Every now and then, I used to fancy the notion of being a multi-instrumentalist. This could include learning to play the spoons. Or thumping on just about anything, if I could get the rhythm right. I had a beautiful mountain dulcimer that I bought many years ago, but never learned to play it, because I keep wanting to improve my skills on the guitar instead. If I’m not zooming ahead on guitar, due to inconsistent practice, why distract and diffuse efforts? Well, my imaginative and persuasive guitar teacher Paul told me that if I learned to play the ukulele, it would almost certainly help my brain become more flexible about chords and hand positions, so I bought one, which suffered the same ultimate neglect as the mountain dulcimer. Luckily, I have younger relatives to whom I could pass along these instruments.
About four years ago, I went on a vacation with my daughter Diana. We went to an all-inclusive resort on the Mayan Riviera, south of Playa de Carmen. Oh, my, we had a fabulous time. Uninterrupted time together, relaxing, eating good food and going on fascinating excursions was a treat of a lifetime for both of us. Later, I found myself writing a song about vacationing by the water: ocean, pool, lake, what-have-you. Let me add that I don’t much like swimming and that lying around on a beach bores me. But seeing the ocean, walking alongside it, and snorkeling is magical. In writing “Water, Cool Water.” I channeled some other vacationer’s relationship with swimming. Me, I hate to put my face in the water. I find it interferes with breathing. But the song itself ignores that, and revels in the delight of more confident water people. It’s on my album “Lay My Burden Down”.
“Water, Cool Water”
Susan Rose: Singing Grandma 