My name is Carmenne Anne Chiasson and I am a singer-songwriter. I have roots in Nova Scotia, Canada where I was raised in a rural community on Cape Breton Island (Margaree) with 3 sisters and 4 brothers. We had no running hot water in the farmhouse and, in winter, you could see your breath 5 feet from the old wood stove. My family moved to my mother’s Acadian village in Clare, Nova Scotia when I was 15 and I attended Clare high school. I have lived in Hawaii since 1999. My husband died after his race team won the Baja 500 off-road race in Mexico in 2000. We have a wonderful son, now 15. My first song, Meadow Doe, was written when I was 9 years old. I have songs in both French and English. Currently, I am writing a book called “The Path of Light: Live Your Best Life”, and I am working on a Hawaii-based children’s musical. My first album, “Apple Pie”, was released in Nova Scotia in 2011 at the Seadog Saloon. “Can’t Stop Smilin”, my second album, was released on Aug 3rd, 2013 in Comeauville, Nova Scotia. My third album is under production at HarbourTone Productions in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. I recently created my first Youtube video, which can be accessed at “You Make Me Dizzy When You Kiss Me”. I can be reached by email at Pathoflight01@gmail.com. Song Inspirations for the Album: Can’t Stop Smilin’ 1. Every Day is a Great Day This song was inspired after I went on my first date with a man from Hawaii. I started writing the song that night and continued to write verses as the relationship progressed. All I could think was “Every Day is a Great Day When I’m With You.” 2. You Make Me Dizzy When You Kiss Me I was dating an interesting man in Hawaii. After a date he kissed me goodbye and I swooned. He asked me: “Do you have vertigo?” I said: “No, it’s you!” We dated when we could but I was often away working and busy caring for my mother. I kept waiting for him to move forward with the relationship. We were both extremely busy and he never committed so I could not wait any longer. As the song says: “It seems as if you can’t stand still long enough to marry me, it’s as if your attention span is shorter than it otta be.” However, as the song’s ending says: “I still wish you were kissing me.” 3. Can’t Stop Smilin’ This song was written about adventures that may or may not have taken place while travelling around the world with my husband. I have been to all of the places mentioned in the song but have not necessarily been “taken” there. 4. C’est La Vie En Acadie I wrote this song at the age of 16 after moving to my mother’s village in Clare, Nova Scotia. The bridge of the song was inspired by a comment my mother made “Everything you need, you can find in Clare”. The title of the song means: That’s life in Acadie. Quand j’avais 16 ans j’ai écrit cette chanson. À ce temps-là, ma famille à demanagée au village de ma mère, en Clare, dans la Nouvelle Écosse. Une phrase de la chanson était inspirée par ma mère: “Tous ce que j’ai besoin, je trouve en Acadie”. 5. Lucky Charm Several years after my husband died, I was being stalked and my husband’s friend came to Hawaii to be my bodyguard. He actually said “If I don’t come and help you, I will be riding my dirt bike down in Baja and I will be struck by lightning out of a clear blue sky.” He is Irish and I called him my Lucky Charm. 6. He just Holds Me Right A friend of mine was dating a man that was much younger than her but she could not end it because she said: “He just holds me right”. 7. You Are My Love Song This started out as a love song written as a Valentine’s Day present for my boyfriend, who lived overseas. I went to see my friend who is a psychic and she suggested we call him on Skype. I said he was at work so he might not answer. She looked at his Skype picture and said: “He’s not at work. He’s cooking dinner for a Korean woman and he is not wearing a shirt”. She suggested I text him and I said no at first but then I texted him: “Hey good lookin’, what you got cookin’ with no shirt on?”. He texted back immediately: “I’m gonna be cookin’ you.” My psychic friend then described the exact layout of his new place that I had never been to and I texted that to him. Then the lyrics of the song started to take a turn that eventually ended in “Lol and Omg, How do I know these secrets that you keep? You wonder how and you wonder why. Well, I could tell you but it’s TMI.” Later, I showed the text messages to my mom and explained what had happened and she said: “You’re going to drive him insane.” So the last verse is “My mother said I might drive you insane. But I told her that I’m not to blame. You can do that all by yourself. You don’t need help from anybody else.” 8. Keep On Drivin’ This song was inspired by the long drive I had to work and sometimes it seemed like life might be easier if I just kept on driving. “I try to love my family, but they keep on disrespectin’ me.” Then a light from the sky gave me the strength to carry on and I really did want to go home and continue on my path. 9. Soulmates I wrote this song after talking on the phone to my boyfriend when we told each other we were soul mates. This was a long distance relationship and we needed to be in the same place to move further in the relationship. 10. Sunshine I wrote this song for my friend who was having a baby and did not know if she was having a boy or a girl. Part of the inspiration was also from my own feelings of anticipation and joy when I had my son.