Studio Stuff

Parallel Lives 2023

Originally written and recorded in 2018, this updated version has an added lead guitar track from the original sessions and a couple other new tracks - remixed and remastered. Robert Darlington on lead guitars.

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. That 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, I 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

CHORUS:
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

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE
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

CHORUS
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 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. That ain’t no lie
It’s like we’re livin’ in parallel lives

Parallel Lives 2023

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

UMBILICAL HERNIA
 
VERSE1:
Put your belly in a bag
So you don’t have to sag
Or the pain will surely nag
‘Cause gravity’s a drag

If you have an umbilical hernia
Something will always be hurtin’
Put your belly in a bag

VERSE2:
Put your belly in a sack
So you don’t get out of whack
You’ll be taking up the slack
It might even help your back

So if you have an umbilical hernia
Advice I’ve learned for ya -
Put your belly in a sack

BRIDGE:
You might be thinkin’ this will fix itself
It ain’t gonna happen, no way captain
You need professional help

VERSE3:
Take your belly to a surgeon
For that thing that is emerging
With a tendency to burgeon
The matter’s gettin' urgent

So if you have an umbilical hernia
There’s always something burnin’ ya
Take it to the surgeon

BRIDGE:
You might be thinkin’ it’ll be alright
You think you’re strong, but something’s wrong
When Inny goes to Outy overnight

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE:

VERSE3:
Put your belly in a belt
Until you can get some help
‘Cause the deal has been dealt
And it’ll help reduce the welt

If you have an umbilical hernia
Your inside’s trying to get out
Put your belly in a belt.
Put your belly in a bag.
Put your belly in a sack.
Take your belly to a surgeon.

Umbilical Hernia

Multi-tracked solo sketch of my newest this Thanksgiving season, 2017. 

All tracks me, the skeleton crew, and the real-time programmed Beat Buddy drum machine, with room for electric guitars and maybe a keyboard. 

COULD NEVER PUT YOU DOWN 
 
VERSE:
Here we go again
With the broke down
All my friends know that
You ain’t comin’ ‘round this time
Crossed the line again, by design
Always something you can’t keep from hiding
But I could never put you down

VERSE:
I been around the bend
With the broke heart, I’ll say
Been robbed and cheated and I
Lived to throw it all away
Don’t like what you done sometimes
Or what you made me do
I think I’ll run sometimes away from me and you
But I could never put you down

CHORUS/BRIDGE
Until the stars fall from the sky
Until we no longer wonder why

Till every king has lost his crown
And every lost soul is found
I could never put you down

INSTRUMENTAL (1/2) VERSE
Don’t know why I try, but I do
I cry sometimes, but so do you
Still I could never put you down

CHORUS/BRIDGE

VERSE:
So, had it up to here
Happy new year, again
‘Watching every scene of yours
Until the whole story ends
You get used to it
That’s what they say
But I just get the blues from it, and they don’t go away
Still I could never put you
I could never put you
I could never put you
Down

Could Never Put You Down (Solo)

Here's a mix of my COULD NEVER PUT YOU DOWN from a full studio multi-track project. A few of the tracks from the solo version previously posted are the same, but I've added a new and different bass part, two electric rhythm guitars, and lead guitar and harp by Robert Darlington.

I have alternate takes of several tracks, including Bob's parts, so different mix versions are possible in the future. 


VERSE:
Here we go again
With the broke down
All my friends know that
You ain’t comin’ ‘round this time
Crossed the line again, by design
Always something you can’t keep from hiding
But I could never put you down

VERSE:
I been around the bend
With the broke heart, I’ll say
Been robbed and cheated and I
Lived to throw it all away
Don’t like what you done sometimes
Or what you made me do
I think I’ll run sometimes away from me and you
But I could never put you down

CHORUS/BRIDGE
Until the stars fall from the sky
Until we no longer wonder why

Till every king has lost his crown
And every lost soul is found
I could never put you down

INSTRUMENTAL (1/2) VERSE
Don’t know why I try, but I do
I cry sometimes, but so do you
Still I could never put you down

CHORUS/BRIDGE

VERSE:
So, had it up to here
Happy new year, again
‘Watching every scene of yours
Until the whole story ends
You get used to it
That’s what they say
But I just get the blues from it, and they don’t go away
Still I could never put you
I could never put you
I could never put you
Down

Could Never Put You Down (Studio Mix 1)

Here's a second mix of my COULD NEVER PUT YOU DOWN from a full studio multi-track project. A few of the tracks from the solo version previously posted are the same, but I've added a new and different bass part, and two electric rhythm guitars.

