The Secret Garden

Slipping
(Mark I Anderson)
 
All he could think about / was his retirement
He had it all planned out / but something inside of him
Was slipping…
 
You work hard all your life / it’s hard to let it go
You see it there in his eyes / the only thing he’d ever known
Was slipping, slipping away… 
 
[Chorus]
He thought, life slips through my hands
A little bit more each day
I try to hold out but in the end
I watch it slippin away
Those passing years / they’re all gonna disappear
Best we leave ‘em as they lay
Slipping away…
 
Alone there in the dark / it’s creeping in on him
What happened to the spark / when did it begin 
Slipping, slippin away…
 
[Chorus]
He thought, life slipped through my hands
A little bit more each day
I try to hold out but in the end
I watch it all slip away
Those passing years / they all seem to disappear
Best we leave ‘em as they lay
Slipping away…
 
[Bridge]
That night he hit his knees and said a prayer 
All you really needed is waiting there 
When doubt surround you 
We start slipping, slipping, slipping…
 
[Chorus]
Life slips through my hands
A little bit more each day
I tried to hold out but in the end
I watch it slipping away
Those passing years / they’ve all but disappeared
Best we leave them as they lay

Those passing years they’re all gonna disappear 
Best we leave ‘em as they lay 
Slipping away…

Slipping

Nearly perfect
(Mark I. Anderson)

Nearly perfect / the end of the day
The sun and the fun going down
On Montego Bay
Something special / and I can’t get enough
Under stars in the sky you and I 
Just falling in love
The sun set on the water
The lovelight getting stronger
Nearly perfect…

Nearly perfect / that look in your eye
Have I seen it before I’m not sure
And I wonder why
It’s pretty special / when you can’t get enough
All the teasing and pleasing believing 
Yeah, this is love
The moonlight on the water
This feeling  getting stronger
Nearly perfect…

(Chorus)
The rest of the world is a thousand miles from here
The rest of the world, well it might as well disappear
There’s a storybook ending here we’re trying to write 
Nearly perfect, nearly perfect tonight…

Nearly perfect / just dancing with you
When this song is over, I’m sure we’ll
Remember the tune
Something special / can’t get enough
Here at this moment, the romance 
Is calling out love
The midnight hour is waiting 
And we’re anticipating
Nearly perfect…

(Chorus)
The rest of the world is a thousand miles from here
The rest of the world, well it might as well disappear
There’s a storybook ending here we’re trying to write 
Nearly perfect, nearly perfect tonight…

(Outro)
Nearly perfect / the end of the day
The sun and the fun going down
On Montego Bay…

Nearly perfect

You can’t take your sweet loving back
(Mark I Anderson)

You can take everything
I won’t stand in the way
Watch the credits fading to black 
You can tell me goodbye
And I’ll hear what you say 
But you can’t take that sweet loving back

You can tell all your friends
That you’re moving on
You can sprinkle the fiction with fact
And it might break my heart
Just knowing you’re gone
But you can’t take your sweet loving back

[Chorus]
You can’t take your sweet loving back
It’s as gone as it can be
Whenever that wheel slips off track
We’re just fighting a memory
When you gave it to me, I gave it to you
And now if that’s all in the past
You can tell me goodbye
And I’ll hear what you say 
But you can’t take your sweet loving back

You can walk out that door
If you’re really leaving 
There’s only one question I’ll ask 
What will become
Of a heart that’s believing
You can’t take your sweet loving back

[Chorus]
You can’t take your sweet loving back
It’s as gone as it can be
Whenever that wheel slips off track
We’re just fighting a memory
When you gave it to me, I gave it to you
And now if that’s all in the past
And it might break my heart
Just knowing you’re gone
But you can’t take your sweet loving back

When you gave it to me, I gave it to you
And now if that’s all in the past
You can tell me goodbye
And I’ll hear what you say 
But you can’t take your sweet loving back
You can’t take your sweet loving back
You can’t take your sweet loving back
You can’t take your sweet loving back…

You can’t take your sweet loving back

Are we still tryin 
(Mark I Anderson)

Lay down with me / tell me what’s your mind
If you still believe / together we’ll find
We can’t hide those tears / that we’re both cryin
There’s no need for tears / if we’re both tryin
Tell me, are we still tryin 

