Blues

© Copyright 1972, 2002 by Peter Lloyd

Two o’clock when I lay down, three o’clock when I rise
I can’t get no sleep with all these tears in my eyes
I walk around, baby, and I don’t talk too much
How am I supposed to operate with my heart on a crutch? 
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone

My woman, she’s so mean she done move across the street
I sit here on my front porch and watch the company that she keep 
I can still remember when she used to love to make me smile
I guess it’s somebody else’s turn to carry the ball for a while
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone

Her love was all I had, I suppose it made me feel to proud
Had a love for that low-life woman that the law just don’t allow
I would join the Salvation Army, ain’t no mountain I wouldn’t climb 
I’d learn to sing like Frank Sinatra if she’d love me one more time 
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone

I take my handle in my hand and I pass around the pan
I feel like I just don’t fit and I fear I never can
See me sitting here about to give up my Holy Ghost?
That’s no way for a man to feel, but that’s the way I feel 
most of the time 
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone

Two candles burn in my chest. One is black and the other one’s white
One tells me I ought to live and the other says, “Go give up and die.”
So I throw three pennies on the floor, one is tails 
and the other one’s heads 
I’ll never know what the third one said, cuz it rolled underneath the bed 
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone

Front Porch Blues

© Copyright 2022 Peter Lloyd

When they discovered me, they gave a name
Some sort of underworld god
They told me planet life meant fortune and fame
I found that was all a façade

Expecting nothing but an orbital blast
I joined my eight planet peers
So what if one revolution would last
Two-hundred-forty-eight years


Once I had some status, life was great
Outer limits were mine
Way beyond old Neptune, number eight
Back when I was planet nine

I still cut an orit far and wide
Orbiting Sun’s outer line 
Now without my status or my pride
Back when I was planet nine


Me and five moons, in Kuiper’s belt
So what if our footprint was small
Ice and rock too damn cold to melt
Our orbit’s still the biggest of all

Remember who they called a Roman god
Before they made me resign
Before they found my appellation flawed
Back when I was planet nine

Back When I Was Planet Nine

The Canadian plains, they stretch and they strain
A thousand miles north of Alpena
Cold, like a curse, drives a ghost-colored hearse
And drones like a Latin novena

Buffalo Jill leaves her calf on the hill
Too broken to run any longer
The pack, standing by, howls, “No time to cry
The weaker make food for the stronger"

When you come back home, run my finger-comb through your hair
Rest my weary head on your strong, young shoulder
When you comin' home? Waitin' for an omen, or what?
Don't forget, ain't nobody ain't growin' older 
Ain't nobody ain't growin' older

The fireman knows how to handle his hose
His truck's painted red for a reason
But I know the way out back 'round the bay
Where the big 'uns are runnin' this season

When you come back home, run my finger-comb through your hair
Rest my weary head on your strong, young shoulder
When you comin' home? Waitin' for an omen, or what?
Don't forget, ain't nobody ain't growin' older 
Ain't nobody ain't growin' older

From a bucket of swords come diminished-fifth chords
That must make you feel quite clever
Yes, time comes in spates, and I know Tom Waits
But nobody waits forever

When you come back home, run my finger-comb through your hair
Rest my weary head on your strong, young shoulder
When you comin' home? Waitin' for an omen, or what?
Don't forget, ain't nobody ain't growin' older 
Ain't nobody ain't growin' older 
Ain't nobody ain't growin' older

Words © Copyright 2014, 2025 Peter Lloyd
Music by Suno.com AI

Winter Solstice

Words and music © Copyright 1969, 1999, 2015 Peter Lloyd

A long time ago, I took a History of Broadcasting course taught by Jack Rouse at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Jack spent a good deal of time on the story of the great inventor Thomas Edison.

I went home after the Edison lesson and wrote the song. Most of it is true. Including the part about "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and Tom's thaumatrope, praxinoscope, and phenakistoscope.

