Hemisphere

This song lyrically came about from a late, late night writing session of mine. When I say late night I mean about midnight. When I say session I mean I was lying in bed and typing lyrics in my phone that popped into my head. I love writing songs like this - the ones that really have no meaning or sense to them. I just like putting words together, especially if I've got a good melody to put them to. There is nothing in this song that I can give any explanation for. It's just a song.


Oh dear, hemisphere
I’ve been drinking my fear
Baby’s with a bottle and she got it for free

Panda bear, broken chair
Falling down the upstairs
Ollie, ollie, oxen and they’re coming for me

So what’s the point
Of being dead?
The good I’ve done
Is in the red
I’m outta breath
In outer space
I left my smile
On my other face

Tin can, Superman
Chasing down your one fan
Riding elevators till the sunset comes

Ice cream, you scream
Daddy’s had a bad dream
Waiting on a waller and we’ve come undone

I’m on a roll
Through spikes and nails
The wound is deep
From cobra tails
I lost my thumb
Under my bed
The end has come
It’s all been said

I’ll ride this storyline
Till I’m eating up the floor
Two for a dollar
And I find I’m wanting more
I’ll scratch my eyes all out
Till they’re black and navy blue
Stuck to a spinning wheel
Where I feel like you’re the best that I can do

Crocodile, big smile
Pink polka dot tile
Chewing on my fingers till I hit the bone

Bent nail, tall tale
Mama’s looking too pale
I’m not gonna be the one to cast the first stone

So what’s the point
Of being dead?
The good I’ve done
Is in the red
I’m outta breath
In outer space
I left my smile
On my other face

I’ll ride this storyline
Till I’m eating up the floor
Two for a dollar
And I find I’m wanting more
I’ll scratch my eyes all out
Till their black and navy blue
Stuck to a spinning wheel
Where I feel like you’re the best that I can do


Hemisphere.mp3

Treasure Beyond Measure

So yesterday my wife sent me a link to some pictures that were taken of my newest son, Harris. I was sitting looking at them and I started thinking about my other son, Lennon. I started to think about how sweet of a little boy he is and how much I have to look forward to with him in the future.

Of course as any proud father I want my kids to grow up with some of the same interests as me. The thing I want them to appreciate most is being creative - whatever that may be for them. They don't have to be creative in music (believe it or not!), just as long as they can look within themselves for some sort of creativity - music, writing stories, art, dance, etc.

Lennon is a special boy. He doesn't say a whole lot right now, but he's getting better at it. He speaks more through his eyes than through his mouth. He just lights up my day, as do all my kids. Lennon is my oldest boy and so there are great expectations with him. The line "now I see you in my eyes" is the fact that I can similarities between him and me. I hope and pray for the good similarities to rise to the surface. Every line in this song has something to do with him. This is a song for him.


Who do you play with?
Who do you play with when you’re done?
What’s with the message?
You’re looking for new words in the sun
I can tell you all the things you need to go
If you’re troubled there’s a few things that I know

Growing up older
Growing up older than you seem
Something in your eyes
Tells me you’re living like a dream
I believe it when you tell me that you can
You will show me things I hope to understand

You’re a treasure beyond measure
I hope you can sing along
Your existence is my pleasure
With you I did not go wrong

Wait for the morning
Wait for the morning light to fall
Praying for someone
Someone I know will give their all
You’re the reason I’ll watch the sun burn out
In your own time you will do away with doubt

You’re a treasure beyond measure
I hope you can sing along
Your existence is my pleasure
With you I did not go wrong

Now I see you
Now I see you in my eyes
Now I see you
Now I see you in my eyes
Now I see you
Now I see you in my eyes
Now I see you as me

Who do you play with?
Who do you play with when you’re done?
What’s with the message?
You’re looking for new words in the sun
I can tell you all the things you need to go
If you’re troubled there’s a few things that I know

You’re a treasure beyond measure
I hope you can sing along
Your existence is my pleasure
With you I did not go wrong


Treasure Beyond Measure.mp3

Confess

Sometimes I just like a self depricating song and that's what we have here. Some days are better than others and some days I just feel dark and drab. These lyrics came from that place.This was a few weeks ago and for some reason I was in a slump. I'm out of it now, but I do fall into it from time to time.The thing about it is that for me, writing music is the best type of therapy. It really helps.

