There’s a rate and beautiful intimacy to this, Lara. It certainly touches my heart.

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)

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

I originally wrote Frost On the Fields to sing on my morning walk as the sun one on the Winter Solstice, but adapt the words so it can be applicable on any frosty day as a reminder to myself of the hope that’s a.ways there if we can be patient and wait.
I later put a guitar accompaniment to it but enjoy singing it unaccompanied in the woods too.
Though the frost is on the fields
And a chill in the air, 
There’s a stirring in the hearts of
The deer and the hare

Oh the Solstice Sun shall rise 
And our hearts will be surprised
By the warmth in our blood
And the hope in our eyes.

Though the grey clouds may hang heavy
And cold winds blow from the east,
There’s a stirring in the heart of
Each bird and each beast

And the Solstice Sun shall rise
And our hearts will be surprised
But the warmth in our blood
And the hope in our eyes.

Though the earth may seem to slumber
Beneath a white wintry cloak, 
There’s a stirring in the roots
Of the pine & the oak. 

And a new day shall arise
And our hearts will be surprised
But the warmth in our blood
And the hope in our eyes.

Frost On The Fields

Ice cream man

Copyright Erin Wolf 2022
feat. The Whistler
Art credit: Shutterstock, care of user DODOMO
https://www.shutterstock.com/g/DODOMO

Week 12 Prompt: I Was Wrong

i, i started asking questions
that you, you didn't want to hear
the shame, shame you want me to bear
just won't, won't come along again

you, you can't say, "i was wrong"
'cuz then i, oh i would be right for once
this, this cycle we had is breaking
and i, i am finally feeling free

(whistling)

this, this path ain't a straightened arrow
it curves, curves and bends along the way
and i, i walk this road alone
you, you won't even know

i, i have known all along
that you, you don't really care
the shame, shame you want me to bear
is yours, yours and not mine after all

(whistling)

Breaking Chains

breathe

She dropped the ball, the juggling stopped abruptly
She fell into a hall, echoing echoing echoing
and all fell down

chorus - 
and all the trees in all the woods were calling out her name
all the trees in all the woods, and all the bells in all the flowers
calling out her name
come out and breathe
just a small patch is all you need

well the clowns came out to play, brushing the illness away for a while
she peeked around the back, looking through the crack
to see everything would be ok

Chorus

and when you're looking the wrong way for so long
everything can seem upside down
the hardest task is to just pull the air in
find a way to lightly step through
come out and breathe
just a small patch is all we all need

vocals and guitar Lara Gisborne
21 August 2022
Copyright Lara Gisborne

Breathe

I got sidetracked on the way to the week 17 prompt. Because the chorus line could come off as dire, I want to note that it's about feeling like we're not making the most of our time and trying to reset ourselves, push ourselves into new situations, break bad habits and build new ones. This feeling has been shoved to the stagefront through confinement. For instance, sentiments of "now's the time to finally write that novel" versus "heavens, go easy on yourself, the weight on all us is substantial." So that feeling got wrapped into more timeless situations of change and renewal.

1978 - Song a Week 2020, Week 17

The first tale of Snow and Cherry

Help yourself

i know it's hard to feel lonely
when nothing seems like it's alright
no need to keep on pretending
not this time

i know you know it's a journey
but we don't always know how far
don't let the world break your heart to pieces
not this time

no one can help you if you don't help yourself
every man can change his mind, it's alright

you know i love you to tears
that it's ok for men to cry
i know nobody has ever taught us
until now

Tales of Snow and Cherry

Help Yourself

Week 5 #songaweek2021. Approaching 23 years of marriage with the man in the photo, I take a moment to bask in the surprising goodness of the present moment. (Also thanks to Nathan Bloom, the very same man, for audio editing help!)

Sweetest of lovers, dearest of friends
I’m going to love you till the very end
mountains and minefields, we’ve made it through
Nothing and no one holds me like you do

where were we when the miracle happened?
how did we get here? 

nothing is certain, except that nothing’s certain
love breaks you open and sometimes that just hurts
still here we are and here we want to stay
we’ve held on for years but we only live today

so here’s to the future and all that’s yet to be
here’s to the past and its wealth of memories
here is the present, it’s all we have to give
here is our life, it’s the one we want to live

The Miracle

Lara is a Cambridge based singer songwriter. You can hear her new EP at https://laragisborne.bandcamp.com/releases . Songs here are demos recorded at home for the Song a week project or songs from the nineties recorded in studios then.

Breathe

Lara Gisborne

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