"Last Day Of November" (#412, 201108)

Weren't no mobile telephones when she was growin' up
No VCRs no microwaves or credit cards
Kids respected mothers and the neighbors knew each other
And music seemed to come straight from the heart

Joe was 44 years old and Pat was 37
When they said their vows and they meant every word
Raised a couple kids up before he was called to heaven
She stuck around to help us here on earth

She's seen it all since '41 been watchin' as our world becomes
Stranger than her parents could have guessed
She's loved and lost and learned a lot 'bout what it means to walk with God
Somethin' tells me she's got no regrets

The one she loves is waitin' for her on the other side
But she's here with us tonight while we remember
The last day of November

This year's been a hard one we said goodbye to Loretta
In little old Point Pleasant West Virginia
Well times are tough but all things pass it changes like the weather
Might get better any minute

She's seen it all since '41 been watchin' as our world becomes
Stranger than her parents could have guessed
She's loved and lost and learned a lot 'bout what it means to walk with God
Somethin' tells me she's got no regrets

The one she loves is waitin' for her on the other side
But she's here with us tonight while we remember
The last day of November

Week 46a - Last Day Of November (201108)

"One Guess" (#415, 201115)

Where'd she get them baby blues
That was my request
She blinked those beauties back at me
Like I'll give you one guess

Oughtta' have a license to kill
Walkin' 'round in that dress
Ain't the 5-0 hot on the trail
She said I'll give you one guess

One guess come on what's your name
It's too much for my lizard brain
Three wishes and they're all the same
One guess and no regrets

What's a fella' gotta' do
To leave a gal like her impressed
She turned her head and laughed out loud
I'll give you one guess

One guess come on what's your name
It's too much for my lizard brain
Three wishes and they're all the same
One guess and no regrets

We're at the diner and the lights are low
And my heart's a mess
Gotta' ask if I can take you home
She gave me one guess

Week 47a - One Guess (201115)

I think this might be one of the least Kent-like songs I've ever written.

*****

You get one guess
And we’ll put it to the test

And if you’re right
The lantern burns a bit more bright

You get one guess
You’d best be sure that it’s your best

If you’re right
We’ll throw it all to the wind tonight

And if you’re wrong

You get one guess
Nothing more, and nothing less

Just how sure
Do you need to be for more

And if you’re wrong
Then every song’s a closing song

Go tell the kids
They don’t have long

Like the phone rings with supper too soon
And they bolt on the bikes that we handed down to
Save money for a car when the bills were due
Like the mail comes every month too soon
Which we turned into lessons about wasted youth
We wasted everything after too
The paper brings the news a little too soon
It’s not the ink’s fault what’s in the news

One get one guess
And we’ll put it to the best

And if you’re right

And if you’re wrong

One Guess - Song a Week 2020, Week 47

Copyright Kent Aitken & Erin Wolf 2020; Paris, France & Little Chute, WI, USA

*Co-write with Kent Aitken https://soundcloud.com/kent-aitken-386794022

After five years waiting, we're finally exhaling
Open doors to see what's outside
While I am ever the optimist, I have to admit
It felt like these were darker times

Tears flowing freely, crying on each other's shoulders
Holding on for help and hope
You never notice just how much you're holding
Until you get a moment of release

Overcome with waves of relief

Hear the bells ringing
Over people singing
Calling out with songs of cheer

Breathe with me again
Come together then
Let our hope conquer fear

It's going to be a long haul
There's work ahead for us all
Tomorrow just won't build itself

But for the moment
We just need some space to breathe
A million mile sigh of relief
For us to share

Not the only one who cares

Hear the bells ringing
Over people singing
Calling out with songs of cheer

Breathe with me again
Come together then
Let our hope conquer fear

Hear the bells ringing
Over people singing
Calling out with songs of cheer

Breathe with me again
Come together then
Let our hope conquer fear

Five Years Waiting (with Kent Aitken)

Copyright Erin Wolf 2020

hear the wind howling in the trees tonight
all this gale roaring in its flight
my true love has gone away, what am i to do
dawn is nigh, but it's coming without you

i called your name what felt like 1,000 times
as the air moved singing through the chimes
you left without a word, not a clue where you'd go
what in the hell has got you feeling so low

are you 
are you coming home

is this really how you wanna end it all
after everything we've made it through, standing tall
i stood by your side through thick and thin
but i guess in the end, nobody wins

don't worry about me, i'll be just fine
this time, darling, it was you who crossed the line
time for me to go and cauterize this wound
good luck whatever wherever you're marooned

don't
don't bother coming home

this is really how you wanna end it all
after everything we've made it through, standing tall
i stood by your side through thick and thin
but i guess in the end, nobody wins
nobody wins
nobody wins

One Guess (Don't Bother)

We spent two hundred thousand years 
in a close-knit tribal structure
Now I'm always longing for the warmth
Spend a couple aeons free 
From the clock or fences facing 
you might wanna cast those shackles off
Cause here we are...

