SON OF A SON OF A SAILOR I saw a picture of my grandfather after he had come back from a trip to Nova Scotia. He was born there but left when he was a young man and didn't return until he was 84. He was standing on dock staring at an old sailing schooner, and the look on his face told the story of where he had come from and where he had been. I have always been very proud of my heritage as a sailor and wrote this for the men who taught me the skills.

HAVANA DAYDREAMIN' I read Far Tortuga by Peter Mathissen and fell in love with the description of the men on the turtle boat. I used them to create my own boat and my own destination. Five years after the song was written, I was singing it in the La Bodega Del Medio in Downtown Havana with the KGB, CIA, and Cuban secret police crowded around the bar trying to look normal-which goes to prove you better not dream too hard or long; your dreams just might come true.

MANANA I spent a winter living on my boat in the British Virgin Islands. One night , I was anchored in Jost Van Dyke in front of Foxy's Bar and was staring out at the lights of St. Thomas in the distance. All of a sudden the electricity went out, and the stars were the only lights left. I imagined the panic at the power plant while the stars smugly shone on into the dawn, and then the song became a chronicle of things I had done and seen that week. Better than notes on a calendar.

TREAT HER LIKE A LADY This was written for the whales-animals in danger of extinction the way I thought I was at the time. Music changed on us almost overnight, and the singer/songwriter breed who populated the music scene of the seventies seemed to be headed for the proverbial "elephant burial ground." James Taylor added his distinctive voice to this track and made the lines I cherished come alive. As it turned out, a lot of us old elephants are still alive and kicking and happy to be here. Good songs tell stories, and good stories seem to last longer than video tapes. Thank God.

STEAMER There is something terribly romantic about the old passenger ships that used to comb the oceans of the world before concrete runways and jet planes made them obsolete. I spent a night once on the Queen Mary in Long Beach trying to imagine what that era must have been like. Even with her decks full of people from bus tours, even parked next to the Spruce Goose in a jungle of oil terminals, I could still feel the ship talk to me. When I heard this song, it reminded me of the good old days.

JOLLY MON SING Dolphins gliding along beneath the bow of the ship, effortlessly crossing the wake and doing flips, set off a big wave of jealousy. If we are supposed to be such smart people, why can't we do that? It just goes to show that talking isn't everything. I wrote the picture book version with my daughter, and we wanted to make it clear that humans can learn from animals, and the natural world has room for all of our needs-not just mans.

NAUTICAL WHEELERS When I first arrived in Key West, it was still a wide open town where artists, straights, gays, shrimpers, sailors, criminals, and politicians all frequented the same bars. In the middle of this nest of vipers, a group called the "Nautical Wheelers" every Friday night under a big orange-and-white parachute at the old City Hall, next to the Salvation Army outlet where I bought my clothes. It was a change of pace to sit and watch the square dancers perform with such precision before I stumbled back out onto Duval Street where there were no rules.

TAKE IT BACK I got a call one day to write a song for the Stars and Stripes challenge. The Americans were trying to win the American Cup back from the Australians. Soon after that, my first trip to Australia came together, and we opened the tour in Perth at the time of the race. For me, it was the party of the 80's, and I think of this as the background music for an incredible stay down under.

SLOW BOAT TO CHINA These darn songs that take me off to china. I am hooked on the place. I guess Marco Polo started to whole damn thing. One day, I will get there and I hope there is still a slow boat to take me there.

CHANGES IN LATITUDES, CHANGES IN ATTITUDES Rhyming unusual words is something I've always tried to do. Anybody can rhyme cat and rat. I look for things beyond two syllables-like attitudes and latitudes.

LOVE AND LUCK "Zouk" is a popular form of music from the French Antilles, the kind that makes you dance without knowing what the singer is saying. Since the songs are in patois French, this helps. I once received a request for permission to write new lyrics to the melody of Margaritaville by a very famous European singer and thought it was great and was interested to hear their interpretation. Well this is the melody to a song called "kole Sere," written by my friend Joecely Beroard, the lead singer for a great Zouk band names Kaasav. The lyrics are mine and I hope that they like the way I interpret their music. This was the first song ever recorded at Shrimp Boat Sound in Key West and Steve Winwood is the guest organist. I thank him for taking time out from his fishing trip.

THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID This song is obviously about my grandfather, and it means a lot to me. It was written shortly after he died. I like to tell the story about this song and why I don't "pitch" my material to other people. I was living in Nashville, trying to eke out a living, and I spent a brief time trying to peddle my wares door-to-door to record producers. One day, I was playing a batch of new songs for this guy, and he stopped the tape at the end of this song, which I took to mean that he had more than a casual interest. He said, "This is a great song, but you have to change the ending. It's too sad for the old man to die." I was shocked. "I can't do that," I told him. "Why?" he asked incredulously. "Because he did," I answered and walked out. I never pitched another song to anyone again.

TRYING TO REASON WITH HURRICANE SEASON My second house in Key West was tucked away under fichus trees near the old Casa Marina Hotel. From my beach I could see the flashing red and green lights that marked the ship channel and ended at the Gulf Stream. Clouds used to gather over the the warm waters and spill out the rain and thunder. It was quite a light show. My front yard was my "thinking spot" in those days. I had a rocking chair and a hammock. When you come to think of it, you don;t need much more.

BOAT DRINKS It was February in Boston, and I was cold and wanted to go home. Rum and tonic was the antifreeze, and the newspaper was full of ads for warmer climates. I was in a place owned by Derek Sanderson, who was a very famous player for the Boston Bruins in the 70's. I came out of the bar and couldn't find a cab except for the one that was running in front of a nearby hotel. There was no driver in it, and I was too cold to think about the consequences. There is an old Navy expression which says, "Beg forgiveness, not permission." I hopped in and drove the cab back to my hotel, I did leave the fare on the seat.

ONE PARTICULAR HARBOR I had my sights sets on Tahiti a long time ago and connived my way there through my good friend Tom Moffatt in Hawaii. We went there to play a show to an unknown audience, but that didn't matter. I still had made it to Tahiti. At the airport we were met by an old expatriated American named Hugh Kelly who had run away from home a long time ago. We became instant friends, and he took me to his home on Moorea in the mountains above Cook's Bay. When I looked down at the vista, the song came out as if it had been sitting inside of me waiting for the moment.

A PIRATE LOOKS AT FORTY The real pirate's name was Phillip Clark. He was one of the most unforgettable characters I met when I first lived in Key West, back in the days before it turned into a boutique. When I finished the song, I knew I had done him justice, and it is a fitting eulogy to an old friend. He died a few years ago under an alias, washed up on a beach near San Francisco. They flew his body back to Key West where some of his ashes were scattered at sea, and some still sit above the cash register in the Full Moon Saloon.

LOVELY CRUISE This song was brought to me by a young man named Jonathan Baham. It was one of those songs that just fit the mood, and I put it on the record. I like the story and the image. It has stood the test of time.