A couple of years ago, my lovely wife Tracy started learning to play the fiddle. Since then we've been playing a lot of Old Time and Celtic music together. It prompted me to start learning the banjo and mandolin, both of which ended up playing a big role on Division Street. Of all the songs on the album, Don't Let Your Troubles Be Your Guide was the most influenced by the music we've been playing. The chord changes and the melody are both more in line with Old Time music than any song I've written before. It was a lot of fun to write and record, and I'll probably do more music in this vein in the future.
The theme of the song is fairly obvious from the title. While in every life there will be suffering, it is important for us to avoid having our troubles be what defines us. There's an upbeat, positive feel to the music that matches the lyrical tone. Of all the songs on the album, this one required the most extensive and difficult banjo and mandolin lines, so it was an interesting challenge. I can recall one night in the recording process where I was recording the banjo part for about eight hours. The lines were pushing my novice playing ability to the max, and I just kept messing up! It was important to me to do takes of the whole song, rather than bit by bit - I wanted to have an organic, live feel to the song.
Overall, this is probably my favorite track on the album, at least from the perspective of listening to it. It's one of those songs that just makes you feel positive, and that's always been an important part of my songwriting. There's enough people out there writing sad and miserable songs!
I hope this series has given anyone interested a bit of insight into the songs on the album. Not sure where this will go from here. I'll probably review music, both new and old, share some more of my favorite African music with you, and generally keep you up to date with what's happening with me musically.
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