What's the story and inspiration behind "Long Cold Winter?" In a very simple way, this song is a spin on the quest, but as experienced by the person who got left behind - the Odyssey, but seen from Penelope's point of view, if Penelope were a farm boy!

Did you write is about someone in particular? Fiction, nonfiction or a mix? No, it's basically fiction, but I think a lot of us can relate to the helpless feeling of being left behind by a loved one - the guilt of feeling jealousy and the relief of a safe, and faithful, return.

There's a strong sense of seasonal imagery in this song. Is this a strong point in all your songwriting? I do try to find a theme in the imagery of a given song and run with it. In this case, the canging og the season underlines the passage of time in a very tangible way and also reminds us of the great circle...spring will come again and so will my love return, and so on.

There's also an intimate feel of longing/yearning in there. Is it important to have a deep personal experience with this kind of emotion to best translate it to the listener? Well, yess I think it helps. Method writing maybe? Find a memory or experience in your own life that brings back a feeling or emotion similar to what you want the song to transmit, and it will find its way into the words and the music, and certainly the performance.

Do you have a songwriting process? I have no set process, but I bet I should. song ideas will pop up anywhere, anytime - except of course when I'm sitting in my studio with guitar in hand. The problem is that I have a compulsive need to work them right then and there, so I constantly find myself muttering lyrics or trying to keep a tune in my head until I can get home to a tape recorder...writing notes on envelopes and losing them...whatever. The music and lyrics almost always come together, unless I'm co-writing, in which case I will often have a set of lyrics first. I will usually wind up with a few good lines or ideas fleshed out, supported by a standard structure, and then I edit, tighten, wash, rinse and repeat as needed.

Do you have to finish a song in one or two sittings, or do you allow them to be works in progress if necessary? At any given time, I will have a whole drawer full of works in progress, and one song that I am obsessively beating to death. sometimes it works out great. Other times it goes back in the drawer and gets a fresh look later. The songs that get finished in one or two sittings are the special ones. The just spill out and always seem to have that easiness about them - even in the listening. I wish there were more of them.

Who are your favorite songwriters of all time, living and deceased? Why? Well, just a few are Lennon & McCartney, Paul Simon (versatility), Gershwin (class), Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle (raw) and Brian Wilson (vulnerable). And whever wrote the them from Hockey Night in Canada...that songs just rocks.

Do you have a favorite musical era? I'd like to say the '60s, at least as far as rock and pop go because the music was such a great combination of innocence and danger that perfectly reflected the experience of its audience. I'd hate to think that the last 15 yeats of jaded depression and forced irony reflects today's youth. I don't think kids have really changed that much at the root of it. But, as far as songwriting in gerneral goes, I think it's as vital as ever and hardly a day goes by where I don't hear something new and say "Hey, now that's a good song."

What are the ingredients of a good song? I think some of the greatest songs ever written would never make it past first round in a lyric contest. And other great songs might be forgettable in an elevator. To me, it's all about the relationship between the lyrics and the music, not one or the other, and that's something you can play with too. You don't have to go for the obvious for it to work. But it has to work.

Do lyrics, in your opinion, have to be truly meaningful to make a good song, or can the music override the lyrics sometimes? Sometomes lyrics don't mean a thing until you set them to music. Then they are given urgence or poignancy or just a good kick in the rear.

Do you prefer to leave a song fairly vage and open to interpretation, or would you rather have it offer a set structure accompanied by a clear resolution? When I was young and slim I was in an alt. rock band and our primary lyricist was very influenced by The Doors and REM. I can admit now that half the time I didn't know what we were singing about. The juxtaposition of abstract or slightly obtuse images can be very effective at creating a mood or impression, but as a lover of stories, it usually leaves me either unsatisfied or agitated. On the other hand, I regularly feel strangled by the Nashville need to have everything spelled out in block letters. I like songs to mean different things to different people. Short answer: somewhere in between.

Do you have any advice for aspiring/beginning songwriters in regard to the craft and business? I think, in retrospect, that if you are young and talented, and you really want to be successful (and I mean really want to be successful,) you should be prepared to pursue it to the exclusion of all else...because that's what others are doing, and as long as you aren't dedicating every waking hour to your craft and your self-promotion, someone who is will always be ahead of you in line. Hard but true. Note to my daughters: this does not apply to you. Stay in school!

To view the lyrics of "Long Cold Winter," please visit www.americansongwriter.com