by Kent Aitken and David & Laurie Easterling © March 11, 2021 Charlottetown, Canada, and Oak Ridge, TN, USA

Mars was rising as the sun went down
I sat waiting waiting for the sound
Of your piano through the walls every night 
And I pick my guitar by candlelight 

At first I hated these thin apartment walls
And the noise echoing down the halls
Slamming doors, lovers’ quarrels, footsteps, and doorbell rings
at 8:08 sweet piano strings

Play me a song
And I’ll play along
All I want to do 
Is accompany you
Play me a song
And I’ll play along
All I want you to do 
Is play me another song

It gets me through my toughest times
When you stopped, mid-song, at 9:09
I was scared I’d never hear you again
A blue songbird with a broken wing 

Sun rises and sets but your silence remains
Toughest of times lead to darkest of days
Learned your songs, got them wrong, my old guitar, with worn-out strings
When I played at 8:08 I heard you sing

Play me a song
And I’ll sing along
All I want to do 
Is accompany you
Play me a song
And I’ll sing along
In time and in tune   

Play me another song

Play Me A Song (w/ David and Laurie Easterling) - Song a Week 2021, Week 10

Shoes Untied
by Erin Wolf, Laurie & David Easterling © 3/122020 Little Chute, WI and Oak Ridge, TN

Week 10 Prompt: Foundations
*Disclaimer: The following tune is a song about grief and may cause some strong emotional responses in listeners.*

The horizon’s blue
Not a cloud in the sky
I think I see heaven
You’re not by my side
Yesterday you were with me
For life’s wild ride
I stand here alone
Raindrop in my eye

The earth is shaking
My firm foundation
My heart is breaking
I need restoration   
The earth is shaking
My firm foundation
My heart is breaking
I need restoration   

The music plays 
I hear the sound
It doesn’t move me
Like when you were around 
I used to stand
On solid ground  
‘Til shifting sands
Knocked me down

Sitting here for hours with my shoes untied
They keep sayin’ it’ll be alright
But I can’t find any hope tonight 

The earth is shaking
My firm foundation
My heart is breaking
I need restoration   
The earth is shaking
My firm foundation
My heart is breaking
I need...

Shoes Untied

Still a week behind the Song-A-Week 2021 prompts, this is my contribution to the "Foundations" prompt.

Lyrics:
Every second of every day, TMI hits us in every which way
Our senses overloaded about to bust, who and what can we really trust?

It's a culture in motion, rocking the foundations of our notions
Down is up, up is down, change is so fast it's spinning you around
One thing is for sure,
more or less; less would be more

Multitasking at an increasing pace, no time for meeting face to face
Lashing out while hiding behind screen names, nobody is wrong when everyone else is to blame

It's a culture in motion, rocking the foundations of our notions
Nothing adds up, nothing makes sense, no time to meditate or experience
One thing is for sure;  
2 + 2 is no longer 4

It's time to slow down and listen up, shut off all devices and have a cup
in my experience, together with good friends 
is where love is found

This culture of our nation, could become a rock in our foundation
Prioritize your friends, and bring back common sense
Still, one thing is for sure;  
to love our neighbor is what we're here for

Song and image Copyright © Claes Akerblom 2021

Culture In Motion (demo)

WELL MADE WAR SAW 11
AM
IF ONLY We could all see it coming
F
from a long way off
G
Cover up our scars go running
AM
Before the seas get rough
AM
So now that the decks have all been cleared 
F
What are we waiting for
G
heres our chance for justice
AM
in A well made war

AM
a well made war
F
the one we are waiting for
G
the battle cry of armies
Am
offer mercy grace and more
In that well made war
The final call will come
Our sight will be restored
In that well made war

Everybody has a story
The undoing of their life
And seek a place to run and hide take shelter in the night
but none deserve to take revenge 
weve all been there before
we the guilty  now innocent
in this well made war

everybody comes with nothing
and leaves in the same way
battles on the field surrenedered
the medals in the ground decay
fly the white flag raise it hight
for now your hope is sure
you will have the final victory
in the well made war