This studio mix 2 is different than the studio mix 1, in that it not only contains the alternate solo takes from Bob on both electric lead and harp,  but the instrument sub-mixes and some instrument pans are very different.

Could Never Put You Down (Studio Mix 2)

Last new song of 2017, Parallel Lives, acoustic tracks only, as of 12/28/17.

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. That 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, I 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

CHORUS:
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

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE
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

CHORUS
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 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. That ain’t no lie
It’s like we’re livin’ in parallel lives

Parallel Lives (Acoustic Tracks Only)

Parallel Lives, for 2017. All tracks and rough edges me at this point. Recorded at Witcraft Manor.

Drums, bass, two acoustic rhythms, two electric rhythms, and vocal. 'Needs a good lead guitar - working on it, coming soon.

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. That 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, I 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

CHORUS:
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

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE
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

CHORUS
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 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. That ain’t no lie
It’s like we’re livin’ in parallel lives

Parallel Lives (Mix 2)

New Mix as of January 6, 2018 featuring Robert Darlington on lead guitar.

Parallel Lives, for 2017 and 2018. All tracks me except for lead guitar by Robert Darlington of Translator. 

Recorded at Witcraft Manor.New lead tracks and this mix January 5, 2018.

Drums, bass, two acoustic rhythms, two electric rhythms, lead guitar by Bob Darlington and vocal. 

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. That 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, I 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

CHORUS:
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

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE
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

CHORUS
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 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. That ain’t no lie
It’s like we’re livin’ in parallel lives

Parallel Lives (2018 Feat Robert Darlington)

SHAKING MY HEAD

My own personal working man's blues.

My original tune about what still to this date, March 11, Year Of Our Lord 2019, is my experience at my day job at the IT Helpdesk Customer Service Cubical Farm. 

'Still the same, and even now at this later date worse, and I'm still shaking my head.....

And, yes, there are references to actual people, some living, some dead, the rest half dead. But I ain't sayin' who's who.

Michael Redding: All tracks, except 
Robert Darlington: Electric Guitar and harp

Shaking My Head

VERSE 1:
I wake up in the morning and I sit on the bed
Look out the window, pat the dog on the head
Feeling only half dead, so I guess I’m OK

Gotta get going, gotta get out the lead
Rather be doin’ something else instead
But I gotta show up on the job today

VERSE 2:
One red eye and I’m hittin’ the deck
I play a little hound dog, I play a little dead
I play a little fool, ‘cause that’s what they expect

I meet a lot of people in the course of my day
Most of them are people I met yesterday
I never have to wonder what these people will say

CHORUS 1:
Well there’s Big Wayne insane
Don’t ever let him
Get you in the corner, cause then you know he’s gonna
Run his big fat rat trap homicidal bullcrap
In and out your ear till the cows come home

To the cubicle farm and pull the alarm
Let’s you get away
Shakin’ your head but there’s nothing you can say

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE

CHORUS 2:
Crying Annie
Somebody’s granny,
She don’t think that’s right
Might stooge, no cool, catholic high school
But otherwise alright

But she’s always coughing and a sneezin’ too
It’s gonna get in my hair
‘Cause on the cubicle farm there always something in the air

VERSE 3:
There I’m a sittin’ in the cubicle farm
Mind my own business, do nobody harm
Waitin’ for a buzz or a light on the phone

I pay my union dues every check
I sing a little blues, under my breath
You can bet, y’all
I’m just shaking my head

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE

CHORUS 3:
There’s Big Wig’s bad tricks
Signing up some nit wits
Paid to put the hammer down
Gonna be a bad scene selling out your home team
To another town

But that’s the way that it goes, everyone knows
It’s getting’ long in the tooth
But on the cubicle farm, you can’t tell ‘em the truth

VERSE 4:
I wake up in the morning and I sit on the bed
Look out the window, pat the dog on the head
Feeling only half dead, so I guess I’m OK

I pay my union dues every check
I sing a little blues, under my breath
You can bet
I’m just shaking my head

Shaking My Head Studio

Written as far back as at least 2009, this is as close as I'll ever get to a schmaltzy mainstream Nashville style tearjerker and Sunday-go-to-cheating' song. 

'Ran it through some newer audio wringers that were not around until recently.

All tracks me.

