lyrics:

Late afternoon on an August day
Just a night ago you said that I could stay
Knew I shouldn’t trust you anyway
Late afternoon on an August day

Barefoot and tired 
You stood on the porch
Any fool could see you carrying that torch

I am what you want
But not what you need
Did you hang around 
Just to watch me bleed

This is what I am
There is nothing more
If you want to leave 
Well you can see the door

The night was hot your breath was cool
We bent too far and we broke our rule
And I wondered then if I had played the fool
But I looked away and I kept my cool

It was so much more
Than the game allowed
But I see no way of getting out right now

I am what you have
But not what you need
Did you bite my tongue
Just to see me bleed

If this is the end
I don’t want to know
It may be too late
But I can’t let you go

In the aftermath of an imperfect night
When we got no words to set this right

August isn’t over yet 
Don’t say things that you’ll regret
I’m telling you, you won’t forget that night
You and I were lying there
You brushed your hand across my hair
I’m telling you there’s time to set this right

Well I said too much, but I meant no harm
I spend the morning in your arms
I can see you’re keeping up that charm
I said too much but I meant no harm

You played a song that we heard before
We danced right there on the kitchen floor

In the aftermath of an imperfect night
When there’s no words left to set us right

I said things that I regret
You said things I can't forget

Come on let us have another chance
Maybe you could stay for one more dance

Because August isn’t over yet
Hold me baby don’t forget 
You know you haven't seen the last of me
(Are you tired of regret, come back to me)
Don’t you know the best is yet to be

Late afternoon on an August day
You looked at me, and you said to stay

Late Afternoon

LYRICS:
Under a blood red sun
Under the blood red sun
Tell me our time is done
Under the blood red sun

Tell me the day is won
Tell me the sky is bright
Lie to me one last time
Tell me we’ll be alright

I saw your green light burning on the sea
The albatross is calling out to me 
And I was told they buried you with pride
But I can feel you turning in the tide

There was an eerie glow
Burning from far away
I heard a cry below 
I knew the price I’d pay

But I could feel you then
Shivering to the bone
How could I understand
Tell me I should have known

I have seen the blue-green flame**
Burning on another shore
I could hide my pride and shame
But I can’t feel you anymore

The albatross that calls my name
Is beckoning me to your door
And I can see we are the same
But I can’t feel you anymore

Come a little closer, heavy as the hill
Come a little closer now
Come a little closer, steady as my will
Tell me that it’s over now

Come a little closer dream a little dream
If you can remember how
Come a little closer, dream a little dream
Tell me that it’s over now

I saw the lightning crack
I heard the cold wind cry
How could take this back
Why would I even try

Only the lovers drown
Here on a stormy night
We have been lost and found
Fallen without a fight

I saw your green light burning on the sea
The albatross is calling out to me 
And I can feel you lying by my side
While both of us are turning in the tide

And everything is different in this light
Lie to me and it will be alright
When both of us are buried with our pride
And I can feel you turning to the tide

STORY NOTES: There is a whole plot/narrative I have in the background for this that I might write out in a detailed blog post or something if I eventually make a blog. Basically a retelling of "The Drowned Lovers" set in the ocean with more nautical folklore. 

RECORDING NOTES: I actually just ripped the audio from two cell phone video recordings I made because I noticed that they were both about the same length so I had unusually good timing. I think I'm better at timing for fingerpicking than straight strum songs. 

Anyway, the harmonies worked out because I sometimes sing the lines differently. I actually have lots of ideas for harmonies with songs I write but implementing that would require a level of recording quality and focus that I just don't feel like doing right now.

Blood Red Sun (acoustic)

what face have you been saving
what light may lie below
what face have you been saving
and I would like to know

what face have you been keeping
which one should I believe
how long have I been sleeping
how should I know what time to leave

you can go live a lie
buy you tell me what you waited for
you can look to the sky
but I know you rue the day
you can go live a lie
you can keep the shadows at your door
look me in the eye
and I will watch you turn away

She looked into the mirror
When it was 3am
Can anybody hear her?
And every thought is growing grim

What face have you been hiding
what demon have I met
and in the dark confiding
what curse could I forget

Oh you must learn to be content
No one will wonder where you went

I knew you by another name
no one will rise to meet your shame

you can go live a lie
then you tell me what you waited for
you can look to the sky
but I know you rue the day
you can go live a lie
for the wolf is waiting at your door
there is an eye
watching very far away

what hours have you wasted
where were you, all alone
what little have you tasted
while you remain unknown

what face have you been saving
what light may lie below
what hope have you been craving
I guess we'll never know

I knew you by another name
And I will rise to meet my shame

you can go live a lie
then you tell me what you waited for
you look to the sky
and I know you rue the day
you can go live a lie
but the wolf is waiting at your door
there is an eye
watching very far away

I knew you by another name

Live A Lie

fool me now then burn me twice
take a bow and roll the dice
Something here is rotten every day
I never liked the ending of that play

what you want you couldn't be
what I have dies easily
every wicked hour that we spent
did you ever wonder where they went?

don't tell me, don't tell me,
don't tell me who I am
you sell me, compel me,
you say I give a damn

I want this I bleed this
Don’t tell me not to be
I take this I need this this
You’ve had enough of me

will you wear the right disguise,
win the devil in my eyes
I guess you haven’t seen me in awhile
I know you only miss what you defile

you can tell me sweet new lies
you were always cruel and wise
Can you tell me now we are the same
Would you make me doubt the stars are flame

but you want me more
and you love me dear
we've been here before
and I have no fear...

but you want me more
and you love me dear
we've been here before
and I have no fear...

don't tell me, don't tell me,
don't tell me who I am
you sell me, compel me,
you say I give a damn

I want this I bleed this
Don’t tell me not to be
I take this I need this this
You’ve had enough of me

you can sing to my ghost
call up your choir of angels to swear it
oh how you loved me the most
calling the play from all angles you dare it

we should head for the coast
maybe it’s over I know I don’t care it’s
just a pitiful boast
you don’t really know but your ready to share that…

Fool me twice and hold me tight
I could never make this right
Were we always less than what we seem
Captive in the confine of a dream

Foolishly did I believe
I have been the more deceived
Even though a cruelty can be kind
There are better ways that you could find

unbroken, well spoken
don’t tell me not to be
well chosen, just go then,
you fall so easily

you sell me, compel me,
but I am broken free
don't tell me, don't tell me,
don't tell me not to be

NOTES:
This is based on Ophelia

Fool Me Twice

Lyrics:

I haven’t been here in a long time
Look at what’s left of the place
Stay for awhile if you don’t mind
Say you remember my face

There’s a light that I knew in the curtains
A face that I can see on the wall
The papers I left you can burn them
And the voices I hear in the hall

