New mix, March 15, 2021.

--------------------------------------------------------

New production with new tracks, March 8, 2021.
Drums, bass, three (to five) acoustic guitars, electric guitar and vocals.

EVERY DAMN DAY

A: The whole damn world been yelling in my ear
All 2020 what a motherfuckin year
Always with the hate and death and the fear
Oh gimme something get me of here

Every damn day I’m walking the line between
Barefaced fools and bareass lies
The captain’s crazy and the ship’s on fire
While the chaplain says everything’s alright
B: But it ain’t alright where I come from
It ain’t alright
Every poor boy, every orphan son
Knows it ain’t alright where I come from

A: Death culture what we said back then
Ain’t no reason not to call it that again
Glorify the wages, idolize the sin
Then you’re gonna wonder ‘bout the shape you in

I shake my head and I blink my eyes
I tell myself I tell no lies
See the pretty people drop like flies
Heaven must be a fool's paradise
B: It ain't OK where I’m at
No it ain't Ok
You ain’t gotta ask the stars about that
It ain’t OK where I’m at

A: INSTRUMENTAL

B: It ain't OK where I’m at
No it ain't Ok
You ain’t gotta ask the stars about that
It ain’t OK where I’m at

EVERY DAMN DAY (p.2)

A: If you want good luck, you gotta walk clockwise
You told me about the chem trails up in the sky
You showed me where the devil burns sacrifices
Right on the trail by I-95

What brings you here, I know it ain’t my love
Boy it looks like push came to shove
Something ain’t right, something must have gone down
What brings you here to my hallowed ground

B: ‘Cause there ain't no love where you’re comin from
No there ain’t no love
Ya talk about the future,
‘talk about the dawn
But there ain’t no love
where you’re comin from

A: So every damn day I shade my eyes
I try to meditate on paradise
I tell myself I believe no lies
But still I got trouble get to sleep each night

The whole damn world been yelling in my ear
All 2020 what a motherfuckin year
Always with the hate and death and the fear
Oh gimme something get me of here

B: Nothing’s alright back where I belong
No it ain’t alright
Every lost soul, every orphan one
Knows it ain’t alright where I come from

B: No, it ain’t alright (repeat to chord pattern)

Every Damn Day

Dylan's classic, redone - simple and solo. Oddly appropriate for the times. September 2, 2021.

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun
Crying like a fire in the sun
Look out the saints are comin’ through
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense
Take what you have gathered from coincidence
The empty-handed painter from your streets
Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets
This sky, too, is folding under you
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home
All your reindeer armies, are all going home
The lover who just walked out your door
Has taken all his blankets from the floor
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you
Forget the dead you’ve left, they will not follow you
The vagabond who’s rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore
Strike another match, go start anew
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Cover)

Uploaded April 29, 2022. Newest mix May 9, 2022.

I WISH I'D KNOWN

Pour that morning coffee and roll that cigarette
Pickin' up the paper see another friend's gone dead
Starin' through the window to the sky
and shake my head
Thinkin' all the things I ought to say I ain't said yet

My eyes are full of memories that
See through me yet
Reveries and enemies
Itineraries of debt
A hobo heart's arrival
Stories of redress
Ghosts of old truth be told until they're laid to rest

I wish I'd known
These blues yesterday   
I would have phoned
I thought I had time to wait
Now you're gone
There's no more chance to take
Words on a stone
I wish I'd known

If I were so divined to know
The hour that you'll depart
I'd tear down every wall
To beat a path into your heart
Lay bare my confession   
Of envy fear and blood
And the fool I was alone with you the first time we made love

I remember you out on the bluff
And the deal we almost struck
But I wouldn't give enough
Words in stone
I wish I'd known (repeat instrumental)   

Pour that morning coffee and roll that cigarette   
The archives of another day receive me as a guest
I walk in this procession but every single step
Reminds me all the things I oughta say I ain't said yet

I wish I'd known
These blues yesterday   
I would have flown
Let nothing in my way
Now you're gone
There's no more chance to take
Words on a stone
I wish I'd known

I Wish I'd Known

Something up-tempo, short and hopefully sweet. Uploaded October 23, 2022. Last updated November 11, 2022.

DIANA

Look at that moon tonight my friend
I'll get the blues alright to no end 
I need a little slack 
It's just like a heart attack 
Whenever her face comes back to me

I've been in a mood tonight I'll say 
I'll have an attitude till Sunday
When my head goes numb 
I just want to hurt someone 
I wanna run away

Oh Diana 
I'm just a man 
Doing anything he can 
To get closer to you

How much of a fool can I be 
We don't even share the same reality
We're in different worlds 
Hobos and runway girls 
That's just a low life fantasy
 
Oh Diana 
I'm just a man 
Doing anything he can 
To get closer to you

I know I'll come around
When her memory's left town
I'll get my feet back on the ground

Look at that moon tonight my friend 
I'll get the blues alright to no end 
Cut me a little slack 
It's like a heart attack 
Whenever her face comes back to me

Oh Diana 
I'm just a man 
Doing anything he can 
To get closer to you

Diana

Sad to say, but Death is trending, seemingly, all over the world, with new boundaries broken every day in his name. This song is a worker's close-up on the death penalty process in the US, where in many places it is still legal by popular demand.