Every time you lay down in bed
You got no control what comes into your head
I lay down the other night alongside of my cat
Thinking about the weather and things like that
When a dream took me back a year or two
I woke up with the Tom Edison Blues

‘Tain’t enough to create. ‘Snot enough to invent
You wanna do it right. Get your name in lights.  Gotta imp-a-lement

I was up in my lab near the break of day
When a woman walked in and said, “Hey, let’s play!”
I said, “I’ve gotta make a light bulb before dawn
She said, “Come on, Tom, let me turn you on.”
“I’ve been up all night, I can’t quit now.” 
She said, “Gimme a chance, I’ll show you how.”
I said, “History’s waiting, I can’t clown around.” 
She said, “Don’t look now, but your pants just fell down. 
 Sure enough, I was standing there naked
No way to hide it, no way to fake it.
So I ran behind my phonograph
Played “Mary Had a Little Lamb” to make her laugh.
She said, “Too bad, Mary, if you dig sheep
But I like inventors, cuz they never sleep.”

‘Tain’t enough to create. ‘Snot enough to invent
You wanna do it right. Get your name in lights.  Gotta imp-a-lement

Well, your dreams are pretty free and you can do what you please
So I tried to change myself into somebody mean.
I said, “Look, I’m your pa, I’m gonna give you a spanking.” 
She said,  “You look more like Benjamin Franklin.”
So I made like the devil with a whip and a sword
But she said I reminded her of Henry Ford.
Then I tried to make her fear for her very life
I said, “Settle down, you’re gonna wake up my wife.” 
She said, “Tom, while you’re up here, leaving her all alone
She’s out with some ding-a-ling inventing telephones.”

‘Tain’t enough to create. ‘Snot enough to invent
You wanna do it right. Get your name in lights.  Gotta imp-a-lement

Then I tried to distract her with my thomatrope
My phantasmagorica, and my prakcinescope.
When she paid no attention to my pharaktoscope
I knew my motion-picture camera was my only hope
So I rolled my first film about the factory
And all the workers trudging out as tired as can be
But the sun came up and filled my lab with light
I said, “I guess I’ll knock off till tomorrow night.”
She said, “Tom, you see that light bulb in your pocket? 
 I can make it shine because I got the socket.”

‘Tain’t enough to create. ‘Snot enough to invent
You wanna do it right. Get your name in lights.  Gotta imp-a-lement

Then phone rang, woke me up, to my surprise
I was kissing my cat and it was scratching out my eyes 
I answered the phone, mad as hell. 
I said, “Where’s my wife, Alexander Graham Bell?”

‘Tain’t enough to create. ‘Snot enough to invent
You wanna do it right. Get your name in lights.  Gotta imp-a-lement

See http://peterlloyd.com/music/cds/infah/index.shtml for all I'm Not From Around Here credits.

Thomas Edison Blues

Words and music © Copyright 1995, 2015 Victor Harrison and Peter Lloyd

Can you hear the bankers holler, “You’re leveraged to the hilt.”
You’ve bet bottom dollar just to get your business built
There’s little satisfaction and you’re under lots of stress
You toss and turn and wonder, how’d I get into this mess?

You got the cash-flow blues
You got the cash-flow blues
No remedy’s been found 
That can turn that flow around
You got the  cash-flow blues

Your accountant tells you gently, you can’t service all your debt
Your operation’s suffering, your boys are upset
Your hair’s gone gray from worry, your body’s lying limp 
You used to be so macho, but you’re feeling like a wimp

You got the cash-flow blues
You got the cash-flow blues
No remedy’s been found 
That can lift you off the ground
Boy, you got the  cash-flow blues

The IRS is after you for always paying late
Your bills are piling higher than the bridge called Golden Gate
Your wife’s about to leave you, cuz you’re never ever home
Your kids can never talk to you, you’re always on the phone

You got the cash-flow blues
You got the cash-flow blues
No remedy’s been found 
That can turn that flow around
You got the  cash-flow blues

Can you hear the bankers holler, “You’re leveraged to the hilt.”
You’ve bet bottom dollar just to get your business built
There’s little satisfaction and you’re under lots of stress
You toss and turn and wonder, how’d I get into this mess?

You got the cash-flow blues
You got the cash-flow blues
No remedy’s been found 
That can turn that flow around
You got the  cash-flow blues

Cash Flow Blues

Words and music © Copyright 1975, 2015 Peter Lloyd. First two lines heard in an old blues song by Joe Hill Louis.

