Claremont, California

Self-Pity Party (Unplugged)

In The Zoom Breakout Room (Unplugged)

Dating After 50 (feat. Opaline)

If I Make It Until The Morning

A Muddy Pool Full of Turtles, Feat. Mari Royla

Things Could Be Worse

The Poor People

This song is a sequel to Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” ℗ 2005 19 Recordings Limited, with additional insights from Joan Osborne’s “What if God Was One of Us?” 1995 Mercury.

It went with me like with Carrie
On her way to Cincinnati
The car went sliding, I was scared,
I threw my hands up in the air
I might have had too much to drink
And I said “Jesus, take the wheel”
But He was worse than me
He crashed my car at Central Parkway and E. Liberty

And He said “I can walk on water,
Stickshift’s another matter altogether
But if you’d gone the way of Lazarus,
I would have brought you back among us”

I said “You, Mary, Joseph!
You wrecked my car, my fancy Corvette”
I reached for my hydro flask
But it was full of wine like we were still in Palestine
I said “Oh, Lord, ease up on the superpowers
And get us a tow truck”
But it was Triple A
That sent an angel for a couple hundred bucks

And Jesus said “Get up and walk now
Blessed are the users of sustainable transportation
I am the way, you know
Forget Siri, follow me,
And you will reach your destination"
Then he gave me a loaf of bread,
And then another, and another, and another…

These days, I must admit, you’ll find me riding public transit
Won’t cast the first stone, but I learned my lesson,
I let no saint or prophet drive me home
Sometimes, when on the bus,
I see a stranger, a slob like one of us
He’s on the phone with Rome
Trying to find his way back home up to heaven all alone

Mistakes Were Made

Jesus Crashed My Car

Jesus Crashed My Car (feat. Randy Lopez)

I went and did a little dance
On the path of least resistance
The words your girlfriend said went to my head
Next thing she knew I crawled into her bed and
Mistakes were made
The odds of a couple were shattered

I slipped into her crumpled sheets
I slept a sinner and a cheat
And when the sun came up, I’d made my bed
Next thing I knew I’d sleep in it
Mistakes were made
The lives of innocents were shattered

She: "You should have stayed in our own bed
You should have known you would regret
You should have read the writing on the wall"

But I walked to the wall, I closed my eyes, and took the fall

I should have stayed in our own bed
I should have known I would regret
I should have read the writing on the wall, you said
But I walked to the wall, I closed my eyes, and took the fall

Got up and back into my own pants
Then on the path of dire consequences
I walked it all the way back to your place
Back to the edge of yesterdays
Regrets were had
The dreams of a lover were shattered

And so I begged, down on my knees
That you forgive me, forgive me please
The way you laughed right in my face
Next thing I knew we’d had our days
Revenge was had
The life of a fool was shattered

I should have stayed in our own bed
I should have known I would regret
I should have read the writing on the wall, you said
But I walked to the wall, I closed my eyes and took the fall

I should have stayed in our own bed
(Choir: He should have stayed in his own bed)
I should have known I would regret
(Choir: He should have known he would regret)
I should have read the writing on the wall, you said
(Choir: He should have read the writing on the wall, she said)
But I walked to the wall, I closed my eyes, and took the fall

I Should Have Stayed in Our Own Bed

I Should Have Stayed in Our Own Bed (feat. Tara Dybas)

Well, here I am calling you from the pay phone
Outside your window in the rain
Like I always knew I would
Make it an iPhone if you want, it’s all the same
Look at him, putting away the dishes
While I’m probably catching pneumonia
Far along on his devilish mission
To numb you with domestic euphoria

You talk to me like I’m insane
Like I’m a child who could hurt himself but
But you’re the one who’s lost her mind
Who’s baking cookies, taking selfies with that man
Look at him smiling at the camera
While I’m definitely catching pneumonia
Pursuing his selfish chimera
To erase me from inside you

Can't you see, can't you see, can't you see?
Can’t you see if he were me,
The rain a distant memory
(Can't you see? can't you see?)
As I tidy up the kitchen
Can't you see, can't you see, can't you see?
My suffering as evidentiary
Of the mistaken identity of your infatuation

Well, here I am reaching out
From a plastic chair at urgent care, what a pain
With all the Wretched strewn about
Call it an ER if you want it’s all the same
Look at me, shivering and moaning
With symptoms of pneumonia
Far along on my suicidal mission
To save you from matrimonial coma

You talk to me like you’re my mom
Like I’ve been lost and should go home but
But I’m the one who made you laugh
Whom you called “my sunshine, my lifeline”
Look at us, no longer us now
Broken apart like the Soviet Union
Me, my life but a shitshow
You a Stepford wife in training

Can't you see, can't you see, can't you see?
Can’t you see if he were me,
Urgent care a distant memory
(Can't you see? can't you see?)
As we smile at the camera
Can't you see, can't you see, can't you see?
My suffering as evidentiary
Of the misguided trajectory of Cupid’s arrow

Well, here you are sitting down on a wooden bench
A little hunched, in a church
You might have feared it all along
Maybe the third pew, a little closer and we could merge
Look at me, such peaceful position
Finally free from pain and pneumonia
Accomplished, my beautiful mission
To not live another day without you

Photo credit: Mark Schoeman.