Steve Earle's great song about being a wage slave on death row, here covered reverently by Mike Redding (main vocals and guitar) and Robert Darlington (harmony vocals and guitar), recorded live August 2nd, 2014.

Ellis Unit One

DANGEROUS WORLD 

Half lotus in the night class
Playing with your hair
The pharmacist would lecture on addiction
I got some yellow jackets I can meet you by the stairs
I knew that we were going to be friends soon
I knew that we were going to be

Everybody wanna be on your arm
Rock 'n' roll never looked better
Every day feeling like a fire alarm
I was hoping we could set em off together
Maybe we could set em off

Oh Susie Susie Susie's blues
What in the world ever happened to you

Yeah, we had ourselves a time till the middle of the year
When you seemed to lose a sense of perspective
Took up with that guy and let him tie you to a chair
Yeah, that's something that you always regretted
Something that you'll always regret

Oh oh Susie's blues
Oh oh Susie's blues
 
You left the celebrations
Leaning on your horn
Passing everybody on the shoulder
Every indication
You were gonna do some harm
Did anybody care enough to warn ya
Did anybody care enough

Oh Susie Susie Susie's blues
What in the world ever happened to you
Never seen such a beautiful girl
Caught up in a dangerous world

Early in the morning
You were calling it a day
Empties sitting on the kitchen table
Boys hoping you'd get high enough to give it all away
Pretty soon you wasn't even able
Pretty soon you wasn't

Oh Susie Susie Susie's blues
Yeah honey what was it happened to you
Never seen such a beautiful girl
Caught up in a dangerous world

Dangerous World

Version History:
1. Uploaded November 12, 2023
2. Revised November 16, 2023
3. Revised November 17, 2023

ORIONS

That blue October morning
You were falling like a star
Into the eyes of two lovers by the ocean
When they saw their own reflection
You were welcomed as a god
For they knew that they were somebody else then
They'd become somebody else

They saw you as a hero
Climbing in the sky
Just like Orion in the Winter
But how could they really know you
How it felt inside
To be the one to carry the sword
You didn't even know yourself

You can't say you were abandoned
When you run away and hide
All your arrows blunted by delights
It wasn't like one morning
You woke up compromised
That doesn't happen overnight 

Some are born iron
Some are born to sing
Some are born a fire in the rain
Some are born lions
Some are born to dream
But we all get here crying just the same
Crying for our name

The night of the Orions
You looked back on the years ￼
And watched the stars fall into the Delta
Everything inside you 
Finally still and clear
You'd become somebody else
Maybe you're just seeing yourself now

Orions

Cover of the great song by Gillian Welsh, quick take from an ordinary solo practice session.

We lease 20 acres
And one Ginny mule
From the Alabama Trust
For half of the cotton and a third of the corn
Get a hand full of dust

We cannot have all things to please us
No matter how we try
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We can only wonder why

I had a daughter
Called her Annabelle
She's the apple of my eye
Tried to give her something like I never had
Didn't want to ever hear her cry

We cannot have all things to please us
No matter how we try
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We can only wonder why

When I'm dead and buried
I'll take a hard life of tears
From every day I've ever known
Anna's in the churchyard
She got no life at all
She only got these words on a stone

We cannot have all things to please us
No matter how we try
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We can only wonder why

Annabelle

Annabelle (Cover)

Totally live jam track featuring Lena June Redding on vocals, recorded October 4, 2014. Great song by Judee Sill, clumsily here re-interpreted ala Shawn Colvin's version from Cover Girl.

"There's A Rugged Road" (By Judee Sill) - Cover

All new arrangement and tracks. Uploaded January 19, 2024.

HERE

I'm sittin’ here trying just to do my best
Watching the storm fronts blow up in the West
They’re heading this way, but they ain’t here yet
Another round now, place your bets

Over here
Where the neighborhood is heading South
Over here
Where the words are having trouble in my mouth

Who do you figure gets hit this time
Hope it ain’t yours and
I hope it ain’t mine
The rancor builds and the anchors squeal
Smoke of sacrifices in the distant hills

Around here
You can sell your shell for cash any time
Over here
Where I’ll be yours or you'll be mine

You know I never thought it would get this far here
I should be dead from dope or beat up in a bar dear
But here we are just wearing out from it all
Money’s getting’ tight, and it’s comin’ on Fall

Over here
Walkin’ distance to convenience stores
Over here
Clinic and dispensary are right next door

Lookin’ at the jigsaw of what remains
Scrubbing the memory and changing the names
One thing I’ll say about most everyone I see
I feel closer to them than they feel to me

Over here
Homeless houses where you can’t pay the rent
Over here
Where the younger ones just got up and went

Over here
Watch the dealers in the empty lot
Over here
Where I used to get my car fixed before the whole thing burned out

Over here
Where the neighborhood is heading South
Over here
Where the words are having trouble in my mouth

Here 2024

Just a retake on one of my favorite cover songs "Dirty Old Town", originally by The Pogues. This version is all me just messing around in the studio and the tempo is a little slower than the original.

