by Kent Aitken and David & Laurie Easterling © March 11, 2021 Charlottetown, Canada, and Oak Ridge, TN, USA

Mars was rising as the sun went down
I sat waiting waiting for the sound
Of your piano through the walls every night 
And I pick my guitar by candlelight 

At first I hated these thin apartment walls
And the noise echoing down the halls
Slamming doors, lovers’ quarrels, footsteps, and doorbell rings
at 8:08 sweet piano strings

Play me a song
And I’ll play along
All I want to do 
Is accompany you
Play me a song
And I’ll play along
All I want you to do 
Is play me another song

It gets me through my toughest times
When you stopped, mid-song, at 9:09
I was scared I’d never hear you again
A blue songbird with a broken wing 

Sun rises and sets but your silence remains
Toughest of times lead to darkest of days
Learned your songs, got them wrong, my old guitar, with worn-out strings
When I played at 8:08 I heard you sing

Play me a song
And I’ll sing along
All I want to do 
Is accompany you
Play me a song
And I’ll sing along
In time and in tune   

Play me another song

Play Me A Song (w/ David and Laurie Easterling) - Song a Week 2021, Week 10

Still a week behind the Song-A-Week 2021 prompts, this is my contribution to the "Foundations" prompt.

Lyrics:
Every second of every day, TMI hits us in every which way
Our senses overloaded about to bust, who and what can we really trust?

It's a culture in motion, rocking the foundations of our notions
Down is up, up is down, change is so fast it's spinning you around
One thing is for sure,
more or less; less would be more

Multitasking at an increasing pace, no time for meeting face to face
Lashing out while hiding behind screen names, nobody is wrong when everyone else is to blame

It's a culture in motion, rocking the foundations of our notions
Nothing adds up, nothing makes sense, no time to meditate or experience
One thing is for sure;  
2 + 2 is no longer 4

It's time to slow down and listen up, shut off all devices and have a cup
in my experience, together with good friends 
is where love is found

This culture of our nation, could become a rock in our foundation
Prioritize your friends, and bring back common sense
Still, one thing is for sure;  
to love our neighbor is what we're here for

Song and image Copyright © Claes Akerblom 2021

Culture In Motion (demo)

WELL MADE WAR SAW 11
AM
IF ONLY We could all see it coming
F
from a long way off
G
Cover up our scars go running
AM
Before the seas get rough
AM
So now that the decks have all been cleared 
F
What are we waiting for
G
heres our chance for justice
AM
in A well made war

AM
a well made war
F
the one we are waiting for
G
the battle cry of armies
Am
offer mercy grace and more
In that well made war
The final call will come
Our sight will be restored
In that well made war

Everybody has a story
The undoing of their life
And seek a place to run and hide take shelter in the night
but none deserve to take revenge 
weve all been there before
we the guilty  now innocent
in this well made war

everybody comes with nothing
and leaves in the same way
battles on the field surrenedered
the medals in the ground decay
fly the white flag raise it hight
for now your hope is sure
you will have the final victory
in the well made war

WELL MADE WAR SAW11

"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)

"There's Only One Of You" (#450, 210401)

 * co-written with Jeffrey Joslin & Steven Cade * 

I think of Thomas Edison when I turn out the lights
Compare my life to his even though I know that that ain't right
Ask myself what good I've done as I board a crosstown bus
Thinkin' 'bout miss Rosa Parks and all she did for us

Do you ever wonder at the end of the day
Why will they remember my name?

