"BEST THINGS IN LIFE (with DAVID LINDLEY)" genre: Acoustic
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	This cut features Valerie Carter back with me on backing vocals, Julie Field singing harmony, and David Lindley adding a Mediterranean feel to a calypso mood with a spritely bazouki track. Though it was a long time ago I still remember with great fondness the lifestyle I lead without a penny in my pocket. If you have ever dreamed of a simpler life, and complete happiness within it, this is a song I'm sure you will enjoy.
	MP3.com CD: Force of Habit - buy it! CD: The Awakening Credits: David Lindley: Bazoukis; Valerie Carter: Backing Vocals; Julie Field: Harmony Vocal; Arno Lucas: Percussion; Stephen Paul: Lead, Harmony and Backing Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, P-Bass, Accordion, Hammond B3. Produced and Engineered by Stephen Paul, assisted by Scott Swink © 2000 Built On Dreams Music (BMI)
	Story Behind the Song The Best Things In Life Moonlight shines on the waves at night Mama puts the children to bed and turns out the light She walks outside, papa lights his pipe She sits down beside him, they look up at the sky And he say, The Lord is good And the life is fine Got so many treasures here in this little house of mine We don't have much money But any fool can see We've got love and the best things in life are all free Seagulls cry at the break of day Papa gets into his boat and the children play He draws his nets through the deep blue sea Comes home in the evening with fishes to sell and fishes to eat And he say, The Lord is good And the life is fine Got so many treasures here in this little house of mine We don't have much money But any fool can see We've got love and the best things in life are all free Now some folks hurry and some folks worry And some folks never get enough it seems Guess they don't know that love is all we really need Moonlight shines on the waves at night Mama puts the children to bed and turns out the light She walks outside, papa lights his pipe She sits down beside him, they look up at the sky And they say, The Lord is good And the life is fine Got so many treasures here in this little house of mine We don't have much money But any fool can see We've got love and the best things in life are all free We've got love and the best things in life are all free We've got love and the best things in life are all free Words and Music by Stephen Paul © 2000 Built On Dreams Music (BMI) Lyrics This song was a great deal of fun to record. it marks the first point in the album where I used my accordion. Now before you all go running for the hills, (at least those of you who didn't know that Bruce Hornsby plays quite a mean accordion himself) in fear of Lawrence Welk and his Champagne Music Makers (g), what I had really wanted was a Cajun style accordion. However I couldn't afford one, as these are mostly handmade and run anywhere from $600 up to $1200 for really fine one. For that matter for one at all! One day I walked into a toy store, and for $50 found a small children's accordion made in China, where this instrument was once very popular. It had a couple of farting reeds, but other than that it sounded absolutely beautiful, though just a mite hard to handle for a grown-up. But I love the way it sounds, played it at countless gigs and even used it on "The Power to Choose",which is the zydeco cut on the same record. We were scheduled to lay down a basic for a completely different cut that morning, but in the 15 minutes between the time I called my assistant to come on by, and his arrival, I had written this song. It simply poured out of me all in one piece, and required absolutely no editing whatsoever... which I truly believe is the way the best songs are delivered to us from above. When Scott came in, I said, "I just wrote a new song, and I think we should record it right now while it's fresh in my mind." And so we did. I don't usually write songs which are stories about other people, as I usually write straight from the heart about my own experiences. But some part of me identified so strongly with the characters and the lifestyle represented in this song, that the first few times I sang it after completion, I had tears running down my eyes. That's how much I wanted to simplify my life then and now. This cut like all the rest was recorded in my living room in Studio City, we started tracking at about noon, finished it in a couple of days, waited until Valerie was available, and together we sang the backing parts. It really was one of The Best Things in my Life.

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