YOU CALLED ME KID - Live at VCA Video

A song for Dad! And Mom, too!

My latest single, “Lonely Mama,” deals with one aspect of my adoption story. In the song, I sing to my birth mother, Barb. Regular readers of Love Songs Etc know the story. She passed away just months before I attempted to make contact with her.

I played “Lonely Mama” during my show at Vashon Center for the Arts back in March. Many in attendance said the performance brought them to tears.

Today, I’m sharing the song that followed “Lonely Mama” that night. As I mentioned in its introduction, the song deals with the flip side of my adoption experience. “You Called Me Kid” is dedicated to my folks. I was blessed to be adopted by Jan and Arnie Droge. Originally written for my dad after he passed away in 2015, the lyrics really apply to both of my parents. Here are the chorus lyrics:

You called me kid
And I can’t thank you enough for what you did
You called me kid
Never in this life could anybody find
A more generous or precious gift to give

Among the gifts I received from my parents was their unwavering support. They encouraged me at every phase of my musical journey.

They put up with me as a young tike banging away on Mom’s ukulele. They sprung for piano and guitar lessons. Mom was my 5th-grade music teacher at Wilkes Elementary and our church youth choir director. We even gigged together when she worked as music director for Bainbridge Performing Arts productions, including Tom Sawyer, where I played the lead. Later, they braved the grungy Seattle clubs of the early ‘90s to witness me cutting my teeth in rock bands. Then, as my career took off, they flew out to see me perform at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit and watched with pride as I opened for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at Madison Square Garden. Most importantly, when things cooled off, they never lost faith.

Mom is still with us. She’ll be ninety in December. While her dementia has progressed considerably, she can still find her way around the ivories. Just yesterday, we sat together at the piano, playing and singing together. Soon, I’ll have the pleasure of placing my headphones on her ears and sharing the final album version¹ of “You Called Me Kid.” I only wish my dad could hear it, too. I miss him terribly. The third verse of “You Called Me Kid” paints a picture of one of my fondest memories of the man.

In my mind you got my headphones on
Watching you move to my song
You close your eyes and smile and say
Kid, this is a good one
Yeah, it’s a good one

Happy Father’s Day, pop. Thanks for calling me kid.

Peace & Love Songs,

Pete

1. "You Called Me Kid” will be on my next album. Lead vocals, harmony vocals, guitars, bass, drums and percussion are complete. And my co-producer, Paul Bryan, has ‘pre-mixed’ the track. Tomorrow, we will add the finishing touches with keyboardist Lee Pardini.