Wow! I'm so glad your comments brought me here - you've got a gift for lyricism. That harmonica break was a lovely surprise. Someone else commented on the metaphorical genius of this, and I couldn't have said it better myself! What a treasure. Cheers, fellow Canadian.

a wonderful song! You have a truely remarkable voice like an old pub - silk soaked in whisky and smoke

Hand on the Rock Selection

my futile attempt at transcendence despite the wise teachings of Ram Dass (aka Richard Alpert), whose insightful words bookend this song


Get Lost  

Gonna take a trip inside myself                                                
To find serenity
It’s not a place I know so well
But it’s where I’m taking me
I start this meditation
Close my eyes and count to ten
Lose myself and take a breath 
Repeat it once again

I get lost, get lost
Then I think too much and grok it up
My mantra just got tossed
Get lost, get lost
Conscious seething, breathing
Got my toes and fingers crossed

Drive the coast to Big Sur
A former hippie way
Timmy Leary, Dicky Alpert
What do those mushrooms say?
Well, Timmy went to prison
And Dicky changed his name
And me I go in circles
I can’t understand my brain

Get lost, get lost
Albert Hofmann’s in the kitchen
He can cook that secret sauce
Get lost, get lost
I wanna reach the 5th dimension
Go beyond my permafrost
                                                                                         
OOHH  the infinite beauty
OOHH the infinite me
OOHH the intoxication
Oh don't do don't do
 just be…. Let It Be

Ram Dass, the Dali Lama
Baba is my name
Yogacise don’t moralize
I play the Buddah game
Psilocybin take me higher
Mother Earth I feel her near
Holds me in her sunshine
I dissolve and disappear

Get lost, get lost
Then I think too much and grok it up
My mantra just got tossed
Get lost, get lost
I wanna reach the 5th dimension
Go beyond this permafrost



Get Lost

Robert DeNiro  

Watching movies back in 76                                       
We all dug Taxi Driver                                                    
See the people how they’re passing him by
"Hey Sport How’s Iris?"
Pushups, pullups, alone in his room
No more pills for his body
He’s organized, his muscles are tight
Training to be somebody

Are you talkin’ to me?                                                     
Well, I'm the only one here
Are you talkin’ to me?

I wanna be like Robert DeNiro                                     
He was my Raging Bull, my anti-hero                        
Resonated with all of us weirdos
I wanna be like Robert DeNiro       

On those Mean Streets, shufflin’ his feet
He don’t trust anybody
Maybe not the best way to be
He wants to be somebody
You saw what happened to poor Johnny Boy
"We don’t pay Mooks" and that’s that
“Now's the Time”, then a shot through the void
Somebody’s paying him back

Are you talkin’ to me?
I think you're talking to me

I wanna be like Robert DeNiro
He was my Raging Bull, my anti-hero
Resonated with all of us zeros
I wanna be like Robert DeNiro   

You never got me down Ray   
Better to be king for a night     
Than a schmuck for a lifetime  
I always preferred Godfather 2 
I think it was because of you    
Hey Robert projecting to that little world of mine  

We both grew older over the years
Not so serious lately
Middle age and those Senior fears
We're getting grey and less shapely
You served me well then, back in my youth
Now it all seems so hazy
Let's travel back, take a New York trip
And hang out with Scorsese

Are you talkin’ to me?

I wanna be like Robert DeNiro
He was my Raging Bull, my anti-hero
Resonated, reverberated with all of us weirdos
I wanna be
Maybe you wanna be
Nobody can be like Robert DeNiro

Robert DeNiro



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

some pessimistic rantings about the sorry state of the planet with help from some of the original Star Trek gang...all the clips taken from the episode City on the Edge of Forever...great episode about time travel..very well written, profound,funny and sad.....  DeForest Kelly as a delirious Dr McCoy delivers a masterclass in overacting...

You!! What Planet Is This?

