DON’T RING THE BELLS
Janine Levinson    2021

I am leaving. It is over 
Call the lawyer. get a mover
I am walking out forever 
Tell the preacher cause It’s over

It’s the pealing of alarms 
Over the beating of our hearts
It’s the echoes of the sirens as they speed past in the dark

Don’t ring the bells before the house is burning down
We will be hearing them forever
Don’t freeze your heart just ‘cause there’s ice out on the ground 
Just wait for changes in the weather.

I am leaving, it is over 
Call an Uber, call my father
Please just lock the door behind me. 
Here’s the key because it’s over

Don’t ring the bells before the house is burning down 
You know we’ll hear them ring forever 
Don’t reach for pennies when we’ve earned so many pounds 
Don’t spend our future on a feather

One thousand Sundays 
One thousand Sundays

I am leaving - try and stop me 
don’t put on that Wilco record
I am running, it is ending, 
One more kiss and then forever

Don’t ring the bell before the house is burning down

Don't Ring The Bells

I asked Phil to do this cover with me because I thought his voice would be very nice on this tune. He created this nice bed for us to sing over. Thank you Phil, your voice sounds sweet, just like I thought it would ! And thank you Pete T.  for the beautiful tune

@phil-mcwalter - Vocals, music
Share the love: https: https://soundcloud.com/phil-mcwalter/blue-red-and-grey

Blue, Red And Grey - Who cover with Phil McWalter

Original instrumental by Mahan Mahan  https://soundcloud.com/mahan-mahan

Mahan sent me this instrumental track entitled "Janinerator."  Hmm.  I wonder who he really intended it for...   Anyway, I sang over it, totally unsure. It's really different for me. But here it is. Thank you Mahan!

Look the Other Way

Life before was just a bore
Sitting in a café with my
Laptop, looking at the door
And sipping on a latte as        

My head was swaying back and forth
To the rhythm of a mixtape
And my heels were tapping on the floor 
Waiting for my big break

I was thinking swiping left and right
On the faces on my cell phone I’d be
Looking up at mister right
Til’ you stepped into my safe zone

Look the other way
(hey, how are you?)
Look the other way  
(love your picture!)
Look the other way
(in your latte)
Look the other way
(goes my finger)
(I’m a terrible person )

And I’m Falling up
I’m Flying down
The floor is rising up
And I am falling down 

Memories get in the way  
When I go into that weird place, I just
Lock my heart and lock the door
And hide inside my suitcase

And my head is swaying back and forth
In the hallway of a stranger
With my necklace lying on the floor
Even now It feels like danger

Look the other way
Look the other way  
Look the other way
Look the other way
I’m a terrible person

Look The Other Way - with Mahan Mahan

This Time of Year 
Janine Levinson 2021

Backing vocals, twinkle, exotic musical decoration: @phil-mcwalter
Song, vocals, keys, drums, bass, bee: Janine Levinson

This Time of Year

This time of year, you know 
Bugs of all types, you know
Six legged, eight legged, grown in a petri dish

This time of year you know
Bees of all stripes they go
All of them searching for nectar and perfect bliss

This time of year 
All kinda girls
Real or fictitious or dressed up in prison clothes

Over the wall they go 
Out on the lam ya know
Looking for your faces exactly like yours you know 
And I’m looking at you

This time of year you know 
Two or three years ago
You told me not to write songs about you, you know

I’ve got to tell you though
You’re the best guy I know
You’ll have to put up with songs ‘til you die you know
And I’ll write them for you

This time of year you know
Bugs of all types, you know
Creepers and crawlers -- bacteria probably

Put on their Sunday hats
Strut around town they go
Looking for someone exactly like you ya know
Just like you

This Time Of Year - with Phil McWalter

How To Lie With Statistics.  2021 Janine Levinson

You take the bottom
You take the top
You take the middle
And add them up
Then you divide
So everyone is average

And then you talk 
About it all
You make it so
You smooth it out
If you don't speak
Don't say the word
Then it won't be

May it never be

The sound of the word makes you average
And when you say the word it makes you average
And time will see what becomes of me
'Cause I don't believe in average

And so you speak
You speak the word
Then everyone is indistinct
The twenty-four, the ninety-three
The thirty-five, the seventeen

