Be Kind, Not Just Nice

It’s better to be kind than just to be nice,
One is sugar on top, the other is heart and spice.
Nice is a bow that’s tied on top,
Kind is the gift that will never stop.

Nice says, “Oh sure, I don’t mind at all,”
When all the while it just feels so small…”
Nice gives a handshake, kind gives a hand,
Nice sees the surface, kind understands.

Nice will smile while the truth goes unsaid,
Kind will stick it’s neck out and speak up instead.
Nice keeps it quiet, stays out of the way,
Kind dares to help out on a cloudy day.

Nice is a shadow, kind shines the light,
Nice keeps it simple, kind makes it right.  
Nice is the cover, kind is the page,
Nice lasts a moment, kind lasts an age.

It’s easy to smile, but harder to care,
Nice stays at the doorway, kind pulls up a chair.
Nice says, “You’re fine, don’t worry at all,”
Kind says, “I’ll catch you if ever you fall.”

So be kind, not just nice, take my advice,
A bit of courage makes life taste - twice as bright.
Nice is polite, but kindness is true,
Kind changes the whole    world—starting with you.

Be Kind, Not Just Nice

It’s better at home
All alone
If you’re looking for me
Best to let me be
Can’t be bothered
To pick up the phone

Go to the pub and have
Your rounds of beer
Enjoy yourself
While I stay right here
Saturday night
And I’m staying in
'Cause my social energy
Is a fragile thing

Feel worn out
When I’m in a crowd
Pushed and shoved
Through all that brotherly love
Can’t hear a word you say
Unless you shout                
 
My kind of party
Is peace of mind
But it starts to waver       
Around humankind
Feels so unnatural
If you ask me
But to the rest of the world
It is blasphemy

R.S.V.P.
Regretfully
I won’t appear
At your wedding next year
‘Cause I’ll be shopping
For my groceries

Don’t take offense
Of my self-defense
I could come for a while
Plaster on a fake smile
But I would rather
Just avoid pretense

Rather save words
For the trees and birds
Out in the green
Where the world is serene
My fellowship is
On a nature reserve

The world won’t understand
An introvert’s plea
When I’d really rather 
Just stay home and watch tv
Ain’t nothing wrong with me
So don’t worry
Saturday night at home’s
Where I want to be

Staying In

There’s a black cat who can be seen
All around the neighbourhood
Bushy tail and eyes of green
Sure as hell she’s up to no good

She will come to say hello
And she may even linger
If you try to pet her though
She’s likely to bite your finger

She’ll watch you from the garden wall
With calm interrogation
As if she’s weighing human souls
For some dark organisation

She naps beneath the neighbour’s car
Or sunbathes on your chair
And somehow, though she owns no house
She’s everywhere, and nowhere

They say she brings a streak of luck
Though good or bad, none can say
If ever she should cross your path
You’ll learn it—come what may

Perhaps she’s what we wish to be
Unbothered, sly, and free
The world her home, the night her friend
No master—only mystery
 

Black Cat

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ROCKSTEADYTNT.COM

I’m Kelly Marshall, and Rocksteady TNT is where I blend ska, rocksteady, and reggae with the sounds I’ve carried with me — Eastern European folk, funk, soul, jazz, punk, hip-hop, and a few ’80s echoes. I play bass, guitar, keys, and whatever else feels right, layering each track at home in Glasgow. What started in 1999 as an experiment has become my way of honoring roots while inventing new directions — keeping rhythm, melody, and heart at the core.

A Quarrelsome Reputation

Rocksteady TNT

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