"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

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)

SAW week 13 Cracked Paint 13-(IT CONSUMES ME)
CRACKED PAINT- WEEK 13 (MY RENO SONG)

IN THE DIM DULL LIGHT OF DAWNING
AS I LIE IN HOPE N WAIT 
THERES A FACE I SEE EACH MORNING
IN THE CEILING’S LOOSE CRACKED PAINT

ITS NOT SMILING
IT DOESN’T SCARE ME 
IT CONSUMES ME

I SHOULD DO SOME RENOVATION
COVER UP EACH TINY FLAW
MEND THE WINDOW SAND THE FLOOR BOARDS
FIX THE HANDLE ON THE DOOR
BUT I'D MISS IT 
THIS LITTLE WONDER 

IT CONSUMES ME

COVER UP THE ANGER
DISSIPATE THE PAIN
LINGER HERE FOREVER
RUN INTO THE RAIN

it consumes me

in these waking hours
in the bitter tears
we can talk about the flowers
HIDE AWAY OUR FEARS

COVER UP THE ANGER
DISSIPATE THE PAIN
LINGER HERE FOREVER
RUN INTO THE RAIN

IT CONSUMES ME
IT CONSUMES ME
IT CONSUMES ME

niki  Shepherd 's Album

Cracked paint (CONSUMES ME)THE RENO SONG(week 13)SAW

"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 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)

Brown eyed girl 2.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 14a - There’s Only One Of You (210401)

JamesTristanRedding