This is so good man, I wish I’d written it, the phrase ‘my compass is broken’ is so rhythmic and singable, and great underlying message… I used to read a lot of Vonnegut.. what a dude! 🎯

I like the introspection, and freewheeling adventurism in this song.

Awesome. Great lyrics, jaunty tune, nice break, great fun. One of your best :) Really nice songwriting, this one will stick with me :)

What I Took From A Book

℗ © Copyright Ian Stokes. All Rights Reserved
Recorded, mixed and mastered in Logic.
Guitar played: Taylor 714CE in standard tuning (Capo 6th Fret)
Photography: Thanks go to Nigel and Libby Hume at Hume Photography.
Lyrics:
Sometimes I like to go fishing 
Down on the river side
Being out there in the open air 
Watching those fish go by

With a pole and line in the water 
Sit back and just wait 
Never catch a fish
Never get a bite 
Never use any fish bait

You would not call me a fisherman 
Happy just to let things be 
I don’t bother those fishes 
Those fishes don’t bother me 

You might find me
On a summer’s day 
Down on the river side
Listening to the sound of a running stream 
Watching those fish go by 

With a pole and line in the water 
Sit back and just wait 
Never catch a fish
Never get a bite 
Never use any fish bait

You would not call me a fisherman 
I’m happy just to let things be 
I don’t bother those fishes 
Those fishes don’t bother me

Never Catch A Fish

My first DAW song!
I enjoyed very much doing this song?
Can you also enjoy it?

Under Pressure
In this world of expectations where success is a decree
All the pressure from everywhere can easily break you and me
Schooling us with numbers and facts, who care is’s breaking our backs
All the promises I must keep still hunt me in my sleep
In this circle of demands the pressure still expands

Education should be the key, but if the pressure breaks me?
What if I cannot break free?

You think when I smile I’m shinning so bright, but deep within there is a fear I can’t fight
All the pressure closing on me, expectations, how to be free?
How can I handle the wight before it is too late?
The obligations are so strong, where do I belong?

Success is what we strive for, but I wonder if there’s more
Expectations are everywhere,  all the pressure I have to bear

Under Pressure

Thanks to Librivox for recital of the poem God's World
by Edna St. Vincent Millay read by Linda Leu

O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!
   Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!
   Thy mists, that roll and rise!
Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag
And all but cry with colour!   That gaunt crag
To crush!   To lift the lean of that black bluff!
World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,
         But never knew I this;
         Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart, - Lord, I do fear
Thou’st made the world too beautiful this year;
My soul is all but out of me, - let fall
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

Too Beautiful

Alien pilots

Wise Blood

I want some wise blood   
 I want to choose not to choose  
The world above us  
No excuse for what we lose 

Gotta make a decision   
For that I don't need this PhD  
Won't be an act of precision
For this freedom I fight then flee  

The walls of the Church                 
They're building them higher   
Into the clouds in search of God  
The walls of this church               
The great multiplier             
Run through the city, claim the streets and yards 

Chorus

I need to make a decision 
Reject the promise of sanctity
Forget that sin abolition
All those around here, they've taken the knee

The fog of the future                                 
The mist of the past                                  
Borders are bleeding in search of  God   
Ancients to slaughter                               
The chain and the lash                            
Tryouts tomorrow for the Junior Death Squad          





Wise Blood

based on the short story Sredni Vashtar by Saki

Do One Thing For Me

Do one thing for me                
I kneel at your shrine              
Red thoughts, white teeth       
They call for peace                  
As the planets align                 
Tool shed my cathedral            
A silence musty and dim          
Knotted and naked                   
Offering sacred                         
Blame the ferret and the hen    

Do one thing for me                            
A singular sacrifice                              
Do one thing on this witchy day          
One small sin for my paradise             
Do one thing, one precious thing         
The brown beast turns and roars         
The darkness takes what duty brought 
Like a writer lost in war                          

Sit down have a celebration              
Tea with buttered toast I'm making       
All the little children hiding in the forest  
The animals are running free                  

Sit down, then stand up at attention          
Salute the General, time too short to mention  
All the little children fighting in the forest    
The animals are running free                      

Do one thing for me         
This vicious moment in time  
Short story the rage               
Canvas the page                   
Make the madness divine     
Tool shed my cathedral            
A silence musty and dim          
Knotted and naked                   
Offering sacred                         
All hail the ferret and the hen    













Do One Thing For Me

-Mirror-

As promised i made amore true version of this tune.
Have fun. 
I will maybe do an ultimate-truth-mix...someday.

