CLOUDS AND RIPPLES  from Echoes From A Distant Past

URBAN SOULS. is a mix of genres,Jazz and ambient, a walk through the maze of streets where each one reveals its soul....

URBAN SOULS. 🎧

I wrote this song 15 years ago for close friend and guitarist Elmer Stone. Elmer and I have collaborated on three songs on Soundcloud but this one is purely a tribute to him and the friendship we have shared for the past thirty-plus years.  It is also a memorial for his wife Bonnie who he lost two years ago. She was a core contributor to his music, life partner, and his best friend.
I am indebted to Mike Fox and Axel Meningen for taking my rough demo of the song and making it a broadcast quality production.  Thank you gentlemen for your time, talents, and belief that the song could be more than I could ever make it on my own.  Hear more of their amazing music @michael-fox-925325997 and @axel-m-501052973  
Good Ol' Boy
Lyrics:
He's a good ol' boy with his good ol' toys,
He likes a beer now and then.
He picks a guitar and dreams of going far,
Don't know the how, or the where, or the when.
The boys in the band play as hard as they can.
And they hitch their wagon to the star,
Of this good ol' boy, this good ol' boy.

He keeps house with his wife, the love of his life,
The kids are all grown and gone.
By the gray in his hair you can tell he still cares
'bout the things that are right and wrong.
And the question comes does it get better than this,
A hard days work and a goodnight kiss,
For this good ol' boy, this good ol' boy.

Bridge:
Well it hasn't been easy, no it's never been easy
But he keeps on keepin' on.
And what hasn't killed him he finds a way
To put into a song, 'bout this good ol' boy
This good ol' boy.

Instrumental break, repeat bridge.

He's a good ol' boy with his share of joys,
And his share of the cares of this world.
When it's all said and done, and his race has been run,
And he rests in the arms of the Lord
Of this good ol' boy, this good ol' boy.
Instrumental to the end.

Good Ol' Boy (Mike, Axel, David)

Original composition and drum programing by Neno J.
Electric guitar Yamaha SG, recorded directly using multi effect Hotone Ampero 100, Bass guitar Ibanez
May, 2025.

Colorful feelings

Cover Art: Wilhelm Grimm (left) and Jacob Grimm (right), portrayed by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann (1855) PD-US
Music and Lyrics Copyright 2025 Joe Stroffolino

Hansel and Gretel were abandoned by their parents in the forest all alone.
They stumbled across a delicious looking candy-coated home.  A cannibalistic witch captured them and put them in a cage. Those were the kind of stories they used to tell children at a young age.

The brothers Grim told stories that were a reflection of their time
There was disease famine and poverty and things were not going fine 
We had to sanitize the stories because our modern stomachs are weak
And you’ll get in trouble if you read a book to kids, and it makes them shriek

Three little pigs were in a brick house trying really hard to survive 
The big bad wolf came down the chimney, fell in a pot of water and was boiled alive.
Cinderella’s stepsisters wanted to marry the prince, but they couldn’t fit into her shoes so they chopped off their heels and toes because they had so much to lose 

The brothers Grim told stories that were a reflection of their time
There was disease famine and poverty, and things were not going fine 
Little Red Riding Hood in the bedroom with a wolf dressed in human clothes.
Wondering why her grandmother had sharp teeth and a snout instead of a nose. Jack climbed the beanstalk, there was a giant who wanted to grind up his bones and make some bread. He stole the magic harp and the hen that laid golden eggs and the giant ended up dead

There’s days when you want to take a sheet of tin foil and stick it in your baseball cap
To keep all those negative thoughts from getting in your head and making you a miserable chap
Did it all start when you were a child, and your mother read you that bed time story that perhaps in retrospect may have been a bit too dark and gory

The brothers Grim told stories that were a reflection of their time
There was disease famine and poverty and things were not going fine 
Now we environmental devastation, nuclear weapons and milk that might have bird flu
Just turn on the news you don’t need a fairy tale to put the fear of God in you
But if you take away all the parts that are dark, sick twisted and gory. 
Do you have anything left that actually resembles a good story.
***
Vocals and backing vocals -  Joe Stroffolino 
Guitars - Joe Stroffolino ( 2 Strumming tracks: Taylor 114ce and Fender Squire and I picking track:Taylor114ce)
Bass, Saxophone, Horns: PG Music Real tracks
Piano andi Strings: PG Music and Native Instruments
Drums: EZ drummer 3
Recorded, mixed and mastered with Logic Pro 11

The Brothers Grim

Storm Tears


Texte Français et Google traduction

JOINDRE LES DEUX BOUTS

Fins de mois difficiles,
Les factures à régler.
Et les enfants fragiles
Qu’il faudra bien soigner.
Et ce loyer qui tombe
Trop lourd à chaque fois
Que faire dans un monde
Si on n'a pas un toit.

