None At This Time
Olin Smith: Calendar
SINCE THERE IS NO CALENDAR OF PERFORMANCE DATES TO DISPLAY HERE (I HAVEN’T PLAYED IN PUBLIC IN QUITE SOME TIME), PERHAPS THIS WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO WRITE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EACH SONG.
HOLD ME IN---
This is a song about the importance of intimacy. Without intimate relations, how can we deal with the complexities and stumbling blocks related to this human existence? Sometimes the best thing to do is take a step back, remember what’s important…and relax.
LOST MY FAITH---
Actually, this song really happened. Take one bad airplane trip, add a hint of nausea, stir in a stunning reminder of my own mortality, and what you have is…the realization you don’t always get a chance to say good-bye. It was a temporary loss of faith…but note I said temporary.
BACK TO ME---
Maybe this song is several years too late. I was thinking back to my high school days, about my behavior in a certain relationship, and I realized the way I came across---most definitely---was not the way I intended. I believe we are bound up in a certain karma we create; I guess this song is asking forgiveness, that I be released from the karma of my past. Truly, I never meant to hurt anyone. Isn’t it strange how, when people love us, even the smallest nuance on our part can cause lasting pain or bliss?
FROZEN RAIN---
I guess you could call this song mean-spirited, but really it was just a cry of pain. When you’re 17 you can write songs like this, but it is much more difficult when you get older, because you become very adept at masking your emotions. Which approach is healthier?
SIMPLY SAID---
A beautiful day, a beautiful woman, and very straight beautiful white teeth…how much of our time is wasted on niceties and superficialities when we rarely touch on the things that really matter? Life is incredibly fleeting, after all.
THE SKY IS PINK---
I really like this song. I was writing the lyrics to the music (which was already finished) when I realized I didn’t have anything left to say. Then I realized, maybe I’d said it all…maybe all we need is for the sky to be dazzling pink every now and then.
TRAIN WRECK---
We all know people who are attractive for some indefinable reason…the way they walk, the way they light up a room when they enter, the way they’re just out-and-out sexy. Head-spinners, I call them. And they can be dumb as a rock, but it doesn’t matter: we’re still attracted to them in some dumb-founding, illogical way. It’s all a chemical reaction, I think. But it’s irresistible.
STACY (THROW ME A LIFELINE)---
We all know people like Stacy. People who are risk-takers, people who push all the limits…and if you fall in love with someone like that, God help you. Just keeping up can kill you.
SHIRLEY ON THE RADIO---
This is a true story. Shirley never really related with anybody in her life, as far as I know. She loved her transistor radio (and later, her ghetto blaster), blaring away at full volume. She was an oddity in my hometown, and as such she became a source of ridicule. Only later, when I grew older and gained some perspective, did it occur to me what hell her life must have been. I hope the music was some comfort to her; I doubt she found peace anywhere else.
THIS MORNING---
I don’t think I can say much about this song. I’ll just say it is about a time period filled with conflict and very little, if any, resolution. Thankfully, this situation no longer exists for the people involved.
ARE YOU BURIED DEEP IN THERE---
You can’t go home again. You know it, I know it, I imagine even the dog down the street knows it…but it doesn’t make it any easier. I woke up one morning after dreaming about my parents, and my eyes were misty. Sometimes, no matter how old we are, we’re still just lost little children trying to find our way back home.
NEW ORLEANS---
How could anybody watch what happened there, every night on the nightly news, and not want to grab a 10-foot John boat? Rescue them, I thought…and just like everyone else, my disbelief turned to consternation and then anger as all our systems failed them. Next time, let’s not waste time pointing fingers and posturing…just get the job done.
AND THE RAINS CREPT DOWN---
Some people are more prone to the dark side than others. Maybe they don’t get the same chances the rest of us do, or maybe they don’t know how to take advantage of it. Maybe they’re subject to depression, or a certain self-defeatism. Maybe they fight any- and everyone that tries to help them. Maybe a little cloud follows them around, even on their good days. But sooner or later those attitudes can change, the sun rips through the overcast…and what a bright day that can be. Love can overcome enormous obstacles.
OH GOD---
Who hasn’t felt like this, at one time or another? Even at the darkest depths, sunk to your knees in despair…can there be anyone out there, listening? I know the answer to that…do you realize you are never truly alone?
HOLD ME CLOSE---
I don’t usually write traditional love songs. I haven’t written any love songs in a long time. I wasn’t aware of this until my good friends David and Donna Bennett asked me to provide a song for their wedding ceremony. I couldn’t find one that seemed appropriate…so I wrote this one. They tell me it’s their song…and I couldn’t be happier. I felt very privileged to provide it for them. I hope good luck follows this song, and they remained blessed for all their days.
DON’T YOU SLIDE BY ME---
I think this song is self-explanatory. I was remembering what it was like to play onstage…and I wanted to prove I could still rock.
PATIO SONG (PEEL BACK THE YEARS)---
I started writing this song when my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer, from which he recovered. The tune kind of morphed into a song about life and death, the importance of being in the moment, and other universal themes. I’m very proud of it, the way it’s constructed, and the themes it embraces. I’ve never found a spot more inviting, or more fulfilling, than the patio in my back yard. Everything you need is there, if you just look for it.
I KNEW YOU SO WELL---
This is an older song, with simple lyrics, but I still like it. I wrote it in my early twenties, when I realized for the first time that everything doesn’t stay the same, many friends don’t remain your friends for life, no matter how much you want them to…but it was nice to have it all--- life, love and happiness---even if it was only for a fleeting moment.