Just a good old fashioned mountain sing-along song...

Cabin in the Snow			c. 2021  by M.A. Manetz

V1  
Smoke from the chimney, 
Footprints lead you to the door, 
Of the cabin in the snow.
You'll hear the bass and fiddle 
As you stand there in the cold,
Don't be shy, come on in, say hello...

Chorus
Come on in, come on in,
To the cabin in the snow.  
Friday nights in winter,
It's the warmest place to go.
Come on in, come on in,
You don't have to be alone,
Come on in to the cabin in the snow.   

V2
Chairs and sofas line the walls,
Where old folks sit and grin,
Young at heart dancin' on the floor.
Old-time band is pickin',
Rocky Top, Uncle Pen,
Every voice shoutin' out for more, so..
.
Chorus  

V3
Say you're feelin' sad and low,
Haven't got a plan,
Grab you coat n' keys n' come on down.
Warm and friendly faces , and the music from the band,
Guaranteed to turn your blues around.

Chorus

Cabin In The Snow

Picture of Sarah Gray			c. 2021 by M. A. Manetz

V1
Johnny a young man of twenty,
His sweetheart was Sarah Gray.
White she wore for their wedding,
 Johnny wore khaki that day.
For he had to leave the next morning, 
A ship bound for Calais. 
Around his neck in a locket,
A picture of his sweet Sarah Gray.
Now he's gone far away...

V2
 Mud and blood in the trenches,
Men with death in their eyes.
The locket and picture she gave him,
Gave Johnny the will to survive.
The horrors of war he did spare her,		
His letters, he'd always say,
“The poppies of Flanders are pretty,
But not like my sweet Sarah Gray.”
Now he's gone far away...

V3
“For God and Country” they told him,
The Pale Horse of Death he must ride.
O'r the top went poor Johnny,
His breast, a bullet did find.
When they came to bury his body,
'Neath the fields of Flanders they say,
In his hand he held a locket,	
With a picture of his Sarah Gray.		
Now he's gone far away...

Picture Of Sarah Gray

Sometimes I Love The Rain			c. 2021 by M. A. Manetz

V1
It can wrecked my plans,
Make me curse my luck,
Ruin all the stuff in the back of my pick up truck.
It can soak my shoes,
End the ol' ball game,
But sometimes, I love the rain.

Chorus
I love the rain, the way it cools a summer day,
The way it makes the air smell fresh and new.
I can lie beside the one I love, just listenin' to the sound,
Gentle patter on the window pane,
Yah, sometimes I love the rain.

V2
It can muss my hair,
Make me fuss and whine,
When I forget and leave the laundry out on the line.
It can be a pain,
Make us all complain,
But sometimes, I love the rain.


Bridge
You say the rain just makes you blue,
Try to take another view,
A silver lining's peeking through,
A rainbow's waiting there for you...

Chorus

Sometimes I Love The Rain

Roses and a Thirty-Eight       c. 2021 by M. A. Manetz

V1
Long hot summer of '99, half boy, half man, half out of my mind.
The summer I wrecked my dad's Corvette, the summer...when we first met.
First for you, first for me, fruit from that forbidden tree,
We picked all we could get, love without a safety net...

Chorus
I've lived in shame and sorrow,
Only one chance left to make it right.
I'll trade all my tomorrows,
Gonna make it up to you tonight.

V2
Your pa said, “boy, better mind your ways, hurt my girl I'll make you pay”.
But the seed was sown, sealed our fate, October came and you were late.
I got scared, ran that day, joined the army, went away.
Left you there to bear our sin, never saw your face again.

Chorus

V3
It's been nearly twenty years, now you're gone and I'm still here,
Of all the things that I regret, that's the one that haunts me yet...              
Not much left for me to say, I'll lay these flowers at your grave.
Now I'm gonna set things straight with roses and this thirty-eight...roses and a thirty-eight...

Chorus

Roses And A Thirty - Eight

House on Second Avenue             c. 2021 by M. A. Manetz

V1
Our couch was at the curbside, our broken TV too,
With a pile of stuff from momma's room folks were pickin' through.
Landlord notice on the door, said “PAYMENT OVERDUE”,
The day we left our house on Second Avenue.

V2
Mama said, “Just pack your suitcase, leave your toys out by the street,
I'll buy you some new ones, when I get back on my feet”.
I was tryin' not to cry, but the neighbor kids all knew,
The day we left our house on Second Avenue.

