 Rock N Roll rooted references, reveries and revelations

Rock N Roll Rigor Mortis

Copy of MIAMI JEFF

Copy of Len Bennati FM Folk

Copy of Damian Smith & The Journeymen

Free Bird Flies Again

They gonna cancel my culture     
Wanna cage and engulf her        
Take the free bird and lock her away 
Don't like my borrow and bramble  
Or my Simple Man ramble  
I be judged and jeered today 
Campus under threat
They say I'm incorrect 
I'm called their trigger man
I be slammed and shunned
A most unwoken one
Won't even put me on the witness stand

 Oh  Oh  play some Free Bird    

If I have to leave here tomorrow   
Cause there's no safe space in the virtual world for me 
That's Ok I'd rather just play me some Lynyrd Skynyrd
Bless ole Ronnie VanZant he was born the same day as me
And if I wanna speak my truth Sir
So many fingers gonna be pointing at me
Don't need your slogans, movements or awakenings
Cause I'm a Rock N Roll relic, stuck in the seventies 

From Jacksonville
FLA
To sweet home Alabam
I can be serious sometimes like Mr. Young
But I can also dig the Southern Man
Now if I say these things, I'll be misconstrued
Everybody's mighty touchy these days
They wanna yell instead
Don't hear a thing I said 
How I long for the Skynyrd ways

  Oh      Oh    let's play some Free Bird 

If I have to leave here tomorrow 
I'll be playing the same old tune up there you see
I know they don't dig the flag of my forefathers
Or that freedom of speech baby
For Ronnie VanZant and me
Like the Free Bird flying high now
I want nothing on my back to weigh me down
No left or right wing rantings where I'm flying
Straight through the middle, for me is the sweetest sound
Gary .... Allen...I need you
Free Bird!!!!


Hand On The Rock/Collins/Van Zant

Free Bird  (Flies Again)

Death By Toto


For Julius C, stabbed lustily, it was death by the traitors’ cuts                                                             
For David R, strumming his guitar, a single song punch to the gut 
A sonic mind destroyer, burning his circuits up
They call it Death by Toto

Karen loved that snappy tune called Africa 
By those Grammy-grabbin', multi-plat, music sophisticas
It made Davey double over, whine and wince, 
Now he can't stand up
Sufferin’ a slow demise  this Death by Toto

As they sang  "It's gonna take a lot to drag us away from you   
There's nothing that a hundred men or more couldn't do"  

The Porcaro bros,  Paich and Lukather played better than he did
They had the the fame, the coke, the groupies, the Columbia records shtick 
But 6 months to write those lyrics man,
'Bout some Olympus Serengeti shit ??
He never saw it coming… that Death by Toto

They sang,It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
I'll get you my Pretties...and your little dog too

I bless the rains down in Africa                                                                
Like a hoodoo guru
I bless the rains down in Africa 
Them boys are coming for you
I bless the rains down in Africa
Scooby Dooby Doo

Like the Wizard of Oz and Dr Livingstone, I am a trope for you to find
Escape the soft rock savannah, run from Roseanna to the jungle of my mind
Reputation cheesed, hear my Kimball wheeze, still shower singing Hold The Line
Don't you feel it coming ... Death by  Death By Toto

I bless the rains down in Africa….. Hey I'm talking to you
I bless the rains down in Africa….. I've never been there it's true 
I bless the rains down in Africa…. It's Death by Toto for you
For me, for him, for her
It's Death by Toto for you
For me, for him, for them
It's Death by Toto for you.


lyrics Hand on the Rock/ D . Paich 
music Hand on the Rock





Death By Toto

A tribute to the great Ian Hunter and a nod and a wink to any geriatric rockers still going strong. Rock on Elders
8 Mott The Hoople Song titles in the lyrics
Dig it if y'all dare...

