This week's "fanmail" of note comes from Laura in Virginia, who likes the new album, but thought the song "Selfie" was making fun of girls and their cellphones. Nothing could be further from the truth.
THIS Is what the song is about...this woman's death is sad enough, but what’s even sadder is that people no longer know the magic of just feeling the breeze in your hair and enjoying the view. TAKING A PICTURE of you feeling the breeze in your hair and enjoying the view doesn’t make it more real, it just distracts you from the wind in your hair and the view, and robs you of the experience.
The song came to me while on a ferry from the northern coast of Germany to Denmark. The ferry ride is about 45 minutes, and you're not allowed to remain in your vehicle (or in my case the train) down in the cargo hull; you have to go up to the upper decks, where there are little shops and restaurants and an outer deck where you can sit and take in the Baltic Sea as you cross it, looking at the Baltic states to the east, Sweden to the northeast, Germany to the south, and Denmark to the north and west. There's a lot to see, but this girl came out and took video of it all - the whole time I was waiting for her to SEE it all herself, but she only experienced it through the screen on her phone, then walked back inside. So she never really SAW the Baltic Sea.
Laura, your point is well taken, and I always like to hear how my songs are being received. If I came off in "Selfie" as too cynical or mocking, that was not my intent, but this is what that song is about...
Maybe, as a songwriter, I missed the mark on this one. Whether or not that's the case, I sure do like to HEAR IT from you folks if you think I did. "Keep them cards 'n letters comin'!"