DW - new songs

Lyrics

Verse 1:
You say you’ve found “The Answer”
Remind me, what’s the question
Explain to me how I can tell
If what you say is right
If you’re just repeating
Some tired old opinions
This is going to be
A long…  a very long night

Verse 2:
I’m not even sure that this
Is a conversation
I can’t say I’m following
Everything you say
You might think because you’re talkin’
You’re saying something special
But since you found “The Answer”
I’d rather…  get out of your way

Bridge:
I hear the talking, lots of talking
I do my my very best to understand        
I try to think about it, try to take it-all in
But all this noise is gettin      outa hand
Why can’t we change the subject
There must be somewhere else you need to go  
All this information is something I’ll never need to know

Verse 3:
I tell you there are rules
Bout how to tell the difference
Between anything that’s right
And everything that’s wrong
In these strange days
Where truth and fact don’t matter
We’re going need another way
To figure out…  what’s really going on

Verse 4:
You say you found “The Answer”
I wish you all the best
And more than that I wish
You’d keep it to yourself
There’s a difference between
Your personal conclusion
And an answer that’ll make sense
…  to anybody else

Verse 5:
You say you’ve found “The Answer”
Remind me, what’s the question
Explain to me how I can tell
If what you say is right
If you’re just repeating
Some tired old opinions
This is going to be
A long…  a very long night

The Answer

Together was remixed and remastered on 11 January 2025
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[Lyrics follow}
A sweet, gentle pop song.  The original was written over 50 years ago and lost for more than 40.  It was found buried in a pile of old papers that might never have been uncovered if it wasn't for our Covid years.  This version is the first recording of the song, but it's grand entry into the world of song came when a four part harmony version (that I co-arranged with choir leader Susan Stott) was chosen by our local choir for performance.  It was a very special moment when I first heard 50 people singing a song that had only ever been sung by one person its long life.
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Verse 1:
You’ve been a stream
You've been running clear
But you can’t always see the sky
You’ve been afraid of leaving home
Afraid of running dry
I’m feeling blue
And I’m missing you
I wonder where you are
I’d walk all the way
But I fear it’s much too far  

Chorus:
Together          
We’ll be together once again
Together           
Back together once again


Verse 2:
The city so strange
I’m lost in a maze but it's
All making sense somehow
It’s all a dream I’m so confused
And I’m alone for now
I’m feeling down
In this mountain town
I’m lost in something new
I think I’ll lay back
Relax and think of you   

Chorus:
Together          
We’ll be together once again
Together           
Back together once again  

Bridge:
You told me you’d be coming  home to me
But you didn’t say when   
But I’m sure it’s goin’ to all work out 
We’ll be together again

Verse 5:
If we take some time
And watch the signs
While we’re both on our own
We might pick up some dreams
And bring them all back home   

Chorus:
Together          
We’ll be together once again
Together           
Back together once again

Together

•See the Video•

Lyrics:

Everything’s good and everything’s fine
I know what’s yours and I know what’s mine
I’ve got control over what I got
It don’t bother me that it’s not a lot
I’ve got no time for what you believe
Cuz I’m not stupid and I'm not naive
I don't know why it's so important to say
Doesn't matter if it’s true I'm going to tell you I’m okay.   

I don’t need to listen when you call it denial
All I ever need is my convincing smile
I got some friends who believe what I say
The others I don’t see a lot these days
Maybe its true that the country’s dying
Most everybody seems to have given up trying
But me I’m good and I’ve made the call
I’ll vote for that guy who says he will fix it all   

I’m OK
Pay no attention to what you see, believe me when I say
I’m OK   
You ask me if I want to have a chat
So you can ask again where I'm at
But I don’t have anything left to say
I already told you  I'm OK    

And when I tell you
That I’m ok
It don’t mean I’m good
It’s something I say
OK means     
You can leave me alone
I can be trusted to
Be on my own

You don’t know me
Though you think you do
You got no idea
What I’ve been through
I’ve done my tIme
That’s all I’m willing to say
No matter how it looks
All you need to know is I’m OK 

I aint go no privilege - at least not a lot
I’ve worked hard for everything I got
I never had any anything that aided me
I just worked hard and then they paid me
Now I’ve got this pile of stuff
One day I just might have enough
If I work hard enough on being OK
It might turn out to be true one day   

I’m OK
Pay no attention to what I do, believe me when I say
I’m OK   
It took me time to learn to be OK
But now I plan on staying that way
And I don’t anything left to say
Cuz I already told you I'm OK    
I already told you I'm OK

Everything's Good

I've always loved the Gertrude Stein quote 
“There ain't no answer.
There ain't gonna be any answer.
There never has been an answer.
There's your answer.”
I thought there might be a song in there somewhere.  When I came up with a chorus I was encouraged, but it took a while to turn it into a song.  Who knew that the piano would figure so prominently.