And not a one will hear his name
But instead will stand in line
And just because the world is round
Will join their hands and always rhyme

The sound of the word makes you average
And when you say the word it makes you average
And time will see what becomes of me
'Cause I don't believe the averages

Average things in a special design
Special things in an average design
Some times in your life, in your lifetime
Special things in a special design

You take the bottom
You take the top
You take the middle
You add them up
Then you divide
So everyone is average

And then you talk 
About it all
And wonder what
What can it mean
To then divide 
To find the mean
Of ninety five and seventeen

The sound of the word makes you average
When you say the word it makes you average
I don't believe in average

How to Lie with Statistics

Because Valentine's Day was yesterday, and today is today.  By Janine Levinson 2022.   **note - I made a mistake and used the phrase "coat of arms" when I meant "suit of armor." Wishful thinking with phrasing I think. Anyway, I like how it came out so I left it that way. You get the point of the song I hope <3

Everything Reminds Him of Her

He wants a whole new sky
He found the end of the stars
He stayed up all night long just looking

He needs a coat of arms 
Around his broken heart
To keep the pangs of love from shooting in

That’s because everything reminds him of her

He kept the car top down
And he just drove around
‘Cause there was her perfume on everything

He bought a brand new ride 
He put the Mustang down
Just for that new car smell of a Chevrolet

Because everything reminds him of her

Maybe if It’s always night 
Or maybe if I cross my eyes
Then you can steal away when I’m not looking
Or maybe make a deal with me 
And vanish from my memories
Just keep yourself away so I can face tomorrow’s

Brand new sky 
Featuring all new stars
He stayed up all night long just watching

And into a tiny hole 
Made in his coat of arms
Entered a spear of love just shooting in

And everything reminds him of her

Everything Reminds Him Of Her

Thank you Jonathan for adding your wonderful guitars!!

OKAY I WON'T                 Janine Levinson 2022

Guitars: Jonathan Beckenstein @jonathan_beckenstein
Song, bass, keys, vocals: me

Don't be sad    
Don't be shy    
Don't give yourself to every guy

Don't be hard 
Don't be small            
Don't be anything at all

Okay Mom, I won't      
Okay dad, I'll be     
Just what you want
But there's one thing 
I won't be me!

Don't be weak   
Do what's right   
Don't stay out too late at night

Don't be fat 
Don't be lazy  
Keep your mouth shut 
Don't act crazy

Okay Mom, I won't      
Okay dad, I'll be     
Just what you want
But just one thing 
I won't be me!

Time will tell if you destroyed me
Or just simply took my joy
Could it be that I annoy you
Or did you wish you had a boy?

Don't be me
Just be them
Satisfy their every whim

Don't be real,
Don’t be ferocious
Don't reveal my real emotions

Okay Mom I won't
Okay Dad I'll be
Your nice little girl
But just one thing
I won’t be me!

Okay I Won't  -with Jonathan Beckenstein

Thank you Antony for bringing this song to life. And thank you for the swell video too: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LxjceopiYvQ

Vocals, instrumental, production: Burn.It.Smith @burn-it-smith 
Song, vocals: me

I LOVE THE WAY YOU SMELL 

It’s not the way I walk 
- You’ve got a funny way of walking
It’s not the way I talk 
- I never listen when you’re talking

-But the other boys can go to hell 
‘Cause you know I like the way you smell

It’s not the clothes I wear 
- I don’t notice what you’re wearing
It’s not my movie star hair 
- Your looks are kind of overbearing

-But the other boys can go to heck 
‘Cause I just want to sniff your neck

Someone can be as pretty as you please 
Smart as a whip or crazy for me 
But I can’t see the forest for your trees
Cause when it comes to love I’m olfactory

When you’re around me you just stutter and stammer 
- ‘Cause the air around you has got some kind of glamour

-The other boys just aren’t as glamorous
The scent of you makes me amorous

What is it about me that’s so alluring? 
- If I told you it wouldn’t be reassuring

