006 and a ½
by Erin Wolf, Laurie and David Easterling, © 5/14/2021, Little Chute, WI and Oak Ridge, TN

Week 19 Prompt: 006

I got demoted
Halfway down a rank
It’s not my fault
In fact it kinda stank

But I caught the villain
Caught him in the act
Knocked him down, cashed him out back 
How ‘bout dat

I don’t think it’s funny
But they all got a laugh
And now they call me
Double Oh Six and a half
A Secret Agent bumbling through 
Solving crimes without a clue
Suave debonaire genius 
Playin’ a fool

Evil James thought
He had me good
Tied me to the train tracks
Sportin’ a black hood

Bragging ‘bout his b-a-d deeds
His dirty plans and all his greed
But then I sneezed 
and broke my bonds

I don’t think it’s funny
But they all got a laugh
And now they call me
Double Oh Six and a half
A Secret Agent bumbling through 
Solving crimes without a clue
Suave debonaire genius 
Playin’ a fool

So evil James sez it’s ‘cause of me
He’s quittin’ his ol’ pirate ways
And he’s gonna be a hit songwriter startin’ today
[International Man of Mystery]
[At the International House of Pancakes]

Well ya know it’s funny
How I got the last laugh
And now have they call me
Double Oh Six and a half … and a half
A Secret Agent bumbling through 
Solving crimes without a clue
Suave debonaire genius 
Playin’ a fool

006 and a 1/2 (with the David & Laurie Easterling)

I Got Psychosis Right Now (Prod. IFO)

Walk the line.m4a

Week 34 #songaweek2020. Maybe the only completely instrumental track I've ever recorded! Photo is my lovely daughter this summer at a lake in northern Minnesota. If you listen really closely you might hear my rowdy backyard squirrels who "enhanced" the lead guitar track.

Solitude

Back at the dawning of our days
We were a brightly burning blaze
Every star would shine upon us
And then the old world fell apart
Sometimes I wonder who we are
Without a fight to keep us honest 

Are we the spoilt brats of god?
the waste and damage rages on
Without the slightest sign of slowing
I stretch my tired eyes to see
a sign, a chance that we could be
More than just a mother's ruin

We could always break the pattern
It's always darkest before the dawning
When all the pieces come together
Though I every time forget it.
It's always darkest before the dawn but
It kind of seems it’s now or never 

.. You and me back at the start
We were so open in our hearts
We’d show it cause we couldn't hide it
Standing our own two feet
Now living independently
I miss the warmth of stars colliding

I miss the brightness and the fuss
I miss the gentleness of us
That strong and urgent sense of meaning
Despite the progress in these days
I long for old familiar ways
A closer more connected feeling 

Still time to make it better
It's always darkest before the dawning
when all pieces come together
It might take the stormy weather
To blow the dreams into the morning
Before they slip our minds forever
X2

And though they're 
Slipping from my mind
I never leave them quite behind
They seem to hover and they linger like the memory of a place
A certain place where I belonged, 
When I was bright and I was strong
And now the memory takes me back there
And the feeling calls me on

I once was a boy who’d met a girl
She was my bright and perfect pearl
And all the world for her an oyster
too green to even see the blow,
Await me as I let her go
then everywhere I'd hear her voice her ghost,

I felt the memory in the air
her absence found me everywhere
And everywhere a broken purpose
Without a compass or a road
Without the north where do you go?
What's an empty promise worth but

You can always break the pattern
It's just a trigger just a doorway
To the love that binds the child and mother
Seems like you can't recover
But it's always darkest before the dawn 
and gazing in another lover's eyes...