There's a song that only you can sing
And a dream that only you can dream
There's a story only you can write
With words you carry deep inside
There's seven billion people that's true
But there's only one of you

Aretha she's the queen yeah and Elvis was the king
But once upon a time someone taught 'em both to sing
And years before Neil Armstrong took his steps on the moon
He crawled before he walked across his parents' living room

You might not see yourself up there
But you gotta' start somewhere

When it's tough and you feel like giving up
And you're scared you'll never be enough
When everything beneath the sun
Already seems like it's been done
If you're looking everywhere for something new
Well there's only one of you

And what about the man who came from Galilee
Who made the lame to walk and he caused the blind to see
Marked his words in yellow two lines from John 14
Even you are gonna do greater things than me

There's a song that only you can sing
And a dream that only you can dream
There's a story only you can write
With words you carry deep inside
This world is full of souls
But it's you that makes it whole

When it's tough and you feel like giving up
And you're scared you'll never be enough
When everything beneath the sun
Already seems like it's been done
If you're looking everywhere for something new
Well there's only one of you

Week 14a - There’s Only One Of You (210401)

Copyright Erin Wolf 2021
featuring guitar & worn-out voice

Week 13 Prompt: Cracking paint

sitting on the kitchen floor
staring at the wall
i see the cracking paint
as it chips and falls

hear these creaking floorboards
under my feet
this old house is falling down
but it ain't yet beat

oh oh oh
oh woah oh

see the breaks
in the window panes
letting in the drafts
just the same

hearing the leaking faucet run
just a pain no fun
i know that this could seem like a tale
a metaphor of a kind for you and me

oh oh oh
oh woah oh

if this old house could tell a story
or two
this house would tell the story
of me and you

of how we laughed, loved,
and cried
but also tell the story of
how our love died

This Old House

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)

"Attics And Basements" (#452, 210410)

 * Co-written with Pete & Pat Luboff * 

Lately my mind’s been on what's in my attic
Got a house full of crap and a head full of static
A ratty tin tree from so many Decembers
Letters and photographs no one remembers

And I’m feeling down about what’s in my basement      
Suitcases broken but I won't replace 'em
Bed frames and coolers and two legged stools
A couple flat tires and some rusted out tools

Why do I keep all the things I ain't usin'
Up above and down below
Smack in the middle in a state of confusion
I keep holdin' on when I need to let go
All the time and the space that I’m wasting
In my attic and basement

My ceilings are sinking from what’s in my attic
A console TV and my Dad’s leather jacket
Grandmother's trunk full of moldy old clothes
Teddy bear missing an eye and a nose

Can’t open the door too much junk in my basement
Silly straw hats from a long gone vacation
Lawn chairs and dumbbells and folded up boxes
Rubbermaid bins full of dead electronics

Why do we keep all the things we ain't usin'
Up above and down below
Smack in the middle in a state of confusion
We keep holdin' on when we need to let go
All the time and the space that we're wasting
In our attics and basements

I got all of these memories and all of these plans
Why can’t I be right here where I am?

Week 15 - Attics And Basements (210410)

GIRL AT THE BUS STOP (FIONA NI AINNIN & NIKI S)

 4 bars intro  

F                                              C
I could have been that girl at the bus stop
Laughing for a moment in the rain
Soaked to the skin umbrella falling all apart
black mascara cheeks a messy stain

F                                                C
You could have been my lonely boy at the pub
Waiting for the barman as I stare
glued to the lava flowing from the tv screen
Never seem to notice that Im there

C                                Em
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
Souls free like sparrows in the sky
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
I just want RISE AND  fly AWAY

C                                E
with you away with you (la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
                       C                   E
 away with you away with you (la la la la la la la la laaaaa)

WE COULD HAVE BEEN THAT COUPLE IN THE CAFÉ
Trying to sing each others favorite tune
We could have grown old sitting in the sunshine
Staring at the birds all afternoon
 
C                                Em
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
Souls free like sparrows in the sky
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
I just want RISE AND  fly AWAY

       C               E
with you away with you (la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
away with you away with you (la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
 away with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)

C                                E
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
Souls free like sparrows in the sky
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
I just want RISE AND  fly AWAY

    C               E
with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
away with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
 away with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)


F                                                  c
I could have been that girl at the bus stop

Girl At The Bus Stop (co-write with Fiona Ní Ainnín)

Broken Window Effect by Molly Thomas.mp3

Somewhere only we know.m4a

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