This song and others you will find on the "Too Hip For The Room Playlist' are songs I loved but others felt were too outside the mainstream to move to the release stage. Well I saw The Boss was releasing old tracks so why not me. Each song in this collection is loved by the songwriter but so often that is not enough/ Be Well /Do well /Stay safe and know I love you all...EdAll rights reserved by Songwriter Edwin H. Balder(Lyric sheet available on request- Thanks to all the studio players)

Pushing Buttons by Songwriter Edwin H. Balder

Wish someone would go through my life with a red pen
Circle all the places I should’ve been
Underline the words I never said
And cross out the ones I wish I could forget
I wore pride like perfume, strong and sweet
But it faded fast on broken streets
I chased dreams in worn-out boots
Left good love tangled in my roots
I said “I’m fine” when I was torn
Skipped the chapters where I should’ve mourned
I built a house on shifting sand
And called it home with shaky hands
Red pen revival, rewrite my lines
Fix the pages where I crossed the signs
Give me margins wide enough to bend
Let me start again, let me start again
Red pen revival, mark what’s true
Draw a heart around the parts I knew
Life ain’t perfect, but it’s still my pen
Let me start again, let me start again
I loved too fast, I left too slow
Held on tight when I should’ve let go
I made peace with paper scars
But some still shine like broken stars
Mama said “grace is in the try”
But I kept chasing reasons why
Now I’m older, ink runs thin
But I still dream of where I’ve been
Red pen revival, rewrite my lines
Fix the pages where I crossed the signs
Give me margins wide enough to bend
Let me start again, let me start again
Red pen revival, mark what’s true
Draw a heart around the parts I knew
Life ain’t perfect, but it’s still my pen
Let me start again, let me start again
If I could edit every tear
Would I still be standing here?
If I erased the pain and shame
Would I still know my own name?
Mistakes are inked, but love is bold
And every story needs the folds
So maybe I don’t need to mend
Just turn the page and write again
Red pen revival, rewrite my lines
Fix the pages where I crossed the signs
Give me margins wide enough to bend
Let me start again, let me start again
Red pen revival, mark what’s true
Draw a heart around the parts I knew
Life ain’t perfect, but it’s still my pen
Let me start again, let me start again
mmm…
Wish someone would go through my life with a red pen
But maybe I’m the one who holds it in the end

Please check out our other albums...!
https://soundcloud.com/cookiehot/sets/dream-and-pretend?si=ec8b6a32f93441429b79cf315810a28b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Songwriter Edwin H. Balder
All rights reserved and protected by ZproMur LLC, doing business as Pinky's Picks. Copyright 2025 by ZproMur. For cover inquiries and use in films, commercials, or other marketing, promotional, or musical applications of this material in any part, please direct message 

Red Pen by Hot Cookie♨️ 🍪

da da da   dada  dada dada......da
She used to bleed into a notebook
Hungover truths in lipstick red
Now she’s got a team of stylists
And a ghostwriter in her head
He once sang from a motel shower
With a broken mic and borrowed chords
Now he’s tracking vocals in a mansion
Where silence echoes more than words
Desperately chasing relevance
Trading soul for elegance
They used to cry in minor keys
Now they harmonize with guarantees
They lost the ache, they lost the mess
Now they just perform success
Desperately chasing relevance
They used to write from hunger
From heartbreak, rage, and cigarettes
Now they pitch to playlists
And chase the trends they once upset
The mix is clean the the band is tight
but everyone knows
that old truth now doesn’t bite
Desperately chasing relevance
Trading soul for elegance
They used to cry in minor keys
Now they harmonize with guarantees
They lost the ache, they lost the mess
Now they just perform success
Desperately chasing relevance
They forgot the sound of silence
The kind that hurts before it heals
They forgot the thrill of failure
how one's truth refused to kneel
They used to write for no one
Now they write for everyone
But the part that made them magic
Is the part that’s come undone
Desperately chasing relevance
Trading soul for elegance
They used to cry in minor keys
Now they harmonize with guarantees
They lost the ache, they lost the mess
Now they just perform success
Desperately chasing relevance
Now they chase what once was real...
And wonder why they can’t still feel...
Desperately .....chasing relevance
Desperately .........chasing relevance
da da da   dada  dada dada..

