Sun Drunk was written after my first few days in Mexico.
I was sat with some new friends drinking an espresso when a lady approached me holding a sign. She was dressed in long jeans wearing a face mask and wandering through the baking afternoon heat.
The sign read: “I’m deaf with six children please help”.
For some reason, instead of graciously offering whatever change was lingering in my shorts I hesitated and attempted to figure out of the lady might be lying. The small amount of change I did have was probably only waiting for another coffee or tequila shot. Yet I was concerned being lied to. I hesitated long enough that the lady eventually walked on and disappeared along the dust road into the Mexican heat.
As I came back to my senses I was pretty ashamed of my attitude. Ultimately it doesn’t matter what her truth is, I had change that I could have offered and helping someone should always be the first instinct.
That night I wrote the words and melody to Sun Drunk. The phrase “I need all my mistakes” is a reminder to me to learn from my hesitations.