I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Clouds are drifting across the moon
Cats are prowling on their beat
Spring's a girl from the streets at night
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I heard a siren from the docks
Saw a train set the night on fire
I smelled the spring on the smoky wind
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I'm gonna make me a good sharp axe
Shining steel tempered in the fire
I'll chop you down like an old dead tree
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Dirty Old Town

A very old original I've always wanted to work more on - state of the work at the moment.

RESTLESS SLEEPER

I sat down and wrote this letter
Like I usually wouldn’t do
But this time I thought it better
If I say these things to you
I know you don’t like the drama
Keep it plausibly denied
But every now and then I’m gonna
Let my heart outside

‘Always been a restless sleeper
If there’s anyone around
I know what can dig you in deeper
I don’t look for none in town
I’ve never been a true believer
In anything I’ve found
Still you know how bad I need you
So you barely make a sound

Slipping away, some people say
Pretty soon this will all be gone
So while it’s today
I just want to say “So long, so long.”

It’s hard to talk about the future
When there ain’t much of it there
Remember, we’ll forget what we used to
Take for granted without a care
So while we share this light above us
And the spirit’s in the air
I just want to say, “I love us”
And I’m glad that you are here

Slipping away, some people say
Pretty soon this will all be gone
So while it’s today
I just want to say So long
So long
So long

Restless Sleeper

Another recreational cover song, this time of a Keith Urban and The Ranch song. (With apologies to mandolin players everywhere.)

MY LAST NAME

I can feel your goodbye comin'
Like a storm up from the south
The rain'll splatter at the back door
The wind'll whistle 'round the house
So it's you and Howie Johnston
Somebody told me at the store
I guess I'd better get used
To the idea of you
Not around anymore

And so, I'm doin' my best to prepare for the worst
And I'd better get use to the hunger and thirst
I gotta find me a potion
To take for the pain
And all you've got to lose
Is my last name

I know he's cute and he's got money
I ain't no handsome fancy Dan
In a way it's sad and kinda funny
You'll be OK and I'll be damned
So I best be gettin' ready
For the bitter nights alone
Sleepin' on the couch
Wake up starting out
Livin' life on my own

And so, I'm doin' my best to prepare for the worst
And I'd better get use to the hunger and thirst
I gotta find me a potion
To take for the pain
And all you've got to lose
Is my last name

Yeah, all you've got to lose is my last name

My Last Name (Cover)

Studio version.

DEAD MAN’S SHOES

Monday morning, got those morning blues
Fishing around for a dead man’s shoes
You put them to the test put ‘em on the tar
Put ‘em in the dirt I think they’re gonna go far
Big debate about the gain and loss
Either way you’re carryin’ a dead man’s cross

My daddy died I heard somebody said
Now you remember all those things in his head
Tell it to the kids tell it to the men
Standing on the corner with their empty hands
Gone ain’t forgotten that’s all in your head
We don’t disappear we reappear dead

Sneakers hanging on the telephone wire
Books you gotta hide to keep out of the fire
Empty houses empty schools
Don’t want to be a captain on a ship of fools
Turn off the phone you ain’t alone
You’re only free to lose
Wake up tomorrow in a dead man’s shoes

My brother died I heard somebody say
Beautiful dude too soon gone away.
What about his shoes, they have so much tread
What about the Black and what about the Red
Big debate don’t let it go to your head
Either way you owe yourself a dead man’s debt

Sneakers hanging on the telephone wire
Books you gotta hide to keep out of the fire
Empty houses empty schools
Don’t want to be a captain on a ship of fools
Turn off the phone you ain’t alone
You’re only free to lose
Wake up tomorrow in a dead man’s shoes

Mystery
History
Property
Poverty
Misery
Victory
Liberty
You and me
Burning flags and bloody crosses
Either way you're carrying a dead man's losses

Dead Man's Shoes

Dead Man's Shoes (Studio)

MY LAST FOOTSTEPS (STUDIO)
Growing up in Essex, Maryland in the 50's and 60's.

MY LAST FOOTSTEPS

Some folks’ life like a four leaf clover
Seem like they’re lucky all the time
One thing I learned when I think it over is
That life – it ain’t mine
I come up in Essex Maryland
With the Flamingos and the hoods
Dual carb, double barreled Chevies
Dairy Queens and Thunderbirds
Cuban heels and continentals
Joe College preppies daddy’s cash
India ink tattoos so you know who’s who
If you got a hat pin and a match

I want my last footsteps to keep the beat
I want my last footsteps to be deep
I want my last footsteps to be sweet
I want my last footsteps to go in in peace

Johnny Rebs and Southern whiskey
And pedal steel on the box
Greg knocked over the pharmacy again
This time he ran before he got caught
All crumbled up in the back room
Between the cocaine and the barbs
When the cops walked in shook their heads and grinned
And they put him behind bars