Pneumonia

I like the smell of kerosene
The frequent flyers’ magazines
I like the way the flight attendants stand at attention
For safety instructions
I like the lounges
With all the free booze and the munchies
CNN on their TV screens

I like the take offs and the landings
And all the flying in between
I like the smell of Duty Free
Chocolate, Chanel and luxury
But most of all, I like your smile when I get home
I like your arms where I get warm

I like how tiny the world is
When I see it from the sky
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye
I like how beautiful it looks
When I see it through your eyes
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye
I like it way up in the air
When I am neither here nor there
I like how high I am my two feet on the ground
When I’m by your side
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye

I like a jet plane at the gate
I like to board, I like to wait
I like a jet plane in the sky
The tiny seats, how they recline
But in the end, much as I like when we ascend
I long for you until we land

I like the way my bag is hard to tell
At the luggage carousel
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye
I like the way the dorky shuttles
Take the exhausted to their hotel
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye
I like it way up in the air
When I am neither here nor there
I like the jet lag
How it makes me fall asleep at 10am
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye

I like how we get closer
30 thousand feet above the ground
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye
I like being your lover
After the Uber driver gets me home
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye
I like an ice-cold lager beer
But that is neither there nor here
I’d like to stay home with you forever
And never take another flight
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye

The Smell of Kerosene

"This album is a unique opportunity to take a journey into the mind of a truly gifted songwriter and witness exceptional creativity."
Pierre Piponnian, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Los Angeles Chapter Coordinator


A Brief Moment of Despair

I guess it’s always the way I wake up now
With your smile in the frame
The memory of your pain
I go and make it through the day
I don’t know how
And when the picture fades
I call and call your name
And then I pray the earth would turn the other way
That it would bring us back to our carefree early days
I pray like a fool blinded by her grief
But I know better than to believe
I will hold you again

You were the first one to go, I hope you know
That when I close my eyes, I still see your face
I was the last one you saw, there’s one thing I know
We will be us again in a better place

We spent our days together
As if there would be many more
We made up a world
Where love would keep you safe and warm
Where all was well that ends well
And we'd live happily for evermore
And then you went to sleep
As if tomorrow would still come
And now my aching soul can find no peace, no rest
The memory of your smile lies heavy on my chest
I couldn’t say goodbye as our journey together ended,
I held you tight and just pretended
That I would hold you again

You were the first one to go, I hope you know
That when I close my eyes, I still see your face
I was the last one you saw, there’s one thing I know
We will be us again in a better place

Us Again in a Better Place

Us Again in a Better Place (feat. Opaline)

A short classically inspired slow-movement instrumental, with melancholy and romantic vibes, reminiscent of a black and white French movie of the 1960s, hence the French title referencing a fictitious breakup between two French actors.

The Hole in My Heart (and Other Stories)

Yves Montand et Catherine Deneuve se séparent

A slow melancholy piece that starts with just a string quartet but builds into full string ensemble and piano.  Contains a bridge with piano solo, later joined by cello.

Encore une lettre à Luc

Encore une lettre à Luc

A man waits for his wife.  We wait with him.

I Was Waiting for You

Nostalgia and longing, with a moment of tapered joy in the middle bridge

The Hole in My Heart

Retirement and Idleness (for Tom Flaherty)

Our Baby's Gone

It might evoke chocolate, beer or fries to you, but, to me, Belgium evokes a certain degree of sorrow.

The Sorrow of Belgium

Short cheerful contrapuntal piece for 3 guitars.  Long silence at the end to reach the 1 minute necessary for SoundCloud to promote it...

Long Story Short

A slow sad song with a middle part that suggests a little hope...

A Broef Moment of Hope

A Brief Moment of Hope

A descending motive of 3 notes on the piano sets the tone.  A cello joins and adds sorrow, but later voices and string harmonize for an almost joyful ending, celebrating the life of the person smiling in the frame.

Your Smile in the Frame

Almost Coldplay

Kimball, Nebraska

A short fragment of a larger piece still being composed, performed by Berklee College of Music Professor Joo Park

Liberalism's Last Dance (piano reduction, performed by Joo Park)

An earlier version of "Us Again in a Better Place" 

The Last One to Know

A professor of Comparative Politics by day, Pierre Englebert makes music by, huh..., later in the day. His seven albums, released since 2019, combine pop-rock, classical and singer-songwriter influences. His lyrics are humorous, touching, and thoughtful.

Pierre Englebert

Popular tracks