[Chorus]
Because love’s an ocean / honest and free
This perfect emotion / always will be 
The tide may rush out
But the tide comes back in
If we’re tryin

Baby, come take my  hand / it’s been a little too long
Together we’ll make our stand / together we’ll stand strong
Against all the doubts / and tears we’ve been cryin 
We’ll figure this out / if we’re both tryin 
Tell me, are we still tryin

[Chorus]
Because love’s an ocean / honest and free
This perfect emotion / always will be 
The tide may rush out
But the tide comes back in
If we’re tryin

Against all the doubts / and tears we’ve been cryin 
We’ll figure this out / if we’re both tryin 
Tell me, are we still tryin
If we’re tryin
Are we still tryin…

Are we still  tryin

Whiskey Wisdom
(Mark I Anderson)
 
I’ve been seeking whiskey’s wisdom
But I ain’t found any yet
For the way I feel inside
The way we said goodbye
I can’t forget
 
It keeps me seeking whiskey’s wisdom
Something warm to hold onto
For an empty man alone here
It cuts right to the bone
Here without you
 
[Chorus]
But with a little whiskey wisdom
I can’t tell my truth from lies
And though I can’t explain it
It helps me rearrange it till I’m feeling right
But till then
 
I’ll be seeking whiskey’s wisdom
A little like a broken king
Sitting there alone
With a broken throne
Just wondering
 
What it is with whiskey’s wisdom
That helps a man to forget
Our moment in the sun
Before we came undone
And those old regrets

[Chorus]
But with a little whiskey wisdom
I can’t tell my truth from lies
And though I can’t explain it
It helps me rearrange it till I’m feeling right
But till then

[Chorus]
With a little whiskey wisdom
I can’t tell my truth from lies
And though I can’t explain it
It helps me rearrange it till I’m feeling right
But till then

I’ll be seeking whiskey wisdom
To help a man to forget
Our moment in the sun
Before we came undone
And those old regrets

Our moment in the sun
Before we came undone
And those old regrets

Whiskey Wisdom

Copyright Erin Wolf 2023
DADGAD tuning

Photo (my own): Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park about 10 miles outside Townsend, TN - Dec. 30, 2023

*a feeble attempt at a Christmasy song that's not overtly Christmasy... not sure that I quite managed it at all, though still fun to write in DADGAD again!*

come down from the mountainside
come down from the heavens high
come down to the valley deep & wide
come down from the perch in the sky

come out from the hole you're in
come out from the waters, waves, and
come out from the burrow in the ground
come out from behind the shade & veil

let all creation cry out 
raise a resounding shout

rejoice! redemption's here
rejoice! have no fear
Your kingdom come
Your will be done

rejoice! high and low
rejoice! far & wide
rejoice! again we say, rejoice!

rejoice! rejoice! rejoice!
rejoice! high & low
rejoice! far & wide
rejoice! again we say, rejoice!

let creation cry out
raise our resounding shout

Come Down, Come Out (Rejoice!)

Copyright Erin Wolf 2023
DADGAD tuning

Photo (my own): Sunset on Mission Lake at Waypost Camp, Hatley, WI - June 11, 2023

*song note: I don't really do resolutions, and I'm not picking them up via this song. Rather, it's a way of processing a lot of things from 2023 while also taking both literal & metaphorical breaths before plunging face-first into 2024. Guessing I'm not alone in that sense.*

here we stand at the end of the line
once again
as the clock ticks forward
its time

to let go of the end
of the old time
and welcome 
the new one in

we are called to stay the course
to somehow hold in the balance
everything all at once
and nothing at all

it's all so confusing
yet still straightforward and simple, really
are we just overthinking
am i just overthinking tonight

tonight

do we sing auld lang syne or do we 
sing our laments, sing our painful cry
do we sing the two, together
interwoven, intertwined

because grief and love
grief and love 
joy and pain
co-exist at the same time

at the same time

as we look back and reflect
as i look back and reflect
on the roof
on the strength, courage, & wisdom 

it came at 
far too high a cost
but i still give thanks
for i still have

i still have breath left in my lungs
and i still have my voice
and i still can carry on 
for you and your boys

and i will keep going
ever reaching
ever getting closer still
to justice on the

just beyond the hill
yeah
just beyond 
that hill

Resolute

My, these days just go by fast
(Mark I Anderson)