SHOW AND TELL

VERSE
Its really good to see your face
In this old familiar place
I really shouldnt come here any more

Im going to leave without a trace
Were not supposed to share this space
I heard some people talking near the door

Nothing goodll come from this
Dreaming that I feel your kiss
Even though Ive only seen it in your eyes

If theres a place we could go
Where no one else would ever know
Id be there in a heartbeat, damn the lies

CHORUS
I wont let it show and
Ill never tell
The ones who think they know me well
They dont know who I am when Im with you

They think Im the man
They can trust
They wouldnt understand theyre not like us
So I think I know now what I have to do

VERSE
I shouldnt even say these things
Theres always trouble in the wings
Every time that two hearts beat as one

So tell me you dont want to know
Tell me that I shouldnt go
Tell me that tomorrow never comes

Cause I couldnt stand the memory
Of something that can never be
I just cant pretend that Im that strong

You could mean the world to me
And they tell you that youre always free
But dont you see - theyre wrong

CHORUS
I wont let it show and
Ill never tell
The ones who think they know me well
They dont know who I am when Im with you

They think Im the man
They can trust
They wouldnt understand theyre not like us
So I think I know now what I have to do

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE NO CHORUS

VERSE
Through the cold and lonely years
Ill think about these moments here
I hate to feel your hand slip from mine

I dont want to go away
I wish that I could always stay
But I have to do whats right and walk the line

Some dreams are written in the stars
And others never get that far
No matter how hard they fall they never learn

They just wake up and try again
You have to wonder why, but then
Nothing really dies and everything returns

CHORUS
I wont let it show and
Ill never tell
The ones who think they know me well
They dont know who I am when Im with you

They think Im the man
They can trust
They wouldnt understand theyre not like us
So I think I know now what I have to do

Show And Tell

Working mix for the studio version of Miss You Blues, all tracks me on this demo.

This has lots of room for more parts, or the replacement of some of these parts,.

MISS YOU BLUES

INTRO:
Em F#m/sus4 G A11

VERSE:
Oh now baby, it’s been so long
Ask me how it’s going, it’s all going wrong
Everybody’s changing, up and gone
We’re still here just hanging on

But it’s alright
Everybody is just out of sight

VERSE:
Upon a time, we had it made
Less and less now every day
Finally covered so much ground
Losing more than we have found

But it’s alright
The cicadas are singing tonight
Bm A G D/F# Em A11
It’s OK, but still I know that someday

CHORUS:
I’m really gonna miss you
When you go away
Middle of the night, middle of the day
These gonna miss you blues bring me down
Miss You Blues gonna stick around

BRIDGE: (Em G add9 A D – G Bm)
All this worry is always the same
Don’t abandon me, don’t forget my name
Don’t take my love,
Then leave me alone

G D/F# Em A11
Don’t try to make me live down in a hole.

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE

VERSE:
Oh lady, my wife and my girl
Too sweet to me to tell the world
You’re my mother, I’m your father
I’m the desert, you’re the water
I’m the moon, you’re the sea
I feel you moving under me
I’m the mountain, you’re the blue
I could never get over you

But it’s ok
The sun is beating down so warm today
It’s all good
I’ll try to stay strong like I know I should

CHORUS:
I’m really gonna miss you
I know that now
Gonna miss you when you’re not around
The only thing I got that ain’t going away
These Miss You Blues, they’re here to stay

(right into)VERSE:
You’re the rose, I’m the thorn
You’re the calm, I’m the storm
I’m the smoke, you’re the fire
You’re the preacher, I’m the choir

Overlap CHORUS

Miss You Blues Studio (working mix)

Miss You Blues, the continuing project. 

'Got a bunch of good/great tracks ready to send from the Tascam to the PC universe, but on the way there is this mix done entirely in the Tascam DP32 box, edited some on the PC.

This studio mix is from August 19, 2018. 

Differences from last studio mix: 

Bob's lead, new vocal, new bass part, additional electric rhythm part and new eq and pan parameters, and some send effects.

All tracks me on this except for Robert Darlington's exceptional lead guitar work, take 2 of 3 parts from Bob, so far.

Thanks, Bob!

MISS YOU BLUES

INTRO:
Em F#m/sus4 G A11

VERSE:
Oh now baby, it’s been so long
Ask me how it’s going, it’s all going wrong
Everybody’s changing, up and gone
We’re still here just hanging on

But it’s alright
Everybody is just out of sight

VERSE:
Upon a time, we had it made
Less and less now every day
Finally covered so much ground
Losing more than we have found

But it’s alright
The cicadas are singing tonight
Bm A G D/F# Em A11
It’s OK, but still I know that someday

CHORUS:
I’m really gonna miss you
When you go away
Middle of the night, middle of the day
These gonna miss you blues bring me down
Miss You Blues gonna stick around

BRIDGE: (Em G add9 A D – G Bm)
All this worry is always the same
Don’t abandon me, don’t forget my name
Don’t take my love,
Then leave me alone

G D/F# Em A11
Don’t try to make me live down in a hole.

