The Stories Behind The Songs

THE PIRATE'S CABIN | home

The Stories Behind The Songs

-----------------------Ballad of Bill

While on break during an engagement at a local restaurant, Michael overheard three men at the bar discussing the Clinton Scandals. The words started coming to him so he jotted them down on 2 napkins. He played the resulting "Ballad of Bill" as the first song the the very next set, reading the words off the napkins.

-----------------------Carolina Sunrise

Carolina Sunrise was written while Michael was stationed in the U.S. Coast Guard. At the time, he was serving on Light Station Frying Pan Shoals. While standing mid-watch one morning, he observed the sun as it peeked over an ocean that was as smooth as glass. The morning sky was without a single cloud. The breathtaking sight made Michael aware and proud of his home state of North Carolina and all the natural wonders that it has to offer. His feelings of this are reflected in the words of the song.

-----------------------Choices

This song is based on a true-life situation where Michael was confronted with a pistol. Life is a series of choices. They are neither 'right' or 'wrong' ... they are 'good' or 'bad' choices. We live with our choices...

-----------------------Grandpa and Me

Both of Michael's grandfathers passed away before he was ever born. Thus, he never had the chance to get to now either, nor them, him. While practicing with friends late one night, he started wondering. Just how would things have been different had he gotten to know one of his grandfathers? In pondering that thought, the song "Grandpa and Me" was born...

-----------------------Indian Trail

When Michael was in high school, his first dabblings in musical creativity came to the fore. Originally written as a guitar and flute instumental duet, the song Indian Trail was his first true attempt at writing music. A short time later the words came to him and were made part of the song. For several years the song had no name. It was an on-going search to find a fitting title. He often played the selection for friends and asked them what they would name it.Finally, in the summer/fall of 1977, he accompanied a friend to a family reunion in their home town between Charlotte and Matthews North Carolina. While there, in the course of a single day, the words seemed prophetic in that the song came to life. Everything in the song happened that one day. Understandably, Michael then knew that the name of the song would be the same as the name of the town where it all took place...Indian Trail.

-----------------------Listen To My Eyes

This is and always will be a special song for Michael. It was written to, about and for his parents. His parents never told him that they loved him, though he knew that they did. In his father's eyes it seemed that he could do nothing right, however. Neither parent would come to listen to him play in public. It was referred to as 'honky-tonkin'. His father passed away after suffering a stroke that left him without the ability to speak or even write. He passed quietly 3 weeks later. His mother was stricken with brain cancer. When he was notified of such, he went to see her. When he arrived at her side, she was not able to communicate with him. She passed away within 24 hours of his departure. Having been 'robbed' of an accountable closure with either parent, he wrote this song to serve as his way of closing that chapter of his life. However, because they can now hear him play in public, every engagement includes at least one expression of his thoughts through this song. Every performance he will play this song, at least once, about, to and for his parents.

-----------------------Middleground

As the skies darken, and the humid air seems to get heavier, the winds start to pick up. All is quiet in the natural world about, except for the slowly intensifying breath of the wind.The waves no longer lap at the shore, but slap and slam and the trees moan in fear of the coming events. So is life in the fall in North Carolina as a hurricane approaches. You know it is coming, so you brace yourself and hope for the best. When it is done, you salvage what you can and life continues on. Oddly enough, in many 'stormy' relationships, the same observations and actions are present. In noting this, Michael made this song to show the natural order and parallel between nature and man. Strong wills will survive and continue on after the storms have passed.The scars take time, but they, too, will heal. Hopefully we learn from these experiences so as to be better prepared for the next inevitable storm....

-----------------------Questions of Love

Love is a difficult emotion to describe. Because there are so many different aspects, ideas and levels of love, it sometimes takes many years to ask the correct questions to define a love ... let alone getting answers to those questions ...

-----------------------Seaside Lullabye

Imagine ... laying in a hammock ... one summer's night ... clear skies ... cool breeze ... the sounds of the waves and other members of natures chorus in concert as the whisper you to sleep with the accompaniment of the wind chimes ... as the ghost crabs do their ballet in the dancing surf ...

