"Leavin'" (#445, 210309)

 * co-written with Jeffrey Joslin; complete demo performed, recorded, and produced by Jeffrey Joslin; essentially I made a pot of coffee and suggested we write a song, Jeffrey Joslin did everything else * 

Keep my leavin' in the soles of my shoes
In case I got a little leavin' to do, a little leavin’ to do
I leave my boots by the foot of the stairs
In case my leavin' wants to go somewhere, wants to go somewhere

North to south east and west
I keep on leavin' 'til there's nothin' left
Close behind no matter where I go
Seems the leavin' won't leave me alone

Well I got me a job twenty dollars a day
But my leavin' told me I gotta' walk away, gotta’ walk away
The boss man asked me said what's the rush
I was long gone in a cloud of dust, in a cloud of dust

North to south east and west
I keep on leavin' 'til there's nothin' left
Follows me around no matter where I go
Seems like this leavin' won't leave me alone

I try to stay long as I can
But the leavin' always seems to have other plans, have other plans
Ask me where I'm goin' well I don't know
Just a chasin' that leavin' on down the road, on down the road

North to south east and west
I keep on leavin' 'til there's nothin' left
Close behind no matter where I go
Seems like the leavin'
Seems like the leavin’
Seems like the leavin' won't leave me alone

Week 11 - Leavin' (#445, 210312)

Stephanie told me that all those tattoos 
on her ex-husband's face and his neck were to try to 
protect from attack - there to keep people back
'Til all anyone saw was that armour he wore
It looked kind of fearsome but all that it said was...

Fragile - handle with care
All it said was fragile handle with
all the care that you can muster
Fragile - handle with care - Fragile

Taking a walk trying to clear out my head
When this dog in the park sets to vet me instead
and he's growling and barking and driving me back
Like a dangerous invader set foot on his land
I saw on his collar a sign there that read….

Fragile - handle with care
What it said was fragile handle with
all the care that you can muster
Fragile - handle with care - Fragile

So the next time you notice me snap or I snarl
I want you to know I don't mean to be cruel
It's a side that comes out when I'm 
weak and I'm low on reserves

Then there's the opposite site of this dance
My beautiful victims with sensitive hearts
Cause the people I growl at they tend to be closest
They’re the people I'm wanting to care for the most
Cause maybe the label on everyone's heart says

Fragile - handle with care
What it said was fragile handle with
all the care that you can muster
Fragile - handle with care - Fragile

Fragile

"You Can Have Wichita" (#447, 210322)

 * co-written with David Easterling * 

Half a million people in this town
Why’s it feel so lonely when the lights go down
Hard as I’m tryin’ I’m no good at readin’ minds
But I can read between the lines

Just like every place before
Same old mistakes but this ain’t in Kansas anymore
A last decision in between these city limits
Just outside that door

You can have Wichita guess I’ll keep on lookin’
Gave it all I got to make it work until I couldn’t
Somehow the dirt here seems to hold your memory
You can have Wichita and it’s all Wichita to me

I won’t pretend to understand
The time I spent building castles in the sand
Everywhere it brought me everything it taught me
Well it made me who I am

You can have Wichita guess I’ll keep on lookin’
Gave it all I got to make it work until I couldn’t
Somehow the dirt here seems to hold your memory
You can have Wichita and it’s all Wichita to me

You can have the clovers that rise up when it rains
Tall grass in the back yard those long hot summer days
You can have the porch swing made for autumn evenings
Lonely as the willow tree season after season

Week 12 - You Can Have Wichita (210322)

It's My Time to Shine
                                                
I find the words , then the notes  and magic finds the strings
Catch it quick before it's gone,another one begins
It’s not too late, I’m not too old
I’m digging deep,I’m mining  gold
It’s my  time to shine

I see it in a headline, I read it in a book
I hear it in a movie  and I feel it in a look   
My feet can tap out rhythm, my head can burst with rhyme
And when a song is building , I’m lost inside that  time  

Some arrive in a flash, some take a while
Everyone’s a treasure and each is like my child
Some write for fame & money, some write to hear their voice
Some want to send a message, for me I  have no choice

It's My Time To Shine

The fifth tale of Snow and Cherry

No more Mr. Nice Guy

he's the type they bring home to family dinner
he's the kind they don't know they're looking for
because who wouldn't want to date a winner
just you wait for lines outside his door

dude is so good at bending over backwards
counts the days for his favors to return
he thinks he deserves everything for being nice
but everybody knows nice guys finish last
the only way out is through

no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy

he's so tired of pretending to be simple
there is only so much a man can hide
it's no wonder he can't tell why he's single
all he learned to give is an eye for an eye
the only way out is through

no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy

he thinks he deserves everything for being nice
but everybody knows nice guys finish last
the only way out is through

Tales of Snow and Cherry

No more Mr. Nice Guy

Copyright 2021 Owen Ryan, Milwaukee, WI & Erin Wolf, Little Chute, WI 

Guitar: Owen Ryan
Lyrics/Vocals: Erin Wolf

Week 12 Prompt: We Used to be Strangers

*Note about the song: This is a super special collaboration. Owen is one of my former youth group students from my earliest days in youth ministry and one hell of an incredible person today. He dropped this guitar instrumental on Facebook recently and was super cool in letting me write lyrics & sing along.*

Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh

we used to be strangers
ships passed in the night
searchlight going showing
all the depths in their might

carve a space here
feel this heartbeat of mine
no need to fear
all we have now is 
time

hear your name carry
over the sea
through waters dark and cloudy
calling from the deep

let my voice sing
you to sleep
let it ring
promise you can keep
home

Strangers (with Owen Ryan)

"Cracking Paint And Rusted Hinges" (#449, 210328)

Cracking paint and rusted hinges
Are all that stand today
In between two wooden bridges
The heartbeat slipped away

Used to hear the sound of laughter
Children playing in the sun
Seems like no one thought it mattered
What their hometown would become

And I can't say I got a reason
Reason why I stuck around
Lots of times I feel like leavin'
But my feet won't walk me out

Only sound here is the engine
The only footprints left are mine
Cracking paint and rusted hinges
And that's the bottom line

Week 13 - Cracking Paint And Rusted Hinges (210328)

Copyright Dan Tanz & Erin Wolf 2021

Pedal Steel: Dan Tanz
Guitar, Vocals, Lyrics: Erin Wolf
Arrangment: Dan Tanz & Erin Wolf

**Thank you to Dan Tanz (aka Songwriter Circle) for adding pedal steel to the track and taking it to the next level! He's an insanely talented singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, and y'all need more of his music in your life. Links below.**

Dan Tanz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSYqTzE61DyhHUQaR5dI7ZA
Dan Tanz Virtual Tip Jar:
PayPal - paypal.me/dantanzmusic
Venmo - @DanTanz

Erin Wolf solo version: https://youtu.be/My65U4DPIXs

Week 14 Prompt: Inside there's a fire

you say your heart
is frozen and cold
ain't nothing left
so i might as well go

but i know you better
i know it ain't true
deep down you're hurtin'
you don't know what to do

oh i know
inside there's a fire
it just needs some space to breathe
so it doesn't expire

a little love
and some tender care
oh trust me, dear
you got a fire in there

i know you're scared
to love again
easier to be alone
than 'nother turn 'round the bend

but i know you better
this i know is true
deep down you're hopin'
that this love is true

oh i know
inside there's a fire
it just needs some space to breathe
so it doesn't expire

a little love
and some tender care
oh trust me, dear
you got a fire in there

a little love
and some tender care
oh trust me, dear
you got a fire in there

You Got A Fire In There (feat. Dan Tanz)

Let me tell you baby it's been a rough old ride
I tried everything I could to make it work
Didn't make no difference,' and now I find
This life has thrown me down here into the dirt

In a little while I'll probably turn it around
oh but just for now

Oh baby, this is where I a-a-am

I been sitting waiting for a lo-o-ong time
.for this STUpid world to get its show on the road
That ticking clock keeps playing on my mind
I’m sick of staying when my heart’s saying go

And any day I know that EYE shall be released
So just for now

Oh baby, this is where I a-a-am

I know that you’re a fighter, you’ve got heart to burn
And you’d never let this get the better of you
many times I know I’ve been too stubborn to learn
People will help me if I ask them to

And you got your own ways - that it’s something I respect
But if you ever want a hand

Oh baby, this is where I a-a-am

This Is Where I Am

Pilgrim, Gate, and Shrine
Robert Fulton ©2020
Capo 2, C Position (Key of D)

This song is about the importance of simplicity and leaving your troubles
in the past.

C Riff

C                 G
_ Lily’s a pilgrim
C                    G
_ Left Dallas at the gate
F              Am  G
_ Long time to wait
F             C          G
_ Salida stay _ care she seeks
F            C             G*
_ Exit’s got _ solace Lily needs

C                G
_ Lily’s a seeker
C                  G
_ See her Billy to-night
F               Am   G
_ Gonna make it right
F             C           G
_ Billy knows _ what Lily seeks
F             C                G*
_ Billy’s got _ love that Lily needs

Guitar Solo over Verse Chords

C                   G
_ Lily’s a sojourner
C                           G
_ Yella-pine-incense on the porch
F                Am        G
_ Alpine daisies frame his place
F            C             G
_ Lily finds _ comfort and grace
F                        C
 _ Lily slows-her-breath _ in Billy’s
G*
em-brace

Chords w/ Triplets, F F C C G G7

C               G
_ Lily’s restin’
C                    G
_ Chile verde on the stove
F              Am         G
_ Crack-a-pine lights his room
F                C           G
_ Billy’s shrine _ heals her hurt
F              C             G*
_ Simple space _ nurture she deserves

C                 G
_ Lily’s a pilgrim
C                    G
_ Left Dallas at the gate

End on F C


Pilgrim, Gate, and Shrine (Vocal and Acoustic Guitar)

"Fountains Foundations & Frontiers" (#443, 210305)

Concrete in the mixer spinning round and round
Two by fours in ditches dug into the ground
Sweat rolls down the faces squinting in the sun
At what they created in a cloud of dust

Sculpture in the center posing with a dove
Shaded by the shelter of cirrus clouds above 
Fishes in the water frozen as the sky
Waiting on the winter underneath the ice

Modern man must imitate the screen 
Even if we don't know what it means
On the edge we stare at the abyss
And wonder who made this

Somewhere in the desert where there they built no road
Is my buried treasure that's where I will go
Leave behind this palace let this place decay
Find myself a cabin dream the days away

Week 10b - Fountains Foundations & Frontiers (210305)

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 12 - You Can Have Wichita (210322)

JamesTristanRedding