I continue to be so impressed with all the wonderful writers on Song of the Week.
Although I contiune to write (just a bit slower at the recording) and  just so I stay in the loop I'm uploading something I loved singing for awhile back.
This one always makes me feel so good and I love the production of it.
Nikki Dean

ROOM TO BREATHE

DANCIN' IN THE LIGHT

"Attics And Basements" (#452, 210410)

 * Co-written with Pete & Pat Luboff * 

Lately my mind’s been on what's in my attic
Got a house full of crap and a head full of static
A ratty tin tree from so many Decembers
Letters and photographs no one remembers

And I’m feeling down about what’s in my basement      
Suitcases broken but I won't replace 'em
Bed frames and coolers and two legged stools
A couple flat tires and some rusted out tools

Why do I keep all the things I ain't usin'
Up above and down below
Smack in the middle in a state of confusion
I keep holdin' on when I need to let go
All the time and the space that I’m wasting
In my attic and basement

My ceilings are sinking from what’s in my attic
A console TV and my Dad’s leather jacket
Grandmother's trunk full of moldy old clothes
Teddy bear missing an eye and a nose

Can’t open the door too much junk in my basement
Silly straw hats from a long gone vacation
Lawn chairs and dumbbells and folded up boxes
Rubbermaid bins full of dead electronics

Why do we keep all the things we ain't usin'
Up above and down below
Smack in the middle in a state of confusion
We keep holdin' on when we need to let go
All the time and the space that we're wasting
In our attics and basements

I got all of these memories and all of these plans
Why can’t I be right here where I am?

Week 15 - Attics And Basements (210410)

"Miss The Point" (#453, 210415)

 * co-written with Dan Rivers * 

Well I grew up on the coast line and we always had a good time
Hangin' round a place we called The Point
I missed a couple school days and I chased a couple big waves
And I skipped two family trips to Illinois

Lookin' back there's no doubt those summers at the boathouse
Really were the good old days
And ever since I moved away

I miss sixteen and I miss sunscreen
Lived it up while the sun was goin' down
Yeah I sometimes missed the punch line
But I dream of bein' back there even now

Way back when I was a boy
Didn't know how much I'd miss the point

Well I'd known her half a lifetime it was simple in the sunshine
Sharin' dixie cups and skippin' rocks
I figured we'd be best friends but that changed in a weekend
When she sat down beside me on the dock

Didn't catch the signs 'til she put her hand in mine
Lord sometimes I reminisce
On all the things I missed

I miss sixteen and I miss sunscreen
Lived it up while the sun was goin' down
Yeah I sometimes missed the punch line
But I dream of bein' back there even now

Way back when I was a boy
Didn't know how much I'd miss the point

Week 16 - Miss The Point (210415)

Copyright Erin Wolf 2021

NICU
April 2021 (7-in-7) Fearless Songwriter Challenge
Day 4 Prompt: All this concrete
SAW Week 16 Prompt: Words through windows

For Jordie K

*Note about the song: Inspired by the real story of my eldest's premature birth and subsequent NICU stay. Rough start, but she's now a teenage Black Belt (Tae Kwan Do), cat lover, budding designer, and one of the kindest humans anyone could ever hope to meet.*

I see you there inside
This place where you hide
Away from all this concrete
And all these city streets

Wish I could come in
But begging won't win
So words through windows will have to
Suffice for now for me and you

Promise I will come everyday
By your window I will, I will stay
'Til I can bring you, bring you home
After all this, all this unknown

Alarms and bells alert the team
Waking me from a dream
I see you're fast asleep, love
Safe for now, thank God above

Promise I will come everyday
By your window I will stay
'Til I can bring you, bring you home
After all this, all this unknown

Never thought this would start 
With such a bruising of my heart
Little child, you changed everything

Never thought this would start
With such a bruising of my heart
Little child, you changed everything

NICU

I just wanna be greater than the rest
reside in righteousness
The brightest and the best
I just wanna be master of every task
Steal EVery woman’s heart
Is that so much to ask?

I just I wanna shine just like the sun
OVER everyone
2nd to none… -> I just wanna be...
SOMEody that everyone would rate
unquestionably great
To megalomaniate

I just wanna be loved

I just wanna know and understand
Every mark and master plan
I want the future in my hand
I just wanna win and never lose
Hear all the cheers never the boos
And then I’ll READ the rave reviews

I just want your fear or all your love
Like a coLOSSus stands above ->
Drink ADmiration like a drug ->
I wanna make you FEEL the way no other lover could
Just like a SUPerhuman would
Oh baby do you think I'm good?