-For other boys I just don’t care
Come over here and let me smell your hair

-Yeah you don’t have to win me over 
Cause I really love the way that you smell

The Way You Smell  - With Burn.It.Smith

Some of Us is Me

2022 Janine Levinson
Guitar: Jonathan Beckenstein  @jonathan_beckenstein
   
I’m sorry that I’m not somebody else    
I’m sorry if I let my people down
I didn’t ask for anybody’s help        
I’m sorry that I waited for this long

But it’s like trying to move your life ahead with a stranger at the wheel 
While trying very hard to get along

I’m sorry that I wrecked my lover’s heart
I hope he knows I wrecked my own heart too
I should have looked somewhere outside myself
I hope there’s room for me inside of you

Cause I’ve been trying to stand up straight when I am broken past repair
And still trying very hard to fix what’s wrong 

Some folks have got it made 
Frolicking in the shade of live oak tree
But some of us we don’t sing so loud, 
And we’re looking down
Some of us is me

I sometimes wish tomorrow wouldn’t come
But yesterday has problems of his own 
Next to you’s the only thing I’ve got
I wish I knew someplace where I belonged   

And I’ve been trying to stand up straight 
‘Cause I was thinking you might share--
And make my little world not feel so wrong

Some folks have got it made 
Frolicking in the shade of live oak tree
But some of us we don’t sing so loud, 
And we’re looking down
Some of us is me

Some Of Us Is Me - with Jonathan Beckenstein

Impulses across a synapse, stars across a galaxy, love from me to you

Songs from a Satellite      
Janine levinson 2022
mixed by Russ https://soundcloud.com/russell-sinfield
#ChaosCookhouse


Songs from a satellite 
Circling the green and blue
And floating down all over you
Stars from a galaxy a forehead wide              
Rocketing from ear to ear
And shooting out of both our eyes

Kids are gonna study us baby for a thousand years to come

The glow of a distant star 
Shining on a distant life
And writing all about us
The quill of a distant pen
An etching of a single life
Took a millennia to write

Kids are gonna study us baby for a thousand years to come

The big swirl of dust and the capillaries
The wedding bells and the flower petals
As the bathwater drains to a tidal eddy
From the tips of the branches counting back to infinity 
The big swirl of dust, and the
Songs from a satellite orbiting the green and blue

Come in? 
Roy G. Biv, paging Roy G. Biv to the galaxy
Roy G. Biv, is there a Roy G. Biv here?
Roy?

Blue on a frequency beyond the light, invisible to human eyes
Is lapping all around us
And we, tethered to the perigee, effectively are bound to be
In love with the world

And the world is so in love with us baby!
The kids are gonna study us baby!
They’re gonna study us

Songs From A Satellite - mixed by Russ

I am grateful that Steve entrusted me with the wonderful guitar track that became this song. It was a real pleasure to write and sing over his fine playing.  I was apprehensive when he suggested we publish my first rough vocal, no fx and all, but then Steve did some mastering and blessed the tune with his lovely deep voice on the chorus parts. and I must say, I love how it came out!  Thank you for listening.

You Might Know Better

Music, Backing Vocals - Steve Vercelloni @Steve-vercelloni

I’ve got secret apprehensions
Things I think that I don’t mention
But I say you know best for me

I’ve heard lies that I won’t swallow
Rules that I don’t want to follow
But I say they’re okay with me

‘Cause you might know better
You might know better

I’ve been told that I’m a handful
But you don’t seem to notice so
I know that you’re the man for me

Must be times I’m unappealing
Times I’m bouncing off the ceiling
But you’re right there for all of me

And you make me better
You make me better

I’ve got secret apprehensions
Things I think that I don’t mention
But I say you know best for me

I’ve heard lies that I won’t swallow
Rules that I don’t want to follow
But I say they’re okay with me

‘Cause you might know better
You might know better
You might know best

You Might Know Better - with Steve Vercelloni  (first of three)

You Make the Grey Skies Blue

This is the second in a set of three tunes with the talented Steve Vercelloni https://soundcloud.com/steve-vercelloni 

Steve was nice enough to send over three really delightful guitar tracks. I did quick demo versions of vocals on all of them, and we decided we liked all three just the way they were, rough and raw. Steve added his nifty low vocals, mastered them, and here they are!