It seems to make it better
It's always darkest before the dawning
when all pieces come together
Might take the stormy weather
To blow our dreams into the morning
Before they slip our minds forever

Dawning

"Everybody Farts" (#425, 201220)

 * co-written with Pete & Pat Luboff * 

You can do it in a church or an elevator
You can do it if you’re a cow or an alligator
You can try to hold it back but it will come out later
Everybody farts

You can be the Queen of England or a newborn babe
You can blame it on the dog and say, Me? No way!
But the truth is you’re gonna do it night and day
Everybody farts

Everybody farts everybody farts
Bless our smelly hearts everybody farts
All the way from Fresno to Sleepy Hollow
Farting is such sweet sorrow
Sing it with me now everybody farts

Who smelt it dealt it who thunk it stunk it
Who spoke it broke it who sniffed it biffed it
Whoever's poking fun is the smoking gun
Everybody farts

	Who declared it blared it who introduced it produced it
	Who spoke it broke it who observed it served it
	Whoever sang the song did the pong
	Everybody farts

Everybody farts everybody farts
Bless our smelly hearts everybody farts
Hold your breath and pull my finger
Wipe away a tear 'cause the best ones linger
The truth will set you free everybody farts

For some folks in South America it’s how they say hello
In China you can get a job as a fart smelling pro
You even do it for a while after you die that’s how it goes

Everybody farts everybody farts
Bless our smelly hearts everybody farts
Anybody hear that barking spider
I stepped on a duck and he was full of fiber
Quick someone get me a lighter everybody farts

Week 52b - Everybody Farts (201220)

This is a song for when you have a friend stuck on a path of suffering but you can only do so much to help them.  I found writing the song helped me empathize with, or reconcile, the combination of what the outside world sees of this person's choices and what they can't see for themselves.  How many of you have been there with a loved one on a dangerous road with their blinders on?

I carry that rock
All over town
Someday I’ll bury it
Deep underground

I carry that rock
All over town
Someday I’m gonna bury it
Deep underground

The good book says
I’ll take my lumps
The story goes
Gotta turn another cheek

The good book says
In sickness and health
One day I will find out, just for myself

My friends all tell me
I’m losing my self
My dreams that were golden
Look mighty gray

When I’m awake, I make many dreams
But I just sleep, all damn day

I’m not who I was, but what was I anyway?
I’m not who I was, but who am I anyway?
The sun shall set, and my colors may fade.
The sun shall set, and my colors may fade.

Carry that Rock (The Good Book Says)

Will the Trees Remember Our Names
by Tamora Wilson and Laurie Easterling © 12/20/2020 New York, NY and Oak Ridge, TN

Photo by Tamora Wilson, Appalachian Trail near NYC

I’ve been a part of this forest
As long as I can remember
I know every brook and tree
Hiked through her valleys and hills
January through December
She feels like a mother to me

I’ve learned how to read wildfires
Fighting flames far from my home
Now I teach all I’ve seen
As I lead a group up the ridge
I see the smoke and grab my phone
Not too late to call in the team

Chorus:
Will the trees remember our names
We fight to save them from the flames
Hold us in their memories
As the years become centuries
Will the trees remember our names

We all don our gear and grab shovels
The fire grows like it’s alive
My students tremble at the sight
Branches start to burn overhead
As the rest of the team arrives
We will battle through the night

Chorus

Bridge:
Though scarred the forest will survive
She nurtures saplings through the winter
Whispering stories of history
Rebuilding the network together

Chorus

Tamora Wilson and Laurie Easterling - Will The Trees Remember Our Names - 1:1:21, 4.15 PM

Copyright Erin Wolf 2021
*Song A Week 2020 - Week 53 Bonus Prompt: Protest Songs*
Trigger Warning: Conversation & lyrics surrounding the #MeToo movement re: sexual assault & sexual abuse. 

National Sexual Assault Hotline (U.S.A.)
online.rainn.org | 800.656.4673
Línea de Ayuda Nacional de Asalto Sexual (EE.UU.)
rainn.org/es | 800.656.4673

Image credit: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/identities/2019/10/4/20852639/me-too-movement-sexual-harassment-law-2019

The #MeToo movement was originally started by Tarana Burke (pictured) in the early '00s as a way of letting victims and survivors of sexual abuse know they were not alone, that they were seen, and that they were believed. Her advocacy work continues today. The story shared in the lyrics is part of my own and does not reflect the experiences of all survivors.

