Pine & Snow is a quiet, poetic ballad about an old man and the woman he never forgot. Now entirely alone in his city, he looks back on the winter they shared — a time of pine-scented scarves, snow-covered streets, and a love he left behind. He took a different road, chasing something louder, brighter — and lost her in the process. In the stillness of memory, he carries her in silence. Pine & Snow tells the story of a life shaped by one quiet decision at a crossroads, where he turned away from the one thing that felt real.

Pine & Snow ist eine leise, poetische Ballade über einen alten Mann und die Frau, die er nie vergessen hat. Mittlerweile ganz allein in seiner Stadt blickt er zurück auf den Winter, den sie einst teilten – mit dem Duft von Kiefern, tanzendem Schnee und einer Liebe, die er hinter sich ließ. Damals bog er an einer Kreuzung falsch ab, auf der Suche nach etwas Lauterem, Hellerem – und verlor dabei das, was echt war. Heute lebt sie weiter in seiner Erinnerung, in seinem Schweigen. Pine & Snow erzählt von einem Leben, das durch eine leise Entscheidung geprägt wurde – und von einer verpassten Chance, die nie ganz vergeht.

Pine and Snow

He waits at the bench by the corner store
Same coat, same shoes, same view of the floor
Hands like maps that lost their way
Eyes on clouds he used to chase

They say he’s no one, just passing through
Just one more ghost the city grew
But he holds a picture no one sees
Tucked behind his old IDs

She was wild like the northern sea
Laughed through the wind like it set her free
He never told the world her name
But he still hears her voice in the pouring rain
…like the sea that doesn’t rest
She was wind, and pine, and breath
He told no one
But his silence still carries her song

She wore a scarf that smelled of pine
They danced through snow and borrowed time
Then he left to chase a louder light
And she stayed - where the stars burned white

Now no one calls, and no one asks
He’s learned to speak through smaller tasks
Like folding napkins at Café Lorraine
Or counting buses in the rain

She was real, more real than this
More than the soup, the chair, the mist
He never told the world her name
But her shadow still waits by the morning train
…like the sea that doesn’t rest
She was wind, and pine, and breath
He told no one

So if you see him stare too long
At something gone, at a silent song
He’s not lost, not quite unseen
He’s just watching where she’s been

Pine & Snow

A cinematic, acoustic memoir of Southern twilight. Across 11 tracks, it weaves porchlight intimacy with gospel grit, blending Chicago blues, Motown warmth, and folk storytelling into a cohesive emotional arc.

Fade to Honey - Soul Bonus

Keep the Line

Half Awake, Half Gone

3AM at the Bar

Stillness

“They'll give you gold for your spine — don't take it.”
 
You wanna fit in, flash teeth, wear the grin
Get clean, get seen, tuck it in
Look sharp, stay cool, play your part
Light up, lay low, it's an art

(oh, oh, oh, oh - it's an art)

Speak soft, shake hands, fake the grin
Talk slick, nod fast, strong within
Trim edge, smooth out, keep it light
Play nice, act right, but fight the fight

(oh, oh, oh, oh - but fight the fight)

I’ve seen boys cave ‘til their spine went slack
Sold truth for a seat, never got it back
They’ll gift you gold just to dull your flame
Then laugh while they spit on your grave

I bit down hard just to stay awake 
You hold your ground, or you let 'em take (take, take, take)

Hold still, brother, when they wave that flag
When they smile real wide and they twist the rag
Don’t bend your knee just to taste their gold
Hold still, brother — hold your hold
This ain’t a world that loves the bold

They’ll dress clean, look mean, rot your core
Snuff dreams, unclean, and bolt the door
I saw ‘em build a god from glass
Then watched ‘em shatter it just as fast


You wanna dance? Then know the cost
It’s always blood, and always loss

You wanna dance? Then know the cost
It’s always blood, and always loss

(oh, oh, oh, oh -  and always loss)

They sell their souls to chase the trend
Walk of the edge cos they couldn't see the end!

Hold still, brother, when the storm rolls in
When they call your ways some kind of sin
Don’t trim your fire for a softer light
Hold still, brother — fight your fight
Don’t trade your dirt for their invite
Don’t trade your dirt for their invite

(“Stand up…”, oh oh oh, "stand up")

Hold still, brother, when the world turns fake
When the hands that feed you also take
Don’t sell your name for a seat they stole
Hold still, brother — guard your soul
You don’t need their shine to feel whole

Hold still, brother...
Don’t let 'em fold you in half
Hold still...
You were built to last

Hold Still

Where Dragons Are!

Jazzopédie II

What makes a great country?

Is it volume?
Wealth?
Influence you can measure in dollars and dominance?

Or is it something quieter
something you don’t notice
until it’s missing?

[VERSE 2]

A great country doesn’t lead with noise.

It leads with example.

It doesn’t ask,
“What can we gain”
before it asks,
“What’s the right thing to do?”

[VERSE 3 ]

A great country doesn’t build
only what turns a profit.

It builds what turns into possibility
schools, roads, care, opportunity
even when no one’s getting rich off it.

It wages wars on poverty
not the poor.

[VERSE 4]

It knows the difference between strength and cruelty.

Between authority
and ego.

A great country doesn’t fear intelligence.

It doesn’t mock experts
or punish questions.

It understands that knowledge
isn’t a threat

it’s armor
for the future.

[VERSE 5]

A great country treats its workers with dignity.

It makes sure that a full day’s work
is enough to live a full life.

That getting sick
doesn’t mean going broke.

That growing old
doesn’t mean being forgotten.

[VERSE 6]

And a great country
is measured by how it treats its neighbors

The one next door.

The one who looks different.

The one who worships differently.

The one who struggles quietly
and hopes no one notices.

It understands that community
isn’t built by winning arguments
but by lifting each other
when life gets heavy.

[BRIDGE]

A great country challenges its people
not just to follow rules
but to follow by example.

To care
not because it’s rewarded
but because
it’s right.

[VERSE 7]

We used to understand this.

We knew leadership meant acting
for moral reasons
even when it wasn’t popular.
Even when it didn’t poll well.

We built big things.
We dreamed big dreams.

We reached for the stars
because we believed the future
belonged to everyone
not just the powerful.

[OUTRO]

And here’s the truth

none of this starts with governments.

Or slogans.
Or platforms.

It starts with values.

With choosing responsibility over comfort.
Compassion over profit.
Long-term good
over short-term gain.

If we want to show the world
What a great country really is

Then we don’t shout it.

We live it.

We lead by lifting
By helping our neighbors stand

Until standing together
Becomes who we are

That’s what makes a great country.

Not the claim.

the commitment.

Let us be the shining light that helps guide the world!

The Question

Mark & Wendy Cunico:  marcodaddio Creations

Songwriters blending Blues, Rock, Soul, Folk, Gospel, Country & Pop.   Telling real stories through AI-powered music.

The Question

marcodaddio (Mark Cunico)