(Updated demo track, 1/6/24) In the middle of Long Beach, CA, is a city called Signal Hill. It was the epicenter of the major oil boom for the region in the 1920's. This song is the story of a young man taking a big risk to make his way in the world.

Lyrics:
Signal Hill, I Seek Your Lights, John Rodriguez (Red Jug Horizon Music 2023)

Dearest Mamma, I’m sorry to say in a letter that I moved on, this time for good.
I know it’s not the plan that you had in mind
But there comes a time… your boy becomes a man.
Cousin Junior wrote to me… about this opportunity,
They struck oil in California, where a farm used to be..
I know what you’re thinking, there’s danger and uncertainty
The truth of it is.. Well, that’s what is calling me. 
 
[Chorus]
O, Signal Hill, I seek your lights. Here I come, offering my life.
I’ll use my hands, and my back and I’ll work ‘til it rains black.
O, Signal Hill! Signal Hill, here I come. 

You raised me well, in the hills, among cedar and and pine
It’s all I’ve known, that country side.
Their streets are named for trees, Junior tells me,
In a year or two, we can build ourselves a home.

[Chorus]
In a couple days, I’d say, I’ll settle into town.
I’ll camp out nearby at Sunnyside.
I know you’ll pray for me, and all will be well
I’ll miss you Mamma… please tell Dad.

O, Signal Hill, I seek your lights.
Here I come, offering my life.
I’ll use my hands, and my back and I’ll work ‘til it rains black.
O, Signal Hill! Signal Hill, here I am…

At A Standstill

Signal Hill, I Seek Your Lights V2

The Farm (Rainer Ptacek Cover)

slow instrumental track that evokes a sense of uncertainty. A little scary but almost dreamlike.

Darken Haze

Letter To Myself Eric Phelps

Single

Glad That I'm With You

Winter Wake Up

Copyright 2024

Red Letter Days
  
Trails, frozen in the air, Light from the glare                
Fade, in line from the tail, In spite of your stare                   
All those words, diving at play       
Like the birds that rise off the bay
                            
It’s a red-letter day                               
It’s just for today                            
It’s a red-letter day                               
We’ll slip away                 
Make love in the day                              
Cut loose from the fray        
Just for one day                                    
It’s a red-letter day
     
Rain, cupped between your palms, still drips away    
Held, reflecting your face, it still tells the tale                 
All these words, will they betray?          
Trace a smile, bursting to say
                          
It’s a red-letter day                               
It’s just for today                          
It’s a red-letter day                               
We’ll slip away                 
Make love in the day                              
Cut loose from the fray                         
Just for one day                                    
It’s a red-letter day
                  
It’s a red-letter day                               
Let it slip away
Let come what may                               
They’re all red-letter days

Red Letter Days

This is what happens while drinking your morning coffee, waiting for all to be revealed.

Coffee Stain on Paper

copyright 2024

                             Just Like It, Still

Just like it still, Still just like it
Just like it, still, Still just, like it
Just like it sounds, Sounds just like it
Just like it sounds, Sounds just like, it
Just like it feels, if it could only feel
It would feel just like this feels

Like a brick in the road, Like a hole in the floor
Like a pill in my shoe, Got a lock on the door
Like the ringing in my head, And the man in the hall
He’s trying to get in, I can’t make sense of it all

Looks like it still, Still looks like it
Just at it, still, Still looks, like it
Just like it sounds, Sounds just like it
Just like it sounds, Sounds just like, it
Not like it seems, if it felt like it seems
These dreams, these dreams, these dreams
 
Like a crack in the glass, And the shaking in my hand 
And the bite of the wind, This is not what we planned
Like the ringing in my head, As the car hits the wall
At the top of my lungs, In the beauty of it all

Just Like It, Still

Jon Parsons

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