by Kent Aitken and David & Laurie Easterling © March 11, 2021 Charlottetown, Canada, and Oak Ridge, TN, USA

Mars was rising as the sun went down
I sat waiting waiting for the sound
Of your piano through the walls every night 
And I pick my guitar by candlelight 

At first I hated these thin apartment walls
And the noise echoing down the halls
Slamming doors, lovers’ quarrels, footsteps, and doorbell rings
at 8:08 sweet piano strings

Play me a song
And I’ll play along
All I want to do 
Is accompany you
Play me a song
And I’ll play along
All I want you to do 
Is play me another song

It gets me through my toughest times
When you stopped, mid-song, at 9:09
I was scared I’d never hear you again
A blue songbird with a broken wing 

Sun rises and sets but your silence remains
Toughest of times lead to darkest of days
Learned your songs, got them wrong, my old guitar, with worn-out strings
When I played at 8:08 I heard you sing

Play me a song
And I’ll sing along
All I want to do 
Is accompany you
Play me a song
And I’ll sing along
In time and in tune   

Play me another song

Play Me A Song (w/ David and Laurie Easterling) - Song a Week 2021, Week 10

Stephanie told me that all those tattoos 
on her ex-husband's face and his neck were to try to 
protect from attack - there to keep people back
'Til all anyone saw was that armour he wore
It looked kind of fearsome but all that it said was...

Fragile - handle with care
All it said was fragile handle with
all the care that you can muster
Fragile - handle with care - Fragile

Taking a walk trying to clear out my head
When this dog in the park sets to vet me instead
and he's growling and barking and driving me back
Like a dangerous invader set foot on his land
I saw on his collar a sign there that read….

Fragile - handle with care
What it said was fragile handle with
all the care that you can muster
Fragile - handle with care - Fragile

So the next time you notice me snap or I snarl
I want you to know I don't mean to be cruel
It's a side that comes out when I'm 
weak and I'm low on reserves

Then there's the opposite site of this dance
My beautiful victims with sensitive hearts
Cause the people I growl at they tend to be closest
They’re the people I'm wanting to care for the most
Cause maybe the label on everyone's heart says

Fragile - handle with care
What it said was fragile handle with
all the care that you can muster
Fragile - handle with care - Fragile

Fragile

"Cracking Paint And Rusted Hinges" (#449, 210328)

Cracking paint and rusted hinges
Are all that stand today
In between two wooden bridges
The heartbeat slipped away

Used to hear the sound of laughter
Children playing in the sun
Seems like no one thought it mattered
What their hometown would become

And I can't say I got a reason
Reason why I stuck around
Lots of times I feel like leavin'
But my feet won't walk me out

Only sound here is the engine
The only footprints left are mine
Cracking paint and rusted hinges
And that's the bottom line

Week 13 - Cracking Paint And Rusted Hinges (210328)

capo 4
G
He’s kind he’s Kent and we’re
Perfectly content 
C                                  G
to celebrate all that he brings

     D                                 Em                    C
To keep us connected as songs are perfected 
                                                        D/F#
and let’s face it that voice when he sings. 

G
It’s country 
       C
It’s warm
      EM             D/F#
It’s emotional brawn
             EM                    D
Banjolele or guitar he strums
      EM             D/F#             G                 C
We’re simply delighted and we cannot fight it 
        EM             D/F#         G
We join in all the tunes as one. 

He’s Full of grace
Its written on his face
Every time there is a glitch
He gently reminds us and kindly will guide us
“Try to mute or unmute flick the  switch”

he’s country 
he’s warm
his emotional brawn
Banjolele or guitar he strums
 We’re simply delighted and we cannot fight it 
We join in all the tunes as one. 


em                    D/.F#
and lets not forget
the sweetest of all pets
C                 D/F#
corgi of THIS TEAM
C                    D/F#
  KIwi    KIWI AGREES

thank you kent (week 14)

GIRL AT THE BUS STOP (FIONA NI AINNIN & NIKI S)

 4 bars intro  

F                                              C
I could have been that girl at the bus stop
Laughing for a moment in the rain
Soaked to the skin umbrella falling all apart
black mascara cheeks a messy stain

F                                                C
You could have been my lonely boy at the pub
Waiting for the barman as I stare
glued to the lava flowing from the tv screen
Never seem to notice that Im there

C                                Em
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
Souls free like sparrows in the sky
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
I just want RISE AND  fly AWAY

C                                E
with you away with you (la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
                       C                   E
 away with you away with you (la la la la la la la la laaaaa)

WE COULD HAVE BEEN THAT COUPLE IN THE CAFÉ
Trying to sing each others favorite tune
We could have grown old sitting in the sunshine
Staring at the birds all afternoon
 
C                                Em
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
Souls free like sparrows in the sky
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
I just want RISE AND  fly AWAY

       C               E
with you away with you (la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
away with you away with you (la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
 away with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)

C                                E
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
Souls free like sparrows in the sky
We seem to be, strangers on a zig zag
I just want RISE AND  fly AWAY

    C               E
with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
away with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)
 away with you away with you(la la la la la la la la laaaaa)


F                                                  c
I could have been that girl at the bus stop

Girl At The Bus Stop (co-write with Fiona Ní Ainnín)

We could go back, but why would we want to?

