Summertime Stage

I haven't busked much this summer. I have been too busy with the moving and selling of the house that I just didn't have the time. So, I'm glad to be back out on the street on a nice sunny day. I got to Saratoga a little over an hour ago. I played for about an hour and made enough to buy a bagel sandwich and a water at Uncommon Grounds with a few bucks left over. I'll probably hang out here for a little while longer and then go out and see if I can make enough for dinner.

Despite not busking much, I somehow managed to write a song about busking in Saratoga. I have played it a few times for friends and at open mics. I have also played it out on the street.

I often say that every song that I have written has happened in a unique way. The songwriting process, in other words, is pretty much different every time. The way this song came out follows the same rule.

I was driving to Saratoga a few weeks ago and it had been raining. When I got to Saratoga, the clouds broke and it was a very sunny day. Then a sun shower hit and, as I drove down Broadway, people on the sidewalks ducked inside nearby stores and restaurants to avoid getting soaked.

While I drove around looking for parking, I got this Tom Waits-esque melody in my head and the line: "There's a sudden sun shower in Saratoga Springs and it soaks all the people on Caroline street." Over the next day or so, I added some more lines about Saratoga. I liked the melody, but the song didn't really have a focus. I added some of myself into the song, being a busker on Broadway. I had the line "You'll find me down on Broadway..." in the chorus and it needed another part. It needed something that rhymed with "Broadway" and fit into the melody.

I tried a variety of things and it all sounded forced. It didn't flow. Then out of nowhere, I was singing that line and the following line just came out of me, "You'll find me down on Broadway... my summertime stage." It was one of those moments when you know you've written a song.

I went back through the whole song and changed some of the lines to reflect the new direction that the song took. The song became about busking with the backdrop being Saratoga Springs.

I'm pretty happy with the song and I've gotten good feedback from people who have heard it. I like it too -- which is the most important thing.