I love reggae (mostly), so the stakes were high, and made even more precarious by a case of lyrics block. Nothing original here to write about writer's block.

Running out of options

"Hard Times Come Again No More" (sometimes, "Hard Times") is an American parlor song written by Stephen Foster (in stamp) in 1854
The first audio recording was a wax cylinder by the Edison Manufacturing Company in 1905.
In my version I sing and play guitars and mandolins (Napolitan and Octave). I produced this at my home wirh Band in a Box and Reaper.
Laulun on kirjoittanut Stephen Foster (postimerkissä) 1984. Se äänitettiin ensi kerran 1905 Edisonin vahasylinteritallentimelle.
Versiossani laulan ja soitan kitaroita sekä mandoliineja (napolilainen ja oktaavi). Tuotin tämän kotonani Band in a Boxilla ja Reaperilla.

Hard Times Come Again No More (Stephen Foster 1854)

Janice Merritt: vocals, percussion and arrangement
Peter Fulham: guitar rhythm, fills and solos
Bud Merritt: lyrics, arrangement, mix/mastering & photo
AI: None

NO TURNAROUND 
Intro 

Verse 1

I always wanted to be your safe full of treasures 

But you never tried to learn my combination

The numbers on that dial were oh so simple 

Why didn’t  you find trying it a sweet temptation?

	Chorus

	So I’m gonna travel a single lane for a while

	Leaving’s all that matters not where I’m bound

	Don’t wanna roundabout just need a straight line 

	No side roads and damn sure no turnaround

Verse 2

The credits are rolling ‘n there’s no backing up

My Mama told me hearts are made to be broken

They’re  all going to leave you sooner or later

Maybe that’s why you left so many words unspoken 

	Repeat Chorus

Solo

Bridge 

You used to tell me what you wanted to be

But wanting to be and being ain’t the same for me

	Repeat Chorus

Outro

No Turnaround

This is a mystical song, because of its lyrics and used instruments, like a cello, strings and conga's. A touch of Rock and a cool lead guitar. It is in the key of G, 95 bpm.

Confusing Times
(c) HwBerkhout, 11102025

Verse 1
In the nighttime I lie awake
And the morning brings no conclusion
That’s the hard part - when all feels fake
Oh, I’m still chasing a true solution

Verse 2
No, not what you call better
That doesn't matter much to me
No, that doesn't matter

Chorus 1 (confusion)
C1/ Oh... it’s the morning where I have to start
I wonder why my thoughts won’t break
You saw me staring - a lonely card?
Oh, my mind is a silent lake

Verse 3
There’s a time when I go walking
Maybe truth is somewhere near
And there's a time for me talking
But no answers do appear

Verse 4
No, don’t leave me in that corner
Don’t just turn away
Oh I - I’m in the rain all day

Chorus 2 (doubt)
C2/ And... it’s around noon where I fall apart
I wonder if my heart will ache
You saw me dreaming - a wounded heart
Oh, my mind’s a shadowed lake

Chorus 3 (longing)
C3/ But... it’s the evening where I see your face
I wonder if it’s just a mistake
You see me reaching - through empty space
Oh, my mind’s a trembling lake

Solo

Verse 5
We kept our promise to laugh every day.
And enjoy all the good old songs.
It ain't me and it ain't you, no way
But sadness comes, to life it belongs

Chorus 4 (acceptance)
C4/ But... in the morning that I start to climb
I wonder what the dawn will take
You see me rising - for one more time
Oh, my heart is a clearing lake

Chorus 5 (peace)
C5/ And now... It feels I'm living in a confusing time
I wonder where the light will break
But you see me smiling - my soul aligned
Oh, my mind is now a shining lake

Confusing Times

No One Knows the Blues Like Me
By David Snyder

V1

I don't need the rain 
To make me feel my pain 
Lord knows I been crying 
In the bright sunshine 
Don't need to be in Memphis 
Or Chicago South side 
Or down at the crossroads
In a Mississippi Delta tide
Cause my blues knows every city 
And my blues is certified

