Y tú no estás aquí

Link to video where I tell the story behind the song : https://youtu.be/cilXaNM0IoI?si=IbBwc2wlxYTwoADH 


In Catholic school, whenever I misbehaved, the nuns used to pull my hair.
If I could go back in time and do it all again, I’d gab some clippers and shave my head bare.
I did eight years of hard time in Catholic school
I was never the kid who was considered cool
Eight straight years of Catholic School and somehow, I survived
Eight straight years of Catholic School.  Thank God I’m still alive  
My first-grade teacher was a nun, who if you’re penmanship was sloppy
She’d make you take all your books and stand there holding them in the back of the room.
She was like a witch except instead of a pointy hat she wore a habit
She carried a crucifix instead of broom.
I did eight years of hard time in Catholic School
I was never the kid who was considered cool
The cafeteria food tasted horrible, but I had to eat it
I had to wash it down with milk that was warm and sour
I’d try to fold my plate in half and throw it away, but the nuns would catch me and make me eat it
It’s like they had this secret food wasting detection superpower
Every year your birthday, it was customary for the kids in the recess yard,
To grab you and kick you and punch you for every year of your age.
I still have flashbacks of a girl with pointy hard black shoes kicking me really hard in my rib cage.
My fifth-grade teacher Sister Margaret she’d been teaching for way too long
It was time for her to retire but they let her teach another year and that was wrong
She had long grey whiskers growing out of her chin
She’d sit at her desk and trim them with of scissors and you sure as hell better not grin
She’d tell cautionary tales about innocent kids who got into cars strangers
She seemed to enjoy describing all the bloody graphic details of the danger.
I did eight years of hard time in Catholic school
I was never the kid who was considered cool
Eight straight years of Catholic School and somehow, I survived
Eight straight years of Catholic School.  Thank God I’m still alive

Catholic School

Ray and I improvised this song together, only not at the same time and not on the same continent. Go figure.

You can visit Ray here: https://soundcloud.com/user-364196783-552705040

Steady

just grooving out and enjoying some much needed inspiration

speak to me

Giving And Taking
------Cloud Stepping
(Chorus)
Life is relative, to the one that’s living it
Inside outlook, to giving and taking it
Experience god’s works, all senses
We were given just a little bit
We couldn’t handle it all 
the few we have can nearly fit---NOT barely
the few we have can nearly fit

(Verse1)
If we knew it all, and all
Then nothing would matter
It’s all a puzzle to be solved
We have always been the answer
The plan of god without reward
Evolves in different ways
We are all awake in different dreams
To let the devil play

(Verse2)
Who amongst us hear the screams
Of millions of lives lost, 
and don’t look on it as savagery
And wonder what’s the cost
What’s the worth, and what’s the cost
Are we listening or not
Are we listening or not

Giving And Taking

a little musical gift for my dear friend Francesco
@francescocartocci

la favola della buonanotte

Brian Butts - Guitar, Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Master Mix
Robert Grigg - Guitar https://soundcloud.com/robert-grigg?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Image Generated by http://hotpot.ai

Apotropaic

Bandcamp

Fever & Humidity (feat. Robert Grigg)

I'VE BEEN UP I'VE BEEN DOWN
I'VE BEEN FOOLING ALL AROUND
FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD TO THE GROUND

I'VE BEEN SEEN WITH NO SOUND
A HAS BEEN NOWHERE BOUND
I'VE BEEN LOST AND BABY I'VE BEEN FOUND

I'VE BEEN UP I'VE BEEN DOWN
I'VE BEEN FOOLING ALL AROUND
FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD TO THE GROUND

I'VE BEEN UP I'VE BEEN DOWN
I'VE BEEN FOOLING ALL AROUND
FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD TO THE GROUND