Somewhere in the wind
I could crawl another day
But I won’t be here again
When there is another way

Where were you then when I needed you most
Holding my hand to the fire
Find me again with the gathering ghosts
Free of hope you inspire

Not every curse will be broken
Even a hero can fall
Tell me what cannot be spoken
No one will hear when I call

I’ll never know the arrangement
Ignorance malice or greed
Happy in all your estrangement
Take everything that you need

And I won’t be here again
Go and try another day
You can wait for this to end
You can find another way

Where you then when I needed you most
Holding my hand to the fire
Find me again with the gathering ghosts
Standing with her on the pyre

Where have you been
I was here all this time
Waiting alone on a wire
You can pretend I will never be fine
Burning with you in the fire

Oh say would you rather
Oh our strength may fade
Tell me the visions gather
Everyone that you betrayed

No I didn’t want to
Oh I was afraid
Knowing that that truth may haunt you
Buried in the choice you made

Haven’t been here in a long time
Hate what you’ve done with the place
I know what you said and I don’t mind
Say it again to my face

Everything here could get better
But it so clearly got worse
Say what you want with a letter
Say what you feel in a curse

Somewhere in the wind
I could crawl another day
But I won't be here again
And there is another way

Where were you then
When I needed you most
Holding my hand to the fire
Find me again with the gathering ghosts
Freed of the hope you inspire

Where have you been
I was here all this time
Waiting alone on a wire
You can pretend I will never be fine
Holding my hand to the fire

ABOUT THE PICTURE: I saw a traffic cone in a sinkhole and over time it began to sink so they just put another traffic cone there to watch it sink.  It was weirdly sad looking. Then it snowed and I took this picture. Traffic Cone Titanic brings me both joy and sadness.  I think about these traffic cones more than I should.

To the Fire

lyrics:

Do you remember Eden
A vivid summer night 
The curse of things forbidden
That were lost without a fight

We lay there by a river
To feel the warm/weight of sin
I am no man’s daughter
You are no one’s friend…


I haven't been well lately
Don’t know who to call
I haven’t been well lately
Not at all

That this is where the river takes us
this is why we lie alone
this is not the part that breaks us
here as heavy as a stone

You had a crooked smile
And faintly smelled of smoke
I rather liked your style
You kind of liked my joke

You had a voice like honey
Wicked warm and sweet
Before you turn away from me
You helped me on my feet

I haven’t been well lately
No one here to call
I wear my shame ornately
When I fall

this is where the river takes us
this is why we lie alone
this is not the part that breaks us
love as heavy like a stone

this is where the river takes us
this is where our hearts succeed
this is why the water breaks us
you are all I ever need

tell if it ever mattered
tell me what you think I mean
find in me the part you shatter 
stronger is the heart that bleeds

You never made a promise
I never told a lie
What was the point of all of this
To only say good bye

But I remember every word
I wrote them in a book
I’ll never know just what you heard
You didn’t even look

You haven’t seen me lately
Even when I was there
It happened so sedately
Maybe you didn’t care

Will the river finally take us
Does it matter in the end
Water doesn’t have to break us
We could always start again

Stand and watch the pieces scatter
Will you look me in the eye
Tell me that it didn’t matter
We both know you hate to lie

Do you remember Eden
A vivid summer night 
There never was a reason 
We could have made it right

The curse of things forbidden
That were lost without a fight

I haven't been well lately
Don’t know who to call
I haven’t been well lately
Not at all

(ref: eden cut chorus and more guitar)

Do You Remember Eden (DEMO)

(all signs point to nowhere)

lyrics:
you and I could run away
we have until the morning
or would you let the dream decay
give me another chance

I know I wasted yesterday
I didn’t have a warning
Tell me what you mean to say
But will you have this dance?

It doesn’t matter what will find us after
Because we never like the end
I am addicted to the sound of laughter
Give me a moment to pretend

I am afraid that you knew me too well
We ran away from the stardust motel
We ran away from the stardust motel

Then I see you lying there
All vulnerable and tired
Maybe I could cut your hair
And trade it for a life

All the world was never fair
But hate is uninspired
Would it matter if I care
Now give me back the knife

I know I really shouldn’t beg the question
I didn’t mean to make you lie
You could tell me that I lost discretion
But you can’t look me in the eye

We ran away from the stardust motel
I am afraid of the stories I tell
We ran away from the stardust motel

We ran away from the Stardust
Fell in the valley in the shadow of lust
We ran away from the Stardust Motel….

We ran away from the Stardust
We couldn’t rally from a
dream gone bust

We ran away from the Stardust Motel….
We ran away from the Stardust Motel….

I don’t think I slept at all
The sun is in the window
Had a dream I can’t recall
And you will never know

Then the other shoe may fall
to say it was a good show
I’ll be waiting by the wall
where you will never go

it doesn’t matter if you really miss me
of if I ever felt the same
we were too fragile at the end of this we
kinda forgot it was a game…

We tried to play at the stardust hotel
Nothing to say but you knew me too well

We ran away from the Stardust
Fell in the valley of the shadow of lust
We ran away from the Stardust Motel….
We ran away from the Stardust Motel….

NOTES:
I was watching "Flesh and Bone" a movie from the 90s with Meg Ryan.
It has some super aesthetic views of roadside hotels. It inspired me.
Also, I used to always drive by this place called the "Discovery Inn"
The sign was a strange, blank, smiley face. That smiley face haunts me.

The Stardust Motel (demo)

Lyrics:

Why won't you follow me 
I know the book you read
We spoke in poetry 
But eloquence is dead

I don't know what I see 
Or why I've been mislead
This precious agony 
It echoes in my head

And calls me, calls me, calls me

Home where the light is 
Calling to me
Over a window facing the sea
There is a note I was too scared to leave
I didn’t dare to deserve what I grieve

Why won’t you follow me
It would have been worth while
After a cup of tea
Made bitter with a smile

An evening beckoning
And bare across the sky
We had a reckoning
I can’t remember why

Like a patient on a table
How I waited on that shelf
Mesmerized and etherized
Alive for someone else
Oh take me, take me, take me

Home where the light is 
Calling to me
There is an echo over the sea
I left a note I was too scared to read
Why should I care what you’d never believe
But I believe oh I believe

There will be a time for us
To murder and create
All the visions and the dreams
That will carry us to fate

I could stay until the morning
Do I dare do I dare
When every dream is hidden in my head

I could leave you with a warning 
Would you care would you care
To know Lazarus has risen from the dead

I dream audaciously 
In half-deserted streets
But I have graciously 
Accepted my defeat

And tonight another vision
Tarries here beside the flame
My creature of ambition 
Will be buried with my shame

I don't know what I see 
Or why I've been mislead
god damn your poetry
(It echoes in my head)

And calls me, calls me, calls me

Home where the light is 
Calling to me
There is an echo over the sea
It drew a siren ensnared by a sound
I knew your voice when it dared me to drown

NOTES:
Once upon a Saturday night, I watched some Irish dude translate the first couple stanzas of "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock." I can't compete with that, so instead I wrote this song based on that poem.