Steve Vercelloni - music and backing vocals, mastering
Janine Levinson - Vocals, lyrics

You Make the Grey Skies Blue

What’s the purpose of the night
Just to make it so I can’t see you 
What’s the purpose of the dawn
It just takes away the dark my eyes were getting used to
What’s the reason for my thoughts
They just make my heart feel so confused
What the devil’s going on
How come nothing goes the way I think it’s supposed to
    
I’m just confused
I’m so confused
And I need you
 
What’s the reason for your smile
It’s so disarming and I’m thinking
I could never even tell
If it’s persuasion or the real thing
But you clear the clouds
And bring the blue
You take the grey
And you make the grey sky blue
You make the grey skies blue
You make the grey skies blue

You Make The Grey Skies Blue - with Steve Vercelloni (second of three)

This song is the third in a series of three tunes that started with some very "in the zone" guitar tracks offered up by Steve Vercelloni for my songwriting pleasure. And a pleasure it was.

As with the first two, we decided to go with our very first pass and forego the fancy footwork. Also like the first two, this is a love song. Unlike the first two, however, this one is about the darker side of love.

Music and mastering, b-vox: Steve Vercelloni @Steve_Vercelloni

Special Friends

Sacrifice
And bad advice
I’m on thin ice
It’s no surprise

Compensate
And hesitate
You’ll get your way
You’ll have your day

Special friends
Means meet the ends
And we’ll pretend
We’ll make amends

Compromise 
Act hypnotized
They’ll authorize
You’ll be surprised

I Thought I Knew - Mixed and Mastered by Russ

Thank you, Jonathan @jonathan_beckenstein for your encouragement, the beautiful guitars you contributed here, and for the thoughtful and satisfying mix job!

Upon This Sea 
Janine Levinson 2023
Guitar and Mix: Jonathan Beckenstein

I don’t get tired, but I get weary   
Feels like my faith abandons me
And from the storm I have no shelter    
I have no boat upon this sea

I don’t feel bad, but I can feel hopeless      
And I can walk, but I lose my feet
I am strong, but I cannot carry    
I have no boat upon this sea
 
Upon this sea   
Upon this sea   
I tread a lifetime 

I am the spring that you will drink from
I give you life and cool your brow
You will not drown, but you will perish
And next to me you will lie down 

Upon this sea  
Upon this sea 
I tread a lifetime

I don’t get tired, but I sure get weary
Feels like my faith abandons me
And from the storm I have no shelter
I have no boat upon this sea

Upon This Sea - with Jonathan Beckenstein

Who'll Think of Me?    2016 Janine Levinson

Janine Levinson- Vocals, Real Drums, Piano
Doug Grean - Guitars, Keys, Bass, Percussion
Written by Janine Levinson
Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Doug Grean @terpsichords

Who'll Think of Me?    

These days, when I'm alone
Although I like the solitude
I worry about the future  
Who I'll be sitting next to
When the world stops turning

It's beautiful tonight
But I think  about the windy line
And who'll be on the other side
With a hand that's reaching out for mine 

When time stops going               
Where will I be?
With stars exploding          
Who'll think of me?
Who'll think of me?

Some days when I'm alone  
Although I'm not despairing
I think about conclusions       
And what I will be wearing

When clocks stop ticking          
What will I see?
With life exploding    
Who'll think of me?   
Who'll think of me?

Who'll hunt for cabbages? 
Who will sail the sea?
Who will make the sandwiches?
And who will dream of me?

Sometimes, when I feel blue
And this is not exaggeration	
To say that I'm consumed
With what will be my graduation

When the waves stop crashing 
Where will I be?
With stars exploding          
Who'll think of me?
Who will think of me?

Who'll Think of Me?

I was so inspired by the beautiful Varanda Velha by Soundwanderer - this melody and these words just appeared and demanded to be recorded. You can hear the wonderful original tune, and many other sound treats, here: @soundwanderer
Edit: The most talented Christian Zatloukal, Soundwanderer, is no long with us. He rings loudly in our hearts. <3 

Music: @Soundwanderer  (Christian Zatloukal)
Lyrics, Vocals: Janine Levinson

If I had a bell to ring
I think I’d ring from spring to autumn
If I had a bell to ring

If I had a hill so green
I think I’d roll from top to bottom
If I had a hill so green

If I had a song to sing
I think I’d sing from night to morning
If I had a song to sing