WELL MADE WAR SAW11

The fifth tale of Snow and Cherry

No more Mr. Nice Guy

he's the type they bring home to family dinner
he's the kind they don't know they're looking for
because who wouldn't want to date a winner
just you wait for lines outside his door

dude is so good at bending over backwards
counts the days for his favors to return
he thinks he deserves everything for being nice
but everybody knows nice guys finish last
the only way out is through

no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy

he's so tired of pretending to be simple
there is only so much a man can hide
it's no wonder he can't tell why he's single
all he learned to give is an eye for an eye
the only way out is through

no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy

he thinks he deserves everything for being nice
but everybody knows nice guys finish last
the only way out is through

Tales of Snow and Cherry

No more Mr. Nice Guy

it's been such a long time, I almost thought I really forgot how to write a song.

truth is I've been writing songs, and hating them almost all, thinking "I can't make a comeback after months with this crap", but then I realized I was being too hard on myself. when I submitted the first song, it wasn't the greatest one but still I did it. so here it is, not the best song, but I gotta start somewhere, right? this song is about these last few months dealing with my anxiety and thinking "it all would be so much easier if I was just a child"

artwork by my amazing friend Ayelen Molina 💕

if you made it this far, you deserve at least some lyrics:

I think the clock is turning the other way
and a car has flipped around on the highway,
so I'll light up another candle for you.
Cause I'm a child in my own silly way,
the panic of losing you never decays.
And I get waken by the sirens,
cause they never need any silence
like I do.

How would I grow old without you, my friend?
I'd refuse to let go in the end.
How would I ever know how to be amused?
You never needed silence, like I do.

Children playing across the street,
why do I feel such jealousy?
I never asked to be this damaged and neither did you.
But life goes on, even against your will
and tears will pile up like water bills.
And getting up from bed in the mornings
sounds like casting a warning,
but it's up to you.

How would I grow old without you, my friend?
I'd refuse to let go in the end.
How would I ever learn how to lose?
You never needed to give in, like I do.

And I draw a day of my life in my head
thinking if maybe this time I can pretend
I don't shatter to pieces when I hear your name...
But I get waken by the sirens
cause they never need any silence,
like I do. 

water bills

"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)

We could go back, but why would we want to?

Nowhere

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)

Week 8 #songaweek2021. 
by Julia Tindall Bloom, Laurie & David Easterling © 2/24/2021, Saint Paul, MN, and Oak Ridge, TN. 
Photo is a fairy house my daughter built on the banks of the Mississippi River summer 2019.

Please change your mind 
Don’t leave me behind
I was desperate to say
But I left it unsaid
The words wailed in my head
You’re leaving today  

May you never be sad enough to give up
Or too busy to explore the unknown
Remember no matter how far you go
You can always make your way home

I’ve been waiting so long 
To sing my own song
Can’t stay in this place
Stretch my wings and try
To see where I can fly
Cast off my old ways

May you never be sad enough to give up
Or too busy to explore the unknown
Remember no matter how far you go
You can always make your way home

The road is always there
Time may not be fair
The same road that leads away
Leads back home someday

May you never be sad enough to give up
Or too busy to explore the unknown
Remember no matter how far you go
You can always make your way home

Make Your Way Home (cowrite with Laurie and David Easterling)

Copyright Erin Wolf 2021
Instruments featured: Concert Ukelele, Guitar, Mandolin
Video (from "The Songs We Write" showcase): https://youtu.be/8fEsTn8kFik

Week 9 Prompt: You could turn back, but why would you want to?

meet me at the willow tree
where i'll give my love to thee
true to you i'll always be
together 'neath the willow tree

oh my dear
can you hear
our time is near
step out together - no fear

down by the crackling fire
i lay myself down on the wire
no matter what will transpire
here beside the crackling fire

oh my dear
can you hear
our time is near
step out together - no fear

you could turn back but why would you want to
when you know this love is true
side-by-side we'll see it through
you could turn back but why would you want to

oh my dear
can you hear
our time is near
step out together - no fear

meet me at the willow tree
where i'll give my love to thee
true to you i'll always be
together 'neath the willow tree

The Willow Tree

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