Some debate whether non-fiction can be considered literature. I tend to fall into the "absolutely" camp because I feel it takes more technical writing skills to condense the facts down into a readable format. Read any John McPhee book and come tell me it ain't poetry. I am unsure the rules of writing a non-fiction song, but I have been pecking at one myself, and it always seems facts and rhymes are fightin' like opposite ends of a seesaw. I don't think it means abandon the facts, I just think it takes more work.

And about those facts, the actually story of the dog swimming to its death drew more of a reaction from me than the lyric verses that described the same. That is such a crazy story, I would love to see that fleshed out a little more in the lyric. My God, that incident right there could be the whole song.

And the "Old Dog Walker" thing did throw me off a little too. Try reading through the lyric with "Old pal Walker" or something like it. I think it still works and eliminates the dog-walking confusion.


73's & 88's Good Buddy!
Chris Bohlman