This Time

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

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)

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

(Uploaded new file December 28, 2025 )

SUPERMOON (BMI)

Silver lights my room
It's another super moon 
Oh dream that shakes me wide awake 
Won't you tell me something new
It's been dark in here so long 
Tell me what's gone wrong
I used to say I'd know my way but 
Now those days are gone 

Everything we were together
Ripped from the sky and rent apart
We lay on beds of straw and feathers
And it’s tearing up my heart 

I’m looking for some way out
Calling out for help
But everybody just walks
around talking to themselves
They got their pictures in the air
But there ain’t nobody there
The glory days and passion plays
Are all you'll gonna hear about

Tell me how your arrows 
Will be fashioned into cloth 
Talk to me of sparrows
You have sheltered from the frost 

Deliver us from here
Take us to somewhere
More like home Supermoon

 We wanted to be free 
We thought that we were brave
Do we still believe
Is there something left to save

Oh silver super moon
That lights the avenues  
Won't you stay and guide my way  and tell me something true 
Lift us from the ground 
Help us to be found
Let compromise fall from our eyes Turn this thing around

Maybe every man must wander 
Maybe every star must fall 
Maybe every boat goes under
Until everyone is lost

Deliver us from here
Take us to somewhere
More like home Supermoon

Supermoon

(Uploaded December 22, 2025   BMI)

ASKING THE WIND

I’m just asking the wind 
Will I ever see you again 
Before the last bells on Marluth
chime
Or I forget I've lost my mind 

I used to say no regrets 
Didn’t know how bad it could get
 But time’ll turn the world around on a man
 So I’m asking the wind

Is your heart still that blue harbor
Refuge to a stowaway 
Or has it shallowed
Has it narrowed and 
Forever turned me away

 Those days left you troubled and confused
But you knew I'd always tell you the truth
You belonged to him and I belong with you
Nothing else that I could do

It’s been a while now I guess 
You've put all those monsters to rest
But you know I've seen more than my share of them
So I'm just asking the wind  

Is your heart still that blue harbor
Refuge to a stowaway 
Or has it shallowed
Has it narrowed and 
Forever turned me away

I’m just asking the sky 
Where love goes when it dies 
And could you take me along for the ride
Could you let me step Inside

And see every way that I’ve failed 
Friends lovers and betrayals
If I could well I’d make amends
Just asking the wind
I'm just asking the wind

This Time

hank49