Nowhere

I STILL FEEL THE FIRE

006 and a ½
by Erin Wolf, Laurie and David Easterling, © 5/14/2021, Little Chute, WI and Oak Ridge, TN

Week 19 Prompt: 006

I got demoted
Halfway down a rank
It’s not my fault
In fact it kinda stank

But I caught the villain
Caught him in the act
Knocked him down, cashed him out back 
How ‘bout dat

I don’t think it’s funny
But they all got a laugh
And now they call me
Double Oh Six and a half
A Secret Agent bumbling through 
Solving crimes without a clue
Suave debonaire genius 
Playin’ a fool

Evil James thought
He had me good
Tied me to the train tracks
Sportin’ a black hood

Bragging ‘bout his b-a-d deeds
His dirty plans and all his greed
But then I sneezed 
and broke my bonds

I don’t think it’s funny
But they all got a laugh
And now they call me
Double Oh Six and a half
A Secret Agent bumbling through 
Solving crimes without a clue
Suave debonaire genius 
Playin’ a fool

So evil James sez it’s ‘cause of me
He’s quittin’ his ol’ pirate ways
And he’s gonna be a hit songwriter startin’ today
[International Man of Mystery]
[At the International House of Pancakes]

Well ya know it’s funny
How I got the last laugh
And now have they call me
Double Oh Six and a half … and a half
A Secret Agent bumbling through 
Solving crimes without a clue
Suave debonaire genius 
Playin’ a fool

006 and a 1/2 (with the David & Laurie Easterling)

Keep dreaming folks, you never know.

Foolishly I say, the weather's fine today
With that smile, you set me reeling
And I just can't stop this feeling,
Don't tell me you're married,
Or you don't like men.
No need to be hurried, smile just once again
There in a crowded place
Lingering glance to warm embrace
On a bus or by a river, Sudden Chance can last forever
Don't go or we'll never know.
As in a dream, I see her/his face remembered
In Summer heat or cold as a December
Here in this state of mind, inhibitions left behind
On a bus or by a river
Sudden chance can last forever
Don't go or we'll never know
She/he left the bus, no sign of greeting
I think of her/him, though time is fleeting
So no, I never will know
So now, I never, never will know

Sudden Chance Improved Recording (See Info)

The eighth and last song from Deconstructed

Cute Puppies And Cute Babies (a.k.a. my descend into madness song)

I'm so tired of the world as it is now
it's like no one ever has better things to share
I don't wanna live where I have to know every detail
every crazy little thing someone famous said 

I don't care who got offended
by stupid tweets on the web
I'm here for some feel-good content
someone please share

cute puppies and cute babies on my feed
cute puppies and cute babies is what I need
cute puppies and cute babies show me please
cute puppies and cute babies is all I ever need

feel so cynical, so self-destructive
my anxiety has gone on a rocket to Mars
I just wanna know the date when we finally can hug again
I don't wanna stay inside, i swear I'm going mad 

I don't care who gets offended
everyone should get a grip
here for the heart-warming content
someone please share

fill up my brain with oxytocin, cuteness overdosis
puppies and babies will make my heart melt
I just wanna feel good, real good, stay there if I could
but I'd rather be outside than in my mind

I am not alone when I feel lonely
you are not alone when you feel lonely
we are not alone when we feel lonely
we are not alone when we feel lonely

we don't care who gets offended
we are together in this
we're here for heart warming content
we're here to share

Deconstructed

Cute Puppies And Cute Babies

"What Else You Got" (#438, 210218)

 * Co-written with Dan Rivers * 

Packed it all up in a rental van
Guitar a girl and a half assed plan
Heard that it's a 10 year town
Better start makin' the rounds

Fifty cold calls 'til they let me in
Tiny office and a guy named Slim
Thought my first song had a pretty good shot
Then he said, "what else ya' got"

I got mouths to feed I got bills to pay
A dog and a wife and an H.O.A.
I got high blood pressure one bad knee
And a Volvo leakin' antifreeze
To top it all off one verse and Slim said stop 
What else you got 

Hot take from my Uber driver
What I needed was a great co-writer
Said he was Tim McGraw's third cousin
Hell he'd written almost a dozen

We wrote a track just right for Garth
Got as far as the driveway guards
Sang it through the intercom
A voice came back, "what else you got"

I got outta' state plates and two flat tires
And a radio tuned with needle nose pliers
I got bootleg cable and uh, Obamacare
And holes in all my underwear
Dann Huff told me son you're really good, NOT
What else ya' got

I got to thinkin' how hard could it be
To start a publishin' company
Get the writers all lined up around the block
Just so I can tell 'em what else ya' got

I got smoker's cough I got whiskey shits
And a mother in law that just won't quit
I got plumber's crack I got athlete's foot
And I'm still a long way from Brentwood
There goes the mansion, the Rolex and the yacht
What else ya' got

Look out Music Row I'm comin' in hot
What else ya' got

Fragile

Rich Waring