Good Morning Olivia is probably the quickest song I have ever written as well as being the only song written with the person lying in front of me all cuddled up in her “blankie” the whole time.

When Olivia was born in 1976, I was working at a candy factory from 8 am – 5 pm. She was born in the wee hours of the morning so I went to work that day full of the excitement and utter bliss of having seen her born.  I remember very clearly that I went to work with two different shoes on and didn’t notice until someone pointed it out. 

One Saturday morning within the first four months of her birth she woke before Marci and Christy so I gathered her up and laid her down on the couch in the living room. I got out my guitar and started playing a few chords and spontaneously sang, “Good morning Olivia. Good morning Olivia.”

The rest of the song literally spilled out as I played, not so much to her liking as she wanted to eat and not be sung to. But within the hour, the song was done and after Marci woke, I quickly found a piece of paper to write it all down.

There is a very subtle message in “Good Morning Olivia” that started a change of my understanding about God. The given teaching is that God is beautiful beyond all humanity. While looking at Olivia I found God is “just as beautiful as” her. It became a theme that I’ve gone back to time and again and I feel like that belief came from simply looking at my child, Olivia, and seeing beauty beyond all other, even God.

“God is alive, for He shines in your eyes. And you know, He’s as beautiful as you.”

“Good Morning Olivia. I love you, Olivia.”