Behind the Song – “Sitting On A Bench”

The most magical place for me is alongside the Detroit River. i’ve never been able to quite put my finger on it but there’s an energy there that matters. It’s an energy that continues to draw me in and always intrigues.

Over the 15 years that i lived in Windsor very few days passed by where i didn’t go for a walk down by the River. It was the place to clear my mind, work out ideas, walk through dreams, and shake off the previous night’s stupidity.

In the winter there’s the sound of moving chunks of ice crashing into each other combined with a bitter cold coming off the water freezing the skin. During the summer months it’s a place of excitement and wonderment. A place that turns into a soup of different cultures flowing alongside its river’s edge.

I used to stare at Detroit for hours and hours trying to imagine what was happening over there at that exact moment. Other times i just stood soaking up the evidence of Detroit’s historical abundance.

The River was also the place i went to read and to write regularly. Many lyrics and journal entries were written sitting on various benches alongside the River. So many in fact that after years and years of writing there it hit on the brain i should actually write a song about the experience and excitement of being down by the riverside.

And thus, Sitting On A Bench was conceived. i tried to capture as much of the spirit that i saw and felt down there as possible, and pay homage to my favourite bench.

There is in fact a favourite bench. It’s quite close to the Ambassador Bridge. It’s slightly angled west looking towards the Bridge with Zug Island as its background. It was an excellent place for me to get some much needed afternoon sunlight, comfortably read and write, and appreciate the gorgeous sunsets that happen on the American side.

Here it is, Sitting On A Bench, taken from my most recent release Dependent Arising:

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* next post, coming soon: Phil Ochs Talking America