Rock N Roll Rigor Mortis

Roll Away The Stone                                        
God is calling, he's on the phone
He's got a glambam plan, one last stand       
Before they take you home                              

Spotlight shines in your face
Hey you better put on a pair of Ian Hunter's shades
I Wish I Was Your Mother, wish I was your father
Never could put you in your place

Hey old man
What don't you understand?
Know your rights
Plead that Habeas Corpus
Hey old man 
The music makes demands
Shake off your rock n roll rigor mortis

Move your hips to the beat
Take a deep breath, unstick yourself from that seat
Shine a light through your pupil, of pure Mott the Hoople
To energise those ancient feet

Time to rise again
Like Lazarus, a comeback, this ain’t the end
You're one wild stiff, rockin all my riffs
Be careful how your body bends 

Hey old man
What don't you understand?
Know your rights
Plead that Habeas Corpus
Hey old man 
The music makes demands
Shake off your rock n roll rigor  mortis

All The Way From Memphis               
The Golden Age Of Rock N Roll     
Elvis and the Whizz Kids                
Ain’t no peace in the valley for the last patrol 
Drivin’ Sister, Jerkin’ Crocus
Help me When My Mind Is Gone
Do the shimmy shake, bring it into focus
Sing it loud this victory song

Hey old man
What don't you understand?
Know your rights
Plead that Habeas Corpus
Hey old man 
The music makes demands
Shake off your rock n roll rigor mortis

It's alive 
It's alive
It's alive 





Another awesome electronic collaboration with David a.k.a. @blackmarketbrains ! I love his minimal techno beats so asked him to send me one that included one of his cool old movie samples.I was inspired right away to lay down some melodic loops and even a bit of guitar.

Cover image is public domain, an illustration from an old edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Forge the Creature! w/ Black Market Brains

not quite a cover...not quite an original...3 VU songs mashed into one...a sort of Holy Trinity
another homage to my mentor Lou Reed
a song for the forgotten and the misunderstood 
the ones who feel they don't belong
some things never change 

Candy Says

https://youtu.be/O4rbTBKRedE?si=-6WGLMd6NKSeOR2b

Lisa Says

https://youtu.be/RZ2877VuEwQ?si=sDyQl2L87w_tY6S4

Stephanie Says

https://youtu.be/P4tS67TDo6Y?si=eNW7LywYczM38mV9

From that world as bleak a New York street   
On a shuttered Sunday morning                     
Comes the wistful voice of a tired sister's song 
The past reveals its chosen few
To speak for the forgotten 
A reminder for the ones who don't belong 

She hates the quiet place
She hates the big decisions
Wants to watch the bluebird fly and walk away
Oh every time she makes it straight
It breaks her little heart
Break it baby, I'm only singing what you say

Candy says, I've come to hate my body   
Lisa says, She'll do it with just about anybody 
And Stephanie well,                                    
She's given half her life                              
To people she hates now                            

Forget the huddled masses
It don't matter what they think
Can you hear that sound, it's a shape shift melody
A pain that's pure and multiplying, alive in the hereafter 
Their voices blend, Lou's holy Trinity 

She lives to party
Wants to score some action 
Not afraid of dying, it's the living that scares her straight
They call them queers, queens and addicts
Try to break their little hearts
Break it baby, we're still living it today  

Chorus


BRIDGE  It's so cold in Alaska                  
                We're so far from home             
                Now she's walking                      
                away from herself                       
                Look at her go    
                        
Chorus

Lyrics  HotR/Reed
Music  HotR




Candy, Lisa and Stephanie Says...

Written by Damian Smith & Mack Reynolds
Produced by Robert Ruby
Vocals by Vixie Fox

Fault Lines

QUE FONT NOS DIRIGEANTS


Another attempt at a Rory Gallagher song from his first album. Not one of his better know songs but a classic and the original is well worth a listen. This is a shorter version as the original is over 7 minute long.

Can't Believe it's True (Rory Gallagher Cover)

     Howdy everyone and I hope everyone had a great Labor Day, without laboring of course!😂 This is another of my instrumentals, which actually had lyrics but the vocals were not recorded too well so I made it into an instrumental. It's about having that Las Vegas experience which I'm sure nobody can afford anymore with this economy unless you're a billionaire! I've been to Vegas many times and most times I've lost, hence the title "Lost Wages"! I'm not a gambler, so when I lose a couple of hundred dollars I start sweating profusely!!😂 It's a fast paced song and I played like a boogie-woogie synthesizer on it and a rock guitar. Charlie played a groovy harmonica on it too! I've decided to drop an instrumental and a cover song every month from now on besides my normal songs and videos. The video is the high-light so please check it out on YouTube.