Secret With A Home

Sunglasses Needed - Valentino

idea from the book El Sicario...por favor excuse some of  my beginner Spanish mispronunciations and I am sure grammatical errors....unpolished it is , lo siento

Sicario Blues (La Plata o Plomo)

La plata o plomo                                       
The silver or lead                                       
He's talking in Spanish                              
Got a gun at your head                              
Mas o menos, Señor                               
It's the Sicario blues                                   

He loves his mama
El ama a su madre
Got to bury your body first
Before he takes her to church on Sunday
Mas o menos, can't you see it
His Sicario blues

Lately, he's been wondering                       
Just whose side he's on                             
No quiere una guerra                                 
All these loaded guns                                
Sure, he's got some money                        
El dinero es grosso                                   
pero las manos, sus manos                             
Se han ensuciado                                     

La plata o plomo 
The silver or lead 
He'd rather be in Iceland
In a nice warm feather bed 
Mas o menos por favor
Those Sicario blues

Sooner or later, he'll be coming around 
Juarez, Tijuana, he'll be hunting you down
Su corazón es duro 
And your alibi is soft 
You're the last one on his list of names
Before he's running off

La plata o plomo 
The silver or lead 
El hijo de Dios 
Gonna put you straight to bed 
Si claro, mi amigo 
Tiene el Sicario blues
Es verdad amigos 
No escaping those Sicario blues







Plata o Plomo (Sicario Blues)


intro is a quote from the novel Cat's Cradle(1963) by Kurt Vonnegut Jr

My Compass is Broken

Plans are vague                                                             
Imprecise                                                                         
Indistinct                                                                          
Like men and mice                                                        
But it's better than having a stone cold point of  view   
Feeling lost 
Cast adrift
Gone off course 
Missing ship
No need to understand where I'm heading to

My compass is broken                                                  
The arrow is starting to spin                                         
This path unspoken                                                       
Not sure of the place I'm in                                           
Do I turn East?                                                                
West?                                                                               
Father does not know best                                           
My compass is broken                                                  
I don't know what to do       

                                           
Empty maps
Beckon me
Find the lost
City of Z
Take a long, strange trip inside my little head
Foreign fields
Hallowed ground
Misunderstood
Tightly wound
Instead of finding the treasure, I find myself instead

Oh, my compass is broken 
A newfound split past everyone 
From one pole to the other 
Like Peary, Scott and Amundsen 
Do I turn North?
South?
Living foot in mouth
My compass is broken 
What do I have to do?

Peculiar travel suggestions                                           
Are dancing lessons from God                                    
So move your feet to this rhythm                                 
And do the Mashed Potato                                          
Or the Kurt Vonnegut                                                          

Grow a pair
Get a grip
Find a job
F#$* that shit
Destination unknown
Take a chance, enjoy the view

My compass is broken
It's a world of bobble and spin
I'm awake but unwoken 
It's the best place I've ever been
Switching it on....off....
From the equator to the permafrost
My compass is broken
Don't call the rescue crew                                           
My compass is broken                                                  
I'm far away from you                                         
My compass is broken
Do what I have to do


Lyrics Hand on the Rock/ K Vonnegut Jr
Music Hand on the Rock

My Compass Is Broken

Cast of Characters:

J.J. Terrell–@j-j-terrell – piano, organ, composition
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Suhr electric guitar, mix, and production
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –- four string Fender Precision Bass

This song began one creative Saturday evening several weeks ago with JJ coming up with it on his organ, piano, bass, and drums. He wrote it with the Eclectic Collective in mind and immediately shared it with the rest of us.
  Ken was the first to jump on it, adding his strong, Masonesque drums. Josh excitedly dove in once he had a beat to play off of. Then, it was time for the guitarists in the band to show off their skills. Stephen laid down the psychedelic, textural guitar you hear throughout, as well as the thrilling solo in the middle, starting around 1:25 and ending around 1:50. Tez did his best Dave Gilmour impression, adding rest of the fiery lead solo you hear throughout, as well. 
  Once it was in the can, we needed a mix, of course, and Stephen was kind enough to work his magic on the production.
  This is a perfect example of a JJ seed that took bloom with the EC. We all love working on his songs. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it

Desert Moon Flower-Eclectic Collective

Hidden World

Forest Echoes

My technician is no longer with me as he traveled on.  This is a song written by Jim Reedy and sung by Brandon Bailey.  One of my VERY favorites of theirs.  Please enjoy!!!!

Cowboy



Feb 11 1963....Death of Sylvia Plath... 62 years ago... 
Florida Dawn reference found within the pages of  the Bell Jar her only novel
Sylvia Plath reading a portion of Lady Lazarus opens tune...

Florida Dawn

All that we touch                                       
Turns to dust                                            
The flesh gone frantic                              
The ink upon the page                         
The idea stays                                         
Reading pages of Plath                            
Such a sad aftermath                               
I picked up those letters                             
And sprinkled some bits on your grave       
See love where it lays                                 

That February spinning round                       
Breath is getting thin                                     
Sit and watch the ocean tide                         
Centuries crashing in                                     
In the Florida Dawn                                        
Another episode of cruel                                
The leader and the ones lead on                    
Who's playing tricks on who?                          

Rain begets rust                                           
Turns steel into dust                                     
The flesh gone static                                    
A chemical tease for the brain                    
Why did you read her again?                          
She did a Sylvia Plath                                 
Climbing into the bath                                    
I'll spare you the details,                               
the end result was the same                       
Minus the fame                                            

Now everything is spinning round                 
In this space I'm in                                       
I sit and watch the ocean tide                        
All those centuries crashing in                       
In the Florida Dawn                                       
Replay your episode of cruel                            
The leader and the one lead on                    
Who's playing tricks on who?                          

I walk these words and find myself              
Where you said you'd be 
I walk these words to where you ought to be                            
But there's only me                                       







Florida Dawn

There’s a treasure down deep in this garbage can
To find it, plug your nose, feel the dirt on your hands
Just remember that they never really understand 
Your personal Rosetta Stone



My Compass Is Broken

Hand on the Rock

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