Captain Kirk can't preserve our federation
You better beam him up Scotty
Politicos, polluters and corporate power players
All flash and fake and shoddy
Paranoia, planet-panic
My fear, it multiplies
Like McCoy trippin’ out on Cordrazine
A raging question plagues my mind

You! What Planet Is This?
Phasers set to stun
World come undone
One step from the abyss 
You! What Planet Is This?
From greed to gun
Real-life science fiction fun

Mr. Spock can't wave off, our project in illogic
Better beam him up Scotty
Frustrated with the intellect of all us human players 
As we destroy Earth’s mind and body
Patriotic ploys gone frantic
Terra firma fools collide
The air impure, thoughts incorrect 
Edith Keeler must die

You!  What planet is this?
Take a leap through time
Try to save mankind
From the march to the precipice
You! What Planet Is this?
Silly Star Trek song
Hope I got the ending wrong

Run Run DeForest
Run Run Doctor Run
Run through the cities 
With the maniacs and moneyed ones
Run Run Children
Run Run Children Run
You better Run
Run

You! What Planet is this?
Third from the sun
You know, the violent one
Exploding in our midst
You! What Planet is this?
Watch the lights go out
As we twist and shout








You!!!  What Planet is this?

In Search Of Purpose blends delicate solo piano by Francesco Adornetto with the haunting, ethereal voice of Blackbird — a sonic reflection on longing, surrender, and inner stillness.
This piece invites the listener into a meditative space, where questions echo softly and answers float just beyond the horizon.
Perfect for moments of contemplation and quiet connection.

In Search Of Purpose

In Search of Purpose – Vocals by Blackbird

more existential dread about the state of the world 
I need to turn off the news
I used  this fantastic sci movie from 1957 to explain things metaphorically....
wrote it this morning very quickly..it just came together

The Incredible Shrinking Man 

I once was big as them                            
Living life on a whim                                 
Then a strange thing happened              
It could happen to you                             
Take a look at the shape I’m in                 

You placed me in a doll house
Put a lock upon the door
Your miniature man 
Now on parade
Have you ever seen my kind before?

I'm down here                                       
But they don't see me                          
Guess I'll have to take a stand                   
Getting smaller                                     
As the days they run away from me      
Your incredible shrinking man               
My body, no longer at my command         

Now there's danger everywhere 
I'm prey to everything
The cat, the spider, your prejudice 
Wish I could grow some wings

Too small for the circus now
Can't trust the human show
Gonna crawl right through the window screen
Say goodbye to all I know

I'm down here
Where they can't touch me
You'll never understand
What it's like 
To live this life of fear and fright
A little guy, in a strangers’ land
The incredible shrinking man 

Break

I'm down here
Where they can't hear me
It’s not like I had this planned
Gonna take my  tiny life
Gotta try to make it right
Build a little toy town with these tiny hands
Please remember me
Your Incredible Shrinking Man 




The Incredible Shrinking Man

Hazy Moonlit Night

Ray and I improvised this song together, only not at the same time and not on the same continent. Go figure.

You can visit Ray here: https://soundcloud.com/user-364196783-552705040

Steady

UNDERWEAR DRAWER by NOVA J

My coffee’s bitter / The taste is wrong
I’m not a quitter / Why are you gone?
I left your book / on my nightstand
No need to look / I know the end

Couldn’t say sorry to your face
So I let the silence take your place
I type a message then hit erase
I’m dying in this empty space

So I spend my money on therapy
Writing letters, honey, you’ll never see
I hide them all in my underwear drawer
The place you put your things before

Ooooh hmm / I hide your letters in my underwear drawer
Ooooh hmm / I hide your letters in my underwear drawer

Maybe you’re better / maybe you’re free
Maybe you’re never / Thinking of me
Do you ever wonder? / If I’m alright
When you lay under / Someone else tonight 

Your coat’s still hanging on my door
It doesn’t smell like you anymore
Funny how some things fade so fast
Except for the pain, that always lasts

So I spend my money on therapy
Writing letters, honey, you’ll never see
I hide them all in my underwear drawer
The place you put your things before