Now Billy’s waxing down the Mustang
He's got a handgun in the glove
He’s got his hair back in a Duck’s Ass
And he’s going out with the one he love
He’s gonna pick her up at Gino’s
Her old man won’t have a clue
If he can’t have her nobody will
Let ‘em fish her out of the lagoon
I can’t believe it every morning
When I put my feet back on the earth
But I can hear my last footsteps
And I can tell they’re gettin’ close

I want my last footsteps to walk in truth
I want my last footsteps to get to you
I want my last footsteps to leave a mark
I want my last footsteps to walk in your heart

I want my last footsteps to keep the beat
I want my last footsteps to be deep
I want my last footsteps to be sweet
I want my last footsteps to go in in peace

My Last Footsteps (Studio)

RENEGADE HEART

Ain't feeling like myself today
I just wanna blow my mind away
I don't wanna wonder why
I don't wanna be this guy 
I don't wanna have this past 
I don't wanna hear it
I don't wanna play this part 
Living with a renegade heart
 
Renegade heart ain't on my side
Don't bring no peace of mind
Always looking for a place to hide
This renegade heart of mine

Every now and then I think I might
Run the hell away in the dead of night
I could be somebody else
Feel what I haven't felt
Maybe it's a cry for help
Maybe I'm a fire
Looking for a place to start
Living with a renegade heart

Renegade heart ain't got my back
Won't keep me safe at night
Gotta watch out for a sneak attack
From a renegade heart like mine

Everybody's schooled in their rights and the wrongs
One false move and that's all gone
Can't you hear me crying
Living on the borderline
Maybe I'm the other kind
Maybe I'm a wire waiting for a chance to spark
Living with a renegade heart

Renegade heart

Renegade heart

Renegade heart

Renegade Heart

A new recording of an original song from more than a few years ago.

Uploaded July 13, 2024.

RUNNING AWAY FROM HOME

Here’s that little guy again from down around the block
‘Walks these dirty streets all by himself
‘Last time that he passed me by we had a little talk
I asked him “Ain’t there anybody else?”

I said “Watch your back son, they’ll use you up son, just to bring you down
This town’s a world of trouble on your own.”
He said, “I’m OK, I know my way if I want to turn around.
I’m safe when I’m all alone.”

He’s running away from home tonight
It hurts too much to stay and fight
He might go back in the morning light
But he’s running away from home again tonight

I got this friend who was a happy man until the other night
When he waited for his Better to come home
And when she didn’t show he worried so - he cherished her you know
Now it’s lookin’ like that love will turn to stone

She was running away from home that night
Too hard to tell him things weren’t right
So she left him broken in the morning light
She was running away from home again that night

I knew this gal she’d tell you right out loud she don’t belong to anyone
And she left a trail of men she played the fool
But when she settled down it come back around, yeah you know how it’s done
Her good man went and broke her golden rule

He went running away from home one night
Didn’t care enough to make it right
Now nobody’s there in the morning light 
They’re running away from home again tonight

Now I’m old, I been bought and sold so many times it’s thin
A weary soul trying to turn himself around
Yeah I see the light but just tonight it’s a little bright my friend
My feet don’t know this feel of solid ground

So I’m running away from home tonight
I’ll be right here though, it’s alright
Whiskey bottle in the pale moonlight
Running away from home again…
I’m running away alone tonight 
Out of touch right in plain sight
But I’ll be up and running in the morning light

Running away from home again tonight

Running Away From Home 2024

Uploaded August 7, 2024.

Latest edit: 
   added brass; tweaked levels and eq curves, August 10, 2024
   tweaked various levels and eq curves, August 21, 2024

PLAY THE BLUES

Now when you're born down in the holler
A man's got nothing but his name
While I never knew my father
The preacher called me son all the same

My mama raised me to be righteous
But you know my uncle raised me too
Cook the ice cut it twice how to spot a fool
Then he showed me how to play the blues

Maybe when my hands don't shake
Maybe when my head ain't aching 
Maybe when this fever breaks
And all this stuff I've taken
Wears off and leaves me straight
Maybe then for heavens sake
I won't have to play the blues

I took to sleeping near the mission
Round the time my mama turned to shine
Then she dropped dead in the kitchen
Got a batch makes them brothers blind

I'll go and hang out by the meeting
I'll find a lover who won't care
Don't wanna be alone bound to take me home
Cause I got a lot of misery to share

Maybe when my hands don't shake
Maybe when my head ain't aching 
Maybe when this fever breaks 
And all this stuff I'm taking
Wears off and leaves me straight
Maybe then for heavens sake
I won't have to play the blues

They tell me Jesus loves his sinners
I know he's loving me to death
But the devil loves me too
And he helps me play the blues
And he tells me what to do to get ahead

Maybe when my hands don't shake
Maybe when my head ain't aching 
Maybe when this fever breaks
And all this stuff I'm taking
Wears off and leaves me straight
Maybe then for heavens sake
I won't have to play the blues
I won't have to play the blues

Play The Blues

(Uploaded January 13, 2025)

