Billboard charts is a mystery.

fj

Greg,
sad and beautiful tribute. You definitely have talent for soft pop tunes with jazz flavor. Excellent composition and vocals! Mix is very clear. I had no trouble of understanding lyrics.
Thank you for sharing,
Misha.

P.S. I have lost a very special (and musical) friend from my youth some years back. Still very saddened by it, but a lot of good memories still live and I hope will stay with me for a long time.

Hi Greg,

Beautiful composition, beautiful tribute for your friend. The orchestration is perfect for this kind of lyrics. Well done

Kindly regards
Take care of yourself

Derochette
alias
JaniJackFlash

Fabulous tribute, Greg. Emotional dynamite.

Terrific melody and lyrics. A hell of a way to learn about the demise of a good friend, but I guess that is social media's effect. As always, your superb voice set the mood. Liked the organ. Great production. As good as it gets!

Greg

Superb song, moving and engaging. Lovely vocal and a terrific arrangement.

Using floyd's Jackson Browne theme the only thing missing was David Lindley playing along.

Peter

Great opening lines. Dang, I'm only finished with the 1st verse, and I'm tingling. Greg, you know what a fan I am of all you do, and whenever I get the time to come to the forum, I hope there'll be a new Greg Johnson song. Man, this is emotional. Wait. Haha. When the song ended a ad came on" "Oooo, a fondue set..." Well, that gave me another reason to listen again.

Just wonderful in every way, man, I have no words ..... Outstanding!

Beautiful song Greg. So sorry for your loss. I too lost a very close friend from my youth. I was lucky in that we had reconnected after 35 years. He died a few months later. Broke my heart. Your lyrics were pulling on my heart strings. Well done

Hey Greg,

Wow! Absolutely fantastic. Some excellent songwriting, singing, mixing... Just everything!

You're a talent man!

Great Job,

Greg

Oh my God.

First of all, so sorry for your loss. Nothing I could say about it would be suitable, so I won't say anything else.

The song is extraordinary. By far your best (for want of a better word).

I can't really articulate what this song has made me feel, so let me tell you why, if that's ok. I had a very good friend in college who also passed away a few years ago, at the age of only 33. Left behind three children and her husband. I also found out on Facebook. One night, she was there ... then, the next morning her husband posted about her passing.

I wish I could have written half the song you wrote about your friend for my friend and her family (I did do a musical tribute for them, but that's neither here nor there). Your song is so heartfelt and ... wow. Thank you so, so much for sharing.

Love everything about this song -arrangement, production, vocals and especially the lyrics. There are so many standout lines. I thought this was one of the best:

Alcohol or mushrooms, any substance just because
Any way to see the world except the way that it was

Take care

Brian

Hi, Greg !:))


This, Greg, is the best
you´ve done so far at least
of those I´ve had the favour
of having listened to !

It is my new Gregfav from
now on !

I can relate to the feeling
that you´ve wrote the tune
and I am very sorry for your
great loss !

Take Care and Stay Safe

Dani

Very nice song and performance !!!

Sorry to hear about your old friend. Facebook has brought to light the demise of friends I had back in school. Without FB, I think I'd still be wondering, ,"Whatever happened to so and so?"

Absolutely beautiful song. Well crafted. Well sung.

Lovely song. Most of us will empathise with something as irreplaceable.

Vic

Lovely song even if very sad. Well written lyrics. Very sweet vocals. Great job.

A beautiful tribute, Greg. Wonderfully well written and performed.
Regards,
Leon

Greg,

A sweet sad song, made all the more compelling by your superb execution. Wonderfully done. And I love, absolutely love your use of the organ on this—expertly done; sits just right where it needs to be in the mix. Sweet tune!

Kind regards,

Deej

I don't get onto the User Showcase very often, but thought I would today. Your song title caught my eye...kinda of in a melancholy mode today.

Wow, your song brought back some memories buried deep. I forgot how much I missed those guys. Your song brought them back.

