Story Behind The Song - Liveaboard

                                      

                                    STORY BEHIND THE SONG

                                             Liveaboard

                                     Liveaboards in Jewfish Creek

The origin for the song Liveaboard was inspired in 2006 when a group of people living on their boats, “Liveaboards”, were informed that they had to leave Boot Key Harbor (part of the city of Marathon, Conch Republic) as the city was going to embark on putting in 100 permanent moorings, which would charge a fee per month. At the time there were around twice that living there, so around one hundred had to go. A lot of these people had been living “On The Hook” for years. Some as long as thirty years.

I put myself in the protagonist's position of one of those being ejected. While the theme above laid the backdrop for the song itself, the story is totally fiction.

While the protagonist in the story is fictional, a complete product of my imagination, it's very possible there may be more than one person who fits this description. It should be noted that I never knew any of the liveaboards in Boot Key, from the time in question. While the main character is fictional, the places in the song are very real however.

When I wrote this song, I'd play it around the house, but that was it. I liked it, but I felt it was not quite up to par for me. My wife at the time, Gigi, always commented when I played it that it was a really good song. She'd say that every time!

Then, one night I was at an open mic and was on my last song. I wasn't sure what to play, so, just to get it out of the way and get off the stage, I played Liveaboard. When I came off the stage a woman rushed up to me asking “Who wrote that song???!!!” I was clearly taken back. When I say she rushed up to me, I mean she literally ran up to me and I didn't even know her. I stammered for a moment and said “uh.. well, that's one of my songs”. She asked where she could get it, which of course it wasn't available as of that point. I thanked her and started back to my seat when another person came up with the exact same question. Then, another. Then Matt Anderson, a solo musician in the southern part of Miami/Dade County came up to me and asked if it would be okay if he added it to his repertoire.

I was dumbfounded!

The exact same thing happened when I moved to Key West in 2008! 

The song became my signature song for many years

Notes:
A) a Liveaboard is someone who lives on a boat.
B) Grits and Grunts is a traditional breakfast in the Florida Keys. Grits are a cereal made from hominy and grunts are a small, tropical salt water fish.

C) Yellowtail is the highest grade snapper.

D) The Dockside Bar is an old bar in Boot Key Harbor

                              Me at Dockside around 2006

E) Gilbert's is a bar on Jewfish Creek, which is the gateway to the Keys in Key Largo, which has a large Liveaboard community.

                                         Gilbert's, Key Largo

                                            LIVEABOARD

IT'S GRITS AND GRUNTS FOR BREAKFAST, I HAD IT IN THE EARLY MORN'

DROPPED A LINE OFF THE STERN AS I DRANK MY COFFEE

AND LAST NIGHT IT WAS YELLOWTAIL, I CALL THAT 'THE GOOD LIFE'

LATER I'LL HEAD TO THE MARINA, I HEAR THEY GOT SOME WORK

BUT I'LL GET OUT IN TIME AND MAKE A BEE LINE

BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

(chorus)

'CAUSE I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

LIVEABOARD

2

THEY THREW ME OUT OF OLD BOOT KEY, YOU KNOW I LIVED THERE FOR YEARS

AND EVERYNIGHT I'D WASH UP TO THAT DOCKSIDE BAR

BUT BIG MONEY MOVED IN AND THEY THREW ME OUT

I AIN'T GOT NO MONEY, AIN'T GOT NOT CLOUT

SO I FIRED UP THE MOTOR AND OFF I GO

BUT I'M OFF THE HIGHWAY AND I'M ON MY WAY TO GREET THE MORNING SUN

(chorus)

'CAUSE I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

LIVEABOARD

(bridge)

BW LIGHT, STERN LIGHT, ANY LIGHT I CAN'T SEE NOTHIN'

I NEED A FOG HORN

BREAK AWAY, ANYWAY I JUST CAN'T WAIT

FOR THE DAWN

3

DROPPED AN ANCHOR IN JEWFISH CREEK

I'D LIKE TO SWIM WITH THE DOLPHINS BUT,

THOSE RED CROCKODILE EYES ARE PATROLLING, KEEPING THEIR WATCH

BUT IT'S A HOT SUMMER DAY, THINK I'LL FIND MY WAY, OVER TO GILBERT'S BAR

WET MY WHISTLE AND TELL MY TALES TO ANYONE WHO WANT'S TO LISTEN

AND I'LL STAY ANCHORED RIGHT HERE UNTIL MY LUCK AND MONEY RUNS OUT

AND I GOTTA SHOVE OFF

(chorus)

'CAUSE I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

I'M A LIVEABOARD

LIVEABOARD

©  August 13, 2006 Christopher R. Rehm, BMI

Liveaboard – at the 2012 Key West Songwriter's Festival

My book “Bar Stories” is available through Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Bar-Stories-Semi-Fictional-Adventure-Tour-Witnessed-ebook/dp/B01AHKCY1K/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1457639261&sr=1-1&keywords=bar+stories

To obtain my music:

My CD is available on iTunes, CD Baby, CD Universe, Rhapsody, and Beachfront Radio.

Search: Key West Chris

Thank you everyone!!