01Written by Jim Messina
This one is for my kids and grandkids. Jimmy said it perfectly. We recorded this live in the studio—Max Berry, Dennis White and I. There may have been some tequila (vocal Viagra) involved.
Where the Songs Began
Songs That Met Me Along the Way
Songs I Didn’t Write—but Somehow Knew
It’s funny. Songwriters spend a lifetime trying to find the right words, and every now and then, somebody else has already written exactly what you needed to hear.
These are songs I didn’t write, but songs that found me somewhere along the way. Some brought back a memory. Some made me look at a familiar idea differently. And some simply refused to leave me alone until I sang them myself.
I may not have written their stories—but for a little while, they became part of mine.
Nine songs. Four albums.
They arrived at different times.
They stayed for different reasons.
Presented in the order they appeared on my records. Open any song to read why it found me, see the full lyrics, or download the lyric sheet.
From the album
Changes
The album that brought me back to the studio—and reminded me how much I had missed it. The first time the songs in the notebooks saw the light of day. Great times learning and discovering.
1 song01From the album
Find a Way
The storytellers who helped shape the way I listen, write and play my own stories in song.
5 songs
02Written by Dan Fogelberg
I’ve always loved the way Dan could make a warning sound beautiful. This song feels dark, mysterious and just a little dangerous. I suppose I’ve known a raven or two along the way—and probably ignored the warning more than once.
03Written by Dan Fogelberg
This is one of those songs that makes me think every time I sing it. Light and darkness. Choice and fate. The road we take and the person we become along the way. I’m still not sure I understand every word of it—and maybe that’s why I keep coming back.
04Written by Dan Fogelberg
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. When I was younger, “All I ever wanted to be was free” sounded like a destination. These days, I’m not sure freedom is a place you finally reach. Maybe it’s simply learning to live honestly with the choices you’ve made.
05Written by Dan Fogelberg
I sang this one at a junior-high talent-show audition—partly because I loved the song and partly because a certain special someone was in the audience. The judges liked it until one honest line made the whole thing “inappropriate.” That may have been the day I developed my lifelong allergy to that word.
06Written by John Denver
I promised I would make a recording of this song. So I recorded it live in the studio—me and a guitar—with a little polish thrown in for fun. Promises made, promises kept.
From the album
Crossing Willow Creek
Crossing Willow Creek was about moving forward without forgetting where the music began. A few of the storytellers who helped me find my way came along for the ride.
2 songs
07Written by Jimmie Spheeris
Jimmie Spheeris could write heartbreak in a way that was almost too pretty. I loved this song the first time I heard it. We’ve all had someone become a memory before we were ready—and sometimes singing the memory is the only way to keep it for a while.
08Written by Dan Fogelberg
Most of us learned the story of Icarus as a warning: fly too high and you’ll fall. Dan heard something different. Have faith. Let love guide you. Keep flying. I’ve spent enough of my life looking down. This song reminds me to look toward the horizon.
From the album
Who Are You Who Am I
Sometimes the past doesn’t knock politely. Sometimes it comes thundering back.
1 song
09Written by Gary Burr, Annie Tate and Sam Tate
I still get what I call boomerang calls from the past. Now I just call them… another of those damn horses.
The other side of the story
With gratitude to the writers who gave these songs their first lives—and allowed the rest of us to find our own lives inside them.
“Some songs came from somewhere inside me.Return to the songs I wrote →
These came looking for me.”