Bridge 1
Life was always stacked against us but mamma always found a way, 
She tried her best to ease the shame and pain I felt that day.
She said, “son, hold your head up high no matter what they think of you”,
And we walked out of the house on Second Avenue.

V3
Back in town for mamma's funeral, I drove my son around,
Pulled into a side-street, slowed the motor down,
He asked “daddy why you cryin'?”, and a tear fell right on cue,
As we slowly passed to the house on Second Avenue.

Bridge 2
I told him, “life was stacked against us but mamma always found a way, 
Her strength and patience raised me to the man I am today.
So son, hold your head up high no matter what they think of you”,
Then we drove on past the house on Second Avenue.
Yeah,we're finally past the house on Second Avenue.

House On Second Avenue

House On Second Avenue (Re-mix)

Fixer-Upper c. 2021 by M. A. Manetz

V1
May not have much curb-appeal, may be past my prime.
Could use some renovations, but I've stood the test of time.
I've been 'round here long enough to know what life's about, 
I'll be your fixer-upper, when you're feelin' down and out.

V2
My heart's been flipped a time or two, but I still got good bones.
May not be a mansion, but I can make you feel at home,
If you're lookin' for a place, to come in from the storm,
I'll be your fixer-upper, keep you safe and warm. 

Bridge
You know that I can never be, your castle down by the sea,
But when your heart needs company, know you can depend on me.

V3
I hope one day you find the place, that you're lookin' for.
When you do I hope that place is right here at my door.
I can be your shelter, you can come in from the cold.
I'll be your fixer-upper, when you need someone to hold.

Fixer - Upper

Good Rut		c. 2021 by M. A. Manetz

V1
Alarm goes off at six each and every workin' day,
Shower, shave, and breakfast, get the kids off on their way.
Same ol' traffic, same ol' job, same reload/replay.
Sometimes it feels like we're in a rut, but you know what? 

Chorus
It's a good rut,
'Cause I got you by my side,
We're in a good rut,
Together we have made this life...
(Into) Somethin' solid we can hold onto.
I'm happy in this good rut with you.


V2
When we met you swore you'd change my wild and crazy ways.
Now it's dinner, TV, bed by 10, darlin' that's ok.
As long as we're together at the end of the day.
We may be in what some folks call a rut...but...

Chorus

Bridge
Without your love I don't know where I'd be...
Thank my lucky stars you stuck with me...in a good rut.



Chorus

Good Rut

I've known Chuck Aaron for as long as I've been on Sound Cloud and have always admired his songwriting and fine guitar work, so I was delighted when he invited me to add a few bits to this Merle classic penned by Sonny Throckmorton. Thanks for including me on it Chuck, it was a pleasure!

The Way I Am (Cover Collab w/ Chuck Aaron)

When Chuck Aaron asks me to collaborate I drop what I'm doing and get on it, especially if it's an old Merle Haggard tune. Chuck, always a pleasure working with you!

Jesus Take A Hold (Chuck Aaron Collab.)

A pleasure working with Chuck on this gentle Blaze Foley song, most notably covered by Merle Haggard. A close friend and confidant of Merle's encouraged him to record it, saying it was the "best damn song I've heard in fifteen years".

If I Could Only Fly (Blaze Foley cover Collab. with Chuck Aaron)

Written for songwriting contest, w/theme the Santa Fe River in n. Florida. Translations..."Timucuan": native people in n FL at time of Spanish Conquest.  "Cracker Cowboys": colloquial name for cattlemen who herded wild cattle north during the Civil War.  "O'leno town": ghost town on the Santa Fe, a swinging bridge built in the 1930's is still there.  

Roll On, River   c. 2023 by Mike Manetz

V. 1
The river was Timucuan,
Before the comin' of the white-man's gun.
'Neath the giant cypress trees,
They fished the river wild and free.
Spanish priests came one day,
Taught the natives how to pray,
Named the river Santa Fe,
River watched them fade away.

Chorus
Roll on, river,
On and on forever,
She'll be rollin' on when we're all passed and gone.
Through centuries of hopes and dreams,
Conquistadors, fools and thieves,
Roll on, river,
Roll on,
River, roll on...

V2
Cracker cowboys took control,
After driving out the Seminole.
Their cattle on the muddy banks,
Would feed the hungry rebel ranks.
Black man runnin' to be free, 
Down the Santa Fe on to the sea.
Midnight paddle down to where,
A Yankee gunboat's waitin' there.

