"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

"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)

"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)

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

"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)

I just wanna be greater than the rest
reside in righteousness
The brightest and the best
I just wanna be master of every task
Steal EVery woman’s heart
Is that so much to ask?

I just I wanna shine just like the sun
OVER everyone
2nd to none… -> I just wanna be...
SOMEody that everyone would rate
unquestionably great
To megalomaniate

I just wanna be loved

I just wanna know and understand
Every mark and master plan
I want the future in my hand
I just wanna win and never lose
Hear all the cheers never the boos
And then I’ll READ the rave reviews

I just want your fear or all your love
Like a coLOSSus stands above ->
Drink ADmiration like a drug ->
I wanna make you FEEL the way no other lover could
Just like a SUPerhuman would
Oh baby do you think I'm good?

I just wanna be loved

But you can never win
It can never sink in
if you're chasing every moment 
every star
It’s self-defeating
This doing being
you’ll only ever be just who you are

When I’m grounded all I wanna be
Is in integrity
But this voice inside of me
Keeps saying
Stand on tiptoes get a little higher
Build a BIGger better fire
win your black and deep desire

I just wanna be loved

I Just Wanna

recorded on iPhone voice memos, edited in GarageBand

girl from the east coast (acoustic jam)

Heartland Boys.mp3

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 15 - Attics And Basements (210410)

JamesTristanRedding