James
Simpkins

The audience for “Wanderers ” are all people who have yet to find their place in the world – due to their birth circumstances, life events or their personal choices. Everyone has a destiny, but most have not yet realized it. Society place value on achievement and position, but wanderers give society its flavor and shape. Because of wanderers, society is a more beautiful place.

For aspirating lyricists, I believe that the biggest challenge is the inspiration to write a compelling lyric. To realize inspiration, one must live life with an open mind, since inspiration can come at the most unlikely times and places. The inspiration for “Wanderers” came on a hot day, setting at a red light and behind a dilapidated old pickup truck spuming oil-mix exhaust fumes . Among dozens of stickers on the truck was one that resonated – “not everyone who wanders is lost”. I pulled over, wrote down the phrase and know then that this was a description of the lives of most people and needed to be put to song.

The concept for “Wanderers” came from the phrase “not everyone who wanders is lost”. The lyrics were developed around the concept of a person with challenging life circumstances and questionable choices. But with the hope of a fulfilling destiny, he wanders. I believe that this really describes most of us.

I am a “Wanderer”, but not in the traditional sense. My professional life as a member of the “Baby Boomer” generation is fairly traditional – college, to graduate school, to faculty position, to academic leadership. But my creative life is as a “Wanderer”. I am a believer in the power of the written word, is all of its forms. I have wandered from technical scientific writing, to short stories, to novels, to poetry, to song lyrics. So yes, I am a “Wanderer”.