Also, this song was really, really hard to play. The bridge and nut on my acoustic guitar are both kind of cracking and the action is super high. So it was like a balancing act of "will my G and E strings stay ringing for the rest of this take?"

This is probably the last song I'll record with my current acoustic. Because shortly after this take the bridge went all crumbly like feta cheese. Now, I guess I will play exclusively electric. Oops.  

RIP 
Off Brand Lefty Acoustic
2011-2022
"Cheap, but adequate. What more could I ask for?"

Follow Me (acoustic)

(also called "what happened")

Lyrics:
Saturday night she’s dancing on the ceiling
Saturday night she’s fallen in a feeling
Come play, we're following the rabbit
Yesterday, she tried to break a habit

Alice found a new fight
Alice count your cards right
what you take before you fall
did the bottle made you small

good girls don’t look like that
good girls don’t run
but the smile that remains
is steady as a gun

and they tried convincing her
what happened in her mind
she is down the rabbit hole
and left a card behind

stand here the world is still spinning
do you think the cat has stopped grinning
when the hatter handed you a beverage
play nice you got no leverage

tweedled dee and tweedled dum
are young drunk and full of fun
can you smile like a cat
do you wonder where you’re at

red queen is giving you the reason
red queen is charging you with treason
she screamed but no one could hear her
good girl just fell through the mirror

will you won’t you join the dance
give the walrus one more chance
does it matter what you see
if it breaks so easily

alice I will stand by you
doesn’t matter what they do
if they never understand
you are safe in wonderland

and if they call you crazy
for the vision that you had
I will join the dance with you
and let us both be mad

good girls don’t look like that
bad girls are fun
keep the smile that remains
it’s steady as a gun

how they tried convincing her
what happened in her mind
she is through the looking glass
Alice will be fine

Not in Wonderland 2

"Just a Friend"
Lyrics:
We were younger then
You were just a friend
What else can I say
We were still afraid
Of the plans we made
Now watch them fade away

And I wondered then
If I knew you
We were different when we're alone
And I couldn't say
I saw through you
And you wouldn't stay on the phone

That's not how you treat a friend
That's not how the story should end
That's not how you the story should end
But I've forgiven you

You were younger than I remember
When we were the same
In those fragile nights of December
Before I felt ashamed

I had a new car and an old dream
You were far away
I had a new car, when you left me
What else can I say

You won't be sorry at all
When I have forgotten your name
And I know you never did call
Because my number was always the same

And I couldn't impress you now
You would never see
Just rise up and take your bow
You have forgotten me

That's not how you treat a friend
That's not how the story should end
That's not how you treat a friend
From yesterday

I would go back now if I could
Maybe for a night
I would stand in the rain with you
Finally get this right

I am weaker than you remember
Now I'm afraid of the dark
It is bleak here in December
Dear, where you left your mark

That's not how you treat a friend
That's not how the story should end
That's not how you treat a friend
From Yesterday

That's not how you treat a friend
That's not how the story should end
That's not how you treat a friend
But I'm okay

These things reminded me of you
There was another life we knew
We will be happy for a few
These things reminded me of you

NOTES:
I put this in my "acoustic" playlist even though I'm actually playing my Strat.  I would have played this acoustically if my acoustic wasn't broke. Therefore the song has a certain acoustic intention that warrants inclusion in that playlist.

I was moving closer to the mic for the quiet parts and I need to remember to do that. I also wish I remembered what amp settings I used but I don't. Amp is a fender frontman. 

the lines "We were still afraid/ Of the plans we made"
are my little reference to "walking in a winter wonderland"

Because I really love that song. 
It has a really great melody, good storytelling and an excellent sense of place and time. The lines "to face unafraid, the plans that we made, walking in a winter wonderland" create this sense of depth and history to the relationship. It's just good. I need to go back and look at that song again to pick more reasons why it just works. 

Also, I got this music box/cookie tin at Aldi's that plays this song in slightly off-key way that I love.

A Friend

LYRICS:

I get a little tired
Hearing how you talk
Like you're in a book
Absently you admired
Everything you mocked
When you never look

I see the water rising
But hope never built a bridge
Dream of what you're despising
And beg for the privledge

I carried your cruelty
And felt every line
But you're the piano key
Playing in time
Wasted and haunted
And fading away
Alone like you wanted
For all of your days

Stay for a little while
Hiding in the dark
Would you follow me
Hope had a bitter smile
Waiting on the part
That will never be

I knew a sad romantic
He longed for what isn't real
True but a bit pendantic
One song that he could never feel

You told me your cruelty
I held to your line
You are the piano key
Playing in time
Wasted and haunted and fading away
Alone like you wanted for all of your days

You spoke like a poet
Invoke your despair
Too broken to show it
Too foolish to care

I wanted a kiss
You were turning away
We standing like this
When I begged you to stay

I'm condemned I'm condemned
By your eyes in the dark
How long have we waited right here
On a whim, on a whim
How your lies hit their mark
But I always hated your fear

Tell me you didn't care
Say another word
That you never mean
You see it isn't fair
That you never heard
Of a better dream

My heart said I needed answers
My head said "you're all alone"
This soul is a quiet dancer
And she's better on her own

I carried your cruelty
And felt every line
But you're the piano key
Playing in time
Wasted and Haunted
And fading away
Alone like you wanted
For all of your days

I get a little tired
Hearing how you talk
Like you're in a book
Absently you admired
Everything you mocked
When you never look

NOTES (from the underground):
"It is just his fantastic dreams, his vulgar folly that he will desire to retain, simply in order to prove to himself--as though that were so necessary-- that men still are men and not the keys of a piano, which the laws of nature threaten to control so completely that soon one will be able to desire nothing but by the calendar. "

"Why, you ... speak somehow like a book," she said, and again there was a note of irony in her voice.

** This is probably the best song set in 3/4 time based on Notes From the Underground played on an electric guitar that you have ever heard on SoundCloud. But if there is a better one, I willingly concede my defeat. Conceding defeat is actually a caprice of mine. **

I always identified with Liza with my hoard of ephemeral mementos and my compulsion to show them to people who could not possibly care less.

