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

CW Mullins

Neu und angesagt: Indie

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

Written, produced, engineered, composed and performed by Portraits Of Tracy

Lyrics:
It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be
Our open palms staying closed today
And in my mind, I really thought you would see
But honestly, I think we need to leave

Or maybe we should watch this movie
Look it reminded me of me and you
I know you’re thinking I’m really trying to get up in your head

And in my mind I keep replaying parts
Like when he held her close, right in the park
They had a rocky road, but Dennis kept it real from the start

Oh you know
I never meant to throw it all your way
I made a judgement based on signs, I think
I’m really losing my mind
Oh you know
I still remember the look on your face
And baby when you go your separate way
I think I’ll be just fine

Oh
Cause I’m found (I’m found...)
I’m found (I’m found...)
Lost for a minute
Tell me what compares to this
I was lost for a minute
I was lost for a minute

You know I’ll think about you time to time.
I feel I’m moving fast, not in my mind
Just call me stupid, and I’ll open my eyes
I think it’s kinda funny how I feel
So happy I could die, I’ll keep it real
Oh, I can’t help but be a little unsure

Oh you know
I never meant to throw it all your way
I made a judgement based on signs, but hey
I’m really losing my mind
Oh you know
I still remember the look on your face
And baby when you go your separate way
I think I’ll be just fine

Oh...
Yeah!
Lost for a minute
Tell me what compares to this
I was lost for a minute
I was lost for a minute
Lost for a minute
Tell me what compares to this
I was lost for a minute
I was lost for a minute

Oh you know
I think this train is really rolling on
We better hop on cause it won’t be long
Girl you don’t know
how much I just want to leave it all behind

Just like a kid on Christmas Eve
I packed my clothes, please can we leave?
Oh this place, oh I swear it drives me crazy
and I’ve been saying it

Oh you know
I think I’m finally moving on my way
I made a judgement based on signs, but hey
I’m kinda losing my mind
Oh you know
I still remember the look on your face
and baby when you go your separate way
I think I’ll be just fine

I think I’m finally moving on my way
I made a judgement based on signs, but hey
I’m kinda losing my mind
I still remember the look on your face
and baby when you go your separate way
I think I’ll be just fine

Drive Home

Found!

Written, produced, engineered, composed and performed by Portraits Of Tracy

Lyrics:
My open hands become closed again
I’m calling you, oh for an answer
My goodbye messages sent to a phone

Oh nothing matters to me anyways
Trying to ignore it all and see today
Oh fuck, I can’t tell if I can hold on

Someway, Somehow
Someway, Somehow
Someway, Somehow
Someway...

The silk that would just coat my world view
It’s a melting down, oh baby I can’t tell you
Oh how I feel, how I feel, how I feel

To just awake me from this bad dream
I’ll give myself away to maybe fix this scene
Toll was due but why did they choose you?

This feeling, I’m feeling
Why can’t I accept it?
My tears they, won’t let me
Bury you, leave you in today
For Ema

The end of the road
I spent a long time parading
The wrong time, to say it
To you

And you’ve been my friend
Holding your face so dearly
I closed my eyes, walking right in the street

Nothing matters to me
I’m ready to go
I’ve swallowed all of my pills
To finally get the feeling of being all alone
I’m fading away, when you find me
Know that finally I am at peace
Nothing matters to me

To me
Oh, nothing matters at all
Nothing, nothing
Nothing matters to me

Graceland

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

why can't I be healthier and younger, but also wiser like I am now
I need a time machine that takes me back to adolescence, so I can stay in bygone times, but just for a while

I might wanna stay for a lifetime
and then go back again
like always I'm just reminiscing
as if the past is all I got
the memories are all I have
to feel alive, to feel the dance of time
I am too tired to create new moves
it seems in the past I had existence with soul

was it really me though or did I come into my own
through all the pain, through pain alone
was it really me though or did I come into my own
through all the pain, through pain alone

I'm able to drive now, 10 years after everyone else
but back then I wasn't ready to just be myself
I was working towards it without knowing
I cried myself to sleep, at least some things won't ever change.

Was it really me though or did I come into my own,
through all the pain, through pain alone
I danced at every party and by party I mean live shows
I danced all for my own
Harmony echoing throughout the whole room
I used to feel at home in the middle of a crowd
now I just feel old

i used to come home bruised, pogoed til the next day, 
then smoking my last cigarette, 2 nights later the same
I came to feel the thunder still trembled in bed

and now I bruise myself by losing my own mind
and then waking up half blind
maybe I should go see a doctor, but cannot trust em
maybe in my next life, if there's a next time, onto the next one
I'm sure I will survive this one until I die

beat by: Davidi

Dancing On My Own - Demo

Gracias Very Much

Multi genre multi instrumentalist Chad Rubin produces and writes a track after meeting the love of his life as his world starts to make sense. A touring musician and signed recording artist, chad has finally begun to find meaning and make sense of this crazy ride we're all on through his work and his relationships which seem to make everything else seem a bit less.. urgent.  
a 3rd party review: A love song with rare depth and an exceptionally unique arrangement, ‘Urgency’ is a romantic indie-pop gem.  It was written immediately after the artist met his future wife - a moment when everything else felt insignificant in comparison.  Over an ethereal, guitar based arrangement, he delivers a warm performance, reminiscent of Ben Gibbard or Jason Mraz. The intricate vocal melody is as intricate as any classical composition. 

official music video!
https://youtu.be/TwEaih_WAVY

Urgency

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: Sexagenarian Volume VI is now complete after the addition of its twelfth tarck, "where once...". Check out the other five (5!) volumes of Sexagenarian as well. 

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!