John Dandrea

This song was a joy to write and to record.  I had just met someone really special, at a time when I had given up on trying to understand women.  I felt there was no way I was going to find  that special relationship.  Yet as suddenly as a bolt of lightning, it all happened so easily that I had no idea how  all the pieces were to just fall into place.

For the title to the song, I focused on the type of  faded blue color that went with bluejeans -  relaxed, comfortable, durable.   This song is a very favorite of mine, in spite of the loss of the relationship.   I'm also quite pleased at the many wonderful comments about the song that I've received from others who have heard it.

This is one of those songs that just come out of a bad experience.    But it's also a means of sharing with others, as we can all relate to having failed at some point in time.  I was just thankful that very soon after, better times came along and took me far away from such gloomy times.

Musically, this particular song was the first in which I used some of the more advanced levels of processing of the mix.  Not everyone understands the ending, but I wrote it like a music video - I showed the irony of contrast between someone who walks into the bar with a very heavy heart, while inside there is laughter and the usual loud bar noise. 

In "Just A Bit Of Love", I wrote a really happy,  joyous song about how being  in love  makes me feel.  The chorus part came to me first - "It's you and me, I must agree...I'm blessed to be in the middle of - just a bit of love". 

I feel this is one of the best songs on this  8th album, and certainly one of my favorites.  Although I enjoy singing it, 
I am so happy that my guest artist  Jessica,  lent her vocal talents to this very special song.  Her voice is just so beautiful, and I enjoy listening to this song often. 

Walking Down that Road -  This is a song that was a first-time attempt of using a special software guitar-picking application.  As such, it's maybe a little bit rough yet and I may see if I can refine the melody a tad bit -

But all in all I was pretty happy with this one, as it gave me a chance to put together a song that was more upbeat than most of the others,  and it was great fun to record.  I think it's a good fit here on this album,  and I like the lyrics on it as well.

"One More Road"  is a song that's a special tribute to all those who drive those big rigs and keep our country moving.  I was focusing on how lonely that long road must get, and how stressful it must be to encounter really bad weather and realize just how dangerous that job is. 

There is also that driving force to always get home safely to your family and loved ones, and it was this huge appreciation for these special men and women of the big rigs,  that inspired me to write this song.

This song is so precious to me that I listen to it often.  It's a very special piano ballad that speaks to the communication between partners, that sometimes slips off the rails.  Although painful, the intense joy of bridging the gap and getting through to each other, somehow makes all the sorrow worth enduring. 

In my own way,  this song is also my special tribute to a woman I once loved and thought I knew so well.  Although we both joked about how a woman can "change her mind on a dime", I  so admired her strength, her beauty, and her fierce determination to make things work, in spite of sometimes what seemed like insurmountable odds.