(stories) (lyrics)  (samples)

The Stories Behind the Songs

Occasionally, people ask Paige, "How did you think to write that song?" or, "Where did you get the inspiration for those lyrics? Here's a bit of the background on some of Paige's songs, in her own words.

Mother & Child   Christmas Lullabies

From the CD, "Mother & Child"

  Mother & Child  

This is the very first lullaby I ever wrote. I thought about my mom and all that she has conveyed that she feels for me and I wrote from her perspective. It was originally called "Bundle In a Blanket" and again, the lyrics in the chorus were a little different. The producer, who used to be president of the Canadian Songwriters' Assoc. said that the tone of the lyrics in the chorus were too playful and didn't match the tone of the lyrics in the verses. He was right, so I changed them. One day, I would like to re-write Bundle in A Blanket and record it. I like that imagery!

  Dream  

This song was one of the first lullabies I wrote. It's pretty straight-forward - I thought about bedtime. I did change the lyrics in the chorus while in the recording studio. The chorus lyrics originally read: "Dream, Dream, Dream of your day. Chase all your tears and fears away. Dream, Dream, Dream of your day. Chase all your fears away." While we were in the studio, the producer pointed out that this was somewhat negative, so we compromised and I changed it to, "Dream, Dream, while lullabies play. You'll feel the day slip away. Dream, dream, Dream of your day. You'll feel the day fade." I still wanted the feeling of letting any fears or tears slip away, so I think what I changed it to still fit that.

  Dreamland  

I wrote this song while in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I thought about a magical place called Dreamland and wrote what I imagined it would look like.

  Starlight, Starbright  

This song was written while we were in the studio in 2001. I had written another song, "Welcome To This World" and I wasn't thrilled with the arrangement that the producer and the musicians had come up with, so I decided to scrap the song. That left us with a spot to fill. The producer asked if I had any ideas and I had long dreamt of a song called "Shower of Stars" but never completed. So, Terry and I went into another studio with his guitar and we wrote this song in about an hour. I originally got the idea for "Shower of Stars" on a date in 1989. We went for dinner at a restaurant in downtown Nashville that is on top of a tower. (I think it's a hotel, too, if I remember correctly). While we were having dinner, I looked out the window and all you could see were the stars since we were so high up and I thought, "It looks like a shower of stars" and thus the seeds were planted.

  My Child’s Eyes  

Everyone has always said that I have my mom's eyes, so I used this and put a twist on it about how children look at life in a more magical way.

  Color Outside The Lines  

I used to work at a credit card company call center and boy, was it boring! When the weather was nice, I would bring my CD player and walk around the lake that was on the property during my lunch hour to get some fresh air. I was listening to a Nichole Nordeman CD, "This Mystery". The title track has a line, "Do you wish, do you want us to breathe again? Say goodbye to lines that we've colored in?" I had listened to that song hundreds of times but this one day while I was walking, I was particularly bored with my job and wanted more out of my life, so this song and this line in particular, really struck me. I went back to work and wrote the lyrics during the training class that I had after lunch! I guess I didn't learn much that hour, but I got a great song out of it and it's really how I try to live my life!

  Whisper  

This is one track that the producer, Terry, was not particularly thrilled with, but I loved it, so I insisted that it stay. I remember how my mom hardly ever raised her voice to me. And when she comforted me, her tone of voice would soften and it would almost be a whisper. The funny thing is, now that I have Matthew, I find that I do this as well and it really works! Speaking to him in a whisper to calm him down or to help him go to sleep really relaxes him!

  Sparkles, Glitter And Gold  

I wrote the chorus to this song in an elevator after dropping my husband off at the airport! It came to me. I went home and finished it immediately. Again, these are all things that my mom told me, so again, I wrote from her perspective.

  The Most Important Things In Life  

Again, the inspiration came to me while walking around the lake during my lunch hour at work. I saw all of these wonderful things on that walk and again, being bored with that job, thought about what was really important to me and thus, the song was born.

  Music Box  

This is actually the instrumental version of "Sparkles, Glitter and Gold" but turned into a music box sound. I thought that the music box sound would be the perfect end to a lullaby CD. It's so soft and sweet and the way that you end the music on a music box is to close it, so I thought it worked well as the last song. It has turned out to be one of the most popularly downloaded songs off this album, so I've actually had the entire album turned into instrumentals and music box sounds, in case I want to do anything else later. I could always put out bonus CD's with a few on there or even a line of Lullabyland music boxes with the songs on them!

From the "Christmas Lullabies" CD

  Christmas Lullaby  

This was the second song I wrote for this CD. I wrote the song using titles or images from other Christmas songs knowing that these songs become as much a part of Christmas as a tree is! So, I wrote about all things Christmas!

  O Come, O Come Emanuel   

I've always loved this song. It's a little sad and solemn and sounds Hebrew or Jewish to me. Since my grandfather, Herby, was Jewish, I wanted to do this song as my own personal tribute to him. It's accapella because of the mix-up with "O Come All Ye Faithful". We could have had Bernie, the guitarist, play it, but Terry and I realized at the same time that it would be very powerful if it were acappella and would lead perfectly into "Away in A Manger." Sometimes, the best things in life come from mistakes!

  Away in a Manger  

I love this song and it's a great Christmas lullaby.

  Christmas As It's Meant To Be  

This was written by Terry McManus, the producer. He sent it to me to consider and I loved it!

  Jingle Bells  

I wanted to introduce young babies to the melodies, so I had to include this song!

  My Rocking Chair  

I call this one my "Disney" song because the melody of the verses sounded Disney-ish to me when I first wrote it. I thought about Matthew and the joy and peace he brings to me and about the joy and peace of the holiday season and married the two.

  Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!  

Sometimes, song choices aren't too deep! Just a great Christmas song that I wanted to introduce.

  Ornaments  

My favorite part of Christmas is decorating the tree with all the ornaments. I have a lot of sentimental ornaments from when I was a child like the gold metal star with my name engraved on it. This is from 1974 and my cousin June bought this for me. She died of breast cancer a few years later, so this ornament is very special to me. My husband and I also purchase one just for us every year we've been married. We've got ones we've bought on cruise ships when we've taken anniversary cruises. Since our anniversary is in November, it was the perfect time to buy an ornament! One year we went to Hawaii for our anniversary, so we've got a cute little Hawaiian bride and groom with the year on it from that year. Plus now, we've got all of Matthew's ornaments that we buy to mark each of his years. So, it's a time of remembering family and celebrating all the memories, which is what I wanted to bring to this song.

  Silent Night  

It's always been a favorite of mine, so I had to do it. I wanted a real simple version, me and guitar, nothing fancy. This song needs nothing else.

  Music Box  

I decided that the way I ended my first CD, (with a music box sound), was something I wanted to continue and now has turned into a theme. So, we took "Baby's First Christmas" and turned it into a music box. I think it's a great way to end the CD softly and gently before baby goes to sleep!

  Baby's First Christmas  

This is the first song I wrote for this CD. My first CD was part of a Baby's First Christmas photo package in 2005 when kids got their picture taken with Santa. The photography company had never offered a photo package that was so age-specific so they tested it in 50 malls and bout 3500 CD's. Well, the CD's sold out in the months time and again did very well at Easter. I called the photography company and offered to write a Christmas CD with a song Baby's First Christmas just for their package and asked if they would be interested. I did a demo of it, they loved it, so I proceeded with the CD. For the first time, I was able to draw on my own experience as a mother and write from my own perspective this time. The photography company will include the new CD in the Baby's First Christmas Photo Package and the will be available at at least 170 malls during Christmas 2007!