This was written sometime in the early 1990’s. It was about a girl named Karen that Ken really liked…they spent quite a bit of time together. Karen had a brother named Bruce…Ken and Bruce were actually friends before Karen ever entered the picture.
Bruce did not like the fact that Ken and Karen were starting to get close, so he would take drastic measures to make sure a relationship would not form. “He was kind of selfish if I remember correctly, and would go to extremes to get his way”.
The song was written about an evening that Karen and Ken went to Newport, RI. They ended up at the beach after eating a nice dinner in Ken’s favorite restaurant (at the time). Ken knew a waiter by the name of Peter who always knew it was going to be a good night when Ken came into town. Peter met Karen and suggested a nice stroll on the beach after dinner.
Karen and Ken were all dressed up; Ken in a suit and Karen in a very attractive dress. Eventually, the two of them had a lot to drink and ended up making out on the beach well after the restaurant closed under the stars with the moon shining in the background. Peter brought the two of them a bottle of Champagne and two glasses while he finished his work and eventually closed up the place. Around 3:00 in the morning, Karen and Ken decided to drive back to Connecticut…both had sobered up by then. Ken remembers Karen filling his suit pockets up with beach sand…and the next morning, there was plenty of it on his floor.
The song starts to describe how Newport must have been in the early 1900’s. The hill up high that Ken refers to was the Cliffwalk that Ken frequented often during his late teens and early adult life. There never was an Oak tree to speak of, but Ken put it in the song anyways. The songs ends wondering how things might have been if Ken were able to have that special relationship with Karen. “She was the best thing that came into my life at the time…I was so stupid to listen to her brother and screw it all up. I was indeed very young back then”.
Ken often wonders about Karen; who she married, where she lives, and if she ever thinks about those days in Newport. I guess we will never know…unless she finds Ken and comments on this blog.
UPDATE: Ken did hear from Karen eventually, and they briefly spoke about the past. Karen had married, had a few children and now lives in Florida.