Michael Peter Smith cover - "The Dutchman"

I think this is one of the best songs ever written - it's like a songwriting master class in under five minutes. The lyrics are compelling, meticulously constructed but simple, talk about real things and take you through a day in the life. The song is so good that I've found that beyond a very low threshold, anything you try to add to it musically ends up taking away from it. And yes: with all due respect to Steve Goodman, who was a pure genius, I never liked his versions of the song because it was just too fast and too much. Just my opinion, but you barely need to touch a single guitar in order to get this song across. My arrangement is dissimilar from the way Michael Pete Smith has been playing it live - he plays it in C down at the nut. I found that I liked playing it in a G grip capoed up to the fourth fret so I could take better advantage of the low E string (and therefore all six strings on the guitar). I also added in some figures that I remember from the first Michael Smith recording I ever heard of this song - I'll need to go back and check but it may just be possible that this was played the same way I'm playing it on that recording. Played on a custom Manzer guitar in standard tuning capoed at the fourth fret. Recorded using a Microsoft LifeCam and a Blue Yeti USB condenser mic in stereo mode.