VIDEO - https://youtu.be/DwZ-ISbz2g0

     The video was a lot of fun to put together and it's all about Las Vegas, the gambling, the show girls, the drinking, the excesses, pretty decadent stuff! There's is a lot of eye-candy here for the grown-ups to enjoy! It drops tomorrow on YouTube! The original song with lyrics was called "My Neck Of The Woods" so if Charlie and I rerecord the vocals, I'll make a video of it as well. I hope everyone enjoys this song and video and remember, don't gamble unless you can afford to lose a ton of money and are rich because it is an addiction! Last time we went to Las Vegas, back before the pandemic, it was for about a week and all we saw were the shows and never gambled, that was my favorite trip because I didn't lose a dime! But guess what? We're going back to Las Vegas in December 2025 to watch the new "Wizard Of Oz" spectacular in The Sphere! Check out the clips on YouTube, it's really mind-blowing! No gambling!! Take care and good luck! 😎✌🏼

"LOST WAGES" (Inst) [Video - https://youtu.be/DwZ-ISbz2g0]

Pierre and Jean-Claude Bordetti productions (c) 09/2025.

Composed, arranged, performed, and produced by:
Pierre Bordetti and Jean-Claude Bordetti on drums.

Visage (Lyrics/Paroles)

J'ai aperçu son visage, mais ce n'était qu'un mirage, 
Comme un reflet dans l'orage, une illusion de passage,
Son regard m’a fait naufrage, dans un monde sans rivage,
Où l’amour n’est qu’un langage, perdu dans le vent sauvage.

Elle danse dans mes pensées, comme une ombre sans visage, 
Chaque nuit je veux l’aimer, mais je n’ai que son mirage,
Un soupir, un doux présage, puis le vide en héritage, 
Je poursuis son doux sillage, prisonnier de son image.

Visage

 I wrote this song after a trip to Shady Hallow Lake in Indiana. Charlie has some lake front property there and it's great for camping, fishing, roasting marshmallows and playing live concerts. It's very calm and relaxing and a great time was had by all! I wrote the song back in 2010 but the video I put together last year. Check out the video and you will be there with me:

VIDEO - https://youtu.be/Mz_vslWLXaU

I tried to keep the video as true to the lyrics as I could. It was a lot of fun putting it together. I love the tranquility of a full moon casting the silvery glow over the lake! It's very magical! I especially love the fact that there were no I-phones, computers, TV's, ect, ect. No distractions, everything was left in the car! Times like those really heal a person. It was spiritually rejuvenating!  Charlie sang the song very well but my harms were a little flat (like my head!😂, sorry about that!). It was a very cool experience for me and my wife and we got to do some jamming by the fireside on the lake too! Well, I hope everyone enjoys it and thanks for dropping by and listening! That is always appreciated! Summer will be gone soon so for now, let's just bask under the glow of an Indiana Moon!! 🌕🙏✌🏼 

“INDIANA MOON”

SHADEY HOLLOW LAKE,   
LATE SUMMER AFTERNOON,       
GUITARS STRUMMING AFTER SUNSET,    
INDIANA MOON,
                   
SOFT CAMPFIRE GLOW,     
MELLOW SLEEPY LAGOON,    
SUCH SWEET VOICES SINGING UNDER,    
THE INDIANA MOON,

DANGLING OVERHEAD,   
LIKE A SILVERY BALLOON,             
REFLECTED IN THE STILL BLACK WATER,  
INDIANA MOON,

SHADEY HOLLOW LAKE,     
LIKE A WELL-KNOWN TUNE,    
WILL FOREVER BE REMEMBERED,    
INDIANA MOON.
             
BY JIM VALDES © 2010

"INDIANA MOON" (Video - https://youtu.be/Mz_vslWLXaU)

A new song......My story of my school years. I was generally happy in my life through grade three. But then came the 4th grade. Glasses provided some visual clarity , but what came with it ...the name calling ,bullying off and on through high school. Anxiety, introversion and shyness would be my shadows throughout. The chorus are thoughts which ruminated in my mind through high school graduation.My life did  not begin to turn around in a positive way until my first job then junior college. Music helped me along the way and has been a positive , driving force in my life until this day.

