Listen to the song; #9 on THE SOFTER SIDE OF ME
1981 - This song was the first on I wrote after moving from LA to San Diego. It was one that stewed in me for quite a while and I had to really grind out the words, thoughts, and emotions behind the idea. The moral of the story is that a place is what you make of it, and by this time in mylife I had experienced the extremes of country living compared to inner city living. Going back to Maine for several months helped me to see the bigger picture in that regard. I think that the song reflects the new optimism in my life during this time. I had a new job which I hoped would lead to a new career, a better living area and environment and many new friends.
At the time of this writing I was renting a condo in Santee (East County San Diego area) with my friend Paul Lessard, who I had driven back from Maine with. Life seemed really good to me at the Carefree apartments. Both of us were workingfor M. Rosenblatt & Son. We had a swimming pool and volleyball court, and a really good mix of young neighbors to hang out with. The condo was huge compared to what Iwas used to and Paul had a killer stereo and some really nice furniture. True to my promise made while surfing, I was also casually seeking out The Lord and how I could turn my life around. 1981 through 1983 would prove to be a very rocky road in this pursuit. It took me that long to break away from the drugs and alcohol, distance myself from my old party friends, and clean up my act. In the meantime, I was visiting churches and trying to figure out my own belief systems. Catholicism seemed very superficial to me, and the Catholic churches I visited seemed to be more ethnically oriented than anything else. That’s when a coworker from Rosenblatt, Rob Bloodworth invited me to Skyline Collegians. I was pretty impressed with the pastor who was Jim Dikeman at that time and the worship band was very good too. So I went back a second time, and that’s when I met Mark Crafford. Mark was a keyboard player and a drummer and just happened to be looking for musicians to form a band with. He also was a graphic artist by trade which fit in closely with the new illustration people in my life I was hanging around with, so we hit it off right away. He invited me over and we set up a jam session with Sam Pagano playing bass. Little did I know that Mark would disciple me into a very close walk with Jesus Christ and also introduce me to Mark and Linda Hoffman.
THIS OLD WORLD
Words and music by Reggie Michaud © 1981
I was standing in the woods looking at the trees
Then a man came up to me and asked me “if you please
Tell me my friend what you see; you’ve been here for a while
There's nothing here for you and me; won’t you tell me why you smile”
And I said, “This old world keeps spinning around
These trees just shoot up from the ground
There’s magic in the forest, I can feel it in my skin
And to take it all for granted is a sin”
I was standing in the street looking at the cars
Then a girl came up to me, she looked like she was from Mars
Roman sandals on her feet, to violence she was blind
She asked me to be a friend to her, I said I wouldn’t mind
And I said, “This old world keeps spinning around
There’s folks out there who’d shoot you down
But the con men and the lunies, they’re few and far between
And the man behind that gun is seldom seen”
I’ve been here and I’ve been there, I’ve been all around
A place is what you make of it, that’s what I have found
The country is so picturesque the city so alive
There’s plenty here for you and me, there’s a challenge to survive
And This old world keeps spinning around
So much in life yet to be found
So look around and look ahead and do all that you can
Whether you’re a country boy or a city man
And I say “This old world keeps spinning around and around and around and around now
These trees just shoot up from the ground
So look around and look ahead and do all that you can
Whether you’re a country boy or a city man
1981 - This song was the first on I wrote after moving from LA to San Diego. It was one that stewed in me for quite a while and I had to really grind out the words, thoughts, and emotions behind the idea. The moral of the story is that a place is what you make of it, and by this time in mylife I had experienced the extremes of country living compared to inner city living. Going back to Maine for several months helped me to see the bigger picture in that regard. I think that the song reflects the new optimism in my life during this time. I had a new job which I hoped would lead to a new career, a better living area and environment and many new friends.
At the time of this writing I was renting a condo in Santee (East County San Diego area) with my friend Paul Lessard, who I had driven back from Maine with. Life seemed really good to me at the Carefree apartments. Both of us were workingfor M. Rosenblatt & Son. We had a swimming pool and volleyball court, and a really good mix of young neighbors to hang out with. The condo was huge compared to what Iwas used to and Paul had a killer stereo and some really nice furniture. True to my promise made while surfing, I was also casually seeking out The Lord and how I could turn my life around. 1981 through 1983 would prove to be a very rocky road in this pursuit. It took me that long to break away from the drugs and alcohol, distance myself from my old party friends, and clean up my act. In the meantime, I was visiting churches and trying to figure out my own belief systems. Catholicism seemed very superficial to me, and the Catholic churches I visited seemed to be more ethnically oriented than anything else. That’s when a coworker from Rosenblatt, Rob Bloodworth invited me to Skyline Collegians. I was pretty impressed with the pastor who was Jim Dikeman at that time and the worship band was very good too. So I went back a second time, and that’s when I met Mark Crafford. Mark was a keyboard player and a drummer and just happened to be looking for musicians to form a band with. He also was a graphic artist by trade which fit in closely with the new illustration people in my life I was hanging around with, so we hit it off right away. He invited me over and we set up a jam session with Sam Pagano playing bass. Little did I know that Mark would disciple me into a very close walk with Jesus Christ and also introduce me to Mark and Linda Hoffman.
THIS OLD WORLD
Words and music by Reggie Michaud © 1981
I was standing in the woods looking at the trees
Then a man came up to me and asked me “if you please
Tell me my friend what you see; you’ve been here for a while
There's nothing here for you and me; won’t you tell me why you smile”
And I said, “This old world keeps spinning around
These trees just shoot up from the ground
There’s magic in the forest, I can feel it in my skin
And to take it all for granted is a sin”
I was standing in the street looking at the cars
Then a girl came up to me, she looked like she was from Mars
Roman sandals on her feet, to violence she was blind
She asked me to be a friend to her, I said I wouldn’t mind
And I said, “This old world keeps spinning around
There’s folks out there who’d shoot you down
But the con men and the lunies, they’re few and far between
And the man behind that gun is seldom seen”
I’ve been here and I’ve been there, I’ve been all around
A place is what you make of it, that’s what I have found
The country is so picturesque the city so alive
There’s plenty here for you and me, there’s a challenge to survive
And This old world keeps spinning around
So much in life yet to be found
So look around and look ahead and do all that you can
Whether you’re a country boy or a city man
And I say “This old world keeps spinning around and around and around and around now
These trees just shoot up from the ground
So look around and look ahead and do all that you can
Whether you’re a country boy or a city man
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