7 in 7 | Session 5
PROMPT: Write something about being overwhelmed

I won’t cry
I won’t cry
I can bleed, I can die
But I can’t cry

I won’t stop
I won’t stop
I can fall from the top
But I can’t stop

It just keeps comin’
It just keeps stackin’
Heavy head
Foundation’s crakin’

Yesterday took 
it all and then some
Can’t recall
the last time I won

I won’t rest
I won’t rest
I can show up undressed 
But I can’t rest

One thing more
After another 
Lost myself
Where is my mother

Don’t need more
Of your judgin’
I can’t love
But I need lovin’

From here the view is underneath 
From here we breath through gritted teeth
From here our path is overgrown
Forced to carry everything we (can’t / won’t) let go

And one thing more
After another 
Lost myself
Where is my mother

I don’t need more
Of your judgin’
I can’t love
But I need lovin’

I can’t love
But I need lovin’

Overwhelmed

7in7, Session 5 - Day 2

VERSE 1:
Sometimes I realize
That I’m holding my breath
Or that I’m furrowing my brow
Or that I’m thinking about death
Oh and much to my surprise
Once again I’m in over my head
With no real sense of how
Else to live instead

CHORUS:
Oh but something’s gotta give
It’s all labor and no rest
This is no way to live
There must be something less

VERSE 2:
I grind my teeth at night
Hold tension in my shoulders
I blame it on my bed
Or say I’m just getting older
And I’m sure I’d feel just right
If the room was a little colder
Or I’ll sleep when I’m dead 
Or when life is a little slower

CHORUS:
Yeah but something’s gotta give
It’s all labor and no rest
This is no way to live
There must be something less

BRIDGE:
I feel like I’m drowning
I feel like I’m failing
I feel like I’m losing what remains
It’s leaving me breathless
It’s leaving me restless
It’s leaving me desperate for a change

CHORUS:
Cause something’s gotta give
It’s all labor and no rest
This is no way to live
There must be something less

There Must Be Something Less

7in7, Session 5 - Day 3

VERSE 1:
I’m a pacifist, tempted with violence
An advocate tempted with silence
A competitor tempted to quit
I am an honest… an honest counterfeit

VERSE 2: 
I am a rebel tempted to comply
A believer tempted to deny
I am a lover tempted with hate
I am… a legitimate fake

CHORUS 1:
I am both/and
Capable of all
The good and the bad
Oh, the big and the small
The crimes that I’d condemn
In any other man
They all live within
Cause I am both/and

VERSE 3:
I’m a liar clinging to the truth
A middle-aged man clinging to my youth
I am a cynic clinging to God
I am a genuine… a genuine fraud

CHORUS 1:
I am both/and
Capable of all
The good and the bad
Oh, the big and the small
The crimes that I’d condemn
In any other man
They all live within
Cause I am both/and

CHORUS 2:
Both/and
Capable of all
The best and the worst
Oh, the rise and the fall
The crimes that I’d condemn
In any other man
They all live within
Cause I am both/and


Both/And

7 in 7 | Session 5
PROMPT: Finish and old song idea. (I did not follow the prompt, but wrote a song about not finishing something instead)

I found the note 
you wrote before getting sick
You still had hope
When I was trying to pray some sense into it .

Even though you’ve passed through the pain.
It’s your voice reading in my brain
_____

"Don’t give up
We’ll see this through
If there cannot be an us, there’s still a you.
I hate the way that sounds, but true is gonna true
Show up for your life, ‘cause I love it when you do"
_____

I couldn’t finish your note
I just laid down to dream of you and me instead
Of you making an us
making an us  from your side of the bed 

I couldn't finish your note.

7in7, Session 5 - Day 4

VERSE 1:
Hey Mom, you pissed me off last night
When you walked me up to the third floor
You treat me like the rest of these jerks
I’m disappointed, cause I expected more
You left me there in the middle of a storm
Hangry, sad, and all alone
You let your stress get the best of you
Yes, I did too, I guess that’s true
But Mom, I’m only 8 years old

VERSE 2:
My brother is an asshole sometimes
He’s always tryin’ to start a fight
He acts innocent after the fact then convinces
Everyone to turn their backs and join in on the gaslight
They say mean words and stare me down
With faces so angry and cold
They call me names and pass the blame
And I did the same, but i’m not ashamed
Cause Mom I’m only 8 years old

CHORUS:
I should not be held responsible
For the emotional responses of adults
I’ll clean my room and pack my bag
But you can’t ask for much more than that
After all I’m only 8 years old
If you do, then I’d just as soon be home alone

VERSE 3:
Officer, what are you chasing me for
Treating me like some kind of thief
Ya I took a toothbrush from a convenience store
But don’t you know there are real bandits in these streets
I did not mean to steal a thing
I would never be so bold
Just got scared of the Shovel Slayer
So I got my little ass out of there
After all I’m only 8 years old

CHORUS:
I should not be held responsible
For the emotional responses of adults
I’ll clean my room and pack my bag
But you can’t ask for much more than that
After all I’m only 8 years old
If you do, then I’d just as soon be home alone

VERSE 4:
Uncle Frank…. what’s your deal man?
That’s no way to talk to little boys
We’re family but I can’t relate
To some cheapskate with a heart of hate
Who’s way too quick to raise their voice
I think about the words you said
In that condescending tone
Makes me wish I could tell you this
Uncle Frank, you’re a mean old son of a bitch
But man, I’m only 8 years old

CHORUS:
I should not be held responsible
For the emotional responses of adults
I’ll clean my room and pack my bag
But you can’t ask for much more than that
After all I’m only 8 years old
If you do, then I’d just as soon be home alone

8 Years Old (The Ballad of Kevin McCallister)

7 in 7 Session 5 | Day 4
PROMPT: Christmas song

Another cookie for me?
another two or three?
something in my coffee?
Little sip of Baileys?

More lights for the tree?
Another gift for me?
some more holly?
Eatin’ treats like they’re free?

mistletoe ‘cause you know?
nowhere else to go?
lean in a little close?
holiday we love the most?

Ho Ho It's Christmas

7 in 7 session 5 | Day 5
PROMPT: Two things you love that you can't always have both

I need to be loved
just as I am
But I want to be
someone you ike

Need Vs. Want

7-in-7 Session 5 | Day 6

Prompt: Song with another language in it.

Bonjour bienvenu 
Welcome and hello
Cava? Cava.
Relax! Enjoy the show
No better place in all of Paris
(For the most) wonderful wonders you ever will see!
Allons y. Let’s go!
Bon soir! Enjoy the show!

Bonjour. Welcome To The Show!

7-in-7 Session 5 | Day 7

Maybe it’s compulsion
maybe it’s guilt
Maybe I’m just guarding 
the image I’ve built

I just can’t let it go
I can’t simply quit
It bullies my brain
‘till I’m done with it.

It might be much later than we
would ever think it would finally be
But here it is now plain to see
I’m finished with it and it’s done with me.

whatever the reason
whatever the cost
whatever I’m hoping
to gain that was lost

I just can’t let you go
I can’t simply quit
Love compels my bones  
and I welcome it.

It might be much later than we
would ever think it would finally be
Better late than never we’ll see
how love will  break the both of us free.

After all this time, and all we’ve been through
It’s never too late, to keep waiting for you. 
After all this time, and all we’ve been through
It’s never too late, to keep on waiting for you. 

I couldn't finish your note.

Jeremy Pape's Box O' Tapes