You can hear drinking songs just about anywhere. When I got into recovery, though, it was a Whole New World, and I wanted songs to fit. Music doesn't just stop when you get sober, after all (Thank Goodness!). In my songwriting, I've always taken inspiration from real life, from the stories and incidents and people I meet. And there are lots of stories, lots of reality, lots of inspiration, in the Big Book and the rooms of AA. And so I wrote songs. Some funny, some more serious, all of them real. I don't make this stuff up, I just make it rhyme. I hope you will enjoy these songs of recovery. They are my twelfth-step work, and I hope more that you will find in them something you need to hear, something that will help you as you "trudge the road to happy destiny". Some notes about the songs: Dark Before the Dawn: Bill W told the story; I just made it rhyme. Actually I wrote the chorus around my personal bottom, and it waited for the verses until I found them in the Big Book. Gather by the Fire: Inspired by a comment in someone's story, this song talks about twelfth step work. Keep close to the program. Heard It All: Could be about Dr. Bob. Or not. Enough: It's easy to compare out, isn't it? Big Words in the Big Book: Instead of getting resentments, I write songs. This one came after one too many "group conscious" meetings. Whole New World: I took a weekend off in the woods to write my fourth step, and when I was done I wrote this song. Living in Today: Sometimes we grow, and the people around us are uncomfortable. We can't let that hinder our growth. Too Blessed to be Depressed: It was a sign along the road. And it's a sign along the Path. These Times: You don't have to believe everything you think. Racehorses: It really IS possible to quiet the racing mind. Sorrows Can Swim: Inspired by a comment in someone's story I read in the Grapevine. Shine Your Light: Some of the most important words in the Big Book are "as we understand Him".