Copyright 2020
All Rights Reserved

Lyrics & Music: Erin Wolf
Guitar & Vocals: Erin Wolf
Photo credit: Jennifer Groth 
(Photo description: James, Erin, and Ryan back in the day, sometime between '06-'07, ready to rock out at some event we made the music at in Oconomowoc, WI)

james
i know you probably don't remember
how we met in the summer of '03
we met in the woods
in the middle of wisconsin
a far cry from your roots in boston

you didn't say much
lest music was involved
then you jumped right in 
and you evolved
strumming your guitar
or beating the drums
clearly this is what you loved

we were outside
a small town called wautoma
used to be known as webb
now it's called camp lakotah
singing by the campfire
swimming in the lake
that's the story
of how i met james

james
look how far we've come
after all the years and all you've done
you started song-a-week
you welcomed people in
i'm so proud of you
my friend

and to think
we were outside
a small town called wautoma
used to be known as webb
now it's called camp lakotah
singing by the campfire
swimming in the lake
that's the story
of how i met james

we were outside a small town
little place called wautoma
used to be known as webb
now it's called camp lakotah
singing by the campfire
swimming in the lake
that's the story
of how i met james

James

"Longest Road You'll Ever Walk" (#355-375, 200505-200717)

Co-written with Chris Wyatt.

Artwork by "beguima", two sisters and a brother from Barcelona: www.society6.com/guillemvillaro

She swore she would never leave you
But here you are all alone
Nothin' more than a memory
And no strength to carry on

You moved mountains to have her
Damn near 1500 miles
That all crumbled when she left you
In the middle of the night

After seven years together it finally fell apart
Coulda' seen it comin' you weren't listenin' at all
It's a lonely highway from your head to your heart
The longest road you'll ever walk

If you knew that it was over
Could have kissed her one last time
Begged for one more sunrise
Tried to change her mind

Here you are with all the pieces
Scattered all around the room
Trying hard to find a reason
God I hope you find it soon

Lookin' back now it's clear I couldn't tell
Ain't no sense to sit here talkin' to myself
Need to face it I'm losin' my best friend
And I'd do it all again

Week 29a - Longest Road You’ll Ever Walk (200717)

Copyright 2020
All Rights Reserved

Lyrics & Music: Erin Wolf
Guitar & Vocals: Erin Wolf

This is a follow-up of sorts from my 2019 offering, "Hold Her for You" (https://soundcloud.com/erinwolf/hold-her-for-you), which was written following the death of my friend, Nick, in October 2019. Grief is a weird and complex companion. 

nine months you've been gone
somehow life keeps moving on
thunder and sun
i can hear one

5-4-3-2-1
that refrains still goes on
i kept my word and i still do
holding her for you
holding her for you

tonight tears run down my face
i can feel your spirit in this place
you don't threaten me
if anything, with you, i find peace
if anything, i find peace

i know that you 
are beyond the veil
that i'm not yet meant to cross

i know that you
you are home

Nine Months In...

Don't look away
Forget all the fire

Hold me on the way home
The cross won't count for nothing

I didn't want to be one
Laying all the way down
Keeping all the words in
Letting all the ghosts out

Don't walk away
Every time you're tired

Forget all the phone calls
Let's make it count for something

I didn't want to be one
Laying all the way down
Keeping all the words in
Letting all the ghosts out

So forget what I said
About leaving it behind

I didn't want to be one
I didn't want to be the one

There's a million singing that
And there's a million shouting back
It's either none
Or a million and one

I didn't want to be one
Laying all the way down
Keeping all the words in
Letting all the ghosts out

So forget what I said
About leaving it behind

I didn't want to be one
I didn't want to be the one

I didn't want to be one
I didn't want to say yes
I didn't want to be one
I couldn't let there be less

(then Kiwi barks softly)

Million and One - Song a Week 2020, Week 30

"Help Somebody" (#379, 200719)

 * Co-written with Pete & Pat Luboff * 

Ever get a feeling like everything is wrong
Everybody joined the club and you just don't belong
You're cold and lonely on the outside looking in
When it all feels like it's over where do you begin

Help somebody it'll turn your world around
Help somebody get your feet on solid ground
When you're down and out and upside down reach out to someone else
Help somebody and you help yourself
Help somebody and you help yourself

Got a God shaped hole and I can't fix it with food
Can't fill it up with money or drown it in booze
I dreamed someone could love me and make it all okay
Never knew there was a way out 'til I heard somebody say

Help somebody it'll turn your world around
Help somebody get your feet on solid ground
When you're down/out upside/down reach out to someone else
Help somebody and you help yourself
Help somebody and you help yourself

Maybe you think I've got it all together
Don't believe what you think you see
Because we could both get to feelin' better
If you'll help somebody like me

Week 30a - Help Somebody (200724)

Me, I never seem to see
Those creatures creeping up on me
Mostly in reality 
it's just my personality again
What if there are people peeping
That could give me trouble sleeping
And sluggish like a drunk
I’d be more vulnerable to monkeys on my back
But when I see them, I’m free….

