My dad's family and friends wandered around tidepools at Maka-pu'u Beach, Hawaii in 1991 debating over where to spread his ashes. His closest friend, Cyrus Faryar said it all when he remarked, "We could really use someone like Dave right now." I realized then that Cyrus knew him well. Outspoken yet trusted and rarely one to fail, Dad seldom lost an arguement. At my last hospital visit with him he described his younger self as being hyperactive. Despite his success and the smugness it implied, he still seemed to seek people's approval by sharing the knowledge from his steel-trap memory. I was touching to see him in the role of a carried-away conversationalist at a party.

Dad would often roam around the house improvising lines like the one I wrote for the song, "Awake and alone and alive ..." It seemed an appropriate sentiment for one who has gone through another trying endeaver. In my case, it was his early passing. Another line, "still you would put yourself first after years of denying the worst" is a reflection on his only child persona. I never had a brother so it was good to have him as a friend and I hope he felt the same having never had a sibling. He once told me, " It's funny our birthdays are exactly six months apart, but we seem to get along fine."

The title came from a thank-you letter a kid had sent him after a talk he gave on his book, the Hawaiin Legend of Hale Mano. The third grader's letter included a drawing of Dad sitting on a desk speaking to a classroom of kids. It came at a very healing time that followed a rocky period in his life that I shared a large part in.

Dad told me salesmen, with phonebook in hand, would often call and begin with , "Hi Don ..." Dave was actually his middle name and Donald, his first. He always knew when it wasn't a dear old friend touching base. So I made the play on words with that fond memory in mind; "How can each day begin without you Mr. Dawn?"

This is my oldest song. At seventeen I loved John McGlaughlin's work so I composed a similar chord progression to some of his songs and put it to a friend's poem. Often Dad would interupt my playing to share a word of advice; A frustrating but useful thing. I was playing it once and he gave me a, " sounds good!" I knew a song was worth pursuing. After years of lyric and arrangement revisions I recorded it with Peter Rubbo on drums. I'd asked George to drum it but he had no time so it's fortunate the cards fell that way because the song is, like Peter, on the jazzy side.

It was an honor to have my kids sing on the song. They were born shortly after his passing but they have a good idea of who he is by hearing his songs and my stories. My daughter, Tara was born five days shy of his birthday only seven months after his death. She shares his grace and insightful intellect so I'm sure it's him visiting in a new form. I'm told Aloha serves as hello and goodbye in Hawaii so, "Aloha Mr. Guard"

Mama San
lyrics and music by Tom Guard © 2008

Mama San
Tell me the things that you've done
A story
for your little sleepy grandson

chorus
You are the wise old crone
living so long on your own

Let's look
back on our lives and compare
Mama San
the wonderful things that we shared

You are the wise old crone
living so long on your own
You are the wise old crone
Papa San's gone
but you get by just fine
on your own.

Time heals
all of the wounds and the scars
like remedies
passed along down from the stars

Sounds like your old man was mean
punishing you for those innocent things.

Tell me
about all of the jobs that you had,
Papa-San,
and all of the pranks by my dad.

'wish I could live in those days
Call it impossible
Who's to say?

So Mama-San
Thank You for all that you've done
Being there
the warmth and the light of the sun

You are the wise old crone
living so long on your own.

I love you
and the soul of your grace.
We're on the phone
but you know there's a smile on my face

The voices in my head were saying, "What about that 'song-a-week' you promised?" I grabbed the twelve string and soon a verse, chorus and bridge came along. Finally I'd found a key that was great vocally as well. Mama San, my grandmother who died in 2007, lived most of her ninety-five years in Hawaii. Papa San died in 1970 and she lived in a beautiful valley near Honolulu since then on her own. Despite a lot of incidents that would point to chosing a rest home, she chose to stay there and be independent. She was truly smart and strong enough to succeed and she did just that. Taking Karen and our kids to visit her in 2004 an celebrate her ninety-second birthday was great. We remember it well. She lived in a beautiful place. Mama San and I spent a lot of time on the phone. She was lucid as anyone and equally a pleasure to talk to until the end.

George Dussault suggested he do some hand drumming on the track. During a vocal run-through I added whistling over the bridge and it stuck. A Bb harp was paired for an overdub with an Eb harp for the ending. The E string on the bass was tuned down to Eb so that low note could be reached which was good but it was easy to forget and then hit a sour note. I made it through but I'd hate to have to tune that way all the time.

Around that time Bob Shane had contacted me about arrangements with Martin Guitars for a Kingston Trio fiftieth anniversary issue of the model 00-21 Dad had used in the band. I received the second of four prototypes on behalf of my family. The sound was beatiful, rich and deep. I even tuned it down two whole steps more to record it on the song. I'm told the track sounds like a barritone twelve string with the 00-21 in combination with the bass. It came at a good time. I am very grateful to Dick Boak of Martin Guitars and to Bob Shane for that. It's used on other songs but, for this one, it was especially well suited.