Dave McKenney is currently working on his second album titled Back in Time set to release this November during the annual Parrot Head convention in Key West. Dave is a Trop Rock artist from the Richmond, Virginia area, but travels up and down the eastern coast performing for fans. Dave tells us the story behind his song “Back in Time,” the title cut from the new album and he’s hit on something we can all relate to… nostalgia. Here’s Dave’s story:
“Back in Time” Chorus:
Two days north took us fifty years back in time
to an old coal stove, hot biscuits, and a party line.
The center of town where folks drive slow
friends walk by they say hello.
I’m glad my grandpa took me back in time
he shared his memories, and now they’re mine.
I wrote this song back in the summer of 2012, while I was sitting in the waiting room at the doctors office with my daughter. The idea for the song had been bouncing around in my head for a couple of months and then (as usual) it hits while in an unusual place to write a song. So after asking the receptionist for a pen and a spare piece of paper, I started writing!
Later that afternoon, once back at my house, I picked up my guitar and started putting the words to music. As I recall, most of the song was done that day with only a few minor tweaks over the next week.
The story of the song revolves around my grandfather who I was very close to as a child and up until he passed away. He was born and grew up in Nova Scotia, Canada on Cape Breton Island in a town called Inverness. Every summer he would take a trip back home to Cape Breton and as his grandchildren became old enough he would take us with him.
My first trip there I was very young and my parents also went, but then at around 10 years old I had my first trip with just him and my grandmother. It was a different kind of trip for a young boy and I spent much of my time hanging around on farms nearby, milking cows, chasing chickens and riding around on tractors.
The house we would stay in was the same house my grandfather grew up in, and the thing I remember most was the coal stove that heated the house and was also used to cook and bake by my great-aunt Florence. She would make the most incredible home made biscuits and we would eat them with fresh home made jam from berries picked nearby! A lot of memories were created on those trips and I will carry them with me forever.
Although this was in the 70’s and technology hadn’t really taken off yet here in America, things in Canada were pretty primitive as compared to what we had in the U.S. and whenever I tell the story I always say…”It was like going back fifty years in time…”
Check out Dave McKenney’s new song “Back in Time” in this video of Dave accompanied by Emily Randale. You can pre-order Dave’s new CD through his indigogo campaign. Check it out and get your copy!