Hey, Mudlark:

Yes of course, you are right. We all have brains, and we can't help but notice when we've created something beautiful. I guess the way I would describe it is that I think, "Damn, that was good!".. and I feel a deep sense of thanksgiving, and humility. It's not so much an ego thing as a recognition that I have just been used to produce something beautiful. I think that's what bruce is feeling. There are times when I'm singing that I almost have an out-of-body experience, where I am standing next to myself, when I realize that something far more powerful and universal than my own limited abilities is moving in me. When we have that feeling, it's something that we don't ever want to end, because it is so powerful.

And bruce... there are so many examples of songs that have flowed through me as a direct result of the enjoyment of being with friends.
Sometimes, I feel more like a recording secretary than the creator.
Many years ago, I'd had an especially joyful night playing music at Sandy & Caroline Paton's. We'd been up recording until early in the morning with friends, and I was the first one up. I wandered downstairs to the living room, and the instruments were still leaning against the wall. And one of the verses to a new song just came tumbling out:

   Downstairs, no one is waking
   Though the clock on the wall says a quartet to eight
   And the banjos and fiddles still lean by the wall
   With songs of their own that just wait to be played
   And it's almost like being back home

Many years ago when my youngest sister was really suffering, the words came flowing out.. the chorus to a song:

   God rest those who find mercy in sleep
   All those who sow, who never will reap
   All those who search, who never find peace
   May they find rest tonight

You're right, too, Mudlark... inspiration often comes from other forms of creativity... a movie can inspire a song, or a poem... a painting can inspire a sculpture.

Perhaps the true muse is just the experience of life.

Jerry