Love Notes from the Underground

LYRICS:
Once upon another age
We were shadows on the wall
Write our story on the page
Cite the cruelty of it all

I had nothing but my name
When you met me in the hall
Your face burning like a flame
My heart learning how to fall

I've seen your fear
Love could prevail
But I dream too, dear
We both are frail

You'll find me dancing in the demimonde
I cast my heart upon the sea
You told me love would always carry on
But love is not enough for me

Foolishly, we were enthralled
Everything began to gleam
All this haste to see me fall
Would you waste another scene

Wretched hours of the night
They belong to us alone
I won't plead to make this right
We don't need to make it home

I know your fear
Love could prevail
I'll show you, here
We both are frail

I have seen the light again
It faded in your eyes
If you stay until the end
Then I will keep your lies

And the crystal that you shatter
Would shine brightly in a ring
Could you tell me that I matter
Even after everything

You'll find me dancing in the demimonde
I cast my heart upon the sea
Then told my lover he could sail upon
The tide that turns away from me

What is left to fill your cup
Bittersweet this shade of green
Take your grief and drink it up
Find relief there in a dream

If I pass you in the street
Or you see me on the stage
Lay your flowers at my feet
Press our hours in a page

I've seen your fear
Love could prevail
But I dream too, dear
We both are frail

When we were dancers in the demimonde
There was a moment I was free
Now I wonder at the days long gone
And if you still remember me

I will be dancing in the demimonde
Until the night falls on the sea
Without an answer I will carry on
Some things are never meant to be

NOTES:
Demimonde:
French, literally ‘half-world’. (in 19th-century France)
The class of women considered to be of doubtful morality and social standing. A group of people considered to be on the fringes of respectable society.

Alexandre Dumas coined.
He wrote La Dame aux Camélias, (the basis for the movie Moulin Rouge)inspired by Marie Duplessis.

They also talk about the demimonde in Penny Dreadful (the tv show that quotes poetry). 

Anyway this song has a whole narrative thing happening. 
I might post that on my blog when I actually post my blog.

Personal Notes:  I read a biography about Marie Duplessis and she's just kind of a relatable person in some ways.

Dancers in the Demimonde

LYRICS:

We could be human
We could be human if we tried
But where have you been
With all the hate I keep inside

I have no answer
You have no fear
You ate my cancer
I am not here
I am not here /I am not here

Everything is haunted 
By the shadow in my head
Everything I say
You can’t believe

You tell me what you wanted
When I waited in your bed
Every other day
I try to leave

We could be human
We could be human if we tried
Who will you hate when
You have seen everything I hide

You could be angry
Then bite my tongue
This heart will hang me
Before we’re done

Before we’re done/ Can we we’re done
Repeat (ad nauseam)

Now and then I recognize
When I don’t give a damn
Pain will find a way
To make me learn

How can I apologize 
For everything I am
Did you only stay 
To watch me burn

I am inhuman
I could be sorry that I lied
But where have you been
When I was waiting in the tide

I held you tightly
You held me fast
It burned too brightly
We never last

Everything is better
When you’re running out of time
even pain is pleasure 
at the end

Keep it like a letter
That you know I’ll never find
Tell me that you treasure
every sin

We could be human
We could be human if we tried
But where have you been
You should have seen it when I lied

NOTES:
This photo is what an acoustic guitar looks like after it's been in a gig bag in the truck of a car that got rear ended by a concrete barricade.

Be Human (acoustic)

This was the last song I recorded with this particular guitar before it got smashed in the truck of a car.

Lyrics:
You wanna go
You wanna fight
Is that really why you call me
In the middle of the night

You want a show
I’ll take a bite
We could break another wall
But I could never make it right

I offer your pleasure
You give me pain
This hate that we treasure
Love leaves a stain

You were enough for me
They didn’t need to know
It didn’t have to be
Damn what lies below

A pretty fantasy
Our little puppet show
It didn’t have to be
I would have let you go

Just take it back
Forget the lies
But I know you never want me
When you look me in the eye

There was a crack
A compromise
You wanna tell me why you taunt me
And you never say good bye

I offer you weakness
You hold me tight
My darling we seek this
You love the night

It was enough for me
You didn’t have to know
It didn’t have to be
Damn what lies below

A pretty fantasy
Your little puppet show
It didn’t have to be
I would have let you go

Green is the grass
Where all True Love will lie
This too may pass
But I will never say goodbye

Why should I ask
I know the hero always dies
Raise up your glass
To every pitiful disguise

I’ve had enough
Give me a break
When I know the night you hated
Was a dream you couldn’t shake

It was a bluff
We were awake
And I know you hesitated
But it wasn’t a mistake

The time that you held me
I was afraid
Why didn’t you tell me
I would have stayed

You were enough for me
But you will never know
I should have let it be
Damn what lies below

And you will never see
What I could never show
You were enough for me
I should have let you know




NOTES FOR LAURA:
(edit 2 file: Enough acoustic PIXEL BEST MIX ALL 2025 BEST BEST.wav)

Little Puppet Show (Acoustic)

lyrics:
You wanna go
You wanna fight
Is that really why you call me
In the middle of the night

You want a show
I’ll take a bite
We could break another wall
But I could never make it right

I offer your pleasure
You give me pain
This hate that we treasure
Love leaves a stain

You were enough for me
They didn’t need to know
It didn’t have to be
Damn what lies below

A pretty fantasy
Our little puppet show
It didn’t have to be
I would have let you go

Just take it back
Forget the lies
But I know you never want me
When you look me in the eye

There was a crack
A compromise
You wanna tell me why you taunt me
And you never say good bye

I offer you weakness
You hold me tight
My darling we seek this
You love the night

It was enough for me
You didn’t have to know
It didn’t have to be
Damn what lies below

A pretty fantasy
Your little puppet show
It didn’t have to be
I would have let you go

Green is the grass
Where all True Love will lie
This too may pass
But I will never say goodbye

Why should I ask
I know the hero always dies
Raise up your glass
To every pitiful disguise

I’ve had enough
Give me a break
When I know the night you hated
Was a dream you couldn’t shake

It was a bluff
We were awake
And I know you hesitated
But it wasn’t a mistake

The time that you held me
I was afraid
Why didn’t you tell me
I would have stayed

You were enough for me
But you will never know
I should have let it be
Damn what lies below

And you will never see
What I could never show
You were enough for me
I should have let you know

NOTES FOR LAURA:
(file: ZOOM0358 ENOUGH tone BEST mix 2025 ABLE fix gel 3 Q BEST )

Little Puppet Show (electric)

Truth may be a liar after all is done
When you doubt the stars are fire
Will you hate what I've become

Were you looking for a savior
I was speaking to a skull
You have hated my behavior
But I swear the blade is dull 

