Son of the West was written in 1980 or 81. Seems like it took awhile to gestate and get born, and then required more tweaking over the course of a year or so. I probably wanted it to say more than a song could say about the mentality that settled the West, that goes there, stays there. And what kind of individual is grown out west.

For more on the concept, click this.

This recording was made in Bethel in 1994. I'm doing all the parts, not simultaneously of course. Everything is overdubbed, but there were no punch-ins. I have enough trouble engineering and performing at the same time without having to concentrate on finagling a punch-in. It works out better for me to practice a part and do multiple tracks until I can play it all the way through with a minimum of screw-ups if not flawlessly.

The lead part was recorded with my '60 Jazzmaster through a Dynacomp and a Peavey Bandit.

Here's the lyrics...

Son of the West
by Michael Faubion

Eye yi yippie yi eh.
Eye yi yippie yi oh.
His ears are tuned to what the wild winds say,
He hears that call, he's gotta go.

He'll talk about them cold Montana winters,
Truckin' outta Denver to the Bay.
He'll sing about the springtime in the Rockies
And a girl he'd like to see again someday.

He might suffer for his honesty, labor for the best.
He finds it hard to live with somethin' less.
His code is his integrity, his freedom is his quest.
Oh oh oh, SON OF THE WEST.
Oh, oh, oh, SON OF THE WEST.

Eye yi yippie yi eh.
Eye yi yippie yi oh.
His ears are tuned to what the wild winds say,
He hears that call, he's gotta go.

He may be on the loose, but he's not just runnin',
He may not live it all, but he's gotta try.
Rain along the north pacific coastline,
Sunsets in the Arizona sky.

And when his eyes are full of the lights of town and he feels his heart oppressed,
Under open skies he takes a rest.
And when his silence weighs him down, he gets it off his chest.
Oh, oh, oh, SON OF THE WEST.
Oh, oh, oh, SON OF THE WEST.

Eye yi yippie yi eh.
Eye yi yippie yi oh.
When the wild wind calls, his spirit answers yes.
Yes, yes, yes, SON OF THE WEST.
Yes, yes, yes, SON OF THE WEST.