Chorus:
In world that… no-one fits in
And we've all been there, 
feeling like we don't belong so when
I take a leap and… show how I'm different
Everyone gets it
And then anyone can see that we are...
wondering a world where we're all different
and we've all felt it
like there must be something wrong with me
But when I share how
I feel I don't fit in - everyone's been there 
And then anyone can see that we are one

Did you ever, growing up, 
feel like you were on the outside
In your school or in your family home?
Did you ever wonder why 
others seemed to know the ropes?
Did it feel like it was you alone?
Just wanna say, so many people felt that way,

Chorus

Rebellious humanity - we rarely sing in harmony
Fighting against that feeling that there's something wrong
but can't you see the irony?
I tell you it's not lost on me 
that what we have in common is that 
we all thought we were alone

Chorus

We Are One

G                                   C                     D/F#                G
There’s a dry desert breeze in the air here tonght
                  G                C             D/F#
but we’re only half way thru November
                 EM                   C                    D/ZF#             G
AND this year has been so hard and such a long figt
        
                C               D                G
oh lets finish the year well together

        C                                                      EM              D/F
and remember the days that were lonely and long
                      C                                    D
when we stayed in for what seemed forever
               G                    C                       D/F                EM
but we got to hang out here and write and few songs
             C                      D                  G
yeah I think we are all pretty clever



C          G          D/F      G
C         EM           D/F       G
 OH OH NO HOH OIHO


G                    C                      D/F#                    G
As springs singing out with its bloom and its grow
           \G            C           D/F#
The music still reaches wherever
          EM                   C            D/F#           G
From north, east, south, or westward we go 
   C                    D             G
All of these changes, we weather

C                                EM       D/F#
What lies ahead, we haven’t a clue
            C                               D     
    But even for worse or for better
 G                  C         D/F#   EM
I’ll make it through right here next to you
            C                  D            G
Oh let’s make it a time to remember

november niki+ erin SAW2020

on another episode of writing songs about TV shows...
I had the initial idea for this song about three weeks ago. I finally sat down and wrote it two weeks ago. And I finished recording it TODAY. FINALLY.

Lyrics:

You'd be surprised 'bout how heavy is the suitcase I brought
despite leaving behind 10 ton of hurt for a long shot.
A chameleon hiding out for its life, took your hand and you took mine.
We were just doing fine but I can't help to be myself back.

'Till I remember I left my ID back home,
I guess that I don't need it to say goodbye in your car.
Throw my arms to the wind, the soundtrack is your laugh
and I'm afraid I won't breathe it in enough.

Don't mind me, I'm just hoping my lungs will be cleaner
after one last night in Cartagena.

A baby deer learning how to walk in high heels,
I never knew what's like to start with the easiest thing.
Would you collect all the times I said no cause I was scared,
and light them into fireworks, hold me close and turn them into yes?

Oh mon amour, I left my ID back home,
I guess that I don't need it to say goodbye in your car.
Throw my arms to the wind, the soundtrack is your laugh
and if I look at your eyes, I can breathe it in enough.

Don't mind me, I'm just hoping my lungs will be cleaner
after one last night in Cartagena.

And just like in the movies you say
I've been here all along.
And I would stay with you here
until my days are gone.

'Till I remember I left my past back home,
and it's faster than me, so though it hurts I have to go.
"Don't you forget about me" you sound like paradise
cause for the first time I wanna say it back.

Don't mind me, I'm just hoping my lungs will be cleaner
after one last night in Cartagena.
(Throw my arms to the wind, the soundtrack is your laugh
and I look at your eyes to breathe it in enough)

last night in Cartagena

This is half of a story.  Perhaps I will return to this idea later.

Collide (On the Other Side)

Well you know I saw it coming
Should have never crossed the tracks
But when I’m feeling good
It’s kind of hard to turn back

Well you know I spilled the coffee
On my only crisp white shirt 
But my tank top sure is sexy
Though my sneakers have seen some dirt

Oh I know we will collide
Cause I don’t belong — on the other side

Well you know he had the money
Had a gold watch and black tie
His jokes were stiff but funny
Hard to look him in the eye

Oh I know we will collide
Cause I don’t belong — on the other side

Collide (On The Other Side) - 11:26:20, 10.21 PM

HOPE COMES 
Fiona Morris & Niki Shepherd 2020
VERSE 1
WAIT NOW HOPE COMES
ON THIS NIGHT CHRIST IS BORN
A LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS
A NEW DAY DAWNS FOREVERMORE
VERSE 2
HEAVENS HOST REJOICE IN AWE
AS THE KING LEAVES HIS THRONE
ENTERS IN THE BRIGHT MORNING STAR
MERCY FALLS ON OUR EARTHLY HOME

CHORUS
(SINGING)
HALLELUJAH
HALLELUJAH
HALLELUJAH

VERSE 3
LIFT YOUR HEARTS WE WAIT NO MORE  
HE IS HERE THE PROMISED ONE
EMMANUEL FOR ETERNITY
GRACE FOR US IN HIS PERFECT SON 

CHORUS

BRIDGE
JOY OF NATIONS
MIGHTY SAVIOUR
PRECIOUS TREASURE

KING OF HEAVEN
OUR REDEEMER
REIGNS FOREVER

OUR PROVIDER 
GOES BEFORE US
RICH IN MERCY

OUR MESSIAH
CHILD OF PROMISE
PRINCE OF GLORY

VERSE 4
OH WHAT JOY WILL RESOUND
WHEN THAT FINAL CALL GOES OUT
SEE HIM COMING ON THE CLOUDS
LAMB OF GOD IN GLORY NOW

HOPE COMES FI.NIKI - 27:11:20, 12.44 pm

Ship to the shore --

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 47a - One Guess (201115)

James Tristan Redding