Chorus

V 3  
Lovers at O'Leno town,
On a swingin' bridge they're lookin' down,
River rushes there below,
Like a thousand years ago.
Their kids will play computer games,
They'll forget the history and the names,
But the river holds the memories,
Of all she touches, all she sees...

Chorus




Their kids will play computer games,
They'll forget the history and the names,
Of all of those who came before,
Guess it doesn't matter anymore...

Centuries of hopes and dreams,
Conquistadors, fools and thieves,
All they left is all but washed away,
Their kids will play computer games,
And forget the history and the names,
of all of those who came before,
They don't care much for that anymore...

Roll On, River

Neon Lights of Memphis (Remix)

Clouds And Silver Linings

Up is down, black is white, right is wrong, left is right
Think I might just go fishin'
Day is night, might makes right, judges judge, fighters fight,
So tonight, I'll just go fishin'
World keeps turnin' and won't stand still,
kaleidoscope of good and ill.
I can't change it so I guess I will, just go fishin'.
Square is round, lost is found, quiet's loud, meek are proud,
I'll be bound to just go fishin'
Big is small, short is tall, I don't really care at all
so y'all, I'll just go fishin'.
The world can be a crazy place. When it gets up in your face,
get yourself and old cane pole, meet me at the fishin' hole.
Low is high, truth's a lie, don't know whether to laugh or cry,
Think that I will just go fishin'.
Good is bad, bad is good, thinkin' that I really should,
just go fishin'.
 

Just Go Fishin' (Original w/lyrics)

Just Go Fishin' (Original Remix)

Old Country Songs (Original Remix)

Goin' Back To Kentucky (Original remixed)

Doing my best to muddle through...guitar is still a foreign object to me!

The Load You've Been Givin' Me

Feeble attempt to rage against the machine...

This Ain't My Country

Hard Time

This is a repost of previous song, with edited lyrics. Much simpler story line, simple is better! My thanks to all who took the time to comment on the previous version.

Wanna Be (Next To You)

Johnny Come Back Home

c. 2019 By Mike Manetz and Pete Garfinkel

My Home Ground

Rambler's Final Ride

Dedicated to my great-great uncle John L. Woolwine who was killed in a Pocahontas mine explosion while rushing in to rescue fellow miners.

Pocahontas Mining Disaster 1884

Come April  				c. 2020 by M. A. Manetz

V1
On these four gray walls I've painted her picture with my mind.
Holdin' her in my dreams the only comfort I can find.
One more lonely winter in this cold and lonely place.
The only thing that's kept me sane is the memory of her face.

Chorus
Come April, I'll make it better,
Come April, it'll be so fine.
Come April, I'll make it up to her,
Come April, she'll be mine.

V2
Six months in this prison, six months till I'm free,
Six months since her last letter, does she still care for me?
My brother came to see me, said she's movin' to L.A.,
I tell myself come April, I'll find a way to make her stay.

Chorus

Bridge
Am I a fool to think that she would ever wait for me?
I don't blame her for leavin', but yet I still believe...

Chorus

Come April

Somethin' in a Bottle

Disclaimer, my dad was good father and a wonderful, gentle man, and this is in no way autobiographical.

This Haunted House

Never See The Cliff Until I Fall                  c. 2021 M. A. Manetz

V1
When the cuckoo calls they say it's gonna rain.
The whistle marks the comin' of the train.
But when I woke up this mornin',
My love was gone without a warnin',
And it hit me just like a hurricane.

V2
When the mornin' sun turns the sky to red,
Sailors know storm clouds lie ahead,
I never looked to the the horizon,
Should have come as no surprise when,    
She left me in this cold and lonely bed.

Chorus
I never see the writing on the wall.
Only see what I wanna see, when I see at all.
Like Wiley Coyote when ol' Roadrunner calls,
Never see the cliff until I fall.

V3
They say that love will set you free.
Free isn't what I wanna be.
Love is blind, fools rush in, 
I'll get back up, start again, 
Find a love who loves as blind as me.

Chorus

Tag
Like Wiley Coyote givin' it his all,
Never see the cliff until I fall.

Never See The Cliff Until I Fall

I write simple songs, mostly in a country/folk vein. All recordings posted here were done at home with minimal production on my little Tascam Pocket Studio. No great commercial intent here, just a love for the writing process and the hope that one day I will pen one really good one.  Thanks for taking the time to listen!

Lefty Mike

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