Thank you

Jeff

Jackson Browne has already been mentioned but the connection is obvious and always a good thing.

It's always easy to say "my new fav" and move on but with this production if not our absolute fav it
certainly ranks up there with the best you've done.

The tribute is moving and your vocal conveys the emotion well w/o being over the top angsty.

The production is of the open airy feel that we so love -- and strive for.

Exceptionally well done Greg!

J&B

Hi Greg so sad sorry to here. losing a good friend is hard and your lyrics tell it great job on everything thanks for sharing this Eric

Lovely song. Your voice sells it with warmth and compassion.
Facebook did jump out of the lyric...not sure if it was being so specific or just the sound of it that startled me.

Thanks so much Cap'n! Just listened to your sweet live one today!! Take care. Greg

Thanks so much Tom! Love having you around lately! Yeah, I absolutely LOVE that organ RT...many of my songs would not be the same without Brent's solos and that beautiful organ. Love your latest!! Take care. Greg

Thanks Alan! Really appreciate your incredibly nice words!! Just listened to your new instrumental.......just gorgeous......you really know how to make chord changes speak.....the way they are always teasing as they search for resolution and eventually get there. Take care. Greg

Thanks so much Floyd!!! A compliment like that from you is an ounce of gold in my songwriter bank!! And "Song for Adam" is a classic. I fell in love with that song when I was 16, and such a comparison is truly humbling! Take care my friend! Greg

Greg, an excellent tribute to your friend! Your voice has obvious emotion in it as carries this lovely melody! Your vocal is super...reached those high notes so effortlessly! Beautiful job on this Greg with touching lyrics and a great arrangement! Thanks, T

THanks so much Misha!! Yeah, it is really hard to lose people you love.....really puts life in perspective. Take care. Greg

Thanks so much Mr. Flash!! Your last post is STELLAR!! Take care. Greg

Thanks Ed!! Really appreciate that! Take care. Greg

I'm late to the party but I'm extremely glad I got to listen to this one. What a great tribute to a friend. Your vocal is outstanding, I can feel your pain. Your instrumentation is spot on, love that guitar lead, and your mixing skills are second to none.

There are plenty of songs that I don't catch all the lyrics. Either the vocals are obscured in the mix, or the singer isn't clear.

That's not the case here. I understand Every. Single. Word.

And it sounds effortless, because the arrangement stays out of the way, and supports unobtrusively.

Vocal front and center, because your voice is always the best part of these songs.

Listening to this is like listening in on an intimate conversation.

Excellent lyrics: conversational language, honest and to the point.

As floyd jane said, this shares the same elements as classic Jackson Browne songs.

Lovely song.

Hey Greg, good to hear one of your songs again.

You're kind of the forum's own Don Henley. Both of you write songs that are beautiful and terrible at the same time, and people love them in spite of the sweet damage they do to our souls.

You are also both masters of the clever lyric... like your line about looking for ways to see life in any way except how it really is. Reminds me of the line in Desperado about "some fine things have been laid upon your table, but you only want the ones that you can't have"

Come to think of it, your voice even has a similarity to Henley's.

All that aside, let's get back to this song. So sorry to hear about your friend. Your vocals are those of a teen. It makes me happy that the years of musical experience didn't steal the youthful qualities of your voice. I'm so envious.

I kind of expected you to be famous by now. What's the holdup??? I've been away for 2 years

Yeah, that was quite an impactful moment.....seeing that picture on a head stone. Thanks so much for your kind review of the song! Absolutely love your recent standard style songs.....so good!! Take care. Greg

Thanks so much Peter!! Yeah, Lindley is amazing but Brent is a great pitch hitter! Take care. Greg

Thanks so much Marty!! You're support is a huge boost for me, and I love your sense of humor too!! Take care. Greg

Really appreciate that Dave!! Listened to your latest today, and loved it!! You should sing more often! Take care. Greg

Thanks Greg! Great to have you back around!! Take care. Greg

Thanks so much James!! Really appreciate your kind words, and your song posts! Take care. Greg