Story Behind The Song

My brother had struggled with drug addiction off and on his whole life. His whole life was only 31 years. He was living in California in some welfare subsidized room. His wife, Donna had just become his ex-wife a few month earlier and he had a two year old daughter named Katrina. Donna could no longer tolerate the unstable life that comes with having a husband who can't quit crack cocaine. The night I got the call from the LA detective, I hadn't seen my brother in over a year. I think I'd spoken to him maybe once on the phone. He was too far gone to keep in touch and I didn't want to know how he was living. I couldn't help him so I had to keep the distance between us. The detective told me that my brother, Daniel, had ridden his bike into an alley way that was a known location for buying and selling drugs. A car had pulled into the alley with 5 or 6 guys in it. He leaned into the driver's side window to talk to the guys in the car and was shot five times in the chest. The car took off and no one seems to have been able to find them since. So the song came from anger, sadness, frustration and love. Even now, writing this, I still cry thinking what a waste it was. I can perform the song now with out choking and it is one of our most requested tunes. People just seem to instinctively know when a song comes from real events. I like this song because I think the upbeat music catches peoples ears first and if they don't listen closely to the words, they don't think it's a sad song at all.

Song Description

In 1997 I got one of those dreaded, lump in your throat, this can't be good news late night phone calls. I answered the blaring ring. A voice introduced herself as a detective from Los Angeles. She was calling to inform me that my brother --- my only, baby brother had been shot five times in what they thought was a drug related incident. He was dead. My heart screamed. But, I heard myself calmly ask if she knew how it had happened and what I needed to do to bring him home. I wrote this song when I was still mad and still very sad --- trying to make some sense of it. The grieving has to come out somewhere, so this is part of it. Thanks for your indulgence.

Lyrics

You went out to California
(All the gold's out there you know)
Cousin Danny went with you
(He was never very smart)
Smoking guns and trouble followed
(Just like they always do)
Blowing daylight through your head and your heart
Chorus: You were headed for disaster
Couldn't pedal any faster
And you looked just like your mother
Well I tried to tell you brother
Oh Brother

You came home from California
(Well they all come back some day)
You were cargo in a plane
(It's a cold and lonely ride)
And your daughter only knows you
(Why does Daddy always hide?)
As a picture in a frame
(Red hair, blue eyes)
Oh, it's such a shame
Chorus: You were headed for disaster
Couldn't pedal any faster
And you looked just like your mother
Well I tried to tell you brother

Bridge: You were too young
Had too much fun

Chorus