Montara

On my little New Years CA excursion, I took along my old high school guitar. This is yet another eternally on-loan six string - a Mexican made classic guitar from my good friend's sister (I wonder if she realizes I still have it). The neck on this guitar is enormous, but has served my small hands well, as every guitar neck since feels like a school ruler in comparison.

This is the second trip this guitar has made to the coast. I remembered bringing it to the hostel almost 6 or 7 years ago, when I was brash and certain music was my primary path and played anywhere and everywhere I could. I met up with some fellow coastal ramblers. We sat on the observation deck under the lighthouse and played Moonshadow by Cat Stevens as the sun set.

I've had a fingerpicking riff for many years, almost 3 or 4 years old. I still struggle with fingerpicking after all these years, which I assume is why this song hasn't come to fruition. Either that, or I just want to make sure it's as right as it can be. Gone are the brash years, replaced by an inkling of patience and trust that it just needs time. The tune needs time to flesh itself out, for the just-right arrangement and lyrics to match.

I played this song in the morning before I headed back to Vallejo, sitting on a picnic bench, trying to match up my right handed technique to the easy rolling of waves. The song is still not finished, but I do believe the title will be "Montara." That seems right. And I did come up with the first line of the first verse:

"Say a prayer for Hallelujah / Maybe God is in here"