MJ BISHOP Shows Listen/Buy News Photos Reviews Radio Links Bio Contact Home BEHIND THE TUNES ON FEEL GOOD

photo by Robert Shainline

My Train Song Everyone needs a train song. So, there’s this woman, see, and she’s in love with this train that goes from town to town stealing hearts, see. This makes her sad and lonely and a tad obsessive. The end.

Leave The Light On This was written just after the U.S. started dropping bombs on Baghdad (March 2003). I felt the need to write a tune and, rather than get political (I’m not Iris Dement, you know!), I just wrote about what it would be like to have someone near and dear to me go off to war and the uncertainty of their return.

Little Angel Tears It was decided during the early stages of recording that this song would not be included because there were already enough slow tunes on the CD. But due to the persistence of my daughter that it be included, it was added at the last minute with just acoustic guitar and lovely electric guitar by Dave Patterson and backing vocals by Thornton Bowman. It turned out to be one of my favorites on the CD. I wrote this on a flight from Florida (where I go each March to visit my parents and siblings). I get very sad when I leave my family because I don’t know when I’ll see them again. And this always makes me cry. And then I always feel like such a baby when I cry. Does this mean I’m a babe?

Kiss Like You Mean It Life is short. Enough said.

Feel Good Song My "list" song – snippets of all the things that make me feel so durn good!

That Place I Called Home You know when your eyes burn and your body gets all hot and you can’t breathe very well? I’m talking about a big surge of nostalgia, people! That’s what happened to me on a flight to New Jersey in 2002 when the plane flew over the Great Lakes. No matter how long I’m away from my homeland of Michigan, it stays in my heart and, as always, being anywhere near the Great Lakes stirs up lots of memories.

Go And Get It I wrote this tune after I couldn’t get myself booked in a local club. It’s just a tune about not sitting around on your butt moping, but getting out there and making things happen.

Not This Time Still writing about some things from far in my past. Not a bad thing. A good cleansing, really. And even though it’s been a very long time (10 million years, I think) since I’ve been in a jealous relationship, this tune is re-affirmation that I’ll never let myself be in that situation again.

Broom Horses Ahhhh… Youth. Innocence. Make believe. I have great memories of riding brooms as horses with my childhood friend Carolyn Coveyou in Red’s Field (Michigan).

Rosie Mae This song just happened around the line – "Pay attention because that’s all you can afford." I really don’t know how it turned into a song about a beautiful woman who takes advantage of her good looks! But let it be a lesson to all you beauties out there!

Highway Heaven I have trouble with road rage and our over-consumptive country. This is what it’s going to be like on the highways in my heaven.

Not Really Gone This tune is about a gal pal of mine who died a few years back. She was so funny – a real character – sassy and saucy, with a devil-may-care attitude. I don’t think she ever knew how talented she was – she was a wonderful glass artist and she had a sweet voice (Somewhere Over The Rainbow was her favorite to sing). I miss her gobs.

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