County Roads

County Roads

Every time I head out to my ranch in Beeville, Texas, I travel down some great one lane county roads to get there.  I felt I had to write a song glorifying county roads and country life.  The picture on the CD and on this site are one of those roads. 

Songwriter: 

Willie Mellon

Musicians:  

Willie Mellon - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Organ

Laura Detrick - Harmony Vocals

Mark Francis - Mandolin 

Urban Urbano - Drums

Kamikaze Deer

Leaving from New Braunfels, Texas, one night after seeing the very talented Nick Garcia play at a venue in  Gruene, TX, a buck jumped out of nowhere and I almost nailed it.  It was very close, but no contact.   The next time I was talking to Nick I mentioned to him what had happen and he says "everyone around here calls them kamikaze deer".  I said that sounds like a great subject for a song about the crazy deer in the Hill Country of Texas.  He agreed.  Kamikaze Deer was born that moment.  Its funny how some songs get written.

Songwriters:  

Willie Mellon, with a little help from Nick Garcia

Musicians:  

Willie Mellon - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Organ

Jeff Dolson - Piano

Urban Urbano - Drums

Eggs, Grits & Bacon

This song was inspired by my cousin Eleanor Kay Sander. She sends me thoughts sometimes. She cowrote the song Sweet Tea Memories on my previous CD Red Rooster Bar. I didn't use her story this time, but I did take the title and applied my own story around it. 

I was around ten years old when one morning my mom was in the kitchen cooking Saturday breakfast.  It was early and I was slowly coming out a deep sleep.  All of a sudden I heard a sound like rain that might be heard during a morning shower.  Slowly my nose caught up with my imagination and I realized it wasn't rain I was hearing but the sound of bacon frying in mom's pan.  I never forgot that morning and finally turned it into a great song.   

Songwriter:  

Willie Mellon with Eleanor's Inspiration

Musicians:  

Willie Mellon - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar, Organ

Laura Detrick - Harmony Vocals

Mark Francis - Mandolin

Urban Urbano - Drums

Everyone Loves Texas

We left Texas for a short while when I was 14 and moved to White Bear, Minnesota.  When I started school all the kids were really interested in Texas and asked a million questions.  Some of their questions are in this fun song.  As an adult I travelled through Europe for a month one time around 1998 with my wife and two young children (8 & 10).  My brother David, worked for an international company whose offices were in Amsterdam, and he had travelled all around the world for that company.  He told me "just tell folks in Europe you're from Texas, and they will just love you".  He was absolutely right!  So I am dedicating "Everyone Loves Texas" to my brother David Mellon.  Good advice, and I am positive it enhanced our European experience.

Songwriter:  

Willie Mellon

Musicians:  

Willie Mellon - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar

Laura Detrick - Harmony Vocals

Urban Urbano - Drums

Red Headed Lady

Sometimes it's fun to write a song around a concept. The song "Red Headed Lady" is based on the saying

"Red in the morning, sailor take warning.  Red at night is a sailor's delight".  It is also one of my few waltzes.

Songwriter: 

Willie Mellon

Musicians:  

Willie Mellon - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica

Mark Francis - Mandolin

Urban Urbano - Drums

Don't Mess With Texas

I entered a Don't Mess With Texas song contest sponsored by the Texas Department of Public Safety.  I didn't win but had a great time writing one of the "trashiest" songs in the contest.  Many thought I had the best song but you never know what the judges want.  I've won some and lost many.   That's the life of a songwriter, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  

Songwriter:  

Willie Mellon

Musicians:  

Willie Mellon - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar

Laura Detrick - Harmony Vocals

Urban Urbano - Drums

If You're Not Country

Sometimes, I'm truly amazed at peoples perception of country life and the folks that live it.  The song "If You're Not Country" talks about those perceptions.  In the country you'll find plenty of cowboys and farmers, but just like the city, we have doctors, lawyer, dentist, plumbers, carpenters and lots of regular down to earth folks just trying to make a living and raise their families.  Just like everywhere else. Finally, you don't need to live in the country to be a redneck. =)

Songwriter:  

Willie Mellon

Musician:  

Willie Mellon - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar

Humboldt Honey

Humboldt Honey is my most requested song of all times.  First recorded with a fiddle on one of my previous CDs, I wanted to record the song with my harmonica so that it sounded on the recording pretty close to when I play it live.  Humboldt honey is a song about a hippy girl I found on a poster in Arcata, California.  The real story is about the poster.   Designed by a young women attending Humboldt University back in 80's, the poster started a verbal war between the industrial interest in the area and the hippies that had started to gravitate to  the area.  She made enough money from the 1000 posters she had printed to pay her way through college.  She left the area after graduation from Humboldt State University and never looked back.  Because she never got a copyright on the poster and it became so popular, it was recreated by others and is still found for sale in stores in the area.  You can look her up at 

https://www.thehumboldthoney.com 

or

https://hightimes.com/culture/higher-profile-ingrid-hart-the-humboldt-honey/amp/

Songwriter:  

Willie Mellon

Musicians:  

Willie Mellon - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar, Harmonica

Laura Detrick - Harmony Vocals

Urban Urbano - Drums

I Saw The Lights

"I Saw The Lights" tells a story about Marfa, Texas.  Legend has it that if you're patient and persistent that you will eventually observe the floating orbs of light floating around the mountains and plains east of Marfa, Texas.  There are so many folks that go out each night to witness these lights that the Texas Highway Department built a special spacious rest area for people to park their cars and RV rigs along the highway for night time sightseeing.  It should be on everyone's bucket list. 

Songwriter:  

Willie Mellon

Musicians:  

Willie Mellon - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar

Laura Detrick - Harmony Vocals

Urban Urbano - Drums

I'm playing at the Caspar Pub in Mendocino County California.  Had a problem with my eye but the great doctors out there fixed me right up.  The Queen's picture was on the wall behind the stage. 

Money Everywhere

For some reason I write one protest song on each of my CDs.  "Money Everywhere" points out the sad state of money inequality in this country.  The line "The poor are living in tents, while the rich fly over the moon" pretty much says it all.  

Songwriters:  

Willie Mellon, Paul Kandera

Musicians:

Willie Mellon - Vocals, Electric Rhythm Guitar

Paul Kandera - Electric Guitar

Arthur Galvan - Bass Guitar

Urban Urbano - Drums

The Drifter

"The Drifter" is the other song I rerecorded for this CD.  A very popular song, it talks about the drifters riding and walking along "The 1" in northern California.  I think we all have a little drifter in our blood. 

Songwriters:  

Willie Mellon

Musicians:

Willie Mellon - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar, Harmonica

Laura Detrick - Harmony Vocals

Mark Francis - Mandolin

Urban Urbano - Drums

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