Same old monkey, always worrying
Sometimes quietly, sometimes loud,
It's ok, monkey - I will handle it
You can put your burdens down now

If i leave it 
What will happen?
They might think I'm dot dot dot
Think I'd better make it better
Act in time to stop the rot
Unless it’s inside me?

Same old monkey, always worrying
Sometimes quietly, sometimes loud,
It's ok, monkey - I will handle it
You can put your burdens down now

Someday it'll all be over
Someday I won't be this monkey man
But I don't really think that 
someday it will be over - this is who I am 
I will end as I began
Same old same old

Same old monkey, always worrying
Sometimes quietly, sometimes loud,
It's ok, monkey - I will handle it
You can put your burdens down now

Ok Monkey

song a week wk30

sometimes I forget to breathe

SAW wk30 sometimes i forget to breathe

"I Can't Believe It's Not" (#382, 200802)

Something about your smile
Darker than the rest
The anger in your eyes
Always hurt the best

Better hold on tight
To the pain I know
Never safe inside
Never could let go

I'd give you everything
To have you back again
One more night together
We could stay forever

Show me some kinda' sign
Before I'm out of time
And the door is finally locked
I can't believe it's not

Nothing could have stopped
What you meant to me
All those aftershocks
Brought me to my knees

I'd give you everything
To have you back again
One more night together
We could stay forever

Show me some kinda' sign
Before I'm out of time
And the door is finally locked
I can't believe it's not

Did I dream it did I fall in fantasy
Did I carve you from the earth
Did I leave behind my sense of sanity
Did I waste until it hurt

Week 32 - I Can’t Believe It’s Not (200802)

Words She Heard

Week 33 #songaweek2020. I gathered up a pile of lyric ideas and made this scrappy song, which feels very much like my mind this year. Image is a screenshot of a list of all the ideas from which I drew. Several of them are found lyrics - things people said that I thought, "that could be part of a song!"

Also I credit Senator Cory Booker for helping me tie up the chorus with "I still believe in love." He said “we are called to be a nation of love”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjmTRm8LV2c

The other day in the middle of the night I woke up
I didn’t even think I was asleep 
I can’t say that I don’t miss Colorado
But here and now is where I want to be

Dates are just a blink
Times are out of sync
But I still believe in love

COVID doesn’t care about your feelings
Your politics, your freedom or your health
Everyone I talk to’s not a racist
a thousand fingers pointing somewhere else

I try to float like a butterfly on the warm breeze
But my mind is a swarm of bumblebees
Easter scattered snow over the tulips
Silent tears rolled down my baby’s cheeks

I wanted to write about woodsmoke and lilacs
And moonlight and wine
And stars in the farthest corners of your eyes

The hippies sang the times they are a-changing
Half a century back behind us now
I don’t know where it is we think we’re going
I hope we learn to care about the how

2020 (I Still Believe In Love)

Copyright 2020
All Rights Reserved

Lyrics & Music: Erin Wolf
Guitar & Vocals: Erin Wolf

Trigger Warning: This is a heavy song which alludes to conversations around suicidal thoughts and mental illness. It's no secret to anyone paying attention that the on-going pandemic, particularly here in the US, has taken a heavy toll on many people who were already in times of crisis beforehand. We need to be able to talk about mental health when we speak of suicide prevention. 

That said, the lyrics herein, while not referencing any one situation specifically (which was intentional), do not necessarily represent a comprehensive range of experiences depending on any given person's own context. If you or a loved one needs help, please, please try to gather your strength to ask for help so you and/or your loved one can receive the correct care needed. I promise--YOU are worth it. 

1-800-273-8255 - Suicide Hotline for the United States
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

five things you can see
can you tell me what you see
so i know where you are

four things you can touch
can you tell me what you touch
so i see your hands

three things you can hear
can you tell me what you hear
so i can touch the air

two things you can smell
please tell me what you smell
so i hear your voice

one thing you can taste
how bitter does this taste
'cuz i can smell your fear

the war's not over
but there are battles won
i know it's hard to keep pressing on
not just trying to keep you alive
wanna see you thrive, love

do you want it
do you will it

will you want it
will you will it
will you keep it
if you let it 

your life

can you can see it, touch it, hear it, smell it, taste it
your life

see it, touch it, hear it, smell it, taste it

do you want it
do you will it
will you will
will you keep it
will you let it
will you want
will you want it

do you keep it
will you let it
do you want it
do you live it

Do You Want It

Nashville songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Godin Guitars Official Artist and Founder of www.songaweek.org.

His catalog of 500+ titles includes collaborations with hit writers Mark Narmore, Elliott Park, Steve Dean, and Pete & Pat Luboff, among others internationally from England to Australia.

Redding's music has landed cuts by numerous recording artists including Dan Whitehouse, Emma Gale, and David Easterling.

Week 32 - I Can’t Believe It’s Not (200802)

James Tristan Redding