Newmarket Roots Musician John Dawson Speaks To Life’s Big Picture With “Things That I Meant To Say” From Outlier Album
One of life’s bigger events is the birth of a child and the dichotomy that comes with parents. On one hand, there’s the joy of seeing a little bundle of joy while on the other there is the fear and stress of how to look after and care for that same little bundle of joy. For John Dawson, his latest single “Things That I Meant To Say” serves as a credo to tell his child of the wholehearted love and support they’ll have regardless of what unexpected twists, turns, or hurdles life has in store.
“The song essentially serves as a list of things I wanted to make sure my child knew no matter what challenges life presented to our relationship,” Dawson says. “It is also the picture of the ideal parent I hope to be as I moved into this new adventure: an example of unconditional and unwavering love ‘until my days are done.’ Above all, I believe it’s a song that serves as a reminder to me during those inevitably challenging times of that one thing which truly matters above all else: love.”
“Things That I Meant To Say” is lyrically economical as Dawson says so much in so few words, getting to the heart of the matter with an approach that recalls the late JJ Cale, Mark Knopfler or the underappreciated singer-songwriter Tim Easton. Dawson’s guitar work is accompanied by Anthony D’Angela on drums and percussion while bassist Manny DeGrandis rounds out the pristine piece of words melded with music. And the thoughtful middle instrumental section is just the icing on this enjoyable sonic cake.
Rest assured, for all it gives you,
The world can take as much.
But rest assured that it can’t take from you
What’s given you in love.
Though my love for you is yours, and yours alone
Remember: love freely shown is freely grown.
The single easily falls alongside such parent-child narratives such as Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s In The Cradle” and John Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy),” intent on making each moment count, not waiting for the right or perfect time for a parent to express their love to their child.
“Things That I Meant To Say” is the latest single from Dawson’s new studio album Outlier. The nine-track effort, produced by Adam Brunner, features Dawson with D’Angela and DeGrandis on songs including the reflective, folksy “Life Just Came To Me” that brings to mind Ron Sexsmith at his finest. Meanwhile “Mend In My Ways” shows a simplicity few singer-songwriters can lay claim while the jazzy, roots instrumental “Merry and Pippin” shows another side of Dawson’s musical depth.
Dawson, who besides his music also co-hosts a weekly professional wrestling radio program called Ringside Heat, cites inspirations such as Eric Clapton, the late George Harrison, Paul Simon and Knopfler for crafting and shaping his musical career. He’s also a graduate of the Humber College Music program and graduated from York University with degrees in both Education and Music.
Now with his tender, straightforward new single “Things That I Meant To Say” and a studio album it’s clear John Dawson’s music is an outlier in the best way possible.
Hi John! Care to introduce yourself to the readers?
Hi everyone! My name is John Dawson and I am a singer/songwriter and guitarist living in Newmarket, Ontario.
What inspired you to write “Things That I Meant To Say” for your child, and how did the idea for the song come about?
I can’t say it was an entirely conscious or intentional decision to write it. As I was approaching this big change in my life of becoming a father there was a lot to process! I was certainly excited but there was no small amount of anxiety. As has often been the case in my life and, as I’m sure it is for most writers, it’s in my creative activity that those emotions tend to work themselves out. In this case, I was just in a quiet moment with a guitar and I started just playing that opening alternating bass chord figure. As I settled into that little groove I found myself constantly repeating the words “rest assured”. Looking back it may have been just me saying it to myself!
For a bit, that’s really all I had. It initially didn’t seem to want to go anywhere but then, during another little quiet moment in a hotel when I was on the road, I decided to revisit the idea. Somewhere during that writing session, I decided to point that little phrase “rest assured” to someone else – my forthcoming child. After that, the direction of the song seemed quite clear. It quickly became a little love letter. Having at that time only recently lost my own mom, I was acutely aware that we simply can’t really predict how life is going to go and it’s like I had a list of things I wanted my child to know. So much can come along out of nowhere and frustrate whatever presumptions we may hold about how life will unfold. We should never wait to say important things.
You mentioned the song serves as a list of things you want your child to know. What are some key messages you hope they take away from it?
I’ve always really been quite fond of the lines that open the second verse: “Rest assured, for all it gives you, the world can take as much. But, rest assured that it can’t take from you what’s given you in love.”
To me, that really felt like a particularly important lesson to pass on from my experience: the world can be a cold and misleading place but those things that come from the love around you stay with you and cannot be taken from you.
I also really hope the last couple of lines resonate as well: “Rest assured that I will love you until my days are done. Remember that you’re not so all alone, remember that when you feel all alone.” No matter what, I want my kids to know that I am there for them.
The song has been compared to classics like “Cat’s In The Cradle” and “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy).” How do you feel about these comparisons?
That is incredibly humbling for me to hear. I grew up with both of those although, in the interest of full transparency, when I was in high school it was the Ugly Kid Joe cover of “Cat’s in the Cradle” that really first brought that song to my attention – my profound apologies to Mr. Chapin and his fans (haha)! I promise I have since atoned and listened to the original several times!
As far as Beautiful Boy goes, I have been intimately familiar with that exceptional piece of music my entire life. I was very young when Double Fantasy came out and, of course when John Lennon was killed, even at a very young age the poignancy of a father who is no longer around leaving such a beautiful message for his son had a profound effect on me. I have no doubt I was trying, in my own way, to pay homage to those great songs as I shaped this one. That is a marvelous compliment.
How do you hope “Things That I Meant To Say” will resonate with other parents and listeners going through similar experiences?
Above all, I guess I hope it does what I personally believe any song should do: give voice to things we may not have fully been able to articulate ourselves. Life these days is so absurdly busy, especially as a parent! Maybe this song is an invitation to pause and really be in the moment for a moment. If we forget love we’ve completely lost the plot. At the end of the day, our greatest gift to our children is our presence. Ultimately I believe that’s what this song is hoping to communicate.
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