For my next birthday / I’ll be sixty-five
As I reflect  / on time gone by
Retirement / will be closer still
But I don’t think / that I ever will
A younger man / might lift a glass
My, these days / just go by fast 

Looking back / on forty-two
A fire dancing / in the hue
Of lovers known / a smiling face
Now a memory / takes her place
A younger man / forgets his past
My, these days / just go by fast 

[Chorus]
A lifetime is /  a grain of sand
A broken heart / a shadow cast
Passing through / the masters hand
Your reach exceeds your grasp
My, these days / just go by fast

Looking back / on twenty-one
Among the things / I left undone
A young boy tryin / to find his way
Old regrets / where flowers lay
A younger man / relives the past
My, these days / just go by fast

[Chorus]
A lifetime is / a grain of sand
A broken heart / a shadow cast
Passing through / the masters hand
The reach exceeds your grasp
My, these days / just go by fast

My, these days just go by fast

Better ending
(Mark I Anderson)

I’ve been talking all night long
But only in my mind
Waiting for the perfect moment
Trying to find the perfect rhyme 
Afraid we’ll turn away
Like a broken heart pretending 
This was never gonna last
We should write a better ending, you and I

You’ve been staring into space
Like you had somewhere to be
I don’t know what’s in the cards
Or if it includes me
But if you deal me in
I’ll play along like we’re intending
To make it through the night
Yeah, we should write a better ending

[Chorus]
When love is in the air
The storyline is true
In spoken words and rhythm 
That was me and you
The mystery of the ages
Gonna do what it will do
As it leaves a spark defending 
The need to write a better ending

We could talk about the years
And why the seasons turned
Talk about the lessons
And what it is we’ve learned
Of love that’s strong and wild
Like a mighty river bending
Just a little farther now
There’ll be a happy ending 

[Chorus]
When love is in the air
The storyline is true
In spoken words and rhythm 
That was me and you
The mystery of the ages
Gonna do what it will do
As it leaves a spark defending 
The need to write a better ending

[Bridge]
They’re only words after all
That’s what’s left when lovers fall
Let’s put the pieces back together

[Chorus]
When love is in the air
The storyline is true
In spoken words and rhythm 
That was me and you
The mystery of the ages
Gonna do what it will do
We need a better ending 

When love is in the air
The storyline is true
In spoken words and rhythm 
That was me and you
The mystery of the ages
Gonna do what it will do
As it leaves a spark defending 
The need to write a better ending…

Better ending

Love with you
(Mark I Anderson)

If you could see inside my heart
And measure time when we’re apart
Then you would see right from the start
That I’ve been in love with you
 
If I could find the words that ring
In prose and passion when we sing
Them I would have found everything
When I made love with you
 
[Chorus]
I put my faith in this magic
It’s there in your smile at night
I reach out my arms just to hold on
I’m falling for you again here tonight…

 If you could hear my still small voice
Then you’d know why there is no choice
I just surrender and rejoice
When I make love with you 
 
[Chorus]
 I put my faith in this feeling
And trust that the magic is right
I reach out my arms just to hold on
As I’m falling again for you here tonight…

[Bridge]
It’s more than emotion / It’s strong as a storm
A moment of healing / So safe and warm
No word of a lie / A pure guarantee
You can believe in me…
 
[Chorus]
I put my faith in this magic
That’s there in your smile at night
I reach out my arms just to hold on
As I’m falling for you again here tonight…

If you could see inside my heart
And measure time when we’re apart
Then you would see right from the start
I’ve been in love with you 
Then you would see right from the start
I’ve been in love with you …

Love with you

Hello, my name is Mark. Thank you for checking out my songs. I’m a songwriter living in Portland Maine.  I write mostly country songs because that’s the music I listened to growing up.  Though I’ve branched out a bit through the years at the core I’m still county.

I’m interested in networking and writing with others to improve my craft. Ultimately I’m looking for a publishing company to take these songs to new and established artists. 

Thanks again.
Mark

Love with you

Mark Anderson

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