EAST COAST WINTER BLUES

I wake at dawn draw the curtains
Ain't nothing there to shout about
The ghost of Summer knows for certain
Everything's gone south
Don't seem right to still be this rolling stone
Lost so many loves and friends
Sometimes I wish my memories would leave me alone
So I might begin again

All I can say is it's hard to see your way
When all you do is lose
If you don't believe me you've never seen these
East Coast Winter blues

Lone survivor in the ruins
Of an avalanche of time
Sick and tired of these grays and blues
On this Mason-Dixon Line
I've heard the sound of mothers calling names
Seen their fingers sift the earth
Old roads are gone
Not one remains
Calling off the search

The Chesapeake was frozen hard
The day Jimmy took the oath
Country radio in that old car and we're
Stranded in the snow
Old man Jack was second infantry
The air was breath and smoke
He said you young men don't understand
We could die here in the cold

All I can say is you’ll never know your way
Till you help a brother through
If you don’t believe me you’ve never seen these
East Coast Winter Blues

Sometimes I think I'll be alright
Last night I'd swear I heard a whippoorwill
But come the light
Trees are bare
The house is cold and still

All I can say is we'll never know our way
Unless we help each other through
If you don’t believe me you’ve never seen these
East Coast Winter Blues

If you don't believe me wait till you see these
East Coast Winter Blues

East Coast Winter Blues (Revisited)

'Been experimenting with some new recording techniques again.

Here's Jimmy Cliff's song Sitting Here In Limbo, this version inspired by Garcia and Grisman's take on it, but with a full band treatment.

(Uploaded January 27, 2025)

SITTING HERE IN LIMBO

Sitting here in limbo, like a bird without a song
Sitting here in limbo, but I know it won't be long
Well, they're putting up resistance
But I know my faith will lead me on

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the tide to flow
Sitting here in limbo, knowing that I have to go
Well, they're putting up resistance
But I know my faith will lead me on

I don't know what life will show me
But I know what I've seen
I can't see where life will lead me
But I know where I've been
Tried my hand at love and friendship
But all that is passed and gone
This boy is moving on

Sitting here in limbo, waiting for the dice to roll
Sitting here in limbo, got some time to search my soul
Well, they're putting up resistance
But I know my faith will lead me on

I don't know what life will show me
But I know what I've seen
I can't see where life will lead me
But I know where I've been
Tried my hand at love and friendship
But all that is passed and gone
This boy is moving on

Sitting here in limbo, waiting for the dice to roll
Sitting here in limbo, got some time to search my soul
Well, they're putting up resistance
But I know my faith will lead me on
Well, they're putting up resistance
But I know my faith will lead me on

Sitting Here In Limbo (Solo Cover)

A new version of my song "Here" to accompany a video.

HERE

VERSE
Sittin’ here trying just to do my best
Watching the storm fronts blow up in the West
They’re heading this way, but they ain’t here yet
Another round now, place your bets over

CHORUS
Here
Where the neighborhood is heading South
Over here
Where the words are having trouble in my mouth

VERSE:
Who you figure gets hit this time?
Hope it ain’t yours and
I hope it ain’t mine
The rancor builds and the anchors squeal
Smoke of sacrifices in the distant hills

CHORUS
Here
You can sell out your shell for cash any time
Here
Where I’ll be yours or you will be mine

VERSE:
You know I never thought it would get this far (here)
I should be dead from dope or beat up in a bar, (dear)
But here we are just wearing out from it all
Money’s getting’ tight, and it’s comin’ on Fall

CHORUS
Here
Walkin’ distance to convenience stores
Here
Clinic and dispensary are right next door

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE

BRIDGE:
Lookin’ at the jigsaw of what remains
Scrubbing the memory and changing the names
One thing I’ll say about most everyone I see
I feel closer to them than they feel to me

CHORUS
Here
Homeless houses where you can’t pay the rent
Here
Where the younger ones just got up and went

Here
Watch the dealers in the empty lot
Here
My car was in the shop there till the thing burned out

Here (Video Soundtrack)

A troubling song for these troubled times.

PARALLEL LIVES

Ain’t it amazin’ all the people I meet online
But people I see out on the street
Won’t look me in the eye
You tell me we’ve seen better days
As we watch it all slip away
I know it ain’t no lie
It’s like we’re livin’ in parallel lives

Every night it gets a little bit darker inside
I rock myself knock myself out
And I wake up terrified
I read all your thought balloons
Comin’ from the other room’s WiFi
Talking to ourselves in parallel lines

Every day we go our separate ways
And then we wonder why
Everybody got mean and distant inside
Ain’t it great in these United States now
You hear it far and wide
Everybody’s livin’
In the Great Divide

Now why don’t you tell me where we’re goin’ from here
Are we livin’ too well are we goin’ to hell
Before we just disappear
One thing that’s clear to me as
These algorithims of destiny unwind
It’s like we’re living in parallel times

Every day we go our separate ways
And then we wonder how
Everybody got a chip on their shoulder somehow
Ain’t it great in these United States now
You hear it far and wide
Everybody’s livin’
In the Great Divide

Ain’t it amazin’ all the people I meet online
But people I meet out in the street
Won’t look me in the eye
You tell me we’ve seen better days
As we watch it all slip away
I know that ain’t no lie
It’s like we’re livin’ in parallel lives

Parallel Lives (Video Mix)

New mix as of February 19, 2025. BMI.

Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcmhbmI9L58

SPRING IN BALTIMORE

Forsythia, dogwood
Spring in Baltimore
Theyre comin back for more
Another year

The elephant's baby
Is showing at the zoo
Birds red black and blue
Sing in my ear

They stand in line
At the corner shrines
For Spring in Baltimore

Cherry and Magnolia
Blossom at my door
Who could ask for more
When the weathers good

Chalk lines fault lines
Its sketchy in the street
Hopscotch and defeat
My neighborhood

Basketball
Spraypaint walls
Idle hands implore
The pub crawls
Gunpowder Falls
Spring in Baltimore

The life we have together
Is all I want to see
Thats all I want the world to be
But somethings really wrong out there
Its cold and sad and mean
People living on their knees

Still its hard to see the stuff
You do to get your kicks
Shaking hands and dirty tricks
Everyone is broken
Down deep inside I guess,
Cause theyre always out there gettin it fixed

I'd have to say Vancouver
Is looking pretty smart
Sometimes I think my heart
Might lead me there

Lets talk about it later
Sometime after June
That Chesapeake full moon
Soon will disappear

Its all on fire
Under the wire
Just like it was before
One more dance
One last chance for
Spring in Baltimore

Spring In Baltimore (Video Version)

New song - THIS TIME, simple solo version. For Judy.

THIS TIME 

The Ides of March turned cold again
With a heavy frost and a steady wind
Been out here walking on thin ice my friend
But I don't need a place to hide
This time

I reach way down into my past
Feel around for the stuff that lasts
Found these scars and photographs 
Some love I lost
And plans I had

I made it through, but I don't know how
Many more were taken down
I’m keeping’ my hand on this gospel plow
Raise something up from this shallow ground
This time

You can try to hide your loneliness 
You won't be fooling no one here 
A boy left alone in a wilderness
Makes for a man who wants to disappear

The Bible says don’t you do no harm
The Buddha taught can’t you just stay calm
My daddy told me son I'm just a man
My lover whispers take my hand
This time

This time is a wheel of fire
This time is a forge
I’m keeping my ear on that gospel choir
This time's a train I'm gonna get on board
This time

This Time (Solo)

Time is precious, don't let it pass you by.

THIS TIME

The Ides of March turned cold again
With a heavy frost and a steady wind
Been out here walking on thin ice my friend
But I don't need a place to hide
This time
 
I reach way down into my past
Feel around for the stuff that lasts
Found these scars and photographs 
Some love I lost
And plans I had

I made it through, but I don't know how
Many more were taken down
I’m keeping’ my hand on this gospel plow
Raise something up from this shallow ground
This time
 
You can try to hide your loneliness 
You won't be fooling no one here 
You say your life has been a wilderness
Well that'll make a man want to disappear

The Bible says don’t you do no harm
The Buddha taught can’t you just stay calm
My daddy told me son I'm just a man
My lover whispers take my hand
This time
 
This time is a wheel of fire
This time is a forge
I’m keeping my ear on that gospel choir
This time's a train I'm gonna get on board
This time

This Time

Bob played this song first when I sat in with him and John O'Hara at the Cup in Belair quite a few years ago now. 

When I heard the first line "Oh, I'm frightened by everything; I'm frightened by nothing", I knew I was going to like not only this song but the rest of Bob's originals.

On this experimental studio multi-track, Bob is playing acoustic and electric guitars, bass, shakers and both vocals, but I'm sitting in on 2nd acoustic, mandolin and tambourine.

The recording itself was done in 3.5 hours on one evening in earlier-than-later April, 2008, as far as I can tell. 

Heart On My Sleeve (Remix 011416)

Jimmy Reed, as far as I know. Robert Darlington on main vocals and rhythm guitar. Michael Redding on Tennessee Crafters resonator pinky-slide guitar, Johnny Decker on National Steel Body slide guitar, Patrick Suttor on keyboards, John ? on electric guitar. Apologies to any mis-credits or missed players.

Baby, What You Want Me To Do? (Cover)

Robert Darlington's song "Difficult Age", appropriate enough to be chosen for tonight's tracklist on this first jam session since 2016 election night, titled "Trump Card".

This being our first jam after the 2016 US Presidential Election, all the song choices were chosen with a conscious sense of the current political context. 

