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"We Missed The Boat" Manuscript:

See Paige's first draft of writing this song!

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Scroll down to see a video of Paige performing this song in front of a live audience.

We Missed The Boat

words and music by Paige Powell      ©2007 Paige E. Powell

1. Well, we thought we had plenty of time to get packed
At our island getaway

We were throwing our bathing suits into the bags
After playin’ around all day

Soakin’ up the sun, greedy for more fun

Well, it cost us big time at the last minute

We ran to the dock and were stunned:

 

Chorus:  We missed the boat! She’s already sailed

And now, “running late” doesn’t mean a thing

We’ve already failed

We’ve got a suitcase in each hand

But we’re standing here on sand

‘Cause we missed the boat! We missed the boat!

 

2. While I try to blame you, you try to blame me
As we try to see what went wrong

Was it while we were picking up shells on the beach?
Was it when we took too long...

Peeling off our suits, showering off the sand

Makin’ love and makin’ a memory

Instead of just doin’ what’s planned

(Repeat Chorus)

 

Bridge:  How we love the smell of the ocean!

No matter how hot it gets, there’s always a breeze

Perhaps it crept in our subconscious

We didn’t really want to leave the tall palm trees

 

3. Well, we might as well go back to the bar
and order a cold mai-tai

See the ship shrinking on the horizon!
It’s best to wave goodbye

Let’s go down to the beach

Join the natives on this isle

And learn to love pineapples and coconuts

We’re gonna be here for awhile (‘Cause)

 

End Chorus: We missed the boat! She’s already sailed

And now, “running late” doesn’t mean a thing

We’re beached like a whale

We’ve got a suitcase in each hand

But we’re standing here on sand

‘Cause we missed the boat! We missed the boat!

I hope you will note that we missed the boat...

Feeling remote, we missed the boat!

From the August 17, 2021 Blog:  The Story Behind the Song, "We Missed the Boat"

On rare occasions, I'll wake up with a dream still in my mind, and that's how "We Missed the Boat" was born. I dreamed that a couple was standing on a beach with suitcases in hand, staring out at the ocean in disbelief that they had indeed missed their ride home. It was funny, but I also felt their horror and panic — that sinking feeling in my stomach saying "This is bad. This is a permanent mistake." I think that strong emotion was what woke me up and kept the dream in my mind.

After I wrote the first draft of "We Missed the Boat," I played it for the monthly Songwriter's Toolbox meeting (from

the Songwriters' Association of Washington, SAWsaw.org). Before playing it, I didn't introduce the song or tell them anything about it, which turned out to be a smart move. When someone hears a song, they don't know anything about it beforehand.

After I finished, my fellow songwriters asked, "Where were they? Were they on their way to go on vacation, or were they already there?" Somehow, I had failed to establish PLACE in the first verse! No wonder they were confused! But they really liked the song, and one songwriter, the late, great Joel Pomerantz, suggested the line, "We're beached like a whale" which I gratefully added to the last chorus. Audiences smile or laugh when I sing that line.

After editing the lyrics, I created drums, bass, and steel drums for that "beach" sound using GarageBand. I recorded it at Assembly Line Studios with engineer, Kevin Gutierrez. Many months later, I was about to add it to my CD, "Time's Up—Your Move" when I lucked into a mistake. Every time I had been singing, "We've got a suitcase in each hand, but we're standing here on land" but I accidentally sang, "...standing here on sand". So much better!

So, at my next studio appointment, I told Kevin that I wanted to change just that one word in the chorus. I was ready to step up to the mic when he said, "No, I can fix it". He copied an "s" sound from somewhere else in the song and pasted it over the "L". When he finished, I couldn't hear the edit at all. Can you? Hear "We Missed the Boat" from its page. Just for your entertainment, I added the original manuscript, written in a notebook in pencil. When you click on the pages, you can see them enlarged. It's interesting to see that about 80% of the song is in that first draft!

Please add "We Missed the Boat" to your Spotify or Apple Music playlist. See if Alexa will play it. And please subscribe to my YouTube channel, Paige Powell Music, if you are a "You-Tuber". Thank you in advance for your support!

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