Mel Tessness Country Music

COUNTRY BOY BIG CITY was inspired by the many people who come to the big city
from the farms around the country and for one reason or another end up on skid road.
Many of the people you see sleeping in the doorways and alleys have people back home
somewhere that care about them. They had a mom and dad, brothers and sisters and a
small town upbringing but became disillusioned with the life on the farm. I began to
think, if this happened to me, I would care about what my father thought of my new
life. I would care about my father seeing me sleep on a bench in the park and how far I
had fallen. It was never meant to be a really sad song but ended up having a bit of that
in it.

FLAPJACK JOHNSON came about when I was talking to an electrician at work. He
told me about growing up on the farm where he knew a hey buyer named Fat Jack
Johnson. I was so taken by that name I thought there must be a song there
somewhere. So Flapjack started out as Fat Jack and morphed as the song progressed.
The story line is a fat kid who was picked on because he was overweight. But instead of
cowering before the bullies he became meaner than a snake. You can only kick a old
dog so many times before you make him mean. This is what happened to Flapjack. (All
you bullies out there take warning)

NOODELIN’ was a documentary I saw on public television about a type of
fishing that is only legal in five southern states. It’s a type of fishing where
the fisherman does not use a line and hook. He simply dives under the
water and sticks his hand in a catfish hole and wiggles his fingers. I
couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The fisherman has his head under
water and if he gets a catfish that is to big he could drowned. A type of
fishing that can be a life or death struggle. (See why it is only legal in five
states) The city boy who says he has to go home and let the dog out is
simply the reaction I would have if I was offered a try at “Noodlin’”.

A POOR MANS PRAYER is a reaction to my mom’s letters from home. They were
always telling about someone’s farm or ranch that I knew from my childhood and was
now going through bankruptcy. The bank feeling they need to recover something was
having an auction to sell of everything they own for pennies on the dollar. It was
heartbreaking. (No offence to bankers and the IRS) :)