Singled Out: Olga's It Is What It Is (With Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars)

This is one of those songs that came all at once for me. Often with songs, the chorus or refrain comes to me first, in this case the melody and lyric "It is what it is, is what it is, one thing that I know now, it is what it is."

I was alone in my mom's house in New Orleans. The house had been empty for a couple years since Katrina and in real need of repair and work. I was at a point in my life where I really wanted to make a change and "re-boot" if you will, and offered to move back to New Orleans (from Memphis) and oversee the repairs. Because good help was few and far between at that time, I was doing a lot of the work myself. The house has hardwood floors; a natural reverb chamber! I was in a bit of a forlorn and reflective state of mind and as I wandered through the house, the lyric and melody came to me. The previous years had been rather challenging for me personally and professionally and I had experienced many disappointments, disillusions and heartaches. After going through that, one hopes to learn so that the lessons won't have to be repeated a second, third or however many times. I was determined to learn, let go and move on.

I sat down on the hard floor and picked up the guitar to figure out where the melody was on it. Somehow this was a bit symbolical in itself, as I was alone, sitting on a cold floor and realizing some hard truths about myself.

The lyrics came to me rather quickly, with all that in mind, and though the music is a bit haunting, the lyrics are actually quite positive. I like to write lyrics that are comprised of mini mantras of sorts. If something is to be stuck in your head, why not have a positive message attached to it? That way, you repeat it to yourself as you hum it, or as it rambles and echoes in your mind. Ideally, it will ultimately become internalized and provide a positive change within you. That's my goal. So in this case, I wrote this song to remind myself "I cannot change the past and I cannot always have my way, I take the good with the bad and just let it all fly away�It is what it is."