Please check out our other albums...!
https://soundcloud.com/cookiehot/sets/dream-and-pretend?si=ec8b6a32f93441429b79cf315810a28b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Songwriter Edwin H. Balder
All rights reserved and protected by ZproMur LLC, doing business as Pinky's Picks. Copyright 2024 by ZproMur. For cover inquiries and use in films, commercials, or other marketing, promotional, or musical applications of this material in any part, please direct message

Desperately Chasing Relevance by Hot Cookie♨️ 🍪

You had the mic, you had the crowd
But baby, look who’s talking now
You used to spin your stories slick
Whiskey charm and poker tricks
You played the saint, I played the fool
You made the lies sound like a rule
But I found truth in your disguise
And now I’m done with compromise
I kept quiet, bit my tongue
Let your version get sung
But silence ain’t my style no more
I’m kicking down slamming your door
Who’s doing the talking now?
Who’s got the fire, who’s got the crowd?
You had your run, you had your spin
But I’ve got the mic and I’m dialing in
Who’s doing the talking now?
Who’s got the truth you can’t drown out?
You built your throne on shaky ground
But I’m the storm that’s.... tearing.... it..... down
You left your boots in someone’s bed
While I was home with tears unsaid
You called it love, I called it bluff
Now I’m the one who’s had enough
I wrote this song in gasoline
Lit it up where you’d been seen
Now every chord’s a match I strike
And every line’s a truth you fight
I kept quiet, bit my tongue
Let your version get sung
But silence ain’t my style no more
I’m kicking down slamming your door
Who’s doing the talking now?
Who’s got the fire, who’s got the crowd?
You had your run, you had your spin
But I’ve got the mic and I’m dialing in
Who’s doing the talking now?
Who’s got the truth you can’t drown out?
You built your throne on shaky ground
But I’m the storm that’s tearing it down
You said I’d never make a sound
But I’m the echo in this town
You said I’d break, you said I’d bend
But I’m the story they defend
You had the stage, you had the light
But I’ve got justice in my bite
So turn it up, let the rumors burn
It’s my damn turn
Who’s doing the talking now?
Who’s got the fire, who’s got the crowd?
You had your run, you had your spin
But I’ve got the mic and I’m dialing in
Who’s doing the talking now?
Who’s got the truth you can’t drown out?
You built your throne on shaky ground
But I’m the storm that’s tearing it down
You had the mic, you had the crowd…
But baby—
I’m doing the talking now.

Please check out our other albums...!
https://soundcloud.com/cookiehot/sets/dream-and-pretend?si=ec8b6a32f93441429b79cf315810a28b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Songwriter Edwin H. Balder
All rights reserved and protected by ZproMur LLC, doing business as Pinky's Picks. Copyright 2024 by ZproMur. For cover inquiries and use in films, commercials, or other marketing, promotional, or musical applications of this material in any part, please direct message 

Who’s Talking Now by Hot Cookie♨️ 🍪

One room, one amp
No crowd, no camp
Just me and the wall
And the sound that wouldn’t fall
Sat alone for a year straight
No stage, no praise, no clean slate
Played along with every great
Put myself through every gate
No teacher, no cheat
Just blistered hands and backbeat
No shortcut, no rest
Just bending through the test
Now you can shred it
Open it up and let it bleed
Go past what you think you need
Firewood and strings of steel
Go beyond what others feel
You shred it
Neighbors thought I lost my mind
But I was chasing tone divine
No sleep, no light
Just chasing ghosts through every night
I broke picks, I broke skin
But never let the noise win
I tuned pain into a chord
And made the silence beg for more
Now you can shred it
Open it up and let it burn
Play the truth you had to earn
Firewood and strings of steel
Go beyond what others deal
You shred it
This ain’t flash, this ain’t fame
This is blood inside the frame
This is sweat on every fret
This is soul you won’t forget
You don’t fake it, you don’t pose
You don’t play what someone knows
You go deeper, you go blind
You leave the rest of them behind
Now you can shred it
Open it up and let it scream
Cut through every broken dream
Firewood and strings of steel
Go beyond what others feel
You shred it
One room, one amp
Now the world’s your camp
You shred it
Firewood and strings of steel
Go beyond what others feel
You shred it........

