Meyer & McGuire
Songwriter Notes
Song
of the Month #16 - “D.E.A.D.”
(Track #6 on the Caught
in the Middle CD)
Lyrics: If your web browser does not support the Flash Player* included with the Lyrics, or you are uncomfortable
allowing/downloading the plug-in/add-on, you can still listen to this song
while you read. Just go to our Downloads
Page and click on the
link, “Buy Caught in the Middle Songs from
Napster”. Then, click on "D.E.A.D.." You
can listen to it for free (not available outside the USA).
*Not being a
techie, I use the term “Flash Player” loosely.
If
you have managed to escape feeling the shock of losing a relative or friend in
a tragic event, you are an extremely lucky person. Most of us do not avoid this experience, and
for me, it first happened when I was twenty.
My cousin was killed in a car accident on the Cross Island Expressway in
Queens, New York. As the wounds from
this loss healed, I thought the odds were very slim I would ever encounter a
feeling like this again. Well, I was
wrong. I became a teacher, and during my
thirty-two year stint, I returned many times to the feeling of numbness brought
on by the sudden loss of someone who is close to you.
For
those of you who have little involvement with education, here are some of the
scenes teachers encounter when tragedy strikes the halls of their school. There is that haunting “moment of silence”
held before the school day starts. There
is the empty desk in the classroom reminding everyone it will remain empty for
the rest of the year. There is the
locker surrounded with flowers and students in tears. There is the guidance office filled with
students who just cannot cope. There are
the calling hours packed with kids who are in need of assurance that their pain
will eventually go away. Finally, there
is the funeral or memorial service that brings home the cold hard reality that
death is truly permanent.
Tragedy
struck the halls of Canandaigua Academy in December of 1992. Karey Windheim, a senior, was killed in a
tragic car accident along West Lake Road in Canandaigua, New York. She and her friends had been partying, and
they made the fatal mistake of getting into a car and driving home. Karey was a well-liked popular kid, and the
news of her death stunned the community.
I, one of the bewildered, was totally devastated by the report of her
death. She had been one of my tenth
grade English students, and it was fun having her in class. She was smart, witty, and very engaging, one
of those kids who had success written all over her. After tenth grade, she would occasionally
stop by and say hi to me in the hall while I stood outside my room as students
passed to their classes. Needless to
say, Karey’s death became to the students and teachers another awful reminder
of the devastating effects of drinking and driving.
One
afternoon in early January of 1993, Al Cretney, a good friend and colleague,
stopped by my classroom after school for a friendly chat and venting
session. Our conversation eventually
drifted around to Karey because the accident was still very fresh in everyone’s
mind. As we exchanged stories about
students who were lost in tragic accidents, Al, a health teacher, told me about
a health teacher in Minnesota who developed a game called D.E.A.D. The name of the game was an acronym for Drugs
End All Dreams, and of course, it was designed to discourage students from
drinking and doing drugs.
The
song, “D.E.A.D.,” got its start while I was walking McMeyer, a puppy Siobhan
and I picked up from the pound in the early ‘90s. As the two of us sauntered along the quiet
streets of Canandaigua in the pre-dawn hours of a Saturday morning, I began to
think about the conversation Al Cretney and I had in my classroom just a few
days ago. For some reason, I focused on
the teacher who developed the game that discouraged kids from drinking and
doing drugs. Out of nowhere came the
chorus of the song, and I sang it over and over again in my head. Some choruses stay in my head for years
because I have nowhere to go with them after they form. That was not the case here. This song was ready to come out, and it did. When I got home, I carved out three little
narratives about the students Al and I discussed during our conversation, and
they became the verses of the song.
Sensing a need to acknowledge the Minnesota teacher who inspired me, I
developed a verse about him, and used it as an introduction and conclusion to
the stories of the students who were victims to drug and alcohol abuse.
“D.E.A.D.” is pure Americana. It is a rock-like song with a flare of
country appearing in the mix. With a
guitar, a pedal steel, an electric guitar, a harmonica, a bass, drums, and
backup harmonies, John Dady, Joe Dady, Al Keltz, and Tim Chaapel help Siobhan
and me in creating one of those songs that hits you in the face with the cold
hard reality of the negative effects of drug and alcohol abuse. Al Keltz, one of Rochester’s premier electric
guitar and pedal steel players, adds a superb sound that naturally embellishes
this rather unpleasant theme. With a
harmonica, Joe Dady enhances the disagreeable topic by weaving a gutsy blues-like
sound around Al’s electric guitar and pedal steel. It is a song we do not play out very much; it
is too much of a downer. However, it is
a song designed for contemplation as you sit in the quiet of your living
room. Hope it gets you to make wiser
decisions when you are drinking or doing drugs.
I like it, and I hope you do too!
I dedicated this song to Al Cretney
and the memory of Karey Windheim. Al,
now retired, was one of those quiet unassuming teachers who went into the
trenches every day and did the best job he could for kids, a true hero in my
book. He worked endlessly to try to get
his students to make wise decisions about their health, especially regarding
the use of drugs and alcohol. His
students owe him a great deal of gratitude for his efforts. Karey Windheim, too, played a major role in
encouraging kids to make wiser decisions regarding the use of drugs and
alcohol. She was a great kid who just
made a mistake. If her mistake keeps
only one person from not making the same mistake, her death will not be in
vain. I thank both Al and Karey for
being the catalyst for D.E.A.D. I only
hope the song can continue to encourage people to make good decisions about
drugs and alcohol.
We recorded this song in 1998 at The Garage, a little
studio in Rochester, New York. The
Garage, as I have told you before, is owned and operated by John and Joe Dady,
two quintessential musicians. When you
record with them, you can always count on great coffee, good stories, and an
aching stomach from laughing. I highly
recommend John and Joe if you are interested in recording. Also, The Dady Brothers, John and Joe’s
group, have many recordings of their own, and they tour the United States and
Ireland. Check them out on the web at www.dadybros.com.
Tim
Chaapel owns Mobile Music, a great music store in Canandaigua, New York. If you think you might be interested in
playing an instrument, stop in. Tim will
get you off to a great start! He has
guitars that make you look really sexy!
Also, if your instrument has fallen on hard times, Tim will get it
sounding like new in no time. Check him
out on the web at http://www.mobilemusic.downtowncanandaigua.com.
Well,
there you have it. I’ll have another
song of the month for you next month. If
you have any comments or suggestions, please pass them on to me. This is a work in progress, and I am always
looking for new ways to improve it.
(E-Mailed 7/18/08)
E-mail us at McRiley@Frontiernet.net