In the dunes north of Jaffa on a stretch of Tel Aviv beachfront property, I sat with my guitar. Perched twelve meters above the beach looking out towards The Mediterranean Sea, I thought, this is the place. This is where I’m going to create a song. This is where my so called writer’s block that has laid siege to my creativity these past two months ends. I felt confident it was a special place, the right place. Now I just needed that special moment. Creating music is funny business. One cannot force it, only let it happen. In the same way you cannot force yourself to sleep. You have to let yourself fall asleep. So, with guitar in lap, I waited for a visually inspiring moment that I could drift away on and let it happen. A moment of clarity that would hopefully allow me to create a musical idea that would ultimately become a song.
Below me people walked along the beach with anticipation of the setting sun. They strolled along soaking in all the sounds of the sea. Nearby, boats carefully navigated their way into the harbor to tie their vessels to the dock and call it a day. There was one boat in particular that caught my eye, a sailboat. It set sail, exited the harbor and headed out to sea. Unbeknownst to its passengers or me, this boat would create my moment of inspiration.
The sun blazed a burgundy red with one quarter of it already disappearing below the horizon. The sailboat was heading north and turned west. As it did, in one of those extraordinary moments of chance, it fell right into my line of sight with the setting sun. The sailboat, was now silhouetted as the wind carried it further away and the sky turned into a swirling mixture of red, yellow, orange, and gold. It was then, without even needing to think about it, that my hands and fingers took to their natural course on my guitar and “Sailing Sunsets” was conceived. The pressures I put on myself no longer existed. I played the melody and chord progression as if I’ve always known it, like a distant memory coming to mind.
In thinking about that moment now, I didn’t just write a song. I learned a life lesson. The more you fight something in your mind the more it pushes back. To worry about something is bad. In knowing that, if you worry that you’re worrying, you can really make things hell for yourself. Acceptance can be a beautiful thing. In getting out of the way and letting go, you can actually gain control. Like I said before, writing music is funny business, but life certainly can be too. Performing “Sailing Sunsets” now always brings me back to that place and that time that made everything seem like it was just as it should be. My perspective on sunsets is quite different these days because of it. Each time I see one, I no longer think of it as the end of a day, but the beginning of a song.
It's my heartfelt hope that the combination of the song, video, and story, will at the very least give you a glimpse into my experience. At the very most, relieve you of any worry and transport you there as well.
Below me people walked along the beach with anticipation of the setting sun. They strolled along soaking in all the sounds of the sea. Nearby, boats carefully navigated their way into the harbor to tie their vessels to the dock and call it a day. There was one boat in particular that caught my eye, a sailboat. It set sail, exited the harbor and headed out to sea. Unbeknownst to its passengers or me, this boat would create my moment of inspiration.
The sun blazed a burgundy red with one quarter of it already disappearing below the horizon. The sailboat was heading north and turned west. As it did, in one of those extraordinary moments of chance, it fell right into my line of sight with the setting sun. The sailboat, was now silhouetted as the wind carried it further away and the sky turned into a swirling mixture of red, yellow, orange, and gold. It was then, without even needing to think about it, that my hands and fingers took to their natural course on my guitar and “Sailing Sunsets” was conceived. The pressures I put on myself no longer existed. I played the melody and chord progression as if I’ve always known it, like a distant memory coming to mind.
In thinking about that moment now, I didn’t just write a song. I learned a life lesson. The more you fight something in your mind the more it pushes back. To worry about something is bad. In knowing that, if you worry that you’re worrying, you can really make things hell for yourself. Acceptance can be a beautiful thing. In getting out of the way and letting go, you can actually gain control. Like I said before, writing music is funny business, but life certainly can be too. Performing “Sailing Sunsets” now always brings me back to that place and that time that made everything seem like it was just as it should be. My perspective on sunsets is quite different these days because of it. Each time I see one, I no longer think of it as the end of a day, but the beginning of a song.
It's my heartfelt hope that the combination of the song, video, and story, will at the very least give you a glimpse into my experience. At the very most, relieve you of any worry and transport you there as well.
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