I just wanna be loved

But you can never win
It can never sink in
if you're chasing every moment 
every star
It’s self-defeating
This doing being
you’ll only ever be just who you are

When I’m grounded all I wanna be
Is in integrity
But this voice inside of me
Keeps saying
Stand on tiptoes get a little higher
Build a BIGger better fire
win your black and deep desire

I just wanna be loved

I Just Wanna

My SAW 2021 week 16 contribution recorded lo-fi using only my phone and the record feature in the Soundcloud app. This week's prompt was 'Words thru windows'. And most of the lyrics were actually written while sitting in the sand where the accompanying image was taken (also with my phone).


As I stroll thru town, in a realtor’s window,
there’s a sign selling seaside properties
With no chance of ever owning one
I start dreaming of a life by the sea:

The sound of waves block out the noise of the world
Only the occasional bird can be heard
My mind at peace at the edge of the sea
This is where I can be me

At the edge of the sea
Where the rocks are smooth and glistening
At the edge of the sea
I find God himself listening
It’s like heaven to me
at the edge of the sea

No time to keep, except the flow of the tide
Nothing on the horizon, just the ocean wide
No one to stop me from floating out to sea
This is where I am free

I think I’ll pull up stakes 
and head to where shells and seaweed gather,
and stress and obligations are no more
I’ll pitch a tent or build a lean-to, if you’d rather
Right there in the sand along the shore


Song and image copyright Claes Akerblom

At the edge of the sea (demo)

Copyright Erin Wolf 2021

I Don't Wanna Quit on You
April 2021 (7-in-7) Fearless Songwriter Challenge
Day 7 Prompt: Say Goodbye

The hardest thing to admit
When to stay or when to quit
'Cuz I don't wanna quit on you

I'm not sure anymore
Do I fit like I did before
In this old new life of yours

Oh I'm not ready to say goodbye
But if you ain't ready for this or have the time
Then I'll go my way and you go yours
Promise I won't slam the door
I'll go, I'll go

Not quite sure what went wrong
Or did I miss the signs all along
Wish I knew what's on your mind

I love you deeply beyond compare
But I couldn't say it - I was too scared
Prob'ly doesn't matter anyway

Oh I'm not ready to say goodbye
But if you ain't ready for this or have the time
Then I'll go my way and you go yours
Promise I won't slam the door
I'll go, I'll go

The hardest thing to admit
When to stay or when to quit
'Cuz I don't wanna quit on you

I Don't Wanna Quit on You

just a beginning of a song this week-

Words through windows 

Now s the time
Now s the chance
We can rewrite history 

the sun 
Still can dance
We can save the world 

Here’s the point
there’s the line
We can take it seriously 
Keep in step
Keep the plan 
And let’s save the world

Words through windows 
Washed in water 
Wait for weather 
Wont renew her

save the world (demo)

I STILL FEEL THE FIRE

I still consider myself new to recording/mixing/DAWing, but that excuse seems weaker as I get into year 2 of regular recording. So trying to deconstruct the process and get better. This week I set out to write a song that wanted layers, including double-tracked vocals which I've never done - and unless I'm doing a distant room mic, probably will incorporate in nearly every project in the future.

*****

When she was done with the souls in Savannah
Headed up the highway to find me
Hair like the gold in California
The devil came up from eastern Georgia

The cracks in the floorboards all led to 
A young man’s soul and a fiddle tune
You can play with the devil when your hands are hot
Johnny’s mighta been but mine were not

I mighta let the devil into my bed
Dark black eyes all dressed in red
Left like smoke from cigarettes
I mighta let the devil into my bed 

It’s not sinking in just yet
Keep on drinking to forget
Left like smoke from cigarettes
I mighta let the devil into my bed

So I’m pouring wine into a hollow
And fixing photos I turned over
Saying a prayer that she’ll forget my number
Hoping that no one answers it

Savannah - Song a Week 2021, Week 18

Xanman - Eazy

Mainly a guitarist, and sometimes singer-songwriter, I am influenced mostly by the singer-songwriters from the 60's and early 70's.