This song started with a negative twist to it ie I've had nothing but bad luck baby ever since you came into my life, etc. I always liked the tune but could never find the words to fill out the negative message that I thought the song was meant to embody. This all changed when I found Megan and the fresh, positive message it tells just kinda fell from pen to page.

Sometimes, quite often, I've been through periods when doing the same sort of stuff everyday becomes a real drudge and the meaning of my existence comes into question ie what is this all about? What the hell am I doing here? What is life really?  What lies beyond the realms of space, conscious awareness and the infinite universe? I don't know the answers but part of the message in this song is that you never know anything much until you let go of total conscious control and allow for the Infinite (The Universe, God etc call it what you will) to be a part of your daily existence. The phrase I use is and feel the sand just slipping through your hand – the silky, sublimation of handing over and letting go. Chew on that.

Speaking of drudgery, having a well paid and permanent job in the Public Sector, despite all of the first world virtues that come with a good salary and guaranteed employment, it's a sure-fire way of crushing the creative force within. For 20 years my guitar gathered dust and my soul gathered rust as my worldly nest egg was feathered - but I was too damn tired to write a decent song. I think I escaped just in time.

I had just moved to a small country town to start a new life (yes departed the public service!) when I heard that my good mate Barry had succumbed to the brain cancer that he had been battling for 5 years, Being alone and many miles away from loved ones and the comfort of my old life, plus a gallon of beer, I wrote this song.  Musically, for the verse, I used a chord structure that was based on a pattern shown to me by a workmate from many years earlier (thanks Harry) and the words just popped out in a stream of consciousness free fall. I was always going to update the words but in the end decided that that was how the song was meant to be. It is probably the melodic feel of the song that resonates more with me now. 

Sometimes you can be at complete odds with someone that you normally have total regard for. You may need to find clear air for a while (or write a song about it) and learn to accept that while your differences will exist, this does not need to be relationship threatening and you can still be good  friends – still challenging but!

Despite having a childhood punctuated by long periods of parental absence (and other stuff) there were times when family life provided experiences that I will always remember fondly. One of these was our annual holiday staying in our grandparent's beach-side shack (literally right on the beach) at West Beach in South Australia. For a month we would be up at the crack of dawn playing in the sand and water, collecting shells and things, playing cricket, looking for and returning Coke bottles, and generally running amok all day only returning to the shack when hungry – and we made castles  in the sand.  Growing up all of this changed when the shacks were torn down and eventually our family group also dispersed liked sand castles exposed to the elements and father-time. It's funny how when you are young you can't wait to grow up, but when you finally make it, there are often times when you  yearn for the simplicity of childhood.

As a young adult I found myself  living alone and not always coping that well with the challenges of transitioning to maturity. Looking back its hard to express how blessed I was to have been given a  friendship that  enabled me to steer my life through the endless challenges that I confronted and this is why I believe in the power of faith in God (The Force, The Universe, whatever). Thank you Ethel. Life is a riddle with a hole in the middle that nobody understands, you can fill it up with dreams and schemes and castles in the sand.

After retirement and with no other encumbrances, I decided to give music my full attention. To get the ball rolling I put an ad in the Albury Border Mail newspaper seeking the services of a music marketing expert to promote my music to the world. After running the ad for 2 weeks I received no responses until after dinner on a Sunday night a bloke named Jon Navaho rang me to discuss the ad. Long story short, Jon was not a marketing expert but knew a lot about music and how to do song arrangements and he liked the songs I sent him. He agreed to work with me to develop my music. The process lasted almost 2 years and Jon spent countless hours reviewing my songs and encouraging me to learn how to use a digital audio workstation – which I did after building a music studio in the backyard (Keitho's Factory). We joked about having a hit song in the USA and being interviewed on a midday TV show and that is basically the nucleus for this song. Jon moved onto other projects a couple of years ago but we've maintained contact and his efforts in teaching me as much as he did is something that I will cherish and respect for my remaining years.

Living in rural Australia there are countless examples of old, abandoned railway stations  and  infrastructure. For me viewing these scenes always leaves a feeling of pathos triggered by the sense that nothing we see is of permanency and that as humans we will also return to the dust we are made of. But the message of this song is that death will happen only when one's time is up and we cannot know when this will happen or pre-empt it in any natural way. So when my character is on-board the song's ghostly train, (it is taking its passengers to their final resting place across the universe somewhere) the old conductor's (God or an angel)  words make sense – he said son you know this is not your journey there's still so much in life you have to do. 
 

Note: I sent this song to Australian music guru Anita Monk for a review and she  said it reminded her of The Seeker's: Morningtown Ride – I love The Seekers so I took it as a compliment

I am just one member of the great silent majority who are constantly insulted and outraged about a lot of what  is going on in these modern times. In Australia we are so well off that many people have developed an attitude of self righteousness, entitlement and believe they have the right to try and destroy the very institutions and mores that have made this country so successful. To me there is huge disconnect between what is spread via the mass media, politicians and interest groups compared to the common sense reality of most people's lives.  I feel a growing sense of despair in the face of this escalating stupidity and in my minds eye I see these times mimicking the social and cultural destruction that led to the fall of ancient Rome. 

As a kid Creedence Clearwater Revival (what a name!) was one of my favourite bands and lead guitarist, singer and songwriter, John Fogerty, was a cult hero of mine for many years. A few years ago I read his autobiography which detailed the hurt and betrayal he felt from his former band members and the dastardly music producer Saul Zaentz. I was quite moved by the story and remember thinking about it as I was driving to work one morning. It was a foggy, almost eerie dawn and as I was winding through the rural setting I looked across a paddock and saw the biggest Moon ever, very low in the sky and shimmering through the misty dawn. As it reflected  across the fields it seemed to send me a message: it does not matter who you are, where you are,  or what you do, I see and remember everything that goes on and my vision is constant and timeless.  In other words there is no escape from the truth and in the end there will always a reckoning. It struck me very clearly at the time that the Moon had a spiritual quality and was indeed watching over us and the big fellah up there (Mr Moon) knows everything across the space and time continuum. So when I wrote this song dedicated to the life and trials of John Fogerty if felt good to call it Mr Moon because the truth of his experience eventually came to light and he could begin the process of healing. As a footnote I also believe an important part of John's healing will occur only when he finally funds the humility to forgive the other surviving band mates (Doug Clifford and Stu Cook) as he has punished them enough already – just read the book!

This gets back to working in the Public Service where all your best creative efforts are usually either not appreciated or taken from you and credited to someone else. The system relies on making the boss happy but unfortunately it is too often the case that boss ain't to bright and is happier to reward the sycophants rather than those who deliver quality work. Eventually, anyone worth their salts moves on to other employment. I managed to get stuck there for 20 years but now I'm a free man I still find myself looking for that external stimulus to make me happy. That's why I wrote this song. But did it make me happy? I'll let you know when the royalty payments for this album start rolling in.