We were already dancing away
We were already dancing away

See the villain smile at a fortune proven true
They were waiting all the while 
For the play to start anew

And you know I didn't mean it
Couldn't help but play the part
Did the river finally clean it
All the poison from my heart

We were already dancing away
We were already dancing away
The pain is entrancing 
The dark is advancing

We were already dancing away
We were already dancing away

All the slings and arrows that were
Tearing us apart
Did it cut you to the marrow
When I finally broke your heart

Be all my sins remembered 
For I never gave you aught
And the love that I surrendered 
Was the lie that you were taught

Oh not to be, or not to be
Think again and look at me
I'll meet you at the nunnery
And oh what fools these mortals be

Or not to be, oh not to be
The bitterness of ecstasy
My lover cried out, woe is me
They cannot see what I can see

But I can see, oh I can see
Oh I can see, oh I can see

We were already dancing away
We were already dancing away
The hell with romancing
This pain is but glancing 
And hate is entrancing
The dark is advancing

We were already dancing away
We were already dancing away

So conscience made a coward 
Until madness made a man 
I have held you all these hours
But you cannot understand

I would sing away your madness
You could hold me in the dark
I would kiss away your sadness 
We were standing on our mark

So tell me what use is repentance now
When everything is lost
I will rise to meet my sentence
I will gladly pay the cost

For every curse I shouted 
And the cruelty that you heard
So if your death is doubted 
You should know mine is deserved

We were already dancing away
We were already dancing away
The pain is entrancing 
The dark is advancing 

We were already dancing away

.
.
.

***Ignore this if you are not me ***

 ( ZOOM0358  dancing electric OKAY BEST mix  new REDDIT EDIT BEST more comp 
- vox fix/low end harmonies?  )

Song for a Skull

"Vampires in Love" 
LYRICS:

Tell me this
Where does your heart lie
Waste a kiss
Upon a stone

What a night
Under a clear sky
Make this right
We are alone

You are the wild one
Lay beneath my shadow
I am a creature
Crying in the dark

Whatever we've done
We put on a good show
We were the feature
Play in the park

Tell me it's easy to live in a lie
Leave all the rest there to pass us by
Wish I could keep you forever with me
There by the river I set you free

When I spoke
I didn't mean it
I could choke
On every word

What a play
I think I've seen it
Can I say
It was absurd

I wasn't angry
I never make the right face
When I was with you
I couldn't let you go

You wouldn't change me
I felt alive in this place
What else could I do
We're just another show

Tell me it's easy to live in a lie
Leave all the rest where the stars go to die
Hold me a moment and kiss me goodbye
Remember me best in a clear night sky

History favored the bold
Why would that matter to me
I am alone in the cold
I want you here next to me

So wait for the voice in the phone
I am the one that you hear
Bury whatever you own
Meet me again in a year

Waste a spark
To light an ember
In the dark
Where we were free
I was here
You don't remember
Make this clear
We'll never be

And in the aching hour that you held me
I should have spoken anything but this
And it was breaking that hopeless little spell we
Should have awoken the moment that we kissed

Hold me a moment and kiss me goodbye
Remember me best in a clear night sky
Tell me it's easy to live in a lie
Leave all the rest where the stars go to die

Vampires in Love

Lyrics:

Something is rotten here
I don't know why I stay
The water is all too clear
It carried you away

I don't want this and I don't want you
I don't want to see the sun
I don't want this I couldn't break through
But God, I could have been the one

Who knows what dreams may come
We were deceived
For all the good it's done
I once believed
In something after death
That we might keep
I wasted all my breath and now I sleep
And now I sleep

Look at the proud man now
Bearing the scorn of time
Bowing beneath his vows
Reading the villain's lines

What have I done I wasted my time
Everything feels the same
Bitter and numb but proven unkind
Paid for a crown in shame

Who knows what dreams may come
We were deceived
For all the good it's done
I once believed
In something after death
That we might keep
I wasted all my breath and now I sleep
And now I sleep

Oh I sleep
I will sleep again
And I'll keep this wretched promise
That I carried to the end

And the tale may find conclusion 
When the villain has been caught
And the hue of resolution 
Overcomes the cast of thought

But I will meet you at the ending
When I gather up my arms
Put an end to this pretending
That has only brought me harm

I don't want to live like this
But conscience won't let me die
Life is a bitter kiss
Laugh when they pass you by 

Here in the dark with nothing to prove
Already paid the cost
I have been marked and proven untrue
Everything else is lost

Who knows what dreams may come
We were deceived
For all the good it's done
I once believed
In something after death
That we might keep
I wasted all my breath and now I sleep
And now I sleep

Something is rotten here
I don't know why I say
The water was all too clear
It carried us away 

NOTES:
Windshield glass looks like a jewel with the right attitude.

Something is Rotten

Lyrics:
Do you remember Eden
A vivid summer night
The curse of things forbidden
That were lost without a fight

We lay there by a river
To feel the warm/weight of sin
I am no man’s daughter
You are no one’s friend…

I haven't been well lately
Don’t know who to call
I haven’t been well lately
Not at all

That this is where the river takes us
this is why we lie alone
this is not the part that breaks us
here as heavy as a stone

You had a crooked smile
And faintly smelled of smoke
I rather liked your style
You kind of liked my joke

You had a voice like honey
Wicked warm and sweet
Before you turn away from me
You helped me on my feet

I haven’t been well lately
No one here to call
I wear my shame ornately
When I fall

this is where the river takes us
this is why we lie alone
this is not the part that breaks us
love as heavy like a stone

this is where the river takes us
this is where our hearts succeed
this is why the water breaks us
you are all I ever need

tell if it ever mattered
tell me what you think I mean
find in me the part you shatter
stronger is the heart that bleeds

You never made a promise
I never told a lie
What was the point of all of this
To only say good bye

But I remember every word
I wrote them in a book
I’ll never know just what you heard
You didn’t even look

You haven’t seen me lately
Even when I was there
It happened so sedately
Maybe you didn’t care

Will the river finally take us
Does it matter in the end
Water doesn’t have to break us
We could always start again

Stand and watch the pieces scatter
Will you look me in the eye
Tell me that it didn’t matter
We both know you hate to lie

Do you remember Eden
A vivid summer night
There never was a reason
We could have made it right

The curse of things forbidden
That were lost without a fight

I haven't been well lately
Don’t know who to call
I haven’t been well lately
Not at all

The River Takes

(a song about a selkie)

LYRICS
So tell me what you waited for
I’ll tell you we've been here before
Now tell me if you have another dream

And with that darkness at your door
You told me that you wanted more
You told me that you had another dream

And on those nights of reckoning
Those demons they come beckoning
Is everything as hopeless as we seem