Want to rock some more? Click this link to our Rock Playlist: https://soundcloud.com/cookiehot/sets/shred?si=64a6ae72df554d8c9002fb056cac6d54&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

All Right held by songwriter Edwin H. Balder..DM us to cover ay tune ♨️🍪

Shred It  by ♨️ 🍪

You know the look
You know the line
Leather boots
Stage design
But behind the lights
And the crowd control
There’s a price you pay
When you rock when you roll
You started out in a rented room
Strings too loose, dreams too soon
Played to five, maybe six at best
But you gave each chord a full-out test
You learned to tune through broken amps
Wrote your truth on diner stamps
No manager, no label call
Just a beat-up Strat and a concrete wall
You weren’t chasing fame or gold
You were chasing something bold
Something buried deep inside
That only music could describe
Rock and roll
It takes its toll
On your soul
Makes you dig deeper
Looking for your ceiling
Turn guitar string into feeling
Once you start
It’s hard to stop
When you rock
When you roll
You hit the road with a borrowed van
Played the dive bars, made your stand
Sold your coat to fix the tire
Slept in booths, chased the fire
You lost your voice in smoky haze
Found it back in stranger praise
You broke apart, you stitched it tight
You played through pain most every night
They said “you’re loud,” you said “I’m real”
They said “tone down,” you said “feel”
You didn’t bend, you didn’t fold
You let the solos take control
Rock and roll
It takes its toll
On your soul
Makes you dig deeper
Looking for your ceiling
Turn guitar string into feeling
Once you start
It’s hard to stop
When you rock
When you roll
It’s not the fame
It’s not the flash
It’s not the merch
Or the backstage pass
It’s the sound that shakes your chest
It’s the truth that won’t suppress
It’s the moment when the crowd goes still
And you feel the climb, you feel the thrill
It’s the echo in your bones
It’s the part that feels like home
Rock and roll
It saves your soul
Makes you whole
Makes you dig deeper
Looking for your ceiling
Turn guitar string into feeling
Once you start
It’s hard to stop
When you rock
When you roll
So plug it in
Let it scream
This ain’t a trend
It’s a dream
You don’t play it
You become it
You don’t fake it
You outrun it
Rock and roll
When you rock
When you roll

Want to rock some more? Click this link to our Rock Playlist: soundcloud.com/cookiehot/sets/shred?si=64a6ae72df554d8c9002fb056cac6d54&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

All Right held by songwriter Edwin H. Balder..DM us to cover ay tune ♨️🍪

When You Rock When You Roll by ♨️ 🍪

Your name on my lips
Still tastes like home
I found your old shirt
Can't let it go
These walls remember
The way you'd laugh
Now silence echoes
Where love used to last
I thought we were unbreakable
I thought we were real
But it still felt like magic
(Still felt like magic)
Even when you were leaving
(Even when you were leaving)
It still felt like magic
(Still felt like magic)
My heart won't stop believing
That we had something sacred
Something true
It still felt like magic
With you
(With you, with you)
Your empty coffee cup
Sits by my bed
I trace the rim where
Your lips once pressed
Friends say move on
But they don't see
How perfect we were
How we used to be
I thought we were unbreakable
I thought we were real
But it still felt like magic
(Still felt like magic)
Even when you were leaving
(Even when you were leaving)
It still felt like magic
(Still felt like magic)
My heart won't stop believing
That we had something sacred
Something true
It still felt like magic
With you
(With you, with you)
Maybe I'm a fool
For holding on so tight
Maybe love's not supposed
To hurt this much at night
But when I close my eyes
I see us dancing slow
And I can't let that feeling go
'Cause it still felt like magic
(Still felt like magic)
Even when you were leaving
(Even when you were leaving)
It still felt like magic
(Still felt like magic)
My heart won't stop believing
That we had something sacred
Something true
It still felt like magic
It still felt like magic
(Still felt like magic, magic)
Even when you were leaving
(Even when you were leaving me)
It still felt like magic
(Still felt like magic, magic)
My heart won't stop believing
(Won't stop believing in you)
That we had something sacred
(Something sacred, something true)
Something true
It still felt like magic
With you
(Magic with you, magic with you)
It still felt like magic
(Still felt like magic)
With you
(With you, with you, with you)
(Still felt like magic)
(Magic with you)
(Still felt like magic)
(With you, with you)

Still Magic by Hot Cookie♨️ 🍪

Another drink
Another night
Another chance
To get it right
She left her ring on the windowsill
Packed her past with unpaid bills
Took the long way out of town
With the radio turned down
She don’t cry like she used to do
She just sips and sees it through
Every mile’s a memory burned
Every turn’s a lesson learned
Another drink, another life
One more toast to say goodbye
To the girl she used to be
To the love that couldn’t see
Another drink, another song
To remind her she’s still strong
She ain’t lost, she’s just in flight
Another drink, another life
long acoustic guitar solo
She found a bar with a jukebox soul
Where the lights don’t judge, and the stories roll
She danced alone, then danced again
With strangers who felt like old friends
She’s not chasing some cowboy dream
She’s just chasing what freedom means
And every sip’s a little prayer
To the woman she knows is still there
She’s not broken, just unmade
Not forgotten, just delayed
She’s not drowning, just adrift
On a river she had to shift
long acoustic guitar solo
Another drink (Another drink)
Another night (Another night)
Another chance (Another chance)
To get it right (To get it right).....mmm(mmm)mmm
Another drink, another life
One more toast to say goodbye
To the girl she used to be
To the love that couldn’t see
Another drink, another song
To remind her she’s still strong
She ain’t lost, she’s just in flight
Another drink, another life
Another drink (Another drink)
Another night (Another night)
Another chance (Another chance)
To get it right (To get it right).....
Another night (Another night)
Another chance (Another chance)
To get it right (To get it right).