PC

See I got mine from the devil 
In a crossfire hurricane 
I've been bad to so many womens 
I only got myself to blame 
And I can't even look in the mirror 
And it’s a dirty rotten shame


CH

Good Lord I'll sing the chorus 
And I need y'all folks to see 
That I lost my soul 
While I was breaking hearts 
From sea to shining sea
And there ain't no one in Chicago 
Or even in hell 
That I can see
No one knows the blues like me
Aw naw child
No one knows the blues like me
 
Music and lyrics copyright 2025 
by David Snyder
ASCAP/Day of Faith Records
David Snyder: Guitars and Vocals, additional instrumentation, mixing, production, mastering

NO ONE KNOWS THE BLUES LIKE ME

Eleven (or 10)

Just me letting off a little steam.

I am playing the lead guitar and via my breath a nd keyboard controller the Swam flute. Band-in-a-Box is supplying the balance of the tracks using my sound sources.

Warning - there is some dissonance in this song.  It was intentional. 

City Nights

Je suis l'auteur compositeur de cette chanson.
Les arrangements ont été faits à partir de Band-in-a-Box (basse, batterie, guitares acoustiques, banjo) et de Suno AI (voix, flûte, violon).

To get drunk, I don't need no wine
I don't need no drugs to feel fine
There's a way between dope and booze
And that’s this way I wanna choose

I just need some words to write
I just need some notes to play
And your ears to listen to
My songs 

And for me, that’s like a nice game
Where the target is not the fame
Creating each time a new song
Pleasure is always very strong

I just need some words to write
I just need some notes to play
And your ears to listen to
My songs

There's a way

Je suis l'auteur compositeur de cette chanson.
Les arrangements ont été faits à partir de Band-in-a-Box (contrebasse, batterie, piano) et de Suno AI (voix, guitare acoustique, violon).

J’ai pris de la distance
Face aux conflits chroniques
Qui pourrissent l’Existence
J’ai fui les polémiques

Refrain :
Et découvrir les gènes 
De mon grand-père Eugène
Fut la confirmation
De ma soif d’évasion

J’ai pris de la distance
Loin de tout voisinage
Ignorant les nuisances
Des villes et des villages

J’ai pris de la distance
Physique ou bien mentale
Ce fut une évidence
Comme un besoin vital

J'ai pris de la distance

Cet instrumental que j'ai composé a été arrangé avec Band-in-Box (bodhran, cuillères, contrebasse, guitare acoustique, banjo, violon) et Suno AI (violon, flûte irlandaise)

Siping my irish coffee

J'ai écrit, composé et arrangé cette chanson.
La voix et le violon proviennent de Suno AI.

Ma tête est un roncier où ma cervelle se pique
Et ses épines font mal, la douleur est chronique
Seuls quelques rares neurones me protègent dans leur crique
Ces endroits bien cachés sont mes analgésiques
Ces endroits bien cachés sont mes analgésiques
Les épines du roncier me sont antipathiques
Mais ses fruits noirs luisants sont vraiment magnifiques

Bien sûr que ces douleurs, évidemment, me gênent
Mon roncier, néanmoins, procure de l’oxygène
Grâce à ses fruits sauvages aux saveurs d’évasion
Qui sauront rassasier mon imagination
Qui sauront rassasier mon imagination

Y’a un coin dans ma tête où l’errance est propice
Pas très loin du pays de la petite Alice
J’adore m’y balader comme dans une oasis
Où peuvent se dév’lopper mes idées créatrices
Où peuvent se dév’lopper mes idées créatrices
Les épines du roncier me sont antipathiques
Mais ses fruits noirs luisants sont vraiment magnifiques

Le blues du roncier

I've been a guitarist since the age of 15 and writing songs since then, albeit more prolifically since 2000. I prefer strong melodies and to borrow chords to move outside of the diatonic. Usually, the song mix contains my vocals, guitars and sometimes bass, with drums, keys and other instruments auto-generated. The tracks uploaded in my Soundcloud are attempts to 'illustrate' the idea and sound I imagined when writing the songs. At best, the quality of recordings are demo quality. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!

Running out of options

Andrew of the antipodes