If I had a hill so green
I think I’d dance from spring to autumn
If I had a hill so green

If I Had A Hill So Green (Veranda Velha) with Soundwanderer

Swallow Me Whole - 2016 Janine Levinson
Janine Levinson- Vocals, Piano
Doug Grean - Guitars, Bass, Keys 
Keith Larsen - Drums
Written by Janine Levinson
Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Doug Grean @terpsichords

I was born in cold seawater   
Love and earth made into bone
I know that I will be forgotten 
I’ll stay a while and then walk home
I don't know when I’m gonna go   
To where I know I'm gonna be
The only thing that I’m sure I know
Is that the cold seawater’s gonna take that bone from me

I just want to move easily from my temporary home
And when I die, just let that water
Swallow me whole baby, Swallow me whole

I just talk you know I don't say much     
Repeat my days like TV shows
Before too long I know I’ve gotta get 
Some dirt up through my everlovin’ toes

I just want to walk easily and let that dirt just melt my bone
So when I die, just get your shovel
And bury me whole baby, bury me whole

I ain’t sure what happens next
I know that I was born alone 
And promise me, when it’s all over
That I’ll walk home, baby let me walk home

I don’t have a whole lot to give
And what I got, I sure don’t know
Don’t know how much time I got to live
But this I know: I’m sure I’m gonna go

I just want to move easily from my temporary home
And when I die, just let that water
Swallow me whole baby, Swallow me whole

Swallow Me Whole

Where This Road Will it Wind ?

2016 
Janine Levinson- Vocals, Piano, Real Drums
Doug Grean – Lap Steel, Electric Guitar, Accordion, Bass, Synth, Programmed Beats 
Written by Janine Levinson
Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Doug Grean @terpsichords

I'm on my motorboat, flying flying
Thinking of nothing but sea
Only the shorebirds and dolphins diving
Nothing and no one but me

I'm on my motorbike riding, riding
Thinking of droplets of rain
Wetting my face as my scarf is flying
Water and wind on my brain

How high can I fly?            
How far did I ride?
And where this road will it wind?

I'm in the city and driving, driving 
Thinking of winter and spring
Cold as a stone but with new leaves flying
Wondering which it has been
 
How high did they fly?         
How cold was the night?
And where this road will it wind?

Push the sand and water through me
Rocking wind oh please abuse me
Rip me from this dying star
And drop me someplace very far
 
I'm on my motorboat, flying flying
Thinking of nothing but sea
Only the shorebirds and dolphins diving
Nothing and no one but me

How high did I fly?               
How far did I drive?
And where my road will it wind?

Where my road did it wind?

Where This Road Will It WInd?

IT"S YOU THAT I ADORE
2016

mOag - Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Synth, Mix & Master @man-on-a-grill
Janine Levinson - Vocals, Piano
written by Janine Levinson

Pretty little plaything          
You walked into my door
Exactly like a hundred other playthings did before!

You wanted to be noticed        
It's safe to say you were                      
Unlike the hundred other souls who for my love do burn!
    
Of all the pretty creatures   
You're the one that I live for
There's no other way to say it's you that I adore!

Transcendental beauty     
But made of flesh and bone
My heart is captivated and it’s yours and yours alone!

Tell me that you feel it    
Say that you’ll be mine
I’ll kneel before you on the floor and beg a thousand times!

Of all the perfect beings  
you're more perfect than the rest
There's no other way to say it's you that I love best!

Transcendental beauty 
But made of flesh and bone
My heart is captivated and It’s yours and yours alone!

It's You That I Adore - with mOag

The homegrown acoustic version of this tune is here: https://soundcloud.com/janinelevinson/youre-the-best-thing-homegrown-version

YOU’RE THE BEST THING            

Box, burlap sack, case, metal grate, ceiling, guitar, bass, synth - Doug Grean
Song, piano, drums, vocals - Janine Levinson
Recording, mix, production - Doug Grean

I’ll just wait here in the purple pounding surf
Bob around, maybe catch a ride on a dolphin
I’ll just sit here in this boiling pit of lava
When you come I’ll be hangin' with the gremlins

