S.O.D. "Breakdown" by Jack Johnson
4/4/2015 This song is basically about a guy on a train wanting it to break down so he can explore the area and meet people. It also has to do with surfing, as the music video shows Johnson surfing in Pichilmue, Chili. Johnson actually wrote the song on a train somewhere between Paris and Hossegor, a famous surfing area in France. Originally it was recorded for the 2004 documentary surf film, "A Brokedown Melody" which Johnson along with his film school friend Chris Malloy directed. The film benefited the Kokua Hawai'i Foundation and shows award winning cinematography of champion surfers at different locations including Hawaii, Jamaica, Tahiti, and Indonesia among others.
Johnson himself is a former professional surfer. He learned how to surf at age 5 and how to play guitar at age 8. By the time he was 12 he was writing songs. At just 17 he was the youngest invitee ever to make the surfing finals at the Pipeline Masters. His professional surfing career ended one week later with a horrible surfing accident which became the inspiration for his song, "Drink the Water". Johnson had many influences for his songwriting such as Bob Marley, Ben Harper, Otis Redding and Bob Dylan but names Jimi Hendrix as his all-time favorite guitarist.