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

"You Can Have Wichita" (#447, 210322)

 * co-written with David Easterling * 

Half a million people in this town
Why’s it feel so lonely when the lights go down
Hard as I’m tryin’ I’m no good at readin’ minds
But I can read between the lines

Just like every place before
Same old mistakes but this ain’t in Kansas anymore
A last decision in between these city limits
Just outside that door

You can have Wichita guess I’ll keep on lookin’
Gave it all I got to make it work until I couldn’t
Somehow the dirt here seems to hold your memory
You can have Wichita and it’s all Wichita to me

I won’t pretend to understand
The time I spent building castles in the sand
Everywhere it brought me everything it taught me
Well it made me who I am

You can have Wichita guess I’ll keep on lookin’
Gave it all I got to make it work until I couldn’t
Somehow the dirt here seems to hold your memory
You can have Wichita and it’s all Wichita to me

You can have the clovers that rise up when it rains
Tall grass in the back yard those long hot summer days
You can have the porch swing made for autumn evenings
Lonely as the willow tree season after season

Week 12 - You Can Have Wichita (210322)

It's My Time to Shine
                                                
I find the words , then the notes  and magic finds the strings
Catch it quick before it's gone,another one begins
It’s not too late, I’m not too old
I’m digging deep,I’m mining  gold
It’s my  time to shine

I see it in a headline, I read it in a book
I hear it in a movie  and I feel it in a look   
My feet can tap out rhythm, my head can burst with rhyme
And when a song is building , I’m lost inside that  time  

Some arrive in a flash, some take a while
Everyone’s a treasure and each is like my child
Some write for fame & money, some write to hear their voice
Some want to send a message, for me I  have no choice

It's My Time To Shine

The fifth tale of Snow and Cherry

No more Mr. Nice Guy

he's the type they bring home to family dinner
he's the kind they don't know they're looking for
because who wouldn't want to date a winner
just you wait for lines outside his door

dude is so good at bending over backwards
counts the days for his favors to return
he thinks he deserves everything for being nice
but everybody knows nice guys finish last
the only way out is through

no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy

he's so tired of pretending to be simple
there is only so much a man can hide
it's no wonder he can't tell why he's single
all he learned to give is an eye for an eye
the only way out is through

no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy

he thinks he deserves everything for being nice
but everybody knows nice guys finish last
the only way out is through

Tales of Snow and Cherry

No more Mr. Nice Guy

Copyright 2021 Owen Ryan, Milwaukee, WI & Erin Wolf, Little Chute, WI 

Guitar: Owen Ryan
Lyrics/Vocals: Erin Wolf

Week 12 Prompt: We Used to be Strangers

*Note about the song: This is a super special collaboration. Owen is one of my former youth group students from my earliest days in youth ministry and one hell of an incredible person today. He dropped this guitar instrumental on Facebook recently and was super cool in letting me write lyrics & sing along.*

Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh

we used to be strangers
ships passed in the night
searchlight going showing
all the depths in their might

carve a space here
feel this heartbeat of mine
no need to fear
all we have now is 
time

hear your name carry
over the sea
through waters dark and cloudy
calling from the deep

let my voice sing
you to sleep
let it ring
promise you can keep
home

Strangers (with Owen Ryan)

Copyright Erin Wolf 2021
featuring guitar & worn-out voice

Week 13 Prompt: Cracking paint

sitting on the kitchen floor
staring at the wall
i see the cracking paint
as it chips and falls

hear these creaking floorboards
under my feet
this old house is falling down
but it ain't yet beat

oh oh oh
oh woah oh

see the breaks
in the window panes
letting in the drafts
just the same

hearing the leaking faucet run
just a pain no fun
i know that this could seem like a tale
a metaphor of a kind for you and me

oh oh oh
oh woah oh

if this old house could tell a story
or two
this house would tell the story
of me and you

of how we laughed, loved,
and cried
but also tell the story of
how our love died

This Old House

Copyright Dan Tanz & Erin Wolf 2021

Pedal Steel: Dan Tanz
Guitar, Vocals, Lyrics: Erin Wolf
Arrangment: Dan Tanz & Erin Wolf

**Thank you to Dan Tanz (aka Songwriter Circle) for adding pedal steel to the track and taking it to the next level! He's an insanely talented singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, and y'all need more of his music in your life. Links below.**

Dan Tanz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSYqTzE61DyhHUQaR5dI7ZA
Dan Tanz Virtual Tip Jar:
PayPal - paypal.me/dantanzmusic
Venmo - @DanTanz

Erin Wolf solo version: https://youtu.be/My65U4DPIXs

Week 14 Prompt: Inside there's a fire

you say your heart
is frozen and cold
ain't nothing left
so i might as well go

but i know you better
i know it ain't true
deep down you're hurtin'
you don't know what to do

oh i know
inside there's a fire
it just needs some space to breathe
so it doesn't expire

a little love
and some tender care
oh trust me, dear
you got a fire in there

i know you're scared
to love again
easier to be alone
than 'nother turn 'round the bend

but i know you better
this i know is true
deep down you're hopin'
that this love is true

oh i know
inside there's a fire
it just needs some space to breathe
so it doesn't expire

a little love
and some tender care
oh trust me, dear
you got a fire in there

a little love
and some tender care
oh trust me, dear
you got a fire in there

You Got A Fire In There (feat. Dan Tanz)

Let me tell you baby it's been a rough old ride
I tried everything I could to make it work
Didn't make no difference,' and now I find
This life has thrown me down here into the dirt

In a little while I'll probably turn it around
oh but just for now

Oh baby, this is where I a-a-am

I been sitting waiting for a lo-o-ong time
.for this STUpid world to get its show on the road
That ticking clock keeps playing on my mind
I’m sick of staying when my heart’s saying go

And any day I know that EYE shall be released
So just for now

Oh baby, this is where I a-a-am

I know that you’re a fighter, you’ve got heart to burn
And you’d never let this get the better of you
many times I know I’ve been too stubborn to learn
People will help me if I ask them to

And you got your own ways - that it’s something I respect
But if you ever want a hand

Oh baby, this is where I a-a-am

This Is Where I Am

"Attics And Basements" (#452, 210410)

 * Co-written with Pete & Pat Luboff * 

Lately my mind’s been on what's in my attic
Got a house full of crap and a head full of static
A ratty tin tree from so many Decembers
Letters and photographs no one remembers

And I’m feeling down about what’s in my basement      
Suitcases broken but I won't replace 'em
Bed frames and coolers and two legged stools
A couple flat tires and some rusted out tools

Why do I keep all the things I ain't usin'
Up above and down below
Smack in the middle in a state of confusion
I keep holdin' on when I need to let go
All the time and the space that I’m wasting
In my attic and basement

My ceilings are sinking from what’s in my attic
A console TV and my Dad’s leather jacket
Grandmother's trunk full of moldy old clothes
Teddy bear missing an eye and a nose

Can’t open the door too much junk in my basement
Silly straw hats from a long gone vacation
Lawn chairs and dumbbells and folded up boxes
Rubbermaid bins full of dead electronics

Why do we keep all the things we ain't usin'
Up above and down below
Smack in the middle in a state of confusion
We keep holdin' on when we need to let go
All the time and the space that we're wasting
In our attics and basements

I got all of these memories and all of these plans
Why can’t I be right here where I am?

Week 15 - Attics And Basements (210410)

The Body of Life

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

This Is Where I Am

Rich Waring