Ooooh hmm / I hide your letters in my underwear drawer
Ooooh hmm / I hide your letters in my underwear drawer

Sometimes I miss our old damn fights
The way we’d make up the whole damn night
Your shoes are here, collecting dust
I ask myself. Was it love? Or lust?
I tear up the pages, keep trying again
But nothing I’m writing can make amends

So I spend my money on therapy
Writing letters, honey, you’ll never see
I hide them all in my underwear drawer
The place you put your things before

Ooooh hmm / In my underwear drawer
Ooooh hmm / The one you used before
Ooooh hmm / I keep staring at the door
Ooooh hmm / I miss you more and more

UNDERWEAR DRAWER

“Thread of Grace” is for the ones who wake up already exhausted, who carry pain quietly, and keep moving anyway. It was written from a place of lived experience, but it’s not just about me. It’s about us, the ones who live in bodies that don’t always listen.

This isn’t a song of defeat. It’s a small light in the dark, a hand reaching out to say: I see you.

Even when it hurts.
Even when it’s invisible.
You're not the only one still holding on. 💡🩶🕊️

****Lyrics****

A pale dawn breaks, another silent war,
In a body that no longer feels like mine.

Woke up again with the weight in my chest,
This body won’t let me rest.
The mirror blurs with someone I don’t know,
Her eyes are tired, where hope won’t grow.

They hand me pills, they name my pain,
But none of it breaks the chain.
I’m lost in silence they don’t hear,
A prisoner of my own atmosphere.

Oh, this body breaks me, day by day,
With every flare that won’t go away.
No cure in sight, but still I try,
To hold the sky when I can’t fly.

Some days I can’t lift my head,
I lie in shadows, dream of light instead.
Each smile I wear is a quiet plea,
To one day live pain-free as me.

I dream of breath without fear,
Of walking through a world that hears.
I may be bent, but I won’t break,
There’s still a fight this fire can take.

Oh, this body breaks me, but I remain,
A quiet flame in endless rain.
No cure in sight, but hope holds space,
I walk the line with a thread of grace.

Maybe one day I’ll find a way through,
But until then, I do what I must do.

Thread of Grace

🎶 Because of You (I Still Believe) is a tribute to the voices that make us feel seen. 🌌💬
It’s for every song that helped someone heal, and every artist who shared their world. 🌍❤️
If you’ve ever felt too small, too quiet, or not “good enough”, this reminds you that you matter. 🌱🎤
Music doesn’t need perfection. Just heart. Someone out there needs what only you can create. 🎧🌟

****Lyrics****

I’ve never met your face, but I’ve heard your soul
In the cracks between your verses, in the chords you hold
You bled into a mic so someone else could heal
And I was one of them, your light made it real
So thank you for your courage, for the songs you send
You never knew it, but you helped me mend

Because of you, I still believe
In songs that catch you when you grieve
In voices trembling through the pain
In melodies like summer rain
You showed me art can still be brave
You gave your truth, and mine was saved
You shine so others find their way
You give us hope to face the day

Now I’m speaking to the ones still hiding songs inside their chest
Thinking no one wants to hear a voice that’s not the best
We were all scared once, unsure and small
But you don't have to be perfect to give someone it all
You don’t need to be polished, don’t need to be loud
You just need to be you, that’s what makes us proud
Someone out there’s hurting, waiting on your light
So sing it how you feel it, wrong notes still sound right

Because of you, they’ll still believe
In songs that help the heart to breathe
In shaky hands that find their place
In quiet words that leave a trace
You don’t need fame to leave your mark
You just need truth inside your spark
So if you're scared to sing or play
The world still needs your voice today

Without music, how would we grieve?
How would we dance? How would we breathe?
It’s stitched into the stories we’ve survived—
The proof we lived, the pulse that kept us alive

Because of you, I still believe
In songs that hold us while we bleed
In dreams that don’t fit on a screen
In every sound that lives unseen
You gave me courage, gave me peace
You made the noise inside me cease
So if you're scared to sing or play
Just know… the world will hear you, someday

Because of you… I still believe.
And maybe… someone else will…
Because of me.