But if this game was justified
Then everything we ever tried
Was hollow and you know just what I mean

There is a shadow
It was waiting on the ground
And what I borrowed
I could say I never found

Cling to the devil in the deep blue sea
Sing to another when he comes to me
And I hate you, I hate you again
Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Lie to another when he waits for me
I hate you, I hate you again

And when I cried that seventh tear
That caught us both and trapped you here
I’m sorry, but I don’t know what I mean

And if that cold wind breaks the door
Then then maybe we come back for more
But you and I will always be obscene

There is a shadow now
I know there will be more
There is a voice I heard
He wasn't here before

And what I borrowed
I could say I never found
But what I kept from you is buried in the ground

Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Sigh for another when we comes to me
I hate you I hate you again

Cling to the devil in the deep blue sea
Sing for another when he comes to me
I hate you, I hate you again

Tell me that you wanted this
That’s all I need to say
Lie to me and call it bliss
That’s all I we do today

Maybe, look me in the eye
Before we walk away
Dreaming of an autumn sky
Where you and I could stay

Did I tell another lie
That’s all I do today
Baby, did you see that guy
He likes the way I play

Did I tell another lie
That’s all I do today
Baby, did you hear this guy
He likes the way I play

I know now what I have to do
With everything I put you though
It’s written in the lines there on your face

That fairy tale true came halfway true
When love prevails, but greed does too
I guess that we can finally leave this place

There is a shadow now
I know there will be more
There is a voice I heard, he wasn't here before

And what I borrowed
I could say I never found
But what I keep from you
Is buried in the ground

Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Lie to another when he comes to me
And I hate you I hate you again

Cling to the devil in the deep blue sea
Sing to another when he comes to me
And I hate you, I hate you again

Drown your desire in the deep blue sea
Ash on the pyre that you built for me
It came true, I saw you again

Call me a liar and that’s all you see
Walk to the fire but you’re cold to me
I hate you I hate you again
I hate you I hate you again

Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Cry

Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Sing to another when he comes to me
And I hate you, I hate you again
I hate you, I hate you again
I hate you, I hate you again


NOTES: added layers, reverb, etc, see file

Had Another Dream 2

lyrics:

Well, you will not give me answers
And I can't afford your time
So I'm waiting in this parking lot
To pay the piper's fine

You cannot sell what isn't yours
I tried to buy what's free
If all these towns are all the same
You won't remember me

But it's lonely on the outside, lonely in the wind
All I ever ask of you, stay and share my sin

I am eloquently lying 
With the words I rearrange
You hailed a yellow taxi cab
And paid the bill in change

In the field beside the freeway
You can almost see the stars
I wake to feel you breathing
And remember where we are

It's lonely on the outside, lonely in the wind
All I ever ask of you,  stay and share my sin

Well there's no one at the table now 
No cards left in my sleeve
In this cold and empty parking lot 
I wait too long to leave

I am hardly worth remembering
The road will wear you down
Even so I'd like to think
You won't forget this town

And I didn't come here to waste your time
Didn't home here to change your mind
Didn't come here to make you stay
Never thought things would work that way

But it's lonely on the outside, lonely in the wind
All I ever ask of you, stay and share my sin

But it's lonely on the outside, a chill is in the air
Lonely on the outside, I met you standing there

I asked for more, there wasn't time 
I knew you poor, but I held you blind
You answered "sure" but held that line
I am poor but you are blind

You and I don't get away
I know we don't win
Tell me what I have to say
And what happens then

I know we don't get away
I know I don't win
Tell me what I have to say
Can I start again

Tell me what I have to say
Tell me what I have to say

Parking Lot

lyrics:

Hey pretty boy your shoulder is shaking
On the road with no time to think
You regret this path that you're taking
And the rock is making you sink

Caught up in callous assumptions
You walk the length of this ledge
Keep pace with rabid consumption
Are you slowly losing your edge

You're the ghost
And I'm the haunted
I am here
And you are gone

You are free
Just like you wanted
When I let go you carry on

You call but nobody picks up
Too late you waited too long
And I heard you're choking on this cup
Neat price you paid for a song

They ask for perfect discretion
You give whatever they need
Good boy you're learning your lesson
Neat trick perfection and greed

You're the ghost
And I'm the haunted
We are here
Just like before

You gave in
Did what they wanted
Were we ever something more

You held a bright fascination
You were a sweet souvenir
One rush of vivid elation
Now there is nothing left here

And I know your hand could be stead
I have heard the beat of your heart
But I thought I lost you already
And I never cared for this part

(guitar solo)

There is a light in the mirror
Your lips have tasted the salt
There is a shadow come nearer
From a wheel that ground to a halt

There is a stone you won't carry 
Underneath a sky that won't clear
There is a bird that you bury
With a song you never may hear

You're the ghost
I am the haunted
You have gone
Beyond the pale

What is left
You never wanted
Even memory is frail

I'm the ghost
And I am haunted
You are near
But I'll be gone
You are free
That all you wanted
When I let go you carry on


NOTES: this is the old version, wrote some new lyrics in 2025

The Haunted (demo)

For the record, I can play violin, but only the song "twinkle twinkle on a star" and not very well. 

This is a wordless audio track for sad walking. 

I made this with Spitfire audio samples and a midi keyboards. Used "soft piano" and strings. They have a bunch of free midi instruments and I love it.

Walk in a Quiet Forest

electric guitar and amp
(pic: toasted marshmallow)

lyrics:
there's a drought in the desert
nothing left to burn 
while you're out there 
waiting for your luck to turn 

got a pocket full of quarters 
gonna pay to play
they all like you better 
cause you never stay

wait wait
 till we stop spinning
count it on winning, here

in the heat, a mirage 
covers up the sky
and you fall to your knees
and you don't know why

wait for the fire
make me a liar
make me a liar, here

and there's apple pie
on the 4th of July
down to the desert where they made you lie
toxic elastic wrap your face in plastic 

out on road 
huffing dust and fumes
lost in your head cause 
there's too much room

in the hollow refrain 
of a bitter bet
can't explain 
and you won't forget

and you take take 
what they owe you
ask if they know you, here

down to the water 
that you never drink
stare in the sun 
till it makes you blink

breathe under water
 just like you taught her

who'd you find in California
were they everything you needed 
did they smile like they want you
do you wait until they bleed
yeah, who'd you find in California
was she everything you need
does it matter if they want you 
do you like it when they bleed

and there's apple pie
on the 4th of July
down to the desert where they made you lie
toxic elastic wrap your face in plastic 

so you get what you want 
is it what you need
they will follow you 
down any way you lead

in a circle and back again
what you've done and will not defend

where will they find you  
how they try to remind you
how they remind you here

all out of matches 
got a bridge to burn
beg for another 
cause you never learn

wait for the fire
make me a liar
make me a liar here
all wait...

