When my daughter Kristin was a little girl, she frequently posed the question: “Hey, Daddy, do you know what?”

Being a fan of the old musician’s joke that starts with someone asking a question like: “Do you know the way to Kittery?” and the answer is: “No, but if you hum a few bars…,” I eventually decided that it would be fun to be able to give an alternative answer to my standard reply, “No, Kris, what?”

So, I put on my songwriter’s cap and went to work.

I decided to write what I refer to as a “list song.” The challenge I gave myself was to construct the lyrics – I ended up with four verses and two bridges – so that every line was an everyday, conversational phrase that started with the word “what” or a variation such as “what’s,” “what’re” or “what’ll.”

It was fun and of course, I called the finished song “What.”

Then, I waited.

The next time Kristin asked: “Hey, Daddy, do you know what?,” I answered, “Well, yes, Kris, I wrote it,” and I sang her the song… and much laughter and eye-rolling ensued.

If you click on the blue link below (wait for it!), you can listen to the song yourself. Then, the next time you’re asked, you, too, will be able to answer the proverbial question by saying: “Well, yes, I do. I heard it on that sixstr stories’ guy’s blog.”

“What” – Words, Music, Guitar & Vocals by Eric Sinclair

That recording features the fabulous playing of Andy Inzenga, bass guitar; Charlie Jennison, alto saxophone; and Bob Thibodeau, percussion. It was skillfully recorded and mixed (I was going for a Nighthawks At The Diner sound) by Jim Tierney at Fishtraks Studios in Portsmouth, NH, sometime between October 24, 1994 and January 14, 1995. “What” was released on May 3, 1995 on my album There Are (Songs To Be Sung).