Lyrics:

My early story is a question to ponder 
Why am I here? What is this life?
Born in the year nineteen hundred and fifty-six
A small baby, held warmly in the kitchen light
I saw happy faces, they were mom and dad
A house full of laughter, a cradle of what I had
Toys on the floor, summers that felt like gold
A little world of comfort where the future hadn’t been told

At five I began school with new clothes and shoes
Learning to count, learning to sing the rules
Everyone smiling, other children’s hands to take
Recess like heaven, every friendship is at stake
Three years rolled on and more games to play
Little victories stack up day by day
There was a promise in pencils and in rhyme
I felt the world was steady in this careful time

Why am I here, with the sun on my skin?
What is this life, where do I begin?
Fifty-six questions humming softly in my mind
I’m looking for answers, just passing the time
Why am I here, when does this road unfold?
Born with a story, with hands to hold

Then grade four came in like a shorthand storm
Anxiety crept where the sunlight was warm
I couldn’t see the distance, the letters blurred and spun
My chest filled with questions I could not outrun
My teacher glanced over, eyes soft and kind
I sat in the back, quiet, with a restless mind
Not learning at the pace, the others seemed to keep
Just a kid with a secret, and the hurt buried deep


Then came the discovery, what a joy to see
Glass on my face and the world came free
Suddenly the print was a mountain I could climb
Colors had edges, and the clock kept time
But joy can be sudden and delicate as glass
“Hey four eyes”, the cruel words came to pass
Those years got lonelier, laughter thinned to gray
Anxiety and stress came quietly to stay
                                                                 
My first love was sweet and new
Playing games with a shy smile and trembling view
Learning became a ladder with some rungs too far
Teachers leaned in, tried to patch every scar
They noticed the lag, and called me aside
Offering extra patience, they walked me through the tide
Joined another class where the pace was kind
Holding on to something that I couldn’t find

I learned about courage in the classroom’s ordinary light
How to be small and still stand up in the night
Warm and loving family, their voices a thread
Holding up the questions that circled in my head
I practiced my letters like prayers to a door
Hoping each stroke would open something more
The world was both gentle and sharp with its knife
And every small survival felt like life

Now when I look back at that little room of toys
At the small boy learning how to love and make noise
I keep asking the questions, not always to solve
But to let the mysteries gently evolve
Why am I here?  Maybe to keep asking still
To meet the next sunrise on the top of a hill
Born in nineteen fifty-six, I carry the light
Fifty-six questions, and a will to write.

Music and Lyrics by Len Bennati FM Folk 2025
Mastered Track: Distrokid Mixea
Image: Download a pic Donate a buck! ^

Fifty-Six Questions

suddenly

Message From God

The music video featuring this song is now available at YouTube:

https://youtu.be/IiVtELZRzgQ?si=rGXnh0R441foU5VH

Since growing up in an old neighborhood of Victorian homes, I’ve occasionally recalled one particular property at the end of our street that had fallen into disrepair. It was one of the biggest houses in the area and looked like it must have been quite the impressive home in its day. But my friends and I always imagined what horrified tales must lurk in those shadows. All these years later I can say that the house and property were completely replaced by modern, more cheerful condominiums, the rusty gates and wild overgrowth long gone. But I recall some of the history I learned about the once proud estate and felt it all made for great Halloween tale telling as Nat and I have tried to convey in this rockin’ trip into the dark and stormy night....

Written and performed by Daniels & Durgy
Produced by Nat Daniels of Gentle Rain Records
©2025 Daniels & Durgy

Lyrics: Thirteen Ravens

Dead of night, I’m walking home
The rain is beating down
I should have grabbed a cab before 
I left the pub in town

The sidewalks here on Franklin Hill
Uneven with despair
Lead me past the iron gates
The old stone mansion there

Behind the broken fences 
Overgrown with thorns
The thunder booms must fill the rooms
And stir the ghost that mourns 

He was a wealthy statesman
And this his grand estate
He had it all but shame did fall
Upon his final fate

Now all these decades later 
As the world just passes by
I stop to put my collar up
And hear an eerie cry

The mansion long abandoned 
There stands a silhouette
And on one bare limb of a tree
A dozen ravens sit

Above the broken gables
Circles one last mate
As if to warn that somewhere there
The old man lies in wait

Lightning cracks the darkness
The ravens scatter fly
They croak like deadly demons cast
Into the sullen sky

Thirteen ravens on their watch
To hold the blackened past
While crooked shutters hang upon 
Their secrets to the last

But I must pull away now
From this place where shadows dwell
Where thirteen ravens tell their tale 
And hold you in their spell

Thirteen ravens like a chain
Of nightmares in the rain

Thirteen Ravens

A new song for immigrants in all countries......  "I was a stranger and you welcomed me," in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:35)

Lyrics:

Welcome the stranger
From immigrant lands
Seeking freedom from oppression 
In this land of dreams and opportunities 
Do you remember that time?

