great folksong with deep lyrics,Len.
..handmade .. nicely performed ..high respect!

Really nice performance and lyrics that ask good questions

A new song ....The title came to be after watching Jane Goodall's final interview released after her death on Netflix. She was asked about her beliefs about an afterlife. The first thing she said was ...."well ,there is either something or nothing". She tended to believe that there was something based on watching her second husband pass away. For me I guess the jury is still out. Some other ideas came from some podcast which I have been watching. You will find a reference to George Harrison and Yusuf/Cat Stevens 'On the the road to find out".

Lyrics:

Wondering thoughts 
Something or nothing 
Light or darkness 
A wonder to us all
The great unknown 
Is there something or just really nothing 

From seconds to minutes
Hour to hour
Living, breathing and observing
The world’s just passing us by
Memories of the past
Disrupting our present 
As we ponder the future 

Wondering thoughts 
Something or nothing 
Light or darkness 
A wonder to us all
The great unknown 
Is there something or just really nothing 

What is life
George once said
Is this all real
Or just a simulation 
No one really knows 
All the living 
On the road to find out

Wondering thoughts 
Something or nothing 
Light or darkness 
A wonder to us all
The great unknown 
Is there something or just really nothing 

Mastered Track: Distrokid Mixea
Music and Lyrics by Len Bennati FM Folk 2025
Image: Arnesh Yadram

Something or Nothing

Verse 1
Tell me how does it feel
To be somebody real
Someone who feels normal
Really wish I could be
Someone other than me
Could I be so cordial

Cause I never seem to fit

Chorus 1
I don’t know what I’m doing here
I wanna disappear
And hide from all my fears
They’re haunting me
Why can’t I be someone else
Please free me from this shell
Because I don’t feel well
Just being me

Verse 2
Every night every day
Looking for my own way
I don’t know where it’s going
But I feel something shift
In this moment I lift
From the pain I’ve been holding

Now I see a brighter place

Chorus 2
I don’t know what I’m doing here
But it’s becoming clear
That I can face my fears
They’re part of me
I’m learning to be someone else
Better versions of myself
I’m starting to feel well
Just being me

Bridge
Finally ready to go
Where my dreams can grow and grow


Chorus 2
I don’t know what I’m doing here
But it’s becoming clear
That I can face my fears
They’re part of me
I’m learning to be someone else
Better versions of myself
I’m starting to feel well
Just being me

I don’t know what I’m doing here
But it’s becoming clear
That I can face my fears
They’re part of me
I’m learning to be someone else
Better versions of myself
I’m starting to feel well
Just being me

The truth has set me free

I Don’t Know What I’m Doing Here

Unfortunately, the connection has dropped, and we cannot be sure what is happening in the apartment where, at such a late hour, the light is still on. Probably nothing; they’re likely watching a film or reading a book. They might be projecting their reactions outward, and what we see could therefore be nothing more than the reflection of someone else’s nightmares — or dreams. Certainly, we have now reached a turning point: nothing can any longer be regarded as real, or the opposite... (all talk!).

This is the fifth in a series of eight easy, acoustic, rather short, and deliberately inconclusive tracks, assembled by combining new ideas with reworked older material, adding parts and sounds along the way. 

Part 1 here: https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/in-case-nothing-happens-part-1-night
Part 2 here: https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/in-case-nothing-happens-part-2-dawn
Part 3 here: https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/in-case-nothing-happens-part-3-noon
Part 4 here: https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/in-case-nothing-happens-part-4-late-afternoon

Composed by Michele Ansani (2023-2025). This time I simply redid a piano-based piece I had posted in the spring of last year, slightly changing the atmosphere: https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/overlays
All the ambient noises and female vocals are taken from public sound archives. 
Posted on SoundCloud: 2025, October 16.

In case nothing happens - part 5 (night again)*

You told me so many stories
You know I wondered
Could they, could they be real?

Oh there were times
I thought you were crazy
I suppose you might claim, "that's true"

You spun my head in giddy circles
You sent me to the moon
Beyond the stars

But then I grew up
Joined the cynical world
(I can feel your frown)

But now the time, the time has come
I see it clear and I believe
So tell me tales incredible
Just like you did before

Oh storyteller
I, I owe so much to you
You transported me far, far away

And if there were times 
I thought you were crazy
I am glad that you were

And yes now the time, the time has come
I see it clear and I believe
So tell me tales incredible
Just like you did
And now I see, I see it clear
It all rings true and I believe
So tell me tales wonderful
Just like you did before

Image from The New York Public Library

Storyteller

A companion piece to "Beneath the Forest" and "Enchanted Forest Dance."

The Forest Sleeps – by Francess Harris

The moon is full, the snow is deep,
The forest creatures, fast asleep,
Though skies are dark and harsh winds blow,
The stars shine down on peace below.
 
For in this season, time stands still,
With nothing else to do until,
Spring arrives and melts the snow,
And new life sprouts and starts to grow.

For now, beneath the frozen ground,
Rest prevails and dreams abound,
‘Til winter winds all blow away,
The forest sleeps ‘til Spring’s first day.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Poem & Original Composition by Francess Harris - Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved.

The Forest Sleeps

A song about using my defense mechanism of humor to avoid conflict and achieve romance. Dedicated to class clowns everywhere.
Sorry I've been off SC lately, I've been taking care of a few things.