Lyrics from Bob:

"Difficult Age

Night wipes away 
The blood from the sun
The man in the moon
Is so pale
Your feet are so heavy
And someone's behind you
Tonight the whole world 
Is for sale
All the preachers of doom
Are so righteous and ready
What monsters still wait
To be born
A trail of tears 
In the snow you've forgotten 
The promise of peace with
A dove and a thorn 

And it's a difficult age
When you can't turn a page
Without watching the future
Sink down in the mud
And it's a harvest of hate
But the winter won't wait
For the seed of compassion 
To grow in your blood

Night wipes away
The sun from the blood
The stars shine
Like daggers and fire 
This chaos inside you
Is blind in its fury
The flames of your fever
Leap higher

Mark every tombstone 
And hide every child
Hope nobody sees you
In the streets running wild

It's a difficult age"

Difficult Age (Trump Card Jam)

Written by Robert Darlington in 1975, this song "HEAVEN" is on Bob's solo release "Prism", produced in Baltimore by J Robbins.

This rendition recorded live May 27, 2017 at the OVERLEA GLEE CLUB Jam Session.

Robert Darlington: Electric guitar and vocals
Michael Redding: Acoustic guitar
Geoffrey Welchman: Bass
Dakini Keene: Percussion
Stephen Simcoe: Saxophone

Heaven (Overlea Glee Club Jam Session)

This song is a favorite from a long time ago and one I've not thought of in a long time. A whole lot of people covered it, including the Pogues and Rod Stewart. "Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949.

This is our first ensemble swipe at it.

Michael Redding: Acoustic guitar and main vocals
Robert Darlington: Electric guitar and vocals
Unindicted Co-conspirator: Bass and vocals
Dakini Keene: Percussion
Brian Chaney: Acoustic guitar and vocals

I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Clouds are drifting across the moon
Cats are prowling on their beat
Spring's a girl from the streets at night
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I heard a siren from the docks
Saw a train set the night on fire
I smelled the spring on the smoky wind
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I'm going to make me a good sharp axe
Shining steel tempered in the fire
I'll chop you down like an old dead tree
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949

Dirty Old Town (Highbrows Serenade Session)

My newest original "PAIN", from a spontaneous practice sit-down dubbed the "East Coast Winter Duo" session with just myself and Robert Darlington, recorded live on December 29, 2018.

We know from which we speak.

Michael Redding: Acoustic guitar and main vocals
Robert Darlington: Acoustic guitar and vocals

PAIN

VERSE:
I got this thing won’t let me sleep
Don’t know nothin’ but that it’s somewhere deep
Steals my time and attention
Takes my mind in a bad direction

Pain.

VERSE:
It ain’t that twitch my mama saw
After that week with my cousins down in Arkansas
It ain’t that stutter I had for a while
When this same old soul was in a troubled child
Pain. Let me go.

VERSE:
I knew this man, broke his spine
Fell off a roof into the end of time
Eyes turned to coal and arms to sand
Hour to hour on Percodan

Pain was there when he woke up
Strapped to a gurney cause he couldn’t kill himself
We brought him back, brought him ‘round
Then he stole my money, pushed me to the ground

CHORUS:
Pain. ‘Wouldn’t let him go
Cage of pain, bars of bone
Make you feel so alone
Pain. Let me go
Pain. Let me go

VERSE:
I know this man, lost his sight
Now he lives in an endless night
Still he gets up every day
Goes about his darkened way

Pain. ‘Won’t let him go

I knew this man, lost his kids
Coke and hookers, that’s what he did
Didn’t matter how he tried to keep it hid
It drilled a hole in his own head

CHORUS:
Pain. ‘Won’t let them go
Cage of bone, bars of pain
Won’t let you go home again
Pain. Let me go
Pain. Let me go

Pain is fire, pain is a fight
Pain is desire put on ice
Pain is a wire strung too tight
Pain is a thief in the morning light
Pain is a liar, pain is flight
Pain don’t care about wrong and right
‘Can’t love nobody anymore
Love don’t come from an open sore

Pain. Drink a little water baby, do you good
Pain. You’ll play again soon in the neighborhood
Pain. My heartbeat hates me when it wakes me up
Pain. Let me go, I’ve had enough

Pain. Let me go.
Repeat…

PAIN (East Coast Winter Duo Session)

An original written just over a year ago, reflecting upon what then had been the previous six months or more of physical challenges and injury - my own and those of so many others. 

Seen from today's perspective, this tune is an autobiographical precursor to the newer song "PAIN".

'From a spontaneous practice sit-down dubbed the "East Coast Winter Duo" session with just myself and Robert Darlington, recorded live on December 29, 2018.

We know from which we speak.

Michael Redding: Acoustic guitar and main vocals
Robert Darlington: Acoustic guitar and vocals

EAST COAST WINTER BLUES

I wake at dawn and draw the curtains
Nothing there to shout about
The ghost of Summer knows for certain
Everything’s gone South

Back in July my back went bad
I could not kneel nor stand
I went through hell but with the help of good men I’m
I’m walking ‘round again

I fish around in the kitchen
I get some coffee goin’
Won’t do the trick that I’m lookin’ for, friends
But it’s better than being alone

Back in August Harvey took his toll
Some friends in Houston drowned
I remember back in ’54, when
Hazel hit this town

CHORUS
All I can say is you never know your way
‘Till you help a brother through
If you don’t believe me you’ve never seen these
East coast winter blues

