Hilma & Frank, Reading books with you

I had the very good fortune to connect with Andy H aka “Noobly” a few months ago over music that we mutually admired and we agreed to find a future opportunity to collaborate. This is the result. Noobly’s beautifully rich track, propelled by his soaring guitar work, felt like a kind of call to prayer to my ear. I tried to echo this somewhat in singing the bridge. Lyrically, just for kicks I used the Socratic Method to construct the verses (persuasion through Q&A) so that this song’s meaning becomes self-evident and hopefully more of a personal experience for each listener. Thanks for checking it out!

Prideful Pride

Do you remember the day when pride took you for its own
When a thief stole something precious in you

Do you remember the day when pride took you for its own
When a thief stole something precious in you
Did it happen when all of your friends cut you out
Was your heart set on winning something, but you lost instead
And when you were maimed did the anger in you surge
Can you mark the moment when you became someone else
Is your truth under layers of scar and combat
Are you the new thief, looting joy from everywhere

Prideful pride keeps piling on, on, on
Building your walls, can’t go wrong, wrong, wrong
Finding it hard to get along, along, along
Your pride is killing you, long before you’re gone, gone, gone

And in the end you’ll be left with nothing
A bright light that’s gone too dim
I have been in a prison of my own before, just like you
Until I let the facade fall
And was set free, free

Are things more difficult now that you are going it alone
And do you leave enough room for both your sadness and your anger
Does that wall keep scary things in, and the invaders out
Are you winning this imaginary war you think you’re fighting

Prideful pride keeps piling on, on, on
Building your walls, ’can’t go wrong, wrong, wrong
Finding it hard to get along, along, along
Your pride is killing you, long before you’re gone, gone, gone


Music/production - Noobly @ https://soundcloud.com/noobly-1
Lyrics/vocals - Todd J McLean
Artwork - Fukushima Greed, 2011 (mixed media) by Todd J McLean

Prideful Pride

An original song dedicated to my parents. I grew up in a small town in the Allegheny mountains of western Pennsylvania. This tune is a remixed version of the original.

Lyrics:

Sam and Rose, from the Allegheny Mountains
Their love was as deep as the river streams
Lived In the old red house on George Street
With their three sons they dreamed

Through the seasons, they weathered the years
Their bond unbreakable, crystal clear
In the quiet of the night, under starlit skies
Until the end their love shined bright

Mountain love, strong and true
In the heart of those two
Through the storms and the rain
Their love in eternity remains

In the western hills of Pennsylvania
Their love was like a melody
Sung by the wind and the trees
Together forever and free

Mom and Dad, in the big old red house
Their love a beacon in the night
In the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania
Their story of eternal love forever bright

Music and Lyrics by Len Bennati FM Folk Copyright 2024
Mastered Track: Distrokid Mixea 2025
Image: Copilot

Sam and Rose

💙♥♥♥
Bad for You Too

[Verse 1]
She tells me
I'm not like this with anyone else
her voice soft like ash in the air
says I'm the spark
that sets off her silence
and all the storms hiding there

She tells me she loves me—
right before she breaks
in trembling flame
I hold her like
a burned-out oak
still standing in the rain

[Chorus]
And I say—
It’s okay babe
I’m bad for you too
we’re just two deer
caught in the open
no map no moon
but I won’t run
if you don’t move
we’re broken kind
but we choose this truth

[Verse 2]
She curls her voice
around old wounds
asks if I see
what she hides inside
but I’ve walked through fire
and stayed soft
so I just press my hand to the light

She says 
she’s poison and prayer both
but I drink anyway
there’s something
about her damage that sings—
when the world turns gray

[Chorus]
And I say—
It’s okay babe
I’m bad for you too
like two branches
bending never breaking
through the weight of truth
I’ll hold the hurt
and carry the proof
we’re bad for each other
but I stay with you

[Bridge]
You cry like a river
I dam with my chest
I’ve never been the answer—
but I stayed when you wept
No easy fix no clean slate
just hands held tight
through our worst mistakes

[Final Chorus]
It’s okay babe
we were never meant
to bloom unbruised
but I’d rather stand
in the storm with you
than find shelter
without your truth

[Outro]
So breathe love
just breathe—
I’m not leaving
even if we never heal
completely

Bad For You Too

i heard on the radio the other day that loneliness is the new epidemic.............peace and cheers for having a listen





                 Afterthought

well i don't really know what happened to us
but i could sure use a friend right now
cos all that we built is turning to dust
and there ain't no more how or why

so please don't say that you know what i'm going through
it's plain to see that you really wouldn't have a clue
i'm trying to appreciate, the little effort that you gone and made
but it saddens me that you need to pretend, when you can clearly see
that i'm at the end of my rope
that's ok, i was just trying to say
i need a friend

so don't give it a second thought
it never mattered much before
and if there was a page for all the mistakes we made
i'd fill a book or four, a volume that's for sure

so please don't say that you know what i'm going through
it's plain to see that you really don't have a clue
i'm trying to understand, things were good and now they're bad
and it saddens me that you need to pretend, when you can clearly see
that i'm at the end of my rope
that's ok, i was just trying to say
i need a friend

Afterthought

Music: Little Man & Janne Hennie
Lyrics & Vocals: Janne Hennie
Instruments & Mix: Little Man

Lyrics:

I quit smoking today...
What can i say...?
Don't know what to do
Use to smoke when I miss you
Now I have nothing at all..

I have to find another way
When I can't smoke all day
Going crazy missing you
Without the smoke, what can I do?
Holding my breath as long as I can..

3... 2...1...

Oh, I'm dizzy, feeling weird
Maybe I should have a drink instead?

I have to find another way
When I can't smoke all day
Going crazy missing you
Without the smoke, what can I do?
Holding my breath as long as I can...

3...2...1...

Oh, I'm dizzy, feeling weird
Maybe I should have a drink instead?

Holding My breath as long as I can..
3... 2... 1... 

Oh, I'm dizzy, feeling weird
Maybe I should have a drink instead?

Quit Smoking

Free Spirit Highway

Words and music written by Bartley Charles Mastin
Performance by Bartley Charles Mastin - All instruments and vocals.
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved

Tuning: Standard
Instruments: Acoustic guitar, Bass, Harmonica, Desktop, Cabasa, Tambourine.

Lyrics:
Ever since I met you
I feel like I’ve understood
Everything that’s happened this far’s
Happened as it should

I’m not gonna rush you 
Tell you I love you today
I know that it’s better 
With all the stops along the way

Cause you know I have sometimes played the fool
When I thought I could break all the rules

When you say you love me
I will take you at your work
But if that word is broken
From me you will not be heard

Cause you know I have sometimes played the fool
When I thought I could break all the rules

Ever since I met you
I feel like I’ve understood
Everything that’s happened this far’s
Happened as it should

I’m not gonna rush you 
Tell you I love you today
I know that it’s better 
With all the stops along the way

Cause you know I have sometimes played the fool
When I thought I could break all the rules

Hilma & Frank, Reading books with you

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