-----------------------The Lady

Coast Guard Light Station Frying Pan Shoals is a Texas Tower located 28 miles SE of the mouth of the Cape Fear River, off the North Carolina coast. Years ago there was a Lightship stationed at the end of the shoal to warn ships of the shallows that stretched from there to the point off Bald Head Island. After years of treacherous duty, the lightship was retired and replaced with this tower. It was determined later that it woud be better if the tower were left to be run by computers. Michael was fortunate enough to be part of the next to the last manned crew aboard Frying Pan Light. There were times during severe weather that the crew aboard the tower could hear a call for help from some vessel in distress. Though not able to actually render assistance, the crew could relay the message to shore units to initiate a response for assistance. When the crew was removed from Frying Pan Light, it was as if the very soul of the tower was dissolved. These thoughts prompted Michael to write "The Lady"...the story of the transition from the lightship to the tower to the ultimate unmanned automation of the tower. The Lady still stands watch...

-----------------------Victoria's Smile

This is a little instrumental piece that Michael used to play before recording in his home studio to help set the parameters of the microphones. His roommate was operating the mixing board at the time. Jamie, the roommate, would have her children over on the weekends. They all understood that the studio was off limits, for obvious reasons. Jamie's oldest daughter is mentally handicapped. She did not like her mother being out of her sight. When they retired to the studio to do some recording, the daughter quietly opened the studio door and entered. Her mother sitting at the mixing board as the 10-inch reel-to-reel was going around. She looked at Michael in the sound booth. She watched as Michael played the instrumental to check the mic placements and settings. She always enjoys listening to Michael play. Realizing that he was recording, and could not say anything at the time, she knew she was free to listen to him play at least until the recording was stopped. Having the upper hand, she looked at Michael and broke out in a grin from ear to ear. Michael was touched by this innocent display of pure enjoyment and named it after that sight of ... Victoria's Smile!!!!

-----------------------Wizard In The Desert

Michael has always looked up to his nephew, Mark, as a very talented musician. His knowledge of musical theory, along with knowing most every song Michael knows, has made for a tremendous help to Michael in the areas of practice and motivation. In early 1998, Mark departed to do a learning tour down in Arizona. After he departed, Michael felt lost for a while. To help deal with the loss of his motivational support that his nephew afforded him, Michael wrote this instrumental piece about his nephews involvement with his music.Mark is the 'Wizard' and Arizona was the desert.

Want to listen to a song? Click it's name.

Want to see the song list?

Would you like to get a CD of Michael's songs?

Want to tour another section?