Puis il faut bien manger
Pas en faire des extras
Un plat ou une entrée
Sans sauter de repas.
C'est si facile à dire
Quand on y regarde bien
C'est sûr, il y a un pire
Beaucoup de nous ont faim.

A joindre les deux bouts
Quand on n'arrive pas,
Un sou est bien un sou,
Surtout quand on l’a pas.

On cherche et on ratisse
Dans ses tiroirs du fond
Ce jour qui rase gratis
Quand on n'a pas un rond.
On gratte toutes ses poches
Jusqu'à les déchirer
Tendre sa main c'est moche
Pour au mieux vivre.

En se privé de tout
Ce qu'on dit superflu
Il ne reste plus beaucoup
De moments détendus.
On se traîne, on vivote
Sans regarder au loin
L'intérieur se révolte
Espérant mieux demain.

A joindre les deux bouts...

Mais pourquoi travailler
On ne comprend pas bien
Que faire pour exister
Si ce n'est pour les siens.

A joindre les deux bouts
Quand on n'arrive pas,
Un sou est bien un sou,
Surtout quand on l’a pas.


MAKING ENDS MEET

Tough ends of the month,
Bills to pay.
And fragile children
Who will need to be cared for.
And that rent that comes in
Too heavy every time
What can you do in a world
If you don't have a roof over your head.

And you have to eat well
Not overdo it
A main course or a starter
Without skipping a meal.
It's so easy to say
When you look closely
It's sure, there's a worse situation
Many of us are hungry.

Making ends meet
When you can't make ends meet,
A penny is a penny,
Especially when you don't have it.

We search and we rake
In our back drawers
That day that shaves for free
When we don't have a penny.
We pick all our pockets
Until they tear
Reaching out is a shame
To live better.

By depriving ourselves of everything
What we say is superfluous
There aren't many
Relaxed moments left.
We drag ourselves along, we eke out a living
Without looking far ahead
Our inner self rebels
Hoping for better tomorrow.

To make ends meet...

But why work?
We don't really understand
What to do to exist
If not for our loved ones.

To make ends meet
When we can't make ends meet,
A penny is a penny,
Especially when we don't have it.

JOINDRE LES DEUX BOUTS

I had posted a year ago the row version of this track recorded back in 2015 (https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/bosque-redondo)
I thought that, after all these years, it was time to remake it, without altering the melody or the atmosphere.
Regarding the context evoked, see for example here: https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/navajo/long-walk/long-walk.cshtml

Composed by Michele Ansani (2015-2025).
Bansuri is courtesy by Aahro.
Cover photo: Navajo girls at Fort Sumner, Bosque Redondo era, New Mexico, 1864-1868(?). Palace of the Governors Photo Archives, negative number 038208.

RePosted on SoundCloud: 2025, June 16

Bosque Redondo (final version)*

Whiskey And Women Revised

Borrowed Blade is country grit and gospel backbone—songs hammered on an anvil of hard times, small-town faith, and second chances. Fiddle cries, pedal steel sighs, and a low Telecaster growl carry stories of men and women who don’t run from the storm; they ride straight through it. These tracks lean on porch-light prayers, two-lane highways, court dates, and kitchen-table reconciliations. The title speaks to winning with what tried to wound you: you take the lie, break it in half, and use it for a handle. From barroom whispers to Sunday-morning vows, the record moves from hush to holler—brush snare shuffles, train beats, waltzes, and boot-stomp 4/4. This is not revenge; it’s redemption with calluses. Press play when you need courage you can hear and a map you can follow.

if-i-can’t-rest,-it-owns-me-(country)

She Likes to Play with Matches

Songs with a twinge of humor (and some a bit more serious).  
I do not use AI to create my songs. 
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.