Nate Nate is Shufflin'

By: mandobill Mood: content Date: 05/20/2007 18:15:50 Music: cantankerous

Nathan (Nate Nate) is the nine-year-old "caboose" of the family. He's a most excellent kid -- very bright and inquisitive, does well in school, is heavily into nature, and is a dedicated video game addict. Even that last part is OK with me so long as he still gets outside and gets some exercise now and then. In fact, anyone who learns all three-hundred-and-some-odd Pokemon's names, HP ratings (hit power? health power? high profile?), special attacks, evolutions, et al, can only garner my highest regard and respect. Kant's Categorical Imperative was easy compared to this stuff.

So, suffice it to say Nate Nate is smart. He's also as nice as they come. Except for when things don't go his way and he gets cantankerous. Then he can be a bit of a pain and is best left alone until he straightens out. Usually doesn't take long, and he's not one to hold a grudge. But his general mood is a bit darker and less sanguine than his older brother's. His older sister is somewhere in between.

So, I was noodling around on my guitar doing some dropped-D stuff and landed on a bit of a song. Sounded kind of bluesy and, yes, cantankerous. So I decided to name it for Nate Nate. I started out calling it "Li'l Nate's Got Them Blues" but that sounded a bit too contrived. So I ended up with "The Nate Nate Shuffle." It reminds me most of all of when Nate was a toddler -- he would shuffle along, then lose his balance and fall back on his heavily diapered hindquarters, and sit and complain for a minute. Then he would get up and resume shuffling. Kind of like what this song does.

Hope you enjoy it. By the way, it was played on my 1985 Santa Cruz Tony Rice Brazilian, my choice for "Better Acoustic Guitar" and the reason I didn't vote in that poll. Gibson? Say what?