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