Welcome the stranger
Who does not look like you
But on the inside, we’re all just the same
Breathing and existing searching for a cause
That they can believe in

Welcome the stranger
Looking for a new home
To call their own
Complete with family and friends 
And of course, some children too

Welcome the stranger
With a language they call their own
Beautiful in every word 
They speak of their dreams 
In this strange but free land which once was

Welcome the stranger 
For they are in need
Of your compassion and understanding 
As they try to navigate 
In this land now filled with hate and anger

Mastered Track: Distrokid Mixea
Music and Lyrics by Len Bennati FM Folk 2025
Image: Непарадное в парадных Александр Стрелков

Welcome the Stranger

Pour qui je compte     ( Translated following the French text )

Vidéo :   https://youtu.be/9njE-7si0d0
Texte :           Muette
Chant lead : Philippe J
Choeurs :      Liora 

Il y a des carnets
Et des mots égarés
Tout au fond des tiroirs
Et qu'on n'relit jamais
Parce qu'on est en retard
Et qu'y a toujours quelqu'un
Dont il faut prendre soin
Et ce quelqu'un, c'est jamais soi.

Dans la frileuse Flandre,
Sous les chênes et les hêtres,
Il y a ce tas de cendre
Après un feu de fête.
Au milieu, des canettes,
Des souv'nirs jetés là
Qu'on ramass' les yeux las
Pour les trier plus tard, peut-être.

Alors on compte sur ses doigts.
Un' seul' main suffit quand on s'dit :
Pour qui je compte vraiment ?

Les glacières dans le coffre,
La guitare dans sa housse,
On se serre un peu fort.
Un dernier regard pour
Les lits de mousse tassée,
Et les arbres muets
Mêm' quand l' bûch'ron les couche.
Et chacun r'part de son côté.

Alors on compte sur ses doigts.
Un' seul' main suffit quand on s'dit:
Pour qui je compte vraiment ?

Et puis quand la clairière,
S'éclaircit plus encore,
Qu'on sait par cœur le bois,
Ses pièges, ses réconforts,
Assis sur les souches
On se parle à soi-même
En dénombrant ses doigts.
On se demande : Qui m'aime ? Qui m'aime ?
Et une seule main suffit. 

For whom I count on

There are notebooks
And lost words
At the bottom of drawers
That we never reread
Because we're late
And there's always someone
We have to take care of
And that someone is never ourselves.

In chilly Flanders,
Under the oak and beech trees,
There is a pile of ashes
After a festive bonfire.
In the middle, cans,
Memories thrown away
That we pick up with weary eyes
To sort through later, perhaps.

So we count on our fingers.
One hand is enough when we ask ourselves:
Who do I really count on?

The coolers in the trunk,
The guitar in its case,
We hug a little tighter.
One last look at
The beds of packed moss,
And the silent trees
Even when the lumberjack cuts them down.
And everyone goes their separate ways.

So we count on our fingers.
One hand is enough when we say to ourselves:
Who do I really count on?

And then when the clearing
Grows even brighter,
When we know the woods by heart,
Its traps, its comforts,
Sitting on the stumps
We talk to ourselves
Counting our fingers.
We ask ourselves: Who loves me? Who loves me?
And one hand is enough.

Pour qui je compte. avec Philippe J

I always liked Van Morrisons Music. This is my version of Brown Eyed Girl  2025 a special tribute 

TRIBUTE " Brown Eyed Girl " (Covered by Glenny G)

There’s a treasure down deep in this wonderland
To find it, plug your nose, feel the dirt on your hands
The word and rhyme, a message, in a song it stands
my rock n roll Rosetta Stone 

