February 2026 / "Crosby, Nash & Stills"

February’s song came out of a month-long songwriting exercise called “New Song November” (NSN) which I participated in last November with a handful of my best songwriter friends here in the Denver area. “New Song November” challenges the songwriter to write a new song, every day, for the entire month. It requires focus, creativity, and to say the least, endurance. Now, I did not finish a new song every day. My goal was to write a verse and a chorus at the least. I succeeded about 20 days out of the month which I felt pretty good about considering just how much is going on during the month of November with holidays and travel. The main goal of NSN is to provide that challenge, nurture the songwriting habit and maybe break out of one’s usual songwriting tendencies. So, while I did come up with this verse and chorus last November, I only finished it this past February.

Now that you know the backstory, let me tell you a bit about this song itself. Crosby, Nash & Stills is a departure from my usual songwriting topics. It’s lighthearted, on-the-nose, a bit cheeky, and last but not least, ABOUT being a songwriter, a topic that I work hard to avoid. But when you are trying to write one song a day, you learn to quickly commit to an idea long before you’ve had the chance to self-edit.

Now, if you don’t know, working songwriters (like me) have to pay the bills. And one way we do that is by playing gigs at bars and restaurants. We’re typically hired to provide some ambience for the place while folks eat, drink, and visit. Some of these gigs feel great. Strangers start listening, maybe applauding here and there, and tipping well if you can tickle their ears. But some of these gigs are slogs in the truest sense of the word. A lot of times it's really loud, especially if a big game is on the tvs, or if a bridal shower decides to sit right in front of you. Ask your fellow gigging songwriter, we’ve seen it all. That was the inspiration for “Crosby, Nash & Stills”. I’d have to check my notes, but I’m pretty sure I started with the title. Once I came up with the couplet “I’m just out here paying bills, Butcherin’ Crosby, Nash & Stills” I knew there was a song waiting to be written. I was also thrilled to finally find a place to fit one of my favorite lines that I had come up with a few years back, “There’s a pick in the wash, a pick in the dryer”. As the line suggests, this is what it’s like to live in the same house as a songwriter or guitar player. It’s also a testament to a songwriter’s commitment to his or her craft. So, now I have a song to show for it.

“Crosby, Nash & Stills”
Music & Lyrics by René Moffatt

Push them tables against the wall
Three hours of singing before last call
Round them bases, touch ‘em all
The TVs have no sound
Gotta please the cover gods
Sneak an original what are the odds
They recognize that I’m a fraud
Standing on hollowed ground

But I’m just out here paying bills
Butcherin’ Crosby, Nash, & Stills

May this be the night I strike a chord
Slinging prayers to my sweet lord
Slaying dragons with a wooden sword
There’s pick in the wash, a pick in the dryer
One of these song’s gonna catch on fire
An audience makes the perfect choir
‘Til then I’m just out here paying bills
Butcherin’ Crosby, Nash, & Stills

A blink of an eye is all I’ve got
3 minutes to give it my best shot
You might like it, or maybe not
But that ain’t why I play
Someone needs to hear our songs
They’re gonna spin ‘em all night long
One day we’ll all be gone
But the songs are here to stay

I’m just out here paying dues
Playing for tips and drowning in booze

I’m just out here paying dues
Butcherin’ Huey Lewis & The News

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