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE

VERSE:
Oh lady, my wife and my girl
Too sweet to me to tell the world
You’re my mother, I’m your father
I’m the desert, you’re the water
I’m the moon, you’re the sea
I feel you moving under me
I’m the mountain, you’re the blue
I could never get over you

But it’s ok
The sun is beating down so warm today
It’s all good
I’ll try to stay strong like I know I should

CHORUS:
I’m really gonna miss you
I know that now
Gonna miss you when you’re not around
The only thing I got that ain’t going away
These Miss You Blues, they’re here to stay

(right into)VERSE:
You’re the rose, I’m the thorn
You’re the calm, I’m the storm
I’m the smoke, you’re the fire
You’re the preacher, I’m the choir

Overlap CHORUS

Miss You Blues (Box Mix one)

Remastered February 6, 2021.

All tracks me except:

Robert Darlington on lead guitar and second 
vocals
Unindicted Co-conspirator: Bass
Lena June Redding: second vocals

MISS YOU BLUES
 
INTRO:

VERSE:
Oh now baby, it’s been so long
Ask me how it’s going, it’s all going wrong
Everybody’s changing, up and gone
We’re still here just hanging on

But it’s alright
Everybody is just out of sight

VERSE:
Upon a time, we had it made
Less and less now every day
Finally covered so much ground
Losing more than we have found

But it’s alright
The cicadas are singing tonight
It’s nice, but still it feels like something ain’t right

CHORUS:
I’m really gonna miss you
When you go away
Middle of the night, middle of the day
I got this song but it brings me down
Miss You Blues gonna stick around

BRIDGE: 
All this worry is always the same
Don’t abandon me, don’t forget my name
Don’t take my love,
Then leave me alone
Don’t try to make me live down in a hole.

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE

VERSE:
Oh lady, my wife and my girl
Too sweet to me to tell the world
You’re my mother, I’m your father
I’m the desert, you’re the water
I’m the moon, you’re the sea
I feel you moving under me
I’m the mountain, you’re the blue
I could never get over you

But it’s ok
The sun is shining down so sweet today
It’s all good
I’ll try to stay strong like I know I should, but

CHORUS:
I’m really gonna miss you
I know that now
Really like to get you to stay around
Really gonna hit me when you’ve gone away
Then these Miss You Blues, they’ll be here to stay

(right into)VERSE:
You’re the rose, I’m the thorn
You’re the calm, I’m the storm
I’m the smoke, you’re the fire
You’re the preacher, I’m the choir

Chorus to fade……

Miss You Blues (The Premix)

My recent original "In The Light Of Day", here rendered in the twin "unique stylings"  of only myself and Robert Darlington at a casual practice session in the studio September 12, 2018.

IN THE LIGHT OF DAY

VERSE
I’m coming back to life
Long rough night
Locked in my head all alone
Drive into the morning light
Cat nap will be tight when I get home

Shadows fade
Music plays
For a while nothin’ gets me down
But you don’t come back from where I been
Even though I’ve always been around

CHORUS
Could be worse
May be a curse, but
My heart it bursts every day
I hope for new eyes
I hope for no lies
In the light of day

VERSE
There’s a mood out on the road
Don’t mean nobody good
Maybe stop a while and let it thin
Can’t be around the pain I’m in with
People breathing down my neck again

I’m a father and a son
I know where II come from
So there’s a reason why I run and for my part
Just so I don’t come undone
I’m always playing dumb in my heart

CHORUS
Could be worse
Could be a curse, but
I feel more certain every day
Wish for good friends
Hope the fear ends
In the light of day

BRIDGE
Shadows swell and
My heart can tell that
Night is on its way
Hold me deep in your
Womb of sleep and don’t let me
Get away

VERSE
There’s a reason why I run
I know where I come from
That ain’t really tough to see
It’s hard for you to understand
A man who don’t want what he needs

All you fools, with your
Dreams come true
They’re just pictures in the air
Sacred cows, holy vows, come the night disappear

CHORUS
Could be worse
Could be a curse, but
I shiver every night
‘Don’t like this skin I’m in
Just want the night to end
And bring the morning light

In The Light Of Day (September Session 1)

Day Dreamer, new as of my 69th birthday, October 6, 2018.

Multitrack studio version taking shape here.

(Update 10/12/18) Added 2 dulcimer parts and another layer of vocal harmony thanks and a hat tip to Robert Darlington.