I’ve got nothing else to do but to wait around for you
You’re the best thing

I’ll just stand here in this angry swarm of bees
Wave my arms, build a cabin from the stingers
I’ll just dig a hole and throw myself down in it
Dig me up, I’ll be rotten and I’ll need your forgiveness

I’ve got nothing else to do standing in the street for you
You’re the best thing

Fortified for frozen winters 
Cupboards full of franks and beans
It could be a long long while 
Good thing I’ve got lots of patience, 
Writing paper, reams and reams
Some for pen, and some to feed the fire

I’ll just wait here in my pretty pink fedora
Keep it blocked so it won’t betray a wrinkle
I’ll just hang around and paint my twitchy fingers
When you come I’ll be wearing all my twinkles
I’ve got nothing left to do than to sparkle on for you
You’re the best thing 
You’re the best thing

2017 janine levinson

You're The Best Thing

EVERYTHING                   

2017
Song and vocals: Janine Levinson
Guitar, Bass, Percussion, Synth: Doug Grean @Terpsichords
Piano and vocals: Jose Freitas
Produced, recorded, mixed: Doug Grean

Everything
Everything

The churches and the gardens
And the superimposition
Of the souls onto the flowers
And the imprint of the water
Every little detail
Like the gritty imperfections
On the surface of the granite
And in the wobble of the planet

Everything
Everything

All the tiny atmospheres
Made by every single insect
Beating wing communications
And the tired dry reminders
Of last night’s Chinese dinner
To the sprouts that are unfurling
Every little detail
And in twenty eight dimensions 
Should be mine.

Everything

THE BOSS   - 2017  Janine Levinson

Guitar, Bass, Synth, Mandolin, Percussion – Doug Grean @terpsichords
Song, vocals, piano, synth, melodica– Janine Levinson
Produced, Recorded, Mixed – Doug Grean

I get a thrill from your coy fragility
I could show you a real good time
Stay afloat on my rare abilities
In an ocean of scary rhymes

Cast your eyes on this mass destruction
Shine a light on this fearful thing
You see something, you’ve been instructed 
You want me, you will have to sing   

Storm on the water you better take cover
Cause I’ll paint your sisters and marry your brothers
I won’t be a friend and I’ll bury your lovers
And what will you be when this party is over?

I get a thrill from your coy fragility
I could show you a real good time
Stay afloat on my rare abilities
In an ocean of scary rhyme

Storm on the water you better take cover
Cause I’ll paint your sisters and marry your brothers
I won’t be a friend and I’ll bury your lovers
And what will you be when this party is over?


Think of me

The Boss

Straight To You.    2017.  Janine Levinson

song, vocals, piano - Janine Levinson
bass, guitar, synth, beats, dobro - Doug Grean @terpsichords
record, mix, produce - Doug Grean

If some silent surprise took you away,
What would I say?
With no angry goodbye
Just one satellite to cross the sky

If some worldly duress swallowed you up,
Would I be fine?
Or all unhappiness, 
Making a mess, wanting to die?

Make my love learn to fly in an arc in the sky

If time forced us apart, made us estranged, 
What of my heart? 
And whose words would I hear?
Whose salty tears would I regard?

If by whimsical trial your heart was jailed, 
While I stood by
Could thoughts move from my heart straight into yours? 
Would we survive? 
                                                                                                                            
Make my love learn to fly in an arc in the sky     

If one blink of the eye changed everything, 
What would it bring? 
Would we then cease to be, the sun cease to shine, darken and die?

Or would, with all said and done, a tiny light glow, 
And we come to find
Love, pure happiness, would it be bliss? 
Open and kind?

And my love it will fly in an arc in the sky     -Straight to you

Straight To You

Dear Me    

Song, vocals, piano: Janine Levinson   2018
All other instrumental: Doug Grean @terpsichords
Produced, recorded, mixed: Doug Grean                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

the things that are never meant to be
most of them stay shadows 
hang back in the alley
and keep their wicked  company

but every now and then a sharpened sliver
in the way of nature 
shoots off from the quiver 
oh, dear me, oh dear me

the things that are never meant to be 
do not hang together 
strangers in the present
and present in the thither
but every now and then a spark of fever
meets a bit of fire and a pile of tinder   
oh dear me, dear me

and a cyclone of broken hearts I’m off the ground
and I’m looking down at my rumpled dress 
and thinking this is something new:  
I am my own sad company     
Paper and a bloody quill to write it down
Write myself a letter
Dear me: It will all be okay. 

