This story-telling song was inspired by a novel by Herman Hesse entitled 'Steppenwolf'.
The story of a suicidal man being shown the parts of his life he'd forgotten or hadn't noticed, that essentially made his life worth living.

I took the character names straight from the text; Pablo- the saxophone player that showed the hero his life in a new light, and Maria- the sweet young woman that taught him how to kiss.


This tune almost gained me sponsorship from some folks with money down in Florida. I was the new guy in town with some fresh, interesting music and I caught the attention of some great folks that wanted to invest in my career.
I was my usual dubious-self, but I did my best to impress and communicate with them on my true aspirations and intentions for my music.
They were ready to start writing me checks to further my cause...they just wanted to do one last thing before our deal was put to contract; they wanted what they considered an educated and authoritative opinion of me and their proposed venture.
They played a recording of this song for the Great, Dixieland-Jazz Clarinetist, Pete Fountain.
I don't think he was impressed with me or my song. They told me the most he said was, "well, the progression certainly isn't very original."
Oh well, he didn't like me, so they decided against their plan. The next morning, the sun came up.