The Lyics:
You could be searching far and wide
At pretty great expense
Hoping to hear some magic words
That’ll finally make it all make sense

If you hear those words you will know the answer
And everything will work out fine
Nothing will ever be crazy again
Today was the very last time

I’ve heard it said that the answer’s out there
Hidden in plain site
Look hard enough and you might find it
On the other hand that might not be right 

I'm pretty sure 
There ain’t no answer
There never was
And never will be
That’s the answer, the whole damn answer 
And that’s ok with me

And if that's the only answer 
That we're ever going to get
We’re gunna have to find new questions
That we haven't asked quite yet 

Do you spend hours in meditation
Do you sit at the gurus feet
Has he shown you how to reach a higher plane
Is he the one that you were destined to meet

If he’s not, there’s always another
Out there in the great somewhere
Who’s knows the way to ever deeper places
If you find him he might take you there there

Are you quite sure that this is real
Is he worth everything you spent
So many gurus seem to misbehave
In ways you don’t expect from enlightenment    

I'm pretty sure 
There ain’t no answer
There never was
And never will be
That’s the answer, the whole damn answer 
And that’s ok with me

I'm pretty sure 
There ain’t no answer
There never was
And never will be
That’s the answer, the whole damn answer 
And that’s ok with me

I always wanted to know the what and how
Who and where and why
But when the questions are big enough
Answers are in short supply

I heard a while back that Gertude Stein
Proposed a different take on the grand design
Seemed clever - quite an insight 
It occurred to me that she might be right

I'm pretty sure 
There ain’t no answer
There never was
And never will be
That’s the answer, the whole damn answer 
And that’s ok with me

And if that's the only answer 
That we're ever going to get
Were gunna have to find new questions
That we haven't asked quite yet 

I'm pretty sure 
There ain’t no answer
There never was
And never will be
That’s the answer, the whole damn answer 
And that’s ok with me

There Ain't No Answer

This is a song about my first and only trip to Europe.  It's happy and upbeat.  But perhaps that's not really what it's about.  Maybe it's about those moments that, when we look back, we say are the key moments that were the beginning of all that followed.  There are so many moments to choose from but we select a very few and give them meaning.  
At least that's what I had in mind when I wrote it.


Lyrics:

On my way
Finally underway
Started with the very first step I took
On that particular day
I didn't know
What was ahead for me
Knew the where the flight was heading
Didn't know where it was taking me
Only me and my
Special friend
Wondering though a couple capitals
Until our partnership came to an end

Just a start
There’s got to be a start
Choose any day you can
Until the start
It's always the time
The time before it all began

I believed
Our love was strong
But in the end I guess it didn’t really
Last very long
But it was the first
Path I knew
It hurt when it ended
Like those kind of things always do
But I kept moving on
Hoping to find
If not another path to follow
At least I'd have a damn good time 

Pulling out
Of the station
Heading for
Another nation
Losing heart
Leaving Spain
Time to start  
All over again
It’s not clear
How I got here
But anyway
I’m here today

Whatever time there is
Is all the time we have
No way to make it last
Looking back
It’s never the same
Once today’s become the past

I started down
A strange and winding road
But i left that road and found another
So many years ago
I think about
How it seems to me
That while I kept starting over and over
I ended up where I needed to be

Somehow it all
Works itself out
Never seems to be a plan
Now it’s a memory
From another time
The time before it all began

Before It All Began

"A little bit of alright" was a phrase that I wrote in my notebook a long time ago. I had no idea what to do with it but I kinda liked the phrase and thought there might be a song in there somewhere.  That was a few years back.  More recently the phrase "nothing's truly black, nothing's black as all that" occurred to me in an unrelated context.  Once they two phrases found their way to the same piece of paper this song popped out.   No deep meaning, just a, hopefully, catchy tune.

Lyrics:
Nothing’s truly black, nothing black as all that.  You can aways find a touch of gray.  
It’s really not so much, just he tiniest touch. Hard to see but it’s always that way,
No matter how dark, and it can get very dark, the stars still find their way through
No matter how old and dreary the story, if you listen you might find something new

There’s a little bit of Alright
Nothing’s ever really that bad
After  midnight on a dark night
There's still a little bit of light to be had       

When you feel low and you swear that you don’t know why you should be feeling like this
It’s probably just the blues but you keep looking for clues you’re sure there must be something you missed
Why don’t you take a moment maybe more than a moment - give yourself a chance to think it all through
No doubt you can cope  you got good reason to hope - that somehow you’ll figure out  what to  do.

There’s a little bit of Alright
Nothing’s ever really that bad
When you’re freezing on a cold night
There's still a little bit of heat to be had       


If you wake into sadness in the middle of your darkest night
Remember that even in the sadness you can find a little bit of alright


If you you’re feeling shy just trying to get by, you’re feeling kinda lonesome and alone 
Feeling pretty flat don’t know what to do ‘bout that. There’s no point of even leaving your home
Maybe think again take a moment count to ten how long since you have been anywhere?
You could get out and meet someone, try your hand at having fun - you’ll find that there's alright everywhere

There’s a little bit of Alright
Nothing’s ever really that bad
When you’re freezing on a cold night
There's still a little bit of heat to be had       

There’s a little bit of Alright
Seems to me it’s always around
Feeling lonely on a hard night
There’s still a little bit of love  to be found       

There’s a little bit of Alright
Seems to me it’s always around
Feeling lonely on a hard night
There’s still a little bit of love  to be found       

A Little Bit of Alright

I write songs.  I'm not a performer any more than I need to be to have my songs heard once in a while. I hope that better musicians than I encounter my songs and decide to play them.  I just write songs to have them exist in the world. If the world likes them then the world can do with them what it will.  All these recordings are demos.  I've tried to make them as musically interesting as I can but they are all awaiting the skilled hand of someone who knows how to make songs shine.

A Little Bit of Alright

Daniel Weinstein