CHAPTER 25
Late Sunday morning Bo was at Jenny's kitchen table, just having finished off a huge Belgian waffle topped with fresh strawberries and a side of link sausages.
"This is getting embarrassing," Bo said to Mrs. McCoy. "Every time I come over here, you feed me."
"Oh nonsense," she said with a smile. "To be honest, it's quite rewarding to watch a growing boy eat as much as Cameron used to."
"That's why he's on a diet now, at college," Jenny said.
"Well anyhow, here's what I have so far," Bo said, taking his acoustic guitar out of the case.
"I'm anxious to hear this," Mrs. McCoy said. "Jenny has talked about this song a lot. You must know, she's quite in awe of you."
"Mom!!"
Bo took his time digesting this unexpectedly amazing piece of information. He glanced over at Jenny, who wouldn't meet his eyes.
"I'm not sure there's any great meaning in this song or anything," Bo said. "In fact, there definitely isn't."
"Not important," Mrs. McCoy said. "Many--if not most--of the classic songs through the years don't have any deep meaning either."
"The melody's pretty simple," Bo said. "Just four chords--A, D, B minor and E. See what you think."
And he began:
"I sat there in English class
Reading from some way old text
Teacher prancing 'round the room
Get me outta this mess
I sat there in History
Checking out El Salvador
Tried hard to find the meaning
But staring at the door
I sat there in Algebra
Fractions jumping all around
Filling in a formula
Watching the clock tick down"
And then came the chorus:
"Give me a:
Short board, bottom turn, cut back in the soup
Tail slide, locked in, close out, Malibu
Goofy foot, beach break, slash turn, caught inside
Pipeline, swallow tail, new school, one last ride
Cross step, Huntington, Capitola and Laguna
Long board, endless summer, dreaming of a simple tune."
And then two more verses:
"I stood there in PE class
Trying hard to barely move
Teacher blowing a whistle
He doesn't have a clue
I sat there in Science class
Breaking down some CO2
Looking outside the window
Don't have an ocean view"
Bo repeated the chorus and the song ended.
Jenny and her mom didn't react right away. Mrs. McCoy looked like she was thinking hard.
"And that's the title--'Dreaming of a Simple Tune'?" she said.
"Yeah."
"Honey, I think it's absolutely fantastic!" she said.
"Mom, don't call anyone 'honey', remember?" said Jenny.
"Actually, the chorus is pretty much Jenny," Bo said. "She came up with most of the surfing expressions."
"Would you mind running through it one more time?" Mrs. McCoy asked.
"Sure," said Bo, and he did.
"Okay, now I absolutely do not mean to interfere in any way," she said.
"So then don't!" said Jenny. "It's a great song, just the way it is."
"No, tell me," said Bo.
"Well, it all works for me--the lyrics, the melody, the chord changes, the transition to the chorus. But I think it needs a bridge."
"What's a bridge?" asked Jenny.
"Wow," said Bo. "And where would you put it?"
"I'd put it after the second chorus," she said. "Right where you ended the song. Then come back in with one final refrain."
"And the bridge--maybe slow it down, so when you come back the chorus sounds fresh again?"
"I think you're right, yes."
"Gee, thank you so much!" said Bo. "I couldn't put my finger on it, but the song wasn't quite there."
"Oh, it's definitely there, even if you don't change a thing," Mrs. McCoy said. "I'm extremely impressed with your work."
"Mom, there's five people in the band though, remember?" Jenny said.
"Of course," said Mrs. McCoy. "And a business manager, I'm told."
"He's very good, but he worries a lot," Jenny said.
"So that we don't have to," said Bo.
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It turned out to be an enjoyable week of practice for The Z Street Band.
They worked on all 17 songs that they had picked out for the Jasper dance, and they added Bo and Jimmy's talent show instrumental,"Wipeout".
What was most exciting to Bo was hearing his friends play and sing on the run-throughs of "Dreaming of a Simple Tune", treating it no differently than a real song by a famous star. Bo had come up with a bridge, and Mrs. McCoy was right--it sounded more complete now.
Bo wasn't telling anyone yet that he had managed to crank out two more original songs, "Days Go By" and "Closer to the Edge", to go with "Dreaming of a Simple Tune". Those would have to wait.
They were all relaxing in The Box on Saturday afternoon, having just finished their final rehearsal.
"What I'm liking about this gig tonight," Jimmy said, "is for some reason I'm not feeling a lot of pressure."
"I know," said Bo. "I think it's because they've already heard us."
"And we know they aren't going to laugh us off the stage or anything," said Mackie.
"The dance starts at what time again?" said Jimmy.
"Eight," said Melissa.
"So here's what I'm thinking," said Bo. "We get there around five-thirty, set up, test everything, set the levels and whatever, and then we just hang out and have a snack or something."
"That early?" asked Jenny.
"Not a bad idea, actually, to have plenty of extra time," Adler said.
"No last second surprises," Jimmy said.
"Not tonight," Mackie said, and everyone left The Box to get ready.