She may be yours but she comes to see me sometimes
She may be yours but she comes to see me sometimes
In fact, she comes so often, it makes me believe she’s mine

She rubs me wrong, but then she rubs me the right way, too
She rubs me wrong, but then she rubs me the right way, too
But when she’s with me, I know she’s ain’t rubbin you

She walks over Eighth Street and turns up on Sycamore
She walks over Eighth Street and turns up on Sycamore
Then she takes that parkway, right on up to my door

So if you want to keep her, you better tie her to your side
If you want to keep her, you better tie her to your side
Because I got no qualms about taking your girl in stride

I hear somebody knocking. That must be her right now
I hear somebody knocking. I’ll bet that’s your girl right now
I guess I got to hang up and I hope you make out somehow

She May Be

a song from yesterday

🕯 I Leave Ashes Behind 🕯
A slow-burning soul elegy wrapped in velvet smoke.
No anger. No goodbye. Just the soft hush of someone choosing absence with grace.
Minimalist jazz-inflected instrumentation meets intimate, breath-warm vocals — a departure so quiet, it echoes.

This is not closure. This is sovereignty.
She doesn’t vanish — she simply leaves nothing behind but ash.

🎧 Mood: detached, graceful, unshaken
🖋 Line to remember: “I leave ashes — dry and clean / Like I was never in between.”

Let the silence speak.

I Leave Ashes Behind

---

Verse 1

I don’t need closure, I don’t need grace
I watched it burn and turned my face
No final words, no bitter cries
Just smoke curling through the sky

Pre-Chorus
You’ll search the air for what we were
But darling, I don't leave a blur


---

Chorus

I leave ashes behind
Not love, not hate, not the ties that bind
No trace for you to follow back
No scent of me on your collapse
I leave ashes — dry and clean
Like I was never in between


---

Verse 2

I left the dress, I kept the name
I walk in silence, not in shame
No bags to pack, no doors to close
Just lighter steps where nothing grows

I didn’t flinch, I didn’t stay
I simply turned and slipped away

Pre-Chorus
You’ll search the air for what we were
But darling, I don't leave a blur


---

Chorus

I leave ashes behind
Not love, not hate, not the ties that bind
No trace for you to follow back
No scent of me on your collapse
I leave ashes — dry and clean
Like I was never in between


---

Bridge (the ritual of disappearance)

No candle lit, no mourning song
No looking back to prove him wrong
No trace of me in what you find
Just breath… just dust… just disinclined


---

Final Chorus

I leave ashes behind
Not love, not hate, not the ties that bind
No myth for you to twist or keep
No echo waiting while you sleep
I leave ashes — soft and wide
Then I return to what’s inside

I Leave Ashes Behind

Lover Girl

Snow White

Yozakura

**Description after the lyrics**

Verse 1
You paused before you turned—
Long enough for me to yearn
I felt the words behind my teeth,
I waited long for you to speak.
But both of us, afraid to fall,
Let nothing rise, we said it all.

Chorus
We almost said it, both of us—
A word, a touch, a wait for trust.
But fear stood taller than the need,
And silence got the final lead.
We almost spoke. We almost stayed.
What stays is what we never said.

Verse 2
We never fought, we never lied—
Just watched the light begin to slide.
You waited for me, and I did too,
Hoping the other would break through.
Maybe we were two of a kind—
Good at silence, just a little blind.

Chorus
We almost said it, both of us—
A word, a touch, a wait for trust.
But fear stood taller than the need,
And silence got the final lead.
We almost spoke. We almost stayed.
What stays is what we never said.

Bridge
I don’t blame you. I don’t blame me.
We just played it safe too easily.
I hoped you'd reach, you thought I might—
It turns out we were both not right.

Final Chorus
We almost said it, both of us—
A word, a truth, a wait for trust.
But timing failed, and fear rang true,
And silence got the best of two.
We almost spoke. We almost stayed.
Is that what we were meant to say?

Still…
If you’re hearing this someday—
I wish I had somehow found a way.

***** Does this song like you? You can bring it home with you if you like. Click the green button.

We Almost Said is a quiet ache turned into song. It isn’t about what happened, but about what didn’t—the words that stayed locked behind teeth, the closeness that never bridged the small gap. It moves on hesitation, on pauses that became endings, on the way two people can hold the same yearning and still let it slip away.

It’s tender, not bitter. More sigh than shout. The refrain of “almost” is its heartbeat: love nearly spoken, closeness nearly claimed, a truth nearly shared. And in that space between, the song finds its power—not in explanation, but in what lingers unsaid.

