Welcome to a page all about “Katie’s Smile”
Click on the arrow to activate the exfm player: Katie’s Smile
Read below for credits, the story, and lyrics.
The players:
VC: lead & harmony vocals, Moserite acoustic guitar, Danelectro DC 12 electric 12-string guitar, Fender Precision bass guitar, drum programming; Angela Hessler: violin
The Story:
This song really has an interesting tale attached to it. I was working on another song in my studio and had recently been doing some cleaning when I picked up an old notebook. Upon paging through it I happened upon these lyrics. I had basically forgotten I had ever written this. The song had never come out of the notebook (and typed on the computer…a sign that it had potential) since the summer of 1999. I read them and wondered why this had happened…I really related to the lyrics at that moment and picked up my trusty Moserite and immediately wrote the music that goes with it. It took me awhile to remember who Katie was…especially since I rarely use a woman’s actual name in a song…the truth is it doesn’t matter who she is…she’s really a metaphor in the song for the unexpected. It could be a woman, or a cool breeze, or a “leisurely stroll down the shady path.” Small things can knock you off your feet…and sometimes we forget that. All the basic tracks were done and I really didn’t know what to do with the beginning solo section…I finally gave Angela a call who had taken extended time off to have her third child…she was free and I am so lucky. Her violin completely transformed this tune from folky to something transcendent! Oh and yes…I do know who Katie is…she is the sister of a friend who I met one time and one time only sitting on the steps of the Greek Theater in Berkeley…”thrills that are surely heaven sent…”
The Lyrics