apple pie foruth of july 
down to the desert where they made you lie
you are toxic elastic wrap your face in 
plastic...

wait for the fire
make me liar
make me a liar, here

and there's apple pie foruth of july 
down to the desert where they made you lie

you are toxic elastic wrap your face in 
plastic 
shave it off, sell it out

fade away

Nothing Left to Burn (old version)

(can I keep you?)

lyrics: 
So tell me what you waited for
I’ll tell you we've been here before
Now tell me if you have another dream

And with that darkness at your door
You told me that you wanted more
You told me that you had another dream

And on those nights of reckoning
Those demons they come beckoning
Is everything as hopeless as we seem

But if this game was justified
Then everything we ever tried
Was hollow and you know just what I mean

There is a shadow 
It was waiting on the ground
And what I borrowed
I could say I never found

Cling to the devil in the deep blue sea
Sing to another when he comes to me
And I hate you, I hate you again
Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Lie to another when he waits for me
I hate you, I hate you again

And when I cried that seventh tear
That caught us both and trapped you here
I’m sorry, but I don’t know what I mean

And if that cold wind breaks the door
Then then maybe we come back for more
But you and I will always be obscene

There is a shadow now
I know there will be more
There is a voice I heard 
He wasn't here before

And what I borrowed
I could say I never found
But what I kept from you is buried in the ground

Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Sigh for another when we comes to me
I hate you I hate you again

Cling to the devil in the deep blue sea
Sing for another when he comes to me 
I hate you, I hate you again
 
Tell me that you wanted this
That’s all I need to say
Lie to me and call it bliss 
That’s all I we do today

Maybe, look me in the eye
Before we walk away
Dreaming of an autumn sky
Where you and I could stay

Did I tell another lie
That’s all I do today
Baby, did you see that guy 
He likes the way I play

Did I tell another lie
That’s all I do today
Baby, did you hear this guy 
He likes the way I play

I know now what I have to do
With everything I put you though
It’s written in the lines there on your face

That fairy tale true came halfway true
When love prevails, but greed does too
I guess that we can finally leave this place

There is a shadow now 
I know there will be more
There is a voice I heard, he wasn't here before

And what I borrowed
I could say I never found
But what I keep from you
Is buried in the ground

Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Lie to another when he comes to me
And I hate you I hate you again

Cling to the devil in the deep blue sea
Sing to another when he comes to me 
And I hate you, I hate you again

Drown your desire in the deep blue sea
Ash on the pyre that you built for me
It came true, I saw you again

Call me a liar and that’s all you see
Walk to the fire but you’re cold to me
I hate you I hate you again
I hate you I hate you again

Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Cry 

Cry to the devil in the deep blue sea
Sing to another when he comes to me
And I hate you, I hate you again
I hate you, I hate you again
I hate you, I hate you again
.
.
REVIEWS/PRESS:
Alt77 (Alternative music blog)
http://alt77.com/post-punk-new-music-reviews-august-2020/

Had Another Dream

are they still watching us?

lyrics:
I know you’ve been thinking of me
I am more than the eye that you see
We have always lived under the gun
But we’re gone with the rest of the scum

Passing ships in the echoing halls
Too afraid of the eyes on the walls
as you rage at the symbols you see
you were already thinking of me

This is the end
This is the mark
There is no answer you’ll find
standing in the dark
And it’s too late
We’ve run aground
Where we are haunted by
the fury and the sound

Did you hear, I was calling to you?
Oh does it matter, just wait for a few
Do you think they are watching us now
Do you breathe just the way they allow?

We were finally away from the screen
And I can’t keep the memory clean
And the sunlight was gold in your hair
In a room where we felt the free air

This is the end
This is the mark
There is no answer you’ll find
standing in the dark
And it’s too late
We’ve run aground
Where we are haunted by
the fury and the sound

But what we were,
Was something more
Can we go back now
To the place we were before

And we are here
Beneath the glass
A fragile lie
that lies much better in the past

We are breath we are skin and no more
And you can’t make it back to the shore
They may raise up their boot till you blink
But they cannot erase what you think

So I cling to my sweet anodyne
A delusion too frail to define
In the end, you deny what you feel
I am here, I’m alive I am real
I am real

The coral glass is fractured now
There’s no repair
But I will weave the sunlight
In your hair
In a place with no darkness
We will meet again

And I will look for you, my friend

But in the end/They broke you down
And you’ll be haunted by my fury
And the sound

But I am here/ My heart is free
And I won’t let them/Make a liar out of me

So in the end/You’re just a mark
and I’m the whore/
that you left standing in the dark

But I am here/ My heart is free
And I won’t let them/Make a liar out of me

but I am here, my heart is free
and I won't let you make a liar out of me
.

NOTES:
Guess what book this is based on? If you guess wrong, Big Brother will be disappointed in you. 
.
I  reread this book a bunch looking for stuff I could include in this song. I could go on a long rant about that process but nobody wants that.  I love the ending where the guy betrays his lover and then they have to look each other in the eye at the weird doomed café. It is such a mood.  
.
You can hear a teakettle in the background but I like the vibe so I left it. 
It feels right.  If I try to re-record this song now, it won't have the original passion and perfectly timed tea-kettle...
.
... Also, I don't feel like re-recording this song because I slightly forgot a riff.

Siren 1984

after last call

lyrics:
On a dark night in the fall
You were standing on your wall
Waiting for a word in the right key

I was just another voice
Hazardous, your second choice
And always too far down for you to see

I will rise, oh I will rise
Be bright enough to catch your eyes
The moon is just a stone lit by a star

You're the fire I reflect
The energy I redirect
And I will find a way to where you are

Over
The green light’s gone out
All I wanted was closure
You left me in doubt

You said it was over
The green light’s all out
All I wanted was closure
You left me in doubt

You were always on your way
And I was always meant to stay
But I will give you reason to return

Built a castle in your name
Then cut it down to feed the flame
Just hoping you would stay to watch it burn

Lost and found you in the crowd
With my heartbeat ringing loud
We stumbled out into the street

Wandered in our revelry
There’s no one else, just you and me
The sky above, the world beneath our feet

Over
The green light’s all out
All I wanted was closure
You left me in doubt

At the station, here alone
On the last train headed home
Eviscerating absence of your hand

You’re back on that balcony
And I wonder if you think of me
Does it matter if I understand

Take whatever path you find
But tell me if you change your mind
In weeping on that letter that you hold

You’re the star that burns alone
Leaving me a heavy stone
Desolate, magnificent, and cold