We Almost Said

How many times have we laughed  
And how many times have we cried  

And entrusted our words to the wind  
Like a disenchanted melody  

But we have always found each other  
Almost as if it were a dream  
Almost as if it were a sign  

In our love nest  
A soft cloud above the world  
In our love nest  
Touching the heart deep within  
In our love nest  
Love nest  
Love nest  

And I always see happy your smile  
You are like a drop of rain that refreshes the face  
I feel your scent your scent that surrounds me like an embrace of love like a wave  

That lifts me up and then sinks me  
And my heart beats so so so so  

In our love nest  
A soft cloud above the world  
In our love nest  
Touching the heart deeply  
In our love nest  
Love nest  
Love nest  

I think of you constantly of you  
Even though sometimes you're far away yet incredibly close  
You're my first thought in the morning  
And during the day it's pleasant to think of your company  
And I always wait for our moment to fly fly away  

In our love nest  
A soft cloud above the world  
In our love nest  
Touching the heart deeply  
In our love nest  
Love nest  
Love nest

LOVE NEST   (reworked)

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“All I Want is Some Better Days” is a powerhouse Country Hip-Hop anthem that blends raw storytelling with modern trap energy. From the opening verse the vocal honesty cuts deep, weary and confessional, pulling you straight into the struggle. The beat drives with 808s, hi-hats, and claps while acoustic guitars and banjo weave in the grit of real country roots. The chorus explodes with layered harmonies and chant-style echoes, turning every line into a singalong moment. It’s catchy, emotional, and unforgettable, built to make you shout “uhh hah” right along with the hook. Each verse rises higher, keeping the flow raw and conversational while the production lifts it into anthem territory. There’s no gloss or sugarcoating, just real talk that anyone who’s fought for better days will connect with. The vocal delivery is dynamic and soulful, shifting from quiet confessions to soaring chants with undeniable power. This track proves Country Hip-Hop can be both heartfelt and explosive

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Lyrics
All I Want is Some Better Days

Been going on now for a few years
Keep pickin myself up and getting on with it
Wish I drank sometimes to get away from it
But that never helped me, just made it worse (true)

If I did drink, then it might be good
I could hide away, letting the drink make me feel good
Sitting there drunk, listening to music about troubles worse than mine
But I don’t drink, so will have to find another way, I can call mine (any ideas)

All I want is Some Better days
Instead of every day facing the hard truth
No one wants to know my woes
All I want is my life to flow (flow ….flow, flow)

Need someone in my life, hate being alone
Someone to talk to, even over the phone
Need to ditch this life and move on
Instead of sitting here, with all this wrong (move ….go ….get outta here, dah dah dah get outta here, dah dah dah  get outta here, dah dah dah get outta here)

All I want is Some Better days
Instead of every day facing the hard truth
No one wants to know my woes
All I want is my life to flow (flow ….flow)

When I get a chance with the ladies
I go ahead and stick my foot in my mouth
Talk about my woes instead of something good
Before you know it, they are gone, I’m forgotten

All I want is some Better Days, something to smile about (dah dah dah)
All I want is Some Better days
Instead of every day facing the hard truth
All I want is some Better Days, something to smile about (dah dah dah)
All I want is Some Better days
Instead of every day facing the hard truth

Uhh Hah (better days)
Uhh Hah (something to look forward to)
Uhh Hah (someone to be with)
Uhh Hah (just some better days)

All I want is Some Better days
Instead of every day facing the hard truth
No one wants to know my woes
All I want is my life to flow (flow ….flow)

Oooh dah dah dah dah dah better days, dah dah dah dah dah better days, dah dah dah dah dah better days, ooooh oooh oooh

Uhh Hah (better days)
Uhh Hah (something to look forward to)
Uhh Hah (someone to be with)
Uhh Hah (just some better days)
Ooooh yeah oooo would be better

Keywords
country hip hop, modern anthem, better days song, heartfelt confession, chant style chorus, uhh hah hook, emotional storytelling, gritty vocals, rural struggles, life to flow, soulful delivery, audience singalong, country grit, hip hop blend, uplifting anthem

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All I Want is Some Better Days

All I Want is Some Better Days - Uhh Hah (something to look forward to)

Our Vow

Mirror of Lies

Songwriter since 1966. Can't believe I still have to write protest songs. Prefer writing love songs and songs of praise for stand-up women and men, parodies, lyrical nonsense, blues and adaptations.

She May Be

Peter Lloyd

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