We thought about doing a CD of songs of American Wake retrospect and we have several tunes in the hopper. But This Night came together (chords, melody and arrangement) in time for 'Across The Water' so we went ahead and recorded it and put it on the CD. The events mentioned in the song are real. In 1992 I went to Ireland with my college buddy Sean Keegan. We were walking down Grafton Street one late night after all the businesses were closed but there were still a lot of people on the street. There was a guy playing guitar and I thought it would be cool to get a picture of me playing guitar on Grafton Street. So I asked if I could hold the guitar for a photo. While holding it someone asked me to play a song. So I looked at the performer and he gave me the nod, so I played and sang.
They asked for more and the guy agreed. Why shouldn't he? I was playing and people were putting money in his guitar case. The only part that didn't happen was the air thick with mist. We were in Ireland for 8 days and it was warm and sunny up until the last day. But "thick with mist" sounded like what you'd expect in Ireland and made for a nice lyric. In late 1993 I met Frank and we started the band. The first gig was for a 1994 St. Patrick's Day party and after that we had gigs nearly every weekend. But on an occasional night off, Frank and I would go down to Laguna Beach and play on the street for money (busking). The lyric two yanks on the corner now 'neath a hanging poem, "this gate hangs well and hinders none refresh and rest then travel on" is about busking in Laguna and the sign with the poem does exist.
I can't finish writing about this song without mentioning a fan favorite verse: "with drums and bass and fiddle, guitar and mandolin, shots and pints of Guinness and fans that we call friends". And that is the truth!
