Common Ground
It's a hard living brother
You're as good as any other
That's what my mother said to me
We are part of one another
Never meant to hurt each other
I'm looking for some common ground

I don't have an age, I have no name
All I have is public domain
I've been running against the grain all my life
I have no home, I have no land
That's why you've got to understand
I'm looking for some common ground

Without borders, or shades of skin
It's the same world we're living in
And it's time we cut the dividing lines
I will go from shore to shore
Until I find what I'm looking for
I'll meet you on that common ground

© 2019 Allan Wachs/All Rights Reserved
awachs77@gmail.com

Common Ground

CLOSED FOR REPAIRS
Morning rolled the dice on me
I knew i had to wake up eventually
Barely thinking, I could clearly see
Seven come eleven come along with me

So i rolled myself to get out of bed
I’m down but i’m not dead
Still i can’t recall anything she said
Except the sky is blue, the clouds are in my head

Memory lane’s closed for repairs
Got washed out in the Flood of Tears
If your heart should break
Where you gonna find a spare?

So i wiped the dreams and dust from my eyes
Another day, another disguise
Morning’s here, better wake up fast
I'm moving forward out of the past

Memory lane’s closed for repairs
Got washed out in the Flood of Tears
If your heart should break
Where you gonna find a spare?

Morning rolled the dice on me
I knew i had to wake up eventually

© Allan Wachs
All rights reserved

Closed For Repairs #2

Cover of the great Bob Dylan song.
https://allanwachs.com/

Blind Willie McTell (Bob Dylan)

The Promise

WILLY LOMAN BLUES
They’ve got you by the ankle boy, they’ve got you by the throat
They’ve got you by your credit score they’ve even got your goat
Living in a house of cards, you pray the wind won’t blow
Convinced the ashes of your life look like falling snow
You wake up in the morning, there’s dirt beneath your shoes
Don’t you know you’re waking with the Willy Loman blues

Once you were so confident, once you were so sure
Once you could have talked yourself through anyone's door
They’re shortening the leash my friend, they’re pulling in the lines
They’re breaking all their promises, it’s a shame, it’s a crime
When your dreams are canceled ‘cause you’ve got too much to lose
You know you’re being strangled by the Willy Loman blues

(Bridge)
You thought you’d ride the bubble for as long as you’d choose
Banksters making offers you could not refuse
Now you’re moaning ‘bout the bail out and getting double crossed
And your nest egg has vanished like paradise lost

My father was a battered soul, he hated his own life
He carved away his broken heart with a cigarette and dinner knife
The apartment shack began to crack from tensions in the room
The Depression was so long ago, I thought we were immune
So strap me to the table boys, feed me my old shoes
And tell me tales of escape from the Willy Loman Blues

© Allan Wachs
All Rights Reserved

New Willy Loman Blues

Surrender 2 Love

All Rights Reserved©Allan Wachs

Line Producer's Lament

Standing On A Dollar

Live @ Kulaks Woodshed
w/Caitlin Wachs & Ed Tree

© Allan Wachs All Rights Reserved

Out Of The Blue (Live At Kulak's)

Lunatic Enigma

It Couldn't Happen Here

Boatman

Eagles Tree

BIG BOYS

From the True Vine Album
"Songs For Children & Young Animals"
Available on all reputable sites.

Songs For Children And Young Animals

Wolfman's Family

Same Old Wind (John & Kim)

I'll Keep It With Mine (Bob Dylan)

NORTHWEST PASSAGE

When first unto this country
A long long time ago
The winter was heavy,
And the trees were filled with snow
Had no friends, I had no money
Had no place that I called home
And the changes were as many
As the things I did not know

So I learned to make some money
And I learned to make some friends
I learned to take my time with things
And I learned to make amends
I learned to build a fire
Though there’s times when I’m still cold
I learned what can’t be boughten
And I learned what can’t be sold

(Chorus)
When my body’s gone 
spread my ashes all around
Some out on the waters, 
some back in the ground
Then take me on a mountain 
and give me to the wind
So I can go for one last time 
to a place I’ve never been

Now the winter snows have melted
But summer has not come
It rains day after day
Like it never will be done
I love all I’ve been given
And everything that’s had a cost
I don’t know where I’m headed
But I know that I’m not lost

(Chorus)
 
Words & Music Allan Wachs c 1976/2015


Northwest Passage

Long Way To Go

On a rainy street
I’d sing out my soul
to make ends meet
As the traffic passed
I’d sing every song
as if it were my last

The parade went by
broken business men
and homeless side by side
Lives on the skids
and housewives
going shopping with the kids