I'VE BEEN SEEN WITH NO SOUND
SHUFFLING WIND NOWHERE BOUND
I'VE BEEN LOST AND BABY I'VE BEEN FOUND

ONCE A KING TWICE A CLOWN
I'VE BEEN SNEAKING AROUND
FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD TO THE GROUND

WHISPERING TO THE WIND 
LOVELY SWEET LITTLE NOTHINGS
SOMETIMES LOVE IS A SOLITARY THING

I'VE BEEN UP I'VE BEEN DOWN
I'VE BEEN FOOLING ALL AROUND
FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD TO THE GROUND





I'VE BEEN UP (Lyrics)

Many Bridges (Revisited)

Somewhere in Between
Lyrics By: Thomas W. Peterson AKA RedHeart 
 ©COPYRIGHT 10–7-2025 All Rights Reserved ©

Verse 1  
The sun’s just risin’ over that old dirt road,  
Coffee in a thermos, truck in go.  
You left your boots by the front porch swing,  
Said you needed time to chase your dream.

Chorus  
I’m somewhere in between holdin’ on and lettin’ go,  
Between the “please don’t leave” and the “I know.”  
Love’s still burnin’, but the flame’s gone lean,  
Guess we’re livin’ somewhere in between.

Verse 2  
Your perfume lingers in this cab tonight,  
That memory hits hard in the dashboard light.  
Half of me’s waitin’, half of me’s free,  
But none of me knows where I’m supposed to be.

Verse 3  
The house feels bigger since you walked away,  
Rooms filled with silence, not much left to say.  
Photographs on the mantle, a bittersweet scene,  
I brush off the dust, but not what we mean.

Chorus  
I’m somewhere in between holdin’ on and lettin’ go,  
Between the “please don’t leave” and the “I know.”  
Love’s still burnin’, but the flame’s gone lean,  
Guess we’re livin’ somewhere in between.

Bridge  
Maybe time will draw a line that’s clean,  
But right now I’m stuck in this in-between.

Chorus  
I’m somewhere in between holdin’ on and lettin’ go,  
Between the “please don’t leave” and the “I know.”  
Love’s still burnin’, but the flame’s gone lean,  
Guess we’re livin’ somewhere in between.

Somewhere In Between 10-7-25

6-7 
(Marvin Shelton)

Verse
I saw her at the club, dancing with friends
I had to meet her, so I cut in
told her a joke, she laughed a bit
later, I asked my wingman,
What are the chances, she got a good impression
He said, Oh boy, maybe...six seven

Chorus
Cuz' you gotta try a little harder
reach a little higher
make your edge a little sharper
keep feeding the fire
To make it in life you need to learn the lesson
OH, you gotta be better than six seven

Verse
I saw her at Church, standing with her dad
I walked over, and shook his hand
I caught him eyeing the holes in my pants
Later I asked the preacher,
What are the chances, her daddy got a good impression
He said, Oh boy, maybe...six seven

Chorus
Cuz' you gotta try a little harder
reach a little higher
make your edge a little sharper
keep feeding the fire
To make it in life you need to learn the lesson
OH, you gotta be better than six seven

Bridge
That night I asked God, 
What are the chances she falls for me and spend eternity in Heaven
He said, Oh boy, maybe...six seven

Chorus
Cuz' you gotta try a little harder
reach a little higher
make your edge a little sharper
keep feeding the fire
To make it in life you need to learn the lesson
OH, you gotta be better than six seven
Yeah, better than six seven


Songs with a twinge of humor (and some a bit more serious).  
I do not use AI to create my songs. 
https://linktr.ee/joe.stroffolino
Recently I have had the urge to pick up my guitars (Taylor 114ce and Fender Squire) and I have been trying to use more guitar in my songs.  
My go to .vst plug ins are  EZkeys 2, EZ Bass and  EZ drummer 3) and my DAW is Logic Pro 11. 
I welcome your comments and enjoy listening to all the great music on SoundCloud. 
All songs are originals and copyrighted.

Catholic School

Joe Stroffolino