Artist: https://soundcloud.com/cwmullins
Mixed and Mastered by Woods Studio
https://soundcloud.com/woods_studio

CW Mullins

MY 2023 TOP TEN

MIX-MASTER - WOODS STUDIO
BACKUP VOCALS - FOG CITY FOGEY


At a time and a place
So ill defined
I get lost inside my own foggy mind

Dusky doubt, cloudy thoughts
A blanket of gray
The sun is exhausted
It goes home for the day/gives up for today
But then there’s that bright smile….

Who better, who better
Than you to come clear the air
Who better, who better
Than the one close at hand and yet beyond compare

Former friends, an ex or two
Might gather someday
I’ll make myself scarce
They’ll have plenty to say

On a bridge, down below
The water flows
It takes the past with it
I don’t care where it goes
From here I’ll need a guide 

Who better? Who better?
Any destination will do
Who better, who better
I only ask that I end up there with you
(All I ask is I end up there with you)

Be here with me
Through the days to come
I know you’ll be
My better half and then some

Empty suits 
Airless room
I’m bored with the board
My mind drifts away
And I may well have snored
Could a hero broke me free

Who better? Who better?
With or without a cape
Who better? Who better?
To plan and lead our escape

Any destination will do
if I’m with you

Who Better

MIXED/MASTERED: WOODS STUDIO
https://soundcloud.com/woods_studio
LEAD GUITAR, BACKING VOCALS: Fog City Fogey
https://soundcloud.com/user-610054726

LYRIC

Far along the beaten path
No end in sight 
What supplies we have are poor and running low
We’ve so far to go

Some split off
We’ve seen their camps
Maps they study by weakening lamps
The light will die out and then
They’ll join us again

We march on
It’s our purpose
 We march on
We endure thus we survive
And that’s our true goal
Stay alive

In the distance mountains loom
The darkening skies mean winter soon
We’ll find an old tree down
Build a fire to gather round
But not a shelter
We’ve lost that skill
Our arms are weak
As is our will
Besides we don’t have time
There are mountains we must climb

We march on
Tired but trudging
We march on
No use judging
Why we do
It’s just another day
to get through

Elders tell of a homeland
Their own elders told them of and
Maybe it’s all true
Who knows what they knew
But maybe it’s all true

The trail is lost
We’re on our own 
Our courage sapped
Our fear has grown
We can’t give into dread
Salvation lies ahead

So we march on….

Sexagenarian III

We March On

MIX/MASTER: Woods Studio

NOTE: The key line - "One butterfly can fill the sky" - just sort of came out of my mouth while singing to a new tune I'd come up with. I view my lyric as my way of trying to understand myself exactly what that means!

LYRIC
Child in a garden
Mother isn’t far
One hand holds a net 
One, an insect jar
A flash of color flying
The softest flap of wings
The net will capture
The jar will trap there
Beautiful things

One butterfly can fill the entire sky
When seen by a child’s eye
Don’t ask how
Don’t ask why
One butterfly can fill the sky

We too had a garden
Thought of it as home
But we broke the house rules
Kicked out, we had to roam
We tried to recreate it
With every skill that’s ours
We still need wild things
Buzzing and dancing in the flowers

One butterfly can fill the entire sky
Just look with a child’s eye
You’ll know how
You’ll see why
One butterfly 
Wonder and awe
Filling us all…. and the sky

Child back in garden
Gives the lid a pull
The creature sent free
The jar now empty
The child’s heart full

One butterfly will fill the entire sky
We look with a child’s eye 
And know how
And see why
One butterfly will fill the sky

Sexagenarian Volume IV

One Butterfly

MIX/MASTER: Woods Studio

NOTE: This tune came to me three days after the news of Burt Bacharach's passing. I dedicate the song to the great man's memory. 

LYRIC
Why watch the clock 
Count hours by the minute
I may be wrong but for right now
We have to live in the present
Let’s let the sky show us how

It has the signposts giving us guidance
And even if at times they hide  
We know they’re there inside or out

Good morning, good night
And that’s not to slight
A good afternoon
Twenty four hours of
Shining upon our love 
Are the sun and moon

Sometimes the times are some of the best
And sometimes they’re best forgotten
Who knows what this the day has got in store
  
Good evening, good day 
And may I just say
We work hard at fun
Climb in and out of bed
While always overhead
The moon and sun

Awake, asleep and so in love
Our besties hang above
Reality it seems  
Is a galaxy of dreams

All day and night
As gravity pulls us
Toward the core of [our] existence
What’s the use trying to fight it
That wouldn’t make any sense at all

Good morrow my dear
At last it’s here
Not a minute too soon
And not a minute late
For us to celebrate
With the sun and moon

Good morning, good night
la di da da
Hang loose, sleep tight
la di da da
Just stay in sight
Day and night, endlessly  
For me you’ll always be the sun…and moon

The Sun And Moon

MIX/MASTER: Woods Studio

NOTE: I don't hold myself to any strict "historical accuracy" in my lyrics. There may be one person in my distant past I had in mind as I wrote this. Or not...