Can I tell you specifically what this song is about? Not really. Just the fact that sometimes I can't stand myself and I really do feel like such a mess. There is never really anything specific - just the feeling that I am substandard as a human being. The things that help pull me out of these slumps, besides self therapy, are my family. My wife and kids are the "I can pull through if I've got you" part of this song. Good thing they are around!!


Darlin’
You’ve opened my eyes to the sadness
Brought me back away from the madness
I’m cracked on the surface
But light is enveloping me

This time
I’ll pick up the pieces around me
Find comfort as you now surround me
I’ll look for redemption
I won’t fight this battle alone

And I, I must confess
How I’ve made myself such a mess
I can’t heal if I can’t feel
I have nothing left to conceal

Losing
I think that those days are behind me
I don’t think my demons will find me
I clawed my way out
Of the hole that I put myself in

Silent
My eyes tell the path I have travelled
My soul is no longer unraveled
I’m free of the weight
And I have no more burden on me

And I, I must confess
How I’ve made myself such a mess
I can’t heal if I can’t feel
I have nothing left to conceal

There’s no more pain
Inside this brain
There’s no more rope for me to hang myself on
There’s no more grief
Only relief
There’s no more ledges left for me to jump off
No longer a fool
Not breaking the rules
I’m keeping my head above this water I’m in
I can pull through
If I’ve got you
I can pull through
If I’ve got you
I can pull through
If I've got you
I can pull through
If I've got you
I can pull through
If I've got you
I can pull through



Confess.mp3

Fight Worth Fighting

So I've been trying to find ways to make some money with all this music I've been writing. It's not an easy task. It tends to cost a lot of money to make money when it comes to the music biz. There are a few songwriter websites that I am a part of. On these websites they have contests and such about writing music for different artists. I came across one a few weeks ago to submit songs to Keith Urban for his next album. The songs had to be country and dealing with a positive lyric. There were two problems for me - my songs are not country songs, and my songs tend to be a little too dark to be considered positive.

I decided to take upon myself the challenge of writing a song in a style completely foreign to me and this is what I got. I really like the song. My problem with writing upbeat lyrics is that they tend to come across as mushy and bubblegum. I don't think these lyrics are in that category, but I could be wrong. The cool thing about this song is that I could total hear Keith Urban singing it in my head as I was writing it. So it's submitted and we'll see what happens. I am not getting my hopes up for nothing. It would sure be weird for me to have to start writing country music if something came of this though. I never thought I'd ever see it happen.

The song is about fighting against the world to keep your marriage alive. We all know that the world deems divorce as an acceptable escape when two people get tired of each other. In fact, it seems to be the answer to everything now days. I don't agree with that thought process one bit. Divorce is necessary in many instances and I hate to say that I've seen some of those instances take place close to home. It's a hard thing to watch, but sometimes everything works out for the better. This song is dedicated to all those married people who keep at it day in and day out.


When the going gets tough
I’m coming to you to shelter me from the storm
In this old, cold world
You’re the only thing keeping me warm

You and I do our best
We’re trying so hard to keep the demons outside
But we’ve got a lot
That’s keeping our love here alive

And we’re pushing against the tide
And we’re crossing the Great Divide
You’re a fight worth fighting for
Because it’s you that I adore
You make me feel so glad to be alive

I’m on top of the world
Although the world is trying to bring me down
It’s a constant battle
A constant run around

At the end of the day
I come home to you and everything is okay
It’s the moment I’m looking forward to everyday

And we’re pushing against the tide
And we’re crossing the Great Divide
You’re a fight worth fighting for
Because it’s you that I adore
You make me feel so glad to be alive


It doesn’t matter what they say or what they do
I can walk through fire as long as I got you

And we’re pushing against the tide
And we’re crossing the Great Divide
You’re a fight worth fighting for
You and me and nothing more
You make me feel so glad to be alive
You make me feel so glad to be alive
You make me feel so glad to be alive


Fight Worth Fighting.mp3

Ghost

I don't want anyone to think that I've not been writing songs as of late. I have been, but I haven't been getting them recorded as quickly. It's allergy season and that screws with my voice. It's irritating, but part of life.