the songs that should never have been heard
most of them stayed silent 
hung back in the alley 
and kept their wicked company

but today in a smoke of metal powder
floated through the ether
straight in our ears 

dear me
I’m gonna write myself a letter

Oh Dear Me

In The Dark World Below                         Janine Levinson 2020

in the dark world below     
the dead sit taxidermied
in an eternal scene of dogs playing poker
the widow in her cloak	     
the dutch boy in his britches
Constantinople through a stereo viewer

twist the key and they go round and round                 
you can remember when 
you'd trade a coin to see her in a gown                  
and turn the key to your imagination

in the dark world below     
the crumbling alabaster 
lands on the velvet rope      
and hides in broken plaster
medusa’s wonder globe     
conspiracy of fingers
to shake the mildewed snow        
around forgotten singers.  

wind the key and they go round and round
you can remember when you’d
pay the man to see her in a gown 
and turn the key to your imagination

join us!   we come alive
join us!  Join us!
	
in the dark world below 
the ceremony master 
leaks from his dusty coat 
of wool and mustard plaster 
a gang of metal boys       
will be forever wanting
the barker’s mystic oils       
to keep their knees from rusting

twist the key and they go round and round
you can remember when
you'd pay the man to see her in a gown 
You turn the key and she goes round and round

In The Dark World Below

The Letter                                    Janine Levinson 2020

Guitars by @unearth-noise

 “Sticks and stones can break my bones
But words can never hurt me.
Well enough to be left alone,	
I try to get up early.

“It’s been a hard luck life for sure;
I never I found you.
Substitute these working hands and industry
For arms around you.

“I’d like to think I’d know your face.
I’m bettin’ you were pretty.
Sarah girl, you would want to know
I’m keeping myself busy.

“It’s been a muddy row to sow;
I kept your letters.
And this old balding tired smile pulls the plow
For something better.

“It’s no use to wonder, 
If I had I might have found
Another love, another life, but
Words from you were like my plow --
They unearthed my roots
And brought me water.
A thirsty and unbroken vow: 
I would never plow you under.
 
“Sticks and stones, my earthly bones,
Tell me that you’re happy.
Tears to seal the envelopes
As I stand wide and sturdy.

“It’s been a hard luck life for sure.
I never I found you.
Substitute these working hands and industry
For arms around you.”

The Letter - with Unearth Noise

EASIER THAN LOVE         

2020 Janine Levinson 

There are simpler things In life than love
Like a blue sky calling when you're waking up
Or a flower when it opens from a bud 
Easier and prettier than love

It's simpler to enjoy a walk outside
Or taste a piece of fruit that sweet and ripe
But try explaining why we stay to fight
There's something here that just won't be denied

It's love making us irrational
It's love turns us into criminals
It's love that makes us act like animals
It's love.  it's indefensible.

There are smarter things for hearts to do than love
Like keeping time and pumping us with blood
If we dare to let our hearts dip into feeling 
As quicksand, we are pulled into the mud

It's love making things impossible
It's love and sometimes it feels terrible
But only love can make us feel so wonderful
It's love, and it's unbearable

It's not the same for everyone
It's one day pain and one day fun
But its been the same since time began
A paradox we're driven to
It's like a counterclockwise screw
We fall in love and it can't be undone, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

There are simpler things In life than love
Like a clear day, blue sky hovering above
Or a flower when it opens from a bud ....
Prettier and easier than love

Song, music, artwork: Janine Levinson 2020

Easier Than Love

My Magic Friend
2020  Janine Levinson

For Bobcat

No matter how far away you are 
I am always thinking of you
No matter how much time goes by
I am always gonna love you

So as you’re hopping star to star 
Well I’ll surely think about you
A galaxy that’s really far 
With burning stars around you
Cause you're my magic friend               
You’re my magic friend

No matter how long it takes to know
Our hearts are always gonna figure
A way to plant a seed and grow 
A love and friendship even bigger

But as you’re hopping star to star
Still I’ll always watch out for you 
In flickers dancing from afar 
My heart will always know you