	THE PIRATE'S CABIN \| home The Story of NC Pirate \| The Stories Behind The Songs \| The Songs \| About "Reflections of Insight" \| Other Writings \| The Treasure Chest \| The Mail Buoy \| Request Library The Stories Behind The Songs -----------------------Ballad of Bill While on break during an engagement at a local restaurant, Michael overheard three men at the bar discussing the Clinton Scandals. The words started coming to him so he jotted them down on 2 napkins. He played the resulting "Ballad of Bill" as the first song the the very next set, reading the words off the napkins. -----------------------Carolina Sunrise Carolina Sunrise was written while Michael was stationed in the U.S. Coast Guard. At the time, he was serving on Light Station Frying Pan Shoals. While standing mid-watch one morning, he observed the sun as it peeked over an ocean that was as smooth as glass. The morning sky was without a single cloud. The breathtaking sight made Michael aware and proud of his home state of North Carolina and all the natural wonders that it has to offer. His feelings of this are reflected in the words of the song. -----------------------Choices This song is based on a true-life situation where Michael was confronted with a pistol. Life is a series of choices. They are neither 'right' or 'wrong' ... they are 'good' or 'bad' choices. We live with our choices... -----------------------Grandpa and Me Both of Michael's grandfathers passed away before he was ever born. Thus, he never had the chance to get to now either, nor them, him. While practicing with friends late one night, he started wondering. Just how would things have been different had he gotten to know one of his grandfathers? In pondering that thought, the song "Grandpa and Me" was born... -----------------------Indian Trail When Michael was in high school, his first dabblings in musical creativity came to the fore. Originally written as a guitar and flute instumental duet, the song Indian Trail was his first true attempt at writing music. A short time later the words came to him and were made part of the song. For several years the song had no name. It was an on-going search to find a fitting title. He often played the selection for friends and asked them what they would name it.Finally, in the summer/fall of 1977, he accompanied a friend to a family reunion in their home town between Charlotte and Matthews North Carolina. While there, in the course of a single day, the words seemed prophetic in that the song came to life. Everything in the song happened that one day. Understandably, Michael then knew that the name of the song would be the same as the name of the town where it all took place...Indian Trail. -----------------------Listen To My Eyes This is and always will be a special song for Michael. It was written to, about and for his parents. His parents never told him that they loved him, though he knew that they did. In his father's eyes it seemed that he could do nothing right, however. Neither parent would come to listen to him play in public. It was referred to as 'honky-tonkin'. His father passed away after suffering a stroke that left him without the ability to speak or even write. He passed quietly 3 weeks later. His mother was stricken with brain cancer. When he was notified of such, he went to see her. When he arrived at her side, she was not able to communicate with him. She passed away within 24 hours of his departure. Having been 'robbed' of an accountable closure with either parent, he wrote this song to serve as his way of closing that chapter of his life. However, because they can now hear him play in public, every engagement includes at least one expression of his thoughts through this song. Every performance he will play this song, at least once, about, to and for his parents. -----------------------Middleground As the skies darken, and the humid air seems to get heavier, the winds start to pick up. All is quiet in the natural world about, except for the slowly intensifying breath of the wind.The waves no longer lap at the shore, but slap and slam and the trees moan in fear of the coming events. So is life in the fall in North Carolina as a hurricane approaches. You know it is coming, so you brace yourself and hope for the best. When it is done, you salvage what you can and life continues on. Oddly enough, in many 'stormy' relationships, the same observations and actions are present. In noting this, Michael made this song to show the natural order and parallel between nature and man. Strong wills will survive and continue on after the storms have passed.The scars take time, but they, too, will heal. Hopefully we learn from these experiences so as to be better prepared for the next inevitable storm.... -----------------------Questions of Love Love is a difficult emotion to describe. Because there are so many different aspects, ideas and levels of love, it sometimes takes many years to ask the correct questions to define a love ... let alone getting answers to those questions ... -----------------------Seaside Lullabye Imagine ... laying in a hammock ... one summer's night ... clear skies ... cool breeze ... the sounds of the waves and other members of natures chorus in concert as the whisper you to sleep with the accompaniment of the wind chimes ... as the ghost crabs do their ballet in the dancing surf ... -----------------------The Lady Coast Guard Light Station Frying Pan Shoals is a Texas Tower located 28 miles SE of the mouth of the Cape Fear River, off the North Carolina coast. Years ago there was a Lightship stationed at the end of the shoal to warn ships of the shallows that stretched from there to the point off Bald Head Island. After years of treacherous duty, the lightship was retired and replaced with this tower. It was determined later that it woud be better if the tower were left to be run by computers. Michael was fortunate enough to be part of the next to the last manned crew aboard Frying Pan Light. There were times during severe weather that the crew aboard the tower could hear a call for help from some vessel in distress. Though not able to actually render assistance, the crew could relay the message to shore units to initiate a response for assistance. When the crew was removed from Frying Pan Light, it was as if the very soul of the tower was dissolved. These thoughts prompted Michael to write "The Lady"...the story of the transition from the lightship to the tower to the ultimate unmanned automation of the tower. The Lady still stands watch... -----------------------Victoria's Smile This is a little instrumental piece that Michael used to play before recording in his home studio to help set the parameters of the microphones. His roommate was operating the mixing board at the time. Jamie, the roommate, would have her children over on the weekends. They all understood that the studio was off limits, for obvious reasons. Jamie's oldest daughter is mentally handicapped. She did not like her mother being out of her sight. When they retired to the studio to do some recording, the daughter quietly opened the studio door and entered. Her mother sitting at the mixing board as the 10-inch reel-to-reel was going around. She looked at Michael in the sound booth. She watched as Michael played the instrumental to check the mic placements and settings. She always enjoys listening to Michael play. Realizing that he was recording, and could not say anything at the time, she knew she was free to listen to him play at least until the recording was stopped. Having the upper hand, she looked at Michael and broke out in a grin from ear to ear. Michael was touched by this innocent display of pure enjoyment and named it after that sight of ... Victoria's Smile!!!! -----------------------Wizard In The Desert Michael has always looked up to his nephew, Mark, as a very talented musician. His knowledge of musical theory, along with knowing most every song Michael knows, has made for a tremendous help to Michael in the areas of practice and motivation. In early 1998, Mark departed to do a learning tour down in Arizona. After he departed, Michael felt lost for a while. To help deal with the loss of his motivational support that his nephew afforded him, Michael wrote this instrumental piece about his nephews involvement with his music.Mark is the 'Wizard' and Arizona was the desert. Want to listen to a song? Click it's name. Want to see the song list? Would you like to get a CD of Michael's songs? Want to tour another section?