This song is called "Ghost". It's honestly about a man that gets killed by his love (girlfriend, wife, lover, etc.). She blamed him for everything wrong in her life and killed him because he wasn't helping her. The reality of the story is that she was so messed up in her own life that he was the sadder of the two and he struggled more by just being with her. In the end she kills him and now he comes back to haunt her and frighten her. She did wrong and now she will pay for it. I really like this song and enjoy singing it. Sometimes songs are just like that.


Tonight
The world will stop spinning
The whites of our eyes will scream
‘Cause we’re trapped inside our dreams

So long
You’ve waited for something
But nothing has come your way
It’s a cold, dark day again

But can you see
That it’s not me
You are not the one who hurts the most
You cast your pearls
Before the world
You have taken everything from me
And left me a ghost

Slipping
My tongue is still twisting
I’m stuck with a heart of black
And you won’t come back for more

Broken
I cannot repair you
But I am the one you blame
Why do I remain with you?

But can you see
That it’s not me
You are not the one who hurts the most
You cast your pearls
Before the world
You have taken everything from me
And left me a ghost

Now I’m not there
Do you feel scared?
I will frighten you


Ghost.mp3

More or Less

The words may seem redundant in this song - they are really not. As I started writing lyrics for this the first two lines that I wrote for the verse started off "the more I _____, the more I _____". I decided that I wanted to write the whole song like that - just pushing visuals at the listen as fast as I could. I love that thought process of ideas.

I love the chorus because it tells you what type of person exists in this song. The first line I came up with for the song was "I'm a bad excuse for breathing", meaning this person is just a complete waste of space. Breathing should be reserved for someone else who will get more use out of it than this person. "I'm a scratch that won't stop bleeding" refers to the fact that this person needs real attention given to them in order to get rid of he/she. There are connections and contradictions throughout the song, hopefully giving it a sense of layered confusion.

The more I push, the more I crack
The more I want, the more I lack
The more I hurt, the more I bleed
The more I lose, the more I need

The more I think, the less I know
The more I come, the less I go
The more I chew, the less I bite
The more I love, the less I fight

On broken knees
I make my pleas

I’m a bad excuse for breathing
I’m a wandering eye
I’m a scratch that won’t stop bleeding
I’m a lover’s lie
When the hearts have all stopped beating
I’ll be laughing last
I’ll be giving up tomorrow
Just to taste the past

The more I speak, the less I scream
The more I sleep, the less I dream
The more I breathe, the less I die
The more I scream, the less I lie

It’s all too much
For just on touch

I’m a bad excuse for breathing
I’m a wandering eye
I’m a scratch that won’t stop bleeding
I’m a lover’s lie
When the hearts have all stopped beating
I’ll be laughing last
I’ll be giving up tomorrow
Just to taste the past



More or Less.mp3

Youth is Wasted on the Young

I got to school yesterday morning and was in the cafeteria doing my morning duties of making sure mayhem doesn't break out. While I was walking around watching the students this tune popped into my head. I kept humming it over and over to myself while I was walking around. When I finally got my piano in my classroom I sat down and plugged out the chords for it. I worked on the song throughout the day, but I couldn't find an easy title for it. I wanted it to be something that was just a simple phrase - possibly something I had heard people say before. Eventually this phrase came to my head and it was the title of the song and it finished up my song for me.

I know the song is short - that's on purpose. I teach my students a lot of folk music and the one thing I love about these old songs is how short they are, but yet some of them are so cool. This isn't destined to go down in history as a folk song, but I was trying to write something short and I accomplished it. It's just a great little song that is fun to sing and play.

Now here's the kicker - the song is actually about the decay of American society. I don't normally write about things of this nature, but I see so many different things around me that just rub me raw. I thought I'd put it out there in a song. There's just too much fighting, selfishness, and lack of respect in this country anymore. There are subtle hints of this in the song. These are my own personal views, but the more I hear around me I am not alone in this thought. The world is rude and selfish. Let's try and get that fixed.


There’s no reason left to cry
We’re still getting by
All the good has now been undone
On the broken wings of dove
You’ll find shaded love
Youth is wasted on the young

Time has seen this life of mine
I’m still doing time
Now my troubles have begun
The system that I’m in
Is never gonna win
Youth is wasted on the young

Silly as it all may seem
No one’s getting free
No one underneath this old sun
Rebels like to pick their fights
Can’t we all unite?
Youth is wasted on the young

Try to live out your days
In the best of ways
Don’t just run away


Youth is Wasted on the Young.mp3