This one's a special one for me. I wrote it in May 2017 after getting shocking news that my good friend Jon had died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 43. Jon and I grew up in the same town, though he was a few years younger, so I didn't know him from school - our bond was more important than one forged in the playground; ours was forged at the ramp! He was one of Prestwick's best skaters. I skated too, but I was more a BMX guy. I had huge respect for Jon, but it wasn't until he popped into my post office out of the blue around 2014 that our friendship grew beyond mutual respect.
He got a job in hospitality in my area and began playing gigs on the same circuit I was on. It was on his way home after a gig in a local hotel that he took his heart attack and died. There's nothing quite so difficult to deal with as sudden death.
I was inspired to write this song in his honour. He loved life and was one of the people I most admired, for his easy-going, no-BS lifestyle. I miss him.
This is for Jonnie Scotland.