And it’s the long way I’ve come
Got a long ways to go before I’m done

Without a home
I wandered city streets
unknown
On the ragged edge
while old men slept in papers
‘neath the bridge

I was young and dumb
and I know I was 
luckier than some
While beggars starved for real
I traded on my music
for a meal

And it’s the long way I’ve come
Got a long ways to go before it's done

A steady shift
working on at job
I'd like to quit
Boredom kills
but promises and hopes
won’t pay our bills

It’s a hard luck deal
this world we 
make and take for real
Times are tough
we get knocked down
more than we get helped up

And it’s the long way I’ve come
Got a ways to go then I’m done

c Allan Wachs/All Rights Reserved

Long Way To Go

ARON'S SONG

Well that desert winds growing
Better smoke them camels
I hear a voice calling
I hope that it's a mammal
It said "I'll tell you where we're going
If you take my hand"
Forty hard years
In the desert sand

Refrain 1:
He sent me here....

I’m goin' way out on a mountain
I can't tell you why
You can feel it underneath you
You can see it in the sky
To climb Jacob's ladder
You've gotta stand tall
Every morning it's a wonder
I can stand at all

Refrain 2:
He sent me here, he sent me here, he sent me here

Bridge:
My hopes are all gone
But I'm still looking
For the Promised Land
.....for the Promised land

Now the bushes are burning
And the idols still gold
The rights to the returning
Have been cut up and sold
The waters divided
With a raising cane
I won't be free
Until we're brothers again

Refrain 3:

What's become of my people?  What's become of my people?   What's become of my people?

Refrain 4:

He sent me here, he sent me here, he sent me here

©Allan Wachs/All rights reserved

Aron's Song

The Heart Is Tender (Roughs)

Big Boys

Some Of It's Real

Brainwashed and Blue

closed for repairs

morning rolled the dice on me
i knew i had to wake up eventually
barely thinking, I could clearly see
seven come eleven made a fool of me

so i forced myself to get out of bed
pretty sure i wasn’t dead
still i can’t recall a single thing she said
except the sky is blue, the clouds are in your head

(bridge)
memory lane’s closed for repairs
got washed out in the Flood of Tears
if your heart should break
where you gonna find a spare?

i wiped the dreams and dust from my eyes
another day, another disguise
morning’s here, gotta wake up fast
i’m moving forward straight out of the past

(bridge)
memory lane’s closed for repairs
got washed out in the Flood of Tears
if your heart should break
where you gonna find a spare?

morning rolled the dice on me
i knew i had to wake up eventually
not even thinking, I could clearly see
seven come eleven come along with me

© Allan Wachs/All rights reserved
awachs77@gmail.com

Closed For Repairs

Farewell To Pork

Maxwell House

1992 12 Song Demo

The Moment I Met You

A Smile And A Tear

Time's Not What It Used To Be

It Couldn't Happen Here (aka The Honor System)

Auld Lang Syne (Robbie Burns)

Allan Wachs is a gifted singer/songwriter/guitarist and American roots artist. He has been recognized for his poetic insightful lyrics and moving melodies. His musical influences are drawn from the streets of Los Angeles to the backwoods of the Oregon coast range and  reflects the intersection of politics and everyday life with a lens on the broken-hearted, mis-treated, and the importance of keeping an open heart.

Allan produced and released the underground folk-rock vinyl rarity “Mountain Roads &  City Streets,” an album of ten original songs that continues to influence other artists to this day.  Music reviewer Eric Slyter said:

“Mountain Roads & City Streets has become one of my favorite albums. What I           love most about it is how personal the songs feel. They sound genuine…close to the heart of the writer. Though the tracks draw on well-established styles, there’s something about them that feels identifiably unique.”

Allan has also released a collection of original children’s music, “Songs For Children And Young Animals,” and chronicled L.A.’s 1992 riots with his song “Peace Is Not A Gun,” which is part of the last Fast Folk collection on the Smithsonian/Folkways label.

In 2016, his song “Mountain Roads” from his album Mountain Roads & City Streets was released by the Numero Group as part of its “Wayfarin’ Strangers” series “Cosmic American Music,” leading to the song being featured in the 2019 film “Wish Man.” Also in 2019, Allan’s song “Northwest Passage” won Song Of The Year at The West Coast Songwriter Competitions.

Wachs recently relocated to rural Sonoma County with his wife, Patrice and is actively writing, recording, and performing up and down California while continuing his career in film production.

You can find his music on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Soundcloud and other digital platforms.

Allan Wachs

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