Please check out our other albums...!
https://soundcloud.com/cookiehot/sets/dream-and-pretend?si=ec8b6a32f93441429b79cf315810a28b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Songwriter Edwin H. Balder
All rights reserved and protected by ZproMur LLC, doing business as Pinky's Picks. Copyright 2024 by ZproMur. For cover inquiries and use in films, commercials, or other marketing, promotional, or musical applications of this material in any part, please direct message 

Another Drink, Another Life

mmm(mmm)mmm
dated curtains fall like secrets
High heels echo down the hall
her lips in cherry silence
no one sees her midnight calls
mmm(mmm)mmm
They scream her name like it’s a prayer
But never ask ...what’s... buried ...there
this life , this stage, this show, dancing through fire
Living for love, sold to desire
glitter shines no-place in the dark
Every ovation just another end. Just  another start
grace on a wire, tears in disguise
The life , this stage , this show—truth in her eyes
Backstage roses wilt by morning
Perfume fades, the lights go cold
She trades her soul for one more chorus
Chasing echoes she can’t hold
She’s not your doll, she’s not your muse
She’s got her scars, she paid her dues
And when the curtain falls tonight
She’ll walk away in forgotten light
dancing through fire
Living for love, sold ...to desire
fierce and alone
Built from ashes, carved ..into ..stone
the broken, ...dance for grace
every heartbreak ...  thread worn lace 
She’s drinks the spotlight, tears in disguise
this life , this stage, this show—truth in her eyes
this life , this stage ...this life , this stage, ..this show, ...this show
this life , this stage, this show....truth in her eyes.....!

Please check out our other albums...!
https://soundcloud.com/cookiehot/sets/dream-and-pretend?si=999876588ecd44a4a474147d926fa192&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Songwriter Edwin H. Balder
All rights reserved and protected by ZproMur LLC, doing business as Pinky's Picks. Copyright 2024 by ZproMur. For cover inquiries and use in films, commercials, or other marketing, promotional, or musical applications of this material in any part, please direct message

This Life, This Stage, This Show by ♨️ 🍪

Every heart’s got a soundtrack
Every tear’s got a tune
Love ballads don’t ask permission
They just walk into the room
She met him at a record store
He said “You like vinyl?” She said “I like more”
They danced to Etta in the kitchen light
That ballad played every Friday night
It was trust, it was bloom, it was fire
It was music that lifted her higher
She gave her heart to a traveling man
He sang her songs but never had a plan
She heard their ballad on the radio
And knew he’d left her long ago
It was ache, it was hush, it was gone
But she still hums it when she’s alone
She found a letter in a secondhand book
Lyrics scribbled in a lover’s look
She never met him, never knew her name
But that ballad lit her just the same
It was soft, it was strange, it was true
And it opened her heart to something new
Love ballads open closed hearts
To wonder or dark
They’re the afterglow of hear and gone
The echo of right and wrong
They’re music, mood, and trust
They’re the dust we never brush
Love ballads—joy or sad
They’re the best and worst we’ve ever had
Some love ballads make you cry
Some make you dance, some make you lie
But every one leaves a mark
A little light, a little dark
Love ballads open closed hearts
To wonder or dark
They’re the afterglow of hear and gone
The echo of right and wrong
They’re music, mood, and trust
They’re the dust we never brush
Love ballads—joy or sad
They’re the best and worst we’ve ever had
So sing me one I haven’t heard
Make it soft, make it absurd
Love ballads never ask to stay
But they never (never) really (really) go away
go away... (go away) ....go.. away....
[building riff by piano solo then biger sting and harmony build background]
go away... (go away) ....go.. away
Love.. ballads (Love... ballads) 
Love.. ballads 
never ask to stay.. 
(never )ask to stay
 they never (never) really (really) go away
go away... (go away) ....go.. away....(never ) ask ..to... stay
Love ballads—joy or sad
They’re the best and worst we’ve ever had
(go away)... (go away) ...(.go.. away) never ..stay