Cause you're my magic friend
You're my magic friend

Figure out a way to fly impossibly high
Figure out a way to fly impossibly high
Figure out a way to fly impossibly high
In the sky

No matter how far away you are                               
I am always thinking of you
No matter how much time goes by
I am always gonna love you

And as you’re hopping star to star
Still I’ll always watch out for you 
In flickers dancing from afar 
My heart will always know you
Cause you're my magic friend                
You're my magic friend

My Magic Friend

ICE FROM THE SKY

2020 janine levinson

I woke up this morning to ice from the sky
In my little piece of paradise
It should be warm; it should be temperate
And yet, ice from the sky

It's dry! so dry! said the ground to the sky
In my little piece of paradise
It should be flowing where I have flourished
And yet it's terribly dry

Withering and shrinking; waiting for a drink
A sprout or two will rise -- but never climb to the sky

I woke up this morning with tears in my eyes
in my little piece of paradise
I should feel warm and be contented
and yet, tears in my eyes

Muttering and sinking; watching for a cloud
A spout or two will rise -- but never a drop from the sky

A quake could shake the ground 
And if a tear were to hit it right
It would split with an awful sound
And day would turn to night

The sky could fall --be upside down
The clouds my bed  -- the stars my ground
The heavens pour and burn my toes
Ice will fly.  Still nothing grows.

I woke up this morning to ice from the sky
In my little piece of paradise
It should be warm; it should be temperate
And yet, ice from the sky

Ice From The Sky

I sent a very rough recording of this tune to Darren and asked him to make an instrumental for me to sing to. He produced two lovely tracks for me to choose from, and I liked them so much I sang to both. Here's the first one, the dreamy version. Thank you as always for listening and thank you, Darren.

No One Understands You Like I Do          

Song, vocals: Janine Levinson 2020
Instruments, mix:  Darren Sullivan @darren-sullivan

Sometimes it’s hard to tell the useless from the good
Sometimes it’s only possible to be misunderstood
There always will be trouble, and we’ll always be confused
Sometimes it will be ‘cause of me and sometimes ‘cause of you

But don’t you worry, although I am not perfect
No one understands you like I do

Sometimes you need a lover and sometimes you need a friend
I’m one or I’m the other, and today I’m both of them
But sometimes I am neither  -- and for that I am ashamed

But don’t you worry, although I am not perfect
no one understands you like I do

Foggy, floating in a compromise
Coalesce and then diffuse
My purple prose just leaves you mystified
And radar pierces through the gloom

Sometimes it’s hard to tell the useless from the good
Sometimes it’s only possible to be misunderstood
There always will be trouble and we’ll always be confused

But don’t you worry, although I am not perfect, lover
no one understands you like I do

No One Understands You Like I do  -  With Darren Sullivan

Honor the TIde        

Janine Levinson 2021
Guitars by the wonderful Jonathan Beckenstein @jonathan_beckenstein

The ebb and the swell and the push and the pull
You’re aware of the tide or you’re not
The flickering voices that whisper the answers
Won’t bother to wonder the ears that you’ve got

You will flow or resist, go along or be pissed
You will honor the tide or you won’t
And the feelings you feel go as far as your skin
While the water just crushes your bones
The water just crushes your bones

In times of confusion and heavy persuasion
You’ll lie down and give, or you won’t
As pungent reminders flow down through the rafters
And you choose to swallow or shut down the whole

They will flow or resist, go along or be pissed
They will honor the tide or they won’t
And the feelings they feel go as far as your skin
While the water just crushes their bones
The water just crushes their bones     

It’s the way of the world,  It’s the way that things are
You will honor the tide or you won’t
You’re the tiniest speck on the tiniest star
And it really don’t matter, cause we really don’t

We will flow or resist, go along or be pissed
We will roll with the tide or we won’t
And the feelings we feel go as far as the sky
But the water still crushes our bones
The water still crushes our bones
The water still  crushes our bones

Honor The Tide - With Jonathan Beckenstein

I'm glad you're here visiting. Thank you for stopping by.:)

These are my Soundcloud collaborations : https://soundcloud.com/janinelevinson/sets/janine-levinson-collaborations

Janine Levinson

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