For more resources, visit www.rainn.org or www.metoomvmt.org

---

Let me take a moment to introduce myself
No my story ain’t one for putting on the shelf
I used to be known by the name “1 in 4”
But Lord knows it’s probably more

To be hurt by those who said they loved me
And knowing I told, but they still walk freely
I don’t speak these words with vanity or pride
It’s time to stop making us run and hide

Me, too
I (we) don’t say it for your pity
Me, too
I (we) don’t say it to be witty
Me, too
Speak the truth for the others
Me, too
My (our) siblings, sisters, brothers, too
Me, too

They took what they wanted in their fire
In their power lust, not desire
Breaking you in all the ways only they can know
Leaving you feeling helpless despite your “NO”

Then when the truth comes out as it seems to do
It’s hard to know who will stand by you
So few believed, so little justice served
Yet somehow we keep on fighting through, undeterred

#MeToo

I almost have enough songs about the homeless for an EP!

Since I’m still commuting to work, I’m still noticing stuff, and here’s a story I couldn’t pass up.  Plus it’s a nice balance to some of the more serious songs I have.

While walking on 42nd Street (Dec 30, probably 9:40pm or so), I observed a young woman who was either new to New York or perhaps a tourist.  She appeared to be giving a lactose intolerant homeless man a coffee with milk.

Wish I had a little more time for guitar rehearsal before recording this track, but hey, I couldn't play at this tempo a year ago, so it's progress.  I'm looking forward to creating some more upbeat songs this year.  Very happy to be a part of SAW again!!


I Can’t Drink Latte Today

All her life she dreamed of Times Square
Broadway and all the money she’d make there
But she never left the suburbs
And she probably never will
But at least tonight she can board a flight
Big Apple, here I come

She saw him digging for a bite to eat
Tattered clothes and old shoes on his feet
Down the block was a Starbucks
A cup will help him out tonight
It’s cold on the street, have a nice warm treat
Please take this, here you go

Thank you, how kind of you
But wait!  Does this have milk?
My stomach will ache, it will make me ill
So excuse me as I say
I can’t drink latte today

Oh no, I’m so sorry, she said
That’s okay, I’m used to this, he said
What people throw away
Will surely blow your mind
But tonight I’m stuck, can you spare a buck
Some coins or change will help

He reminded her of a friend she knew back home
Made her laugh and even wrote a poem
But standing on the corner
Was not the point of this trip
She gave him a buck and wished him luck
It’s late now, I must go

Thank you, how kind of you
But wait!  Does this have milk?
My stomach will ache, it will make me ill
So excuse me as I say
I can’t drink latte today

I Can't Drink Latte Today - 1:8:21, 7.20 PM

Week 8 #songaweek2021. 
by Julia Tindall Bloom, Laurie & David Easterling © 2/24/2021, Saint Paul, MN, and Oak Ridge, TN. 
Photo is a fairy house my daughter built on the banks of the Mississippi River summer 2019.

Please change your mind 
Don’t leave me behind
I was desperate to say
But I left it unsaid
The words wailed in my head
You’re leaving today  

May you never be sad enough to give up
Or too busy to explore the unknown
Remember no matter how far you go
You can always make your way home

I’ve been waiting so long 
To sing my own song
Can’t stay in this place
Stretch my wings and try
To see where I can fly
Cast off my old ways

May you never be sad enough to give up
Or too busy to explore the unknown
Remember no matter how far you go
You can always make your way home

The road is always there
Time may not be fair
The same road that leads away
Leads back home someday

May you never be sad enough to give up
Or too busy to explore the unknown
Remember no matter how far you go
You can always make your way home

Make Your Way Home (cowrite with Laurie and David Easterling)

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 52b - Everybody Farts (201220)

James Tristan Redding