Lyrics:
I was just having a drink
In a bar on the rough side of town
Yeah, minding my own business
And these tough guys come up to me
They say: "Hey, we're tough guys."
"we don't like you drinking sparkling Chablis,"

Well, I had a real good read on the situation
I've got the gift of gab (talk) from my Dad
I'm a samurai of summation
I buy my sarcasm firsthand

I said: Gentlemen, may  I suggest a truce?
Let me be the peacemaker and buy you a bottle of booze
Then I got loose
I left them with a bill
For a three hundred dollar
Bottle of Chartruse

Oh, I listened to what my Mama say
You're gonna have to fight those boys someday
But if you use your brain
Then you'll find another way
Fight back, hit em in the funny bone (3X)
Funny bone

I was a young undergrad
A full-time miscreant
A part-time handsome man
I needed to get the attention of the ladies
But I wasn't that good-looking
But I knew what I had

I had a good read on the situation
I have the gift of gab from my Dad
I'm a samurai of summation
I buy my sarcasm firsthand

I listened to what my Mama say
If those girls don't give you the time of day
You're gonna have to use your brain
Then you'll find another way 
Step back, appeal to her funny bone (3X)
Funny bone

Funny Bone

-Tribal voicing from the kids and myself
-20 famous peace quotes narrated
-Duduk/Kawala/Native Flute played on keys
-Airways pad played on keys
-Electric guitar rhythm/lead
-Chinese drums & percussion
-5 String bass guitar
-Tambourine drum, bodhrán & bongos added played with rubber mallets

1) “When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” – Jimi Hendrix

2) “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” – Nelson Mandela

3) “War is not inherent in human beings. We learn war and we learn peace. The culture of peace is something which is learned, just as violence is learned and war culture is learned.” – Elise Boulding

4) “The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.” – Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

5) “Those for whom peace is no more than a dream are asleep to the future.” – Jack DuVall

6) “Make peace with the universe. Take joy in it. It will turn to gold. Resurrection will be now. Every moment, a new beauty.” – Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi

7) “If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” – Leo Tolstoy

8) “Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are.” – Hafsat Abiola

9) “We live now in a global village and we are in one single family. It’s our responsibility to bring friendship and love from all different places around the world and to live together in peace.” – Jackie Chan

10) “If peace . . . only had the music and pageantry of war, there’d be no wars.” – Sophie Kerr

11) “Community responsibility, when it is managed well, results in peace. And peace benefits everyone. Taking care of someone or something to which you are not immediately genetically related pays you back in other dimensions, and the payback is part of your wellbeing. Compassion is useful and beneficial for all.” – Katy Payne


12) “Poetry is an act of peace. Peace goes into the making of a poet as flour goes into the making of bread.” – Pablo Neruda

13) “Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace. Better than a thousand hollow verses is one verse that brings peace. Better than a hundred hollow lines is one line of the law, bringing peace.” – Gautama Buddha

14) “I’m not disturbing the peace. I’m disturbing the war.” – Ammon Ashford Hennacy

15) “A people free to choose will always choose peace.” – Bernice Johnson Reagon

16) “Until we have the courage to recognize cruelty for what it is–whether its victim is human or animal–we cannot expect things to be much better in this world… We cannot have peace among men whose hearts delight in killing any living creature. By every act that glorifies or even tolerates such moronic delight in killing we set back the progress of humanity.” – Rachel Carson

17) “There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they grow up in peace.” – Kofi Annan

18)  “Unless we teach children peace, someone else will teach them violence.” – Colman McCarthy

19) “War will stop when we no longer praise it, or give it any attention at all. Peace will come wherever it is sincerely invited.” – Alice Walker

20) “I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.” – Abraham Lincoln

21) Peace is a feeling you learn from your heart and suspect all other life can feel - TBD

A Peace of Cake

Original by Bob Dylan 1965

Inspiret by John Mellencamp's version at Bob Dylan 30th anniversary concert

Vocal, acoustic guitars: Docvet
Other instruments, chorus & mix: PJ Project

Like A Rolling Stone

New demo:

I don't want to see this face
I don't want to look through these eyes
Just show me your grace
The endless beauty of your skies

It feels like no one's home
And the days are monochrome
Just bring me your elegance
All the colors you have sewn

Time after time, over and over again

There's a wisdom in the curse
Through the hunger and the thirst
When I'm crawling back to you
And first things become first

Way, way down
Under the sea where I drown
I picture your face
And your arms all around

Time after time, over and over again
Time after time

I'm calling on you now
Remembering when and how
I swam the river of your peace
Felt the lightness of your cloud

Way, way down
Under the sea where I drown
I imagine your face
And your arms all around

Time after time, over and over again
Time after time, over and over again
Time after time

Image by Europeana (Unsplash)

Two Faces (Time After Time)

When everything builds up, overwhelms and paralyzes action....

My new track. I might expand this and refine the mix but maybe not.

Please feel free to comment as your feed back is very valuable to me.

I hope you enjoy



Ominous

“What makes a song is the singer, while what makes a singer is their dedication to music and their inner feelings.”   Dimash Qudaibergen

I have enjoyed music for as long as I can remember and cannot remember a day of not either singing or listening to music. I am self-taught when it comes to playing guitar but what I most enjoy is singing which I have been doing since around age 18. Now retired singing and playing the guitar is now just a hobby and something I do to help pass the time. Have always  loved the sound of a Martin guitar. Currently been playing a Road Series DR S2 for about 6 years. Thanks for listening. I also enjoy discovering the sounds of other talented musicians and singers here on SoundCloud.

Something or Nothing

Len Bennati FM Folk

Recent comments

stonerjazz

Little Man

Joe Stroffolino

Pee Gee , Lyricist

Related tracks