Please check out our other albums...!
https://soundcloud.com/cookiehot/sets/dream-and-pretend?si=ec8b6a32f93441429b79cf315810a28b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Songwriter Edwin H. Balder
All rights reserved and protected by ZproMur LLC, doing business as Pinky's Picks. Copyright 2024 by ZproMur. For cover inquiries and use in films, commercials, or other marketing, promotional, or musical applications of this material in any part, please direct message 

Love Ballads by ♨️ 🍪

🧨I gave you my hours / You gave me your weight
Now I’m crawling through the wreckage / Of every yesterday
You said it was love, but it felt like a job
Clocked in every morning, just praying you'd stop
You drained me dry, like a desert in June
Now I’m burnt out, broke down, howlin’ at the moon
I’m not your martyr / I’m not your muse
I’m not your fix / I’m not your fuse
I’m not your shelter / I’m not your bruise
I’m just a woman / You lit the fuse
I’m tired of the chase, tired of the show
Tired of pretending I’ve got somewhere to go
I’m drained, I’m done, I’m out of breath
You wore me down to nothing left
I’m exhausted—every nerve’s been frayed
Worn out like denim that’s been dragged through the rain
Spent all my spark on your cold little flame
Now I’m weary, and you don’t even know my name
I’m tired of the chase, tired of the show
Tired of pretending I’ve got somewhere to go
I’m drained, I’m done, I’m out of breath
You wore me down to nothing left
I’m not your martyr / I’m not your muse
I’m not your fix / I’m not your fuse
I’m not your shelter / I’m not your bruise
I’m just a woman / You lit the fuse
You called it passion, I called it pain
You played your part, I took the blame
Burned out, bruised, and emotionally strained
Fatigued from the fight, but still stuck in the game
I’m tired of the chase, tired of the show
Tired of pretending I’ve got somewhere to go
I’m drained, I’m done, I’m out of breath
You wore me down to nothing left
[Breakbeat, distorted guitar, whispered vocal building to scream]
Spent. Worn out. Burned down. Drained.
Every word you said was a weight on my name
I gave you rhythm, you gave me rust
Now I’m screaming through the static—just give me back my trust
I’m not your martyr / I’m not your muse
I’m not your fix / I’m not your fuse
I’m not your shelter / I’m not your bruise
I’m just a woman / You lit the fuse
Spent. Worn out. Burned down. Drained.
I’m not tired—I’m done.
[Breakbeat, distorted guitar, whispered vocal building to scream]
I’m not your martyr / I’m not your muse
I’m not your fix / I’m not your fuse
I’m not your shelter / I’m not your bruise
I’m just a woman / You.... lit....... the fuse.......


Want to rock some more? Click this link to our Rock Playlist: https://soundcloud.com/cookiehot/sets/shred?si=64a6ae72df554d8c9002fb056cac6d54&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

All Right held by songwriter Edwin H. Balder..DM us to cover any tune ♨️🍪

🎸Spent 🎸 by ♨️ 🍪

In the shadows of Apache Junction, at the foot of the majestic Superstition Mountains, sits a weathered hacienda. This desert oasis is home to an enigmatic figure, a songwriter whose journey reads like a long, dusty road of honky-tonk bars and college cafeterias. He wasn't chasing fame or glitter; instead, he chose the soul-crushing beauty of music for music's sake.

Years spent hunched over sticky barroom tables and scribbling lyrics on napkins earned him a reputation—not in the spotlight but in the back rooms where deals are made. He wrote melodies that found their way into the hearts of stars who had lost their own muse. He sold his creations for cash, with no recognition, but the whisper of his songs carried the weight of his soul.

Finally, he bought this piece of desert paradise—a stable income from his timeless songs allowed him to live comfortably, if anonymously. Here in this hacienda, with his family beside him and the mountains as his backdrop, he found the peace to write hits under his own name. He chuckled at the irony that now, without chasing fame, he could create music that brought him joy.

In the end, it was never about the spotlight. It was about the journey, the stories, and the songs that wrote themselves through his life. As the sun set behind the Superstitions, casting long shadows over the hacienda, he strummed his guitar and sang—content, unknown, and unburdened by the world's gaze.


Copyright 2019 Edwin H. Balder

I may be dead when fame comes but my real glory was always JULIE & The Kids. Thank you for such love

Pushing Buttons by Songwriter Edwin H. Balder

Edwin Balder