Because of You  "I Still Believe"

Box Blues

This is about Dementia. If you know, you know.

Lyrics:

To me you were a giant.
The King of the Jungle.
It's hard to watch my hero crumble.
Away, away you go

Nice to meet the old you,
the young you, a new you
in the old you, a child again,
away.

You taught me to make a flute,
from a willow stick.
Told me never touch your guitar,
but were proud when I did.

Taught me to find my feet,
helped me find my pride.
Built my strength and character,
my best friend and guide.

You tell us tales we’ve never heard,
A childhood laugh and a voice that cracks.
You run and play, your vision blurred,
with bent old knees and broken back.

I’m sad and glad you’re that child tonight,
Thoughts drifting off to now and then.
Like willow shoots that spring to life,
I wish you’d start from where you’ve been.

Your willow heart still beats, still bends,
Roots strong till the end.
I'll hold your hand,
as you start again.

Willowheart

Composed by Michele Ansani (2025).
Saxophone and female vocals (reworked) are courtesy by Daze of Nostalgia and Cinematic Vocals.
Cover picture: René Magritte, The Art of Conversation (1963).

Posted on SoundCloud:  2025 June 1.

Talking about our lifetime

This year is the 50th anniversary of the ABC Movie of the week Trilogy of Terror- It was 3 chilling adaptions of 3 short stories written by the great sci fi author Richard Matheson. The late Karen Black ( not only a wonderful actress,she was also a great singer and songwriter) starred in all 3 of the features playing 4 characters.  As 12 year old kids of course we were the most horrified and terrified by the final story Amelia - a  story about  a demonic warrior doll that comes to life and starts attacking poor Ms. Black
here is a youtube link to Amelia the third story in the Trilogy of Terror ( 24 minutes)-https://youtu.be/hjr0ziHwraw

 Starts out pretty chill but the last 10 mins of that film were very intense for us in 1975 ..we kids couldn't sleep well for a few nights .. I wrote the song as an homage to the story/movie/Ms. Black ( she didnt really like the movie) as well as using the story as  metaphor for the demons that live in us all
my electric guitar playing scared the dog as usual
hope my silly song does not scare you too much
3 short clips from Amelia are spliced in there


Karen Black And That Creepy Doll Attack

The hunter and the hunted
The virtue and the sin
Inside of every creature
Light and dark reside in them

Zuni Hunter Fetish Doll
The puppet seeks its prey
That TV movie freaking out
Us kids back in the day

Trilogy of Terror
The duality of man
Unrestrained we let our monsters roam
On which side will you stand

The camera films a gruesome tale
Shag carpet bloody scenes
Kitchen knives and voodoo jive
A f$%ked up figurine

Karen Black
And that creepy doll attack
Wish I coulda been there
To pull it off her back
Karen Black
She ain't coming back
He who kills, all screech and shrill
Has got her mind hijacked

Break

The moral meets the message
Let fight defeat the fear
Repressed regret you can't forget
Like finger pricked by spear

She can't smother, drown or stab it
Or burn it up you see
When she locked it in a suitcase
It escaped eventually 

Take the hate from your heart
And turn it on its head
Or like the Zuni wooden doll
It hunts you down instead

Stand up against the doubters
Don't doubt the space you find
Ignore those dirty demon dolls
Who scream inside your mind

Ms. Karen Black
Why does she smile like that
Her Zuni fate, she sits in wait
Her Mama will get whacked
Karen Black
Such a creepy doll attack 
Quadruple billed her acting thrilled
My half century flashback

Karen Black
Karen Black and that creepy doll attack 
Karen Black 
Karen Black and that creepy doll attack

Karen Black & that Creepy Doll Attack

Cardinal - Acoustic Demo

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



Peace and Love. Welcome to human made music... by lungs and hands. All words written with a pen and thought of by a brain. Thanks for all of your wonderful support. Much love, Carl

Love Earth to love yourself

The Incredible Shrinking Man

Hand on the Rock

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