for some reason, this has me thinking of my dad talking to my mom's pictures; amazing writing!

...and quietly all of the other songwriters left the room to walk on home and rethink what they'd been calling songwriting.

some great and very relatable lyrics here Mark " Young people / like young songs"

This feels like a sad but heartwarming movie that ought to be nominated for several Oscars. And you manage it in 5 minutes instead of a full-length feature. Outstanding, Mark!

The imagery is so strong, particularly of the static picture. Unchanged, a moment frozen in time. A very powerful song.

The Secret Garden

Old people / old friends
(Mark I. Anderson)
 
I been talkin’ to your picture
Remembering younger days
You keep the same expression
Not matter what I say
It takes me back in time
When dreams were bought and sold
Like the Sunday morning paper
Before we started growing old
 
I just been looking at your picture
And those pretty eyes
And I’m still amazed
How we used to cry
Just talking about tomorrow
Our tales of tin and gold
I never knew how much I’d miss you
As we started to grow old
 
(Chorus)
Old people / old friends
These days I keep busy
Remembering back when
Young people / like young songs
We were gonna live forever
And make love all night long
It won’t be like that again
For old people / and old friends
 
I keep your fading picture
On a shelf here in my mind
I couldn’t bear to lose it
The way we lost to time
Another winter’s coming on
Another dying ember glows
Another sad country song
About people growing old
 
(Chorus)
Old people / old friends
These days I keep busy
Remembering back when
Young people / like young songs
We were gonna live forever
And make love all night long
It won’t be like that again
For old people / and old friends

(Bridge)
We used to hold on to each other / Man we held on tight
Hiding underneath the covers / Each and every night
I wish I had that picture
I wish we had more time
I wish I didn’t have to wish
 
(Chorus)
Old people / old friends
These days I keep busy
Remembering back when
Young people / like young songs
We were gonna live forever
And make love all night long
It won’t be like that again
For old people / and old friends

Old people / old friends

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

Someone as lovely as you
(Mark I Anderson)

It’s time for a change, I’ll wear a suit
And polish up my old boots
Clean up my past start brand new
That’s just a little of what I’d do

[Chorus]
To give up my heart
To someone so lovely and free
I swear I’d be true
To someone as lovely as you

Old broken lines are in the past
They can’t fade away too fast
Got my eyes on the road in front of me
I swear to God that’s all I’ll see

[Chorus]
To give up my heart
To someone so lovely and free
I swear I’d be true
To someone as lovely as you

[Bridge]
Angels don’t come around everyday
When they do they fly away
With the part of you 
Oh, the very heart of you 
That hurts the most
And still I hope

[Chorus]
To give up my heart
To someone so lovely and free
I swear I’d be true
To someone as lovely as you

To give up my heart
To someone so lovely and free
I swear I’d be true
To someone as lovely as you

Someone as lovely as you

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

If love is the answer
(Mark I Anderson)

There’s a look 
In your eyes tonight
Telling me we got something special
If you and I 
Believe we got this right 
Thien I believe we’re on another level

[Pre-Chorus]
The night will show us where we need to go 
If you feel like me then you already know 

[Chorus]
If love is the answer
Then baby we are the question
And I wanna ask you, again and again, for the rest of my life
We got nothing to lose here
And we’ve got plenty to find
So give me all of your answer / I’ll give you mine

Now and then
People find a way
To reach beyond the distant stars together
With you and I
Oh, what can I say
I want to stay right here like this forever

[Pre-Chorus]
The night will take us where we need to go 
If you feel like me then you already know 

[Chorus]
If love is the answer
Then baby we are the question
And I wanna ask, again and again, for the rest of my life
We got nothing to lose here
And we’ve got plenty to find
So give me all of your answers / I’ll give you mine

[Bridge]
It’s ok to say you’re trembling
Girl I am trembling too
Everybody should tremble
When they’re doing what we do

[Chorus]
If love is the answer
Then baby we are the question
And I wanna ask, again and again, for the rest of my life
We got nothing to lose here
And we’ve got plenty to find
So give me all of your answer / I’ll give you mine
So give me all of your answer / I’ll give you mine

If love is the answer

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

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

Old people / old friends

Mark Anderson

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