I get in gear, I get to moving
Most days I show up at the job
My little Bluetooth tells me all the truth
I need to know before five

In September Maria came along
Tried to kill my sister’s songs
Ain’t gonna happen, my sisters are strong
They make the world go round

CHORUS
All I can say is you never know your way
‘Till a sister helps you through
If you don’t believe me you’ve never seen these
East coast winter blues

Yeah I’m an old man, that goes without saying
All you do is take a look
No claim to fame or property
My life’s an open book

In October California burned
My friends they lost their homes
We go through hell, but let me tell you
We don’t go alone

CHORUS
All I can say is you never know your way
Till you help another through
If you don’t believe me you’ve never seen these
East coast winter blues

I’ll be alright, or so they tell me
And I do believe it’s true
Changed my life, so please come see me
I get lonesome too

That night in Las Vegas it was no act of God
Only man can be that cruel
And only other men can pick up the pieces
I’ll swear to God that’s true

CHORUS
All I can say is you never know your way
Till you help another through
If you don’t believe me you’ve never seen these
East coast winter blues

East Coast Winter Blues (East Coast Winter Duo Session)

The only thing I know at the moment is that this mix is from February 2011, with the original having a recording date of October, 2010.

I know it's me on acoustic guitar and vocal, but as for the rest I'm currently accepting data from other peoples' memories. 'Probably Robert Darlington or John O'Hara on harp and probably an acoustic guitar.....
_______________________________________________________

"If you took all the girls I knew When I was single And brought them all together For one night I know they’d never match My sweet imagination Everything looks worse In black and white" - Paul Simon
_______________________________________________________

SWEET BELINDA

VERSE 1:
Hey Belinda everyone knows
I had it bad back then
I hate to bend the rules, oh
But I want it bad again

Don't get me wrong now, don't be upset
'Not trying to steal you away
But do I have to be dying in a hospital bed
For you to tell me I'm OK?

I'm getting so old now, what do I care
About keeping it locked up tight?
I got no illusions, but I got an idea
We could hold hands all night

VERSE 2:
Sweet Belinda down on the farm
No prettier girl than she
Baked granola and all of her charms
Like maple syrup from the tree

I remember dragon of blue
On that First of May
I remember looking at you
When there was nothing we could say

I don't have to brush your beautiful hair
'Don't have to taste your lips
No, no; we don’t have to go there
It’s something else I miss

BRIDGE:
I’m a lucky man these days
I love my wife and home
Still I think of yesterdays’
Younger man alone

In a world of touch and go
A few were kind and warm
I’d tell them now, just so they’d know
You were shelter from the storm
INSTRUMENTAL VERSE

VERSE 3:
Sweet Belinda, sit on my lap
In that little MG
By the time we got to the Cumberland Gap
We were bound to make some history

Even then ya had the idea
You wanted your love to be mine
Tell me the part about that again, dear
It only took an hour of your time

I don’t need to feel your breath in my ear
I don’t need to move your hips
‘Just want to share that hush in the air
Before the contentment slips

I know it's all over, over and done
But that's only time and space
Sweet October, I sit in the sun
Before it just goes away
Before it all goes away, hey….
It all goes away

Sweet Belinda 2011

Skin In The Game Session, January 4, 2020. 

Michael Redding: Acoustic guitar and vocals
Robert Darlington: Electric guitar and vocals
Unindicted co-conspirator: Bass
Greg Katz: Mandolin and vocals
Dakini Keene: Percussion

Wikipedia:

"Money Honey" is a song written by Jesse Stone,[2] which was released in September 1953 by Clyde McPhatter backed for the first time by the newly formed Drifters. McPhatter's voice, but not his name, had become well known when he was the lead singer for Billy Ward and the Dominoes. The song was an immediate hit and remained on the rhythm and blues chart for 23 weeks, peaking at number 1.[3] Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 252 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[2] The recording was reported to have sold more than two million copies by 1968.[4]

MONEY HONEY

You know, the landlord rang my front door bell
I let it ring for a long, long spell
I looked through the window, I peeked through the blind,
And asked him to tell me what was on his mind.
He said, "Money, honey!
Money, honey!
Money, honey,
If you want to get along with me."

I was cleaned and skinned and so hard-pressed
I called the woman that I love the best
I finally reached my baby 'bout a half past three
She said, "I'd like to know what you want with me."
I said, "Money, honey!
Money, honey!
Money, honey,
If you want to get along with me."

She screamed and said, "What's wrong with you?
From this day on, our romance is through."
I said, "Tell me, baby, face to face
A-how could another man take my place?"
She said, "Money, honey!
Money, honey!
Money, honey,
If you want to get along with me."

Well, I learned my lesson and now I know
The sun may shine and the wind may blow
Women may come, and the women may go,
But before I say I love 'em so,
I want-- money, honey!
Money, honey!
Money, honey,
If you want to get along with me.

(If you want to get along) Well, make some money
(If you want to get along) Well, I ain't jivin' you, honey
(If you want to get along) You better give up some money
If you want to get along with me.

hank49

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