Over
The green light's gone out
All I wanted was closure
You left me in doubt

You said it was over
The green light's all out
All I wanted was closure
You left me in doubt
.
.
.
(really glad some people like this track, I wrote it for someone a long time ago)

No More Green Light (acoustic)

car troubles

Lyrics

I’m in the drive way hear me calling? 
flash the headlights As the night is falling 
gravel grinding beneath your feet
saw you smiled soft and sweet

we’re hoping the radio
plays a song we know
wind it up and let go

keep the car running 
and hold me
no we ain’t running 
no we ain’t running 
we run this town

then you finally started talking
but your voice it sounded mocking
you were bragging that you won’t stay
said that you were leaving today

it’s fine I believe you
just go I don't need you
I’m ready to leave you

keep the car running and let me go
no I ain’t running, I run this show

 but we drove on until the sunrise
and I saw you look in my eyes
and I am not sure where we’re going
but I don’t see a point in knowing

the heat and the sun
had us under the gun
were we wild and young
we were wild and young

I am tired of balcony scenes
if you run will you run to me
what we wanted is too far to see
if you run will you run to me?
if you run will you run to me?

are you ready to go home now
did you want to be alone now
we were wild are we still young
I taste copper on your tongue

I was tired afraid
and so I looked away
but you started to say
(oh you started to say)

keep the car running 
and hold me
no we ain’t running 
no we ain’t running 
we run this town

Flash the Headlights

(not my frog, not my swamp)

lyrics
You're a sad little man with a mean little face
You got a real quiet girl 
Cause she’s put in her place
If look at her now she’s got real sad eyes
Maybe cause she knows who you got on the side

The sum of your will is an ego fracture
Hide behind the smile you manufacture
you write the words to create the news
one by one they lick your shoes

You’re an unkind man The never mind man
Kick off your morals, unwind man
Tell me what you find man

you're from LA but here you stay
you're closing your eyes but you don't pray
it's all to ignore what you won't say

Obrien you cryan 
don't rule the world but you tryan
are they for sale cause you're buying
but you wrote the book on defying

you faker /shot taker
they think you're a mover a shaker
you follow the girl just to break her
/ a shadow that falls on the maker

Got a hand in the pocket you pay to play
you making the rules on who gets to stay
but you're standing right there at each meeting
with a pasted on smile so fleeting

you're always right there on location
like a vulture of new innovation
and they look at you with admiration
you don't think they belong in your nation

you take credit/like you said it
you're laying them down and they spread it
revolution is dead cause you led it

You're a small man/with a fall man
think you're above the law man
secretly making the call man

AIEIAIO/tell me what the robots know
tell me are you all this slow
tell me now who runs this show
AIEIAIO

you're a stain on a block chain
Bet you   like you explain, badly
They admire you madly 
For no reason, got a new face every season

Pied piper cheap cipher 
with a clear refrain to incite her
what do we say to the swiper?
pied piper you viper

but you like to watch them bleed
sit right back get off on greed
patent it all and charge for need
and you laugh at them now and eat the seed

AIEIAIO/Tell me what the robots know
Are you ready time to go
did you think it wouldn't show/ 


your a sad little man with a red little/right hand
you worked so hard know the lay of the land
and all of the world will turn green for you
don't look at the help when they clean for you

you floating up high on your bed of hot air
you failed the part where they taught to share
digging a hole for your next trap
strangle them all with your boot strap

California transplant 
You’re here cause you can’t
handle your original city
you bought a new house it's so pretty

document share it
buy it and wear it
because you think they all care it
gives you delusions of merit

you faker /rule maker
they think you're a mover a shaker
weak little leech you're a taker

Obrien, you cryan 
don't rule the world but you tryan
are they for sale cause you buying
maybe we're sick of your lyan
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(dedicate this song to everyone that won't stop talking about bitcoin & venture capitalism as a moral system)
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NOTE: Wrote this song for funski's after attending one too many tech networking events. It's rough but I like it for the AIEIO line because it expresses my annoyance at AI in a creative context. 

Once upon a time some scientists recorded the call of an endling, the last bird of his species. They played the recording and the bird sang along, mistaking the song for the call of another.  It was a cruel trick to play on a bird, who must be long dead by now. 

It summarizes my thoughts on AI art. It adds noise that drowns out the art of humanity. And if it's good it's still bad. Imagine a song, something that speaks to you. For one moment, you feel less alone, touched by the knowledge that somewhere, someone, must have felt the same. 

But it's a lie. A machine's Frankensteinian output, stitched from the work of others. Algorithmically regurgitated into existence. 

Now you're just like that poor bird, fooled by a song, more alone than before.

Obrien is the dude from 1984 and I just thought it was funny to rhyme Obrien with crying (pronounced weirdly). 1984's versificator was a great prediction.

Pied Piper

lyrics:
Are you addicted to your distraction
will you forgive this minor infraction
do you want this a new distraction?
will you be counting this interaction

well if you like this, then you should let me know
you wanna try this, just stay and watch the show
and would you like me, if I was in your screen
you wanna try me, can I be in your dream

there is a light that's beside your bed
there is the one you should hold instead
there's a demon you keep well fed
there is a shadow, beside your bed

what you were playing, it left me haunted
what you were saying it's what you taunted
what we gather, you were dismissing
play "would you rather?' when you weren't listening

but what you wanted was always in your hand
you only want it when it comes on demand
there is a border around the things you see
a perfect order, you keep unnaturally

now and even this will someday pass
and we can gather shards of glass
there is a light across the bay
but now it seems so far away

there is a light that's beside your bed
there's a shadow inside your head
there's a demon you keep well fed
there's a shadow beside your head

what would they swallow
what they would show you
it left you hollow
but now they know you
I tried to hold you, you wouldn't let me
but what they told you, made you forget me

but if you like then, then you should let me know
you want to try this, then stay and watch the show
would you like me, if I were in your screen
you wanna watch me, can I play in your dream

there is a light there beside your bed
there's the one you should hold instead
there's a demon you keep well fed
there's a shadow inside your head

(This song about not listening has more listens than I expected. Thank you)

Try Me

sad violins and ship sounds, a haunted music box
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the instruments are midi sounds made with a keyboard 
I used Labs instruments from Spitfire audio.
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The plucked sounds are a loop I made. The rain sounds were made with midi.
Then I used these sounds as a backdrop and added the violin and cello sounds by playing a midi keyboard over the top with whatever melody came to my mind at the moment.

Haunted Ship (instrumental)

hello humans and bots.
lofi rock and acoustic stuff
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lyrics are posted on the song pages.
track art/photos are all pictures that I took myself unless otherwise noted. Weird little clay sculptures in the pictures were also probably made by me. 
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(profile photo by Samantha Brenstein)

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