Jim Parker
FOR YOU
Although one of my favourite songs on the album, this song wasn’t even going to be on the CD. As an afterthought, I played it for Lance Anderson (the producer) and he really liked it. I was still working on the lyrics right up to recording the vocal. The band played really great on this one!
THE KINDA MAN I WANNA BE
I originally wanted this song to be humorous. You know, the guy saying he’d peel grapes for the girl and fan her while she reclines like Cleopatra. Instead, it became a more serious song of devotion. It’s interesting how you can set out to write one kind of song and end up with something completely different.
MY FRIEND (BEE’S SONG)
You know when you have a true friend. It’s that someone who accepts you for who you are unconditionally. Someone you could call up anytime, day or night and they’d be there in a heartbeat to help you. And even if you don’t see them for years, as soon as you do, you pick up right where you left off. Hopefully, in our lifetime we each get to find at least one person like that. That’s what this song is about. We dedicate it to my wife Susie’s lifelong friend, Brenda Stevenson.
FROM AWAY
In the Maritimes, if you don’t live there, they say you’re “From Away”. Hence the title for this song. It came to me after seeing a sign over an old barn door in Mount Stewart, P.E.I. that read, “Welcome Friends From Away”. I thought it was a great title for a song so I went down to the beach and started working on it right away. I loved Prince Edward Island and the people there and felt it was the kind of place perhaps I could call home. Who knows, maybe someday I will.
THAT’S THE WAY IT GOES
I could go into detail describing what this song is about but it would take a time to do it. Suffice it to say, it’s yet another view of life and maybe “After-Life” too. I like it because it underlines my belief that no matter how bad things get in our lives, we’re somehow always making progress and always learning.
FAMILY MAN
I wrote this one on December 3, 1990, the day my second son, Danny was born. I was in the room when he arrived and it was probably the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen! Truly a miracle! Later, I saw my wife holding him as she lay on the birthing table in the semi-darkness. They were both gazing into each other's eyes. It’s a beautiful image I’ll always remember. I drove home from the hospital in a raging snowstorm and came up with this song later that evening.
JUMP IN WATER
This is another song I wrote in P.E.I. during our summer trip there in 1997. It’s done in what Lance calls a “Canajun” style (Canadian Cajun Music). The chorus popped into my head as I was watching the kids playing in the pool. It’s actually a musical travel log of all the things that happened during our stay. Part of which was to visit the Cafe St. Jean near Oyster Bed Bridge where we experienced a Rustico Shindig. Great music and a great time!
MAN IN THE MOON
I wrote this song while on tour in Western Canada in 1991. I remember looking out the window of my hotel room in Edmonton and it was one of those clear, western twilights. There was the big, old, full moon rising up in that wonderful blue and I began to write the song there and then. I think I worked on it every day for the rest of the tour and even changed one line days before recording.
WITHOUT LOVE
I know there are a lot of single people in the world who are looking to find someone to share their life with. I was one once. This song was written to say to all those searching, “I know it’s tough, but don’t give up. That special person could be right in front of you and you don’t even know it.” The guys called this a Country/R&B tune. My friend, Ray Gauvin came up with the signature guitar line that recurs throughout the song. Thanks, Ray!
THAT’S LIFE
On a summer road trip in 1995, Sue and I visited Ernie Coombs at his cottage in Maine. That day I watched a sailboat out in the bay and had one of those rare moments of pure peace come over me. Driving home through New Hampshire the words and the melody for the chorus started going through my head. I spent the next few weeks working on it but got stuck on the lyrics. Susie helped out and came up with many of the key lines in the song. This is the kind of song I like to listen to when I’m feeling a little down. It reminds me that we’re all so lucky just to be here and that every moment is truly precious. So…enjoy!
Listen here now!