(Update 10/11/18)On this one there's drums (Beat Buddy), two vocal parts, bass, three acoustic guitars, one electric guitar and a synth part

DAY DREAMER

VERSE:
I had a dream last night ‘seemed to know me
Took my hand so tight and it told me
“People miss you when you’re a stranger to yourself.
These things you do to pretend you ain’t blue
They don’t fool nobody else
Just you

VERSE:
‘Spend all your time tending wounds you ain’t hiding
Life’s an emergency room inside you
Steal yourself away just to shelter in your place
Even a blind man can feel his own way
‘Hears the sound of his own voice
I’ve half a mind that you’re slipping away
Time to make a different choice
That’s true.”

BRIDGE:1
I woke up to darkness and silence
But nothing was the same
In my heart a cessation of violence
I whispered my own name

INSTRUMENTAL VERSE:

VERSE:
Today was just another day full of trouble
People stumble on their way seeing double
I keep drifting back and forth into that dream
When in darkness you lose your way
Hold on for another day
Sometimes the song that you need to hear
Is right there sleeping in your ear
Today

Day Dreamer

Day Dreamer (The Premix)

Updated mix of my newest song tonight, November 11, 2018. 'Mixed the previous guitars a bit different, completely redid the bass part, added a vocal harmony, 2 synth parts and a resonator slide guitar.

I do try to universalize my lyrics to a degree, but I don't often try the academic exercise of trying to write from where I'm not, so here's another retrospective geezer folk piece, obviously a love song.

All tracks me at the moment - Vocal, vocal harmony, 3 acoustic guitar parts, bass, two keyboard parts and a resonator slide guitar part.

SANDY

VERSE:
Weather’s turning cold
I’m thinking of our embers
These times are gettin’ old
You really feel it in Novembers
Sometimes it wasn’t so good I said, she said it was fate
I said it wasn’t bad sometimes, she said it was great

VERSE:
Don’t know why I’m here any more
Just turning on a spindle
Don’t wanna hear the marches’ roar
Or the crashing of the cymbals
Gimme a Summer night full of stars
They show you where you been, tell you where you are

REFRAIN ONE:
Sandy, don’t you ever go
If you have to, first you Let me know
So I go too
With you
I go too

VERSE:
We’re still the same somehow, but everything has changed around us 
It’s all come back around, everything we lost has found 
us
All the dreams are gone and the world’s gone mad
You were the one, I love what we have

REFRAIN ONE:
Sandy, don’t you ever leave
There’s just some things I
Won’t believe

CHORUS:
Sandy, now don’t you slip away
You know I wasn’t made
For a world without you
Sandy, I’d be alone and so afraid
Without this love you made
That’s seen me through

INSTRUMENTAL (First half of verse)
All the dreams are gone and the world’s gone mad
I love what we done
No matter what we have

CHORUS:
Sandy, now don’t you slip away
You know I wasn’t made
For a world without you
Sandy, I’d be alone and so afraid
Without this love you made
That’s seen me through

Sandy (Studio Solo)

(Mellower post treatment of the same take and mix as of September 5, 2019.)

My second original from Summer, 2019 - "Here", recorded live in studio August 24, 2019 at Witcraft Manor.

Michael Redding and Robert Darlington: Vocals and acoustic guitars.

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 (Cool Front Acoustic Session)

All tracks me. Updated September 13, 2020.

POISON  WORLD
 
I used to like to talk to the sweet barista
At the counter of the coffee shop
Sneak a smoke on break at the corner
Accent from the Eastern Bloc
Spoke soft couldn’t quite hear her
She put up with that
Everything that really mattered
All there in the eye contact

Now dawn is breaking
Here’s another day just trying to end
You know it’s never gonna be the same again
Another night, no one calling
Must not be fair weather again yet
Here we are living in a poison land

I used to like to play guitar at the station
Passengers come and go
Strike up some good conversation
A lot of people I’d like to know
Some stop and listen
Throw a dollar in the guitar sack
Dancers sway to the rhythm 
Hey! Can you show me how you move like that again

Oh no, it’s morning
Blood red sun in a purple haze
Everybody goin’ about their poison ways
Another warning
You can’t get out and they can’t come in
Now here we are just living in a poison land

Oh no, distant drumming
Something wicked comes this way
Looks like trouble’s here to stay
Gonna be a storm a’coming
Might make everything alright 
But first gonna level everything in sight

Ever since I saw the birds drown in oil
I knew we were living in a poison world
Airwaves, rain and soil
Just killing time in a poison world
I used to like to talk to the sweet barista
At the counter of the coffee shop
On break sneak a smoke at the corner
Accent from the Eastern Bloc

Now dawn is breaking
Here’s another day just tying to end
You know it’s never gonna be the same again
Gonna be a storm a’coming
Might make everything alright 
But first gonna level everything in sight

Studio Stuff

hank49