Background
I'm the oldest of three children in my close-knit family, with a sister (Barbara) seven years younger than me and a brother (Jeff) nine years younger than me. They were so much younger than me, that they were a little more like my children than my siblings. I watched them grow up from babies to the wonderful adults they are now. Around 1974 or so, I had been fooling around on the piano and started playing a very simple, kid-like riff. I immediately thought of the simplicity and innocence of children, and especially my little brother Jeff.
Instrumentation
The song starts with the simple piano riff along with a background of children playing. Then it has a dark and intense middle section (much like adolescence). Finally it ends with the same piano riff but with embellishments by the electronic piano (much like the fact that beneath our adult exteriors, the kid in us still remains). It's particularly fitting that as an adult, my brother Jeff now teaches young children in the Chesapeake Public School System were we grew up.
Behind the Scenes
The background sounds of children playing are actually independent recordings of three separate age groups of children from a nearby private pre-school. I edited two different short recordings from the 2-year old class, the 3-year old class, and the 4-year old class. Then, to get a sense of children playing all around the listener, I placed a different recording piece at each of 6 different locations ranging from far left to far right.