LYRIC

Sir
I called you sir
It was a different time
And that's just how things were

Role
You played your role
And it was quite a fine performance
I was so naive
It’s hard now to believe
I never saw through you, ‘sir’

Gone 
That world is gone
For both the worse and better, maybe
It's moved on

Sir
Did you ever let your guard down
And let the truth slip through
Was there a real ‘you’
Or were just a man I knew as ‘sir’

Now
The world of now
I wonder if it would astound you
Frighten and confound you
But could it be inside
You would feel some pride
At how it could be
If you lived to see 
A world somewhat free for you, sir

CW Mullins You Should Know Better

MIX/MASTER - Woods Studio
Fog City Fogey - electric guitar, bass, background vocals, production assistance

NOTE: Yup, the C in CW stands for Chris...

LYRIC
The morning mirror can be harsh and cold
You know you’re not young but are you that old?
You need your coffee to really wake up
Maybe that happens around the fifth cup
It’s a new day - brand spanking new
It’ll probably - spank the heck out of you

It’s time to face up to the mess you made
The fools you trusted and the loyal betrayed
You better face up to the mess you made

You tire your brain thinking who to blame
It keeps coming up with the same damn name
There’s so many people who go by Chris
How you supposed to know which one it is
What a puzzle, a conundrum 
Ah come on now, you’re not that dumb

It’s time you own up to the mess you made
The debts accrued and the tax unpaid
It’s time you own up to the mess you made

of things through bad decisions
Sad submissions
Hasty brush offs 
And clumsy overtures
That mess you’re seeing is all yours

Meet a friend at a diner, slide in the booth
It’s time for confession, admit the truth
Eat half her fries, say yeah I’m a wreck
And then you leave her with the check

no one’s thinking you’ll repay a loan
so when you call they mute the phone 
It’ll shock them if you atone

It’s time you face up to the mess you made
You’re no innocent, drop the charade
If your sins had legs it’d be quite the parade
You better face up to the mess you made

Sexagenarian Vol IV

The Mess You Made

Mixed and Mastered by Woods Studio
https://soundcloud.com/woods_studio

CW Mullins - Mess You Made

Mix: Jack Holston

NOTES - Maybe this is "TMI" but the recording of this song had a hiatus while I recovered from Covid. It finally got me! Wasn't fun but didn't have to see a doctor. Be careful out there!

LYRIC
At a young age I declared
I liked the world
I wasn’t scared of what it had in store

Now I have to wonder was I lying?
Was I really that brave boy?
I’d say today if you should catch me crying
Don’t be concerned, these are tears of joy

My first love was no great one
We pleased ourselves and then when done
Wandered off without a word
If I spoke would you have heard?

Somehow my silent heart retains so much
It’s a memory time cannot destroy 
My skin warms as I recall your touch 
Across the years to now as I sing
If you see tears, they may well spring from joy

Sadness is a pool of doubt
Dive in and then climb out

There’s so much feeling in a single day
At night our dreams can get no rest 
When it gets too much the heart must find a way
To cry out what is best expressed 
 in tears of joy

Tears Of Joy

MIXED by Jack Holston
https://soundbetter.com/profiles/368799-jack-holston

NOTE: I turned 60 at the end of November 2015. Thus began the "Sexagenarian" era! "My Last Song" is from summer 2019, after I had retired and moved from Los Angeles to north San Diego. Felt a bit at that time like my muse was...busy elsewhere? In a lull. I was not aware that I was about to enjoy a resurgence of my songwriting, leading to the multi-volume Sexagenarian series. Anyway, here is me exploring the world of bubble-gum pop! 

LYRIC
Far away
Long ago
I had the cheapest six string
Learned a few chords
and scribbled some words
Not much voice but I’d sing

Little shared
So few cared
But I continued writing
It was how I kept track as life rolled along
Now this might be
My last song

I’ve lost count
the amount
Never once paused to note it
Any one song can take me back to the time I wrote it
Every place
Every face
Once more appears at my will
And that is how it will be until
My last song

Why look at photos?
What do they show
Some old tune of mine captures the memory
I close my eyes and let it flow

Yesterday
Lost my way
Couldn’t find inspiration
Told myself it’ll be all right but
I might be wrong
Yes this could be
My last song   
Yes it may be
My last song

I’ve got a box full of
Old cassette tapes
A bit of life is stored up inside them
Choose one, hit play and - the past escapes

Long ago
Far away
Or was it just this morning
I added a few words to a new tune 
So here’s fair warning 
This won’t be my last song
No this won’t be - my last song

Sexagenarian 1

My Last Song

NOTICE: I DO NOT PAY FOR PROMOTION. EVER.

SPOTLIGHT:  With Sexagenarian Volume VI now complete, the final volume of songs from my 60s, which will be Volume VII, gets underway with "Get On With Your Life." Check out the other five (5!) volumes of Sexagenarian as well. What happens after my upcoming 70th birthday? TBD!

BIO: I started writing songs in high school (1969-1973!) and I've pretty much never stopped. These are mostly solo recording projects (my brother, Fog City Fogey, contributes sometimes).  I don't do much self-promotion, not a fan of Repost Exchange etc, so all of you who find this page and like a song or two - you are truly appreciated!