The Philando Castile story and trial affected me in more ways than I could handle. This song, written during 2017's 50/90, was written for my personal self-care. 

Chords: Dm, BbM7, C6, Am

Lyrics:
“Breaking”

Chorus
Up to the minute news reports
Breaking through the radio
We interrupt your favorite song
To tell you what we know. 

Disaster, death, and terrorists
People hurting, but they won’t assist. 
An angry man is drunk on power. 
And you can’t talk to a narcissist. 

Philando verse
A traffic stop from the grocery store.
Stopped by the police many times before.  
A scared uniform draws his gun.
Acquitted but the crimes been done. 

Footage captured live on scene
Little girl just cried and screamed
Expletives yelled as death rained down
The badge a shield of golden crown

Paid to leave and take a break
How many lives are still at stake?
Prompt and thorough, we'll find the truth
And disregard the burden of proof

“They let him get away”...

5090

Breaking

I love Philadelphia (where I grew up), but I haven't been back for a number of years because a racist rift in my family.  

Lyrics:
Historical written, long before
A bell displayed won’t ring no more
Tallest man above the hall
Curse to those who make him fall

Softly twisted in the square
An ode to love is in the air
Plain and simple black and white
And Loving says the law’s alright. 

My brothers once looked up to me
Now their hatred can’t agree
I’ve tried too many times, to yell across the fence
When oh when, oh how and when, will we make amends?

Chorus
I’m going back, I’m going back...one day
I’m going back, I’ve got a few things to say
If this is alright, I’ll be here all night
Until I’ve gotten, we have gotten...our way.

Pretzel

Very subtle dig at Flat Earth believers as the United States prepares for a total solar eclipse. 

Verse 1
Pilgrimage miles a way to totality
How does one explain away the reality
Once in a lifetime chance the sources say
What of those who don't believe anyway? I

Verse 2
Celestial reset, in bursts of light
For a brief moment of time, day becomes night
Creatures of feather and fur, sound out at the moon
The dung beetle maintains his line with a galaxy's view

Chorus
He figured it out, and then it was gone
Back to his beliefs, no matter how wrong 2x

Celestial Reset

Open Music improvisation featuring Melissa on vocals/lyrics, and Rob on ukulele. 
Apologies in advance for the heater noise keeping the distillery cozy. Recorded live with a Samsung Note 5.

2017 - 10 - 5 OpenMusic DV8 I Let Them Go

1st song for 2018 FAWM (February Album Writing Month).
Attempting to do 14 "shelter songs" documenting in music my new career at a homeless shelter.

Lyrics: 
Verse 1
I’ve been waiting all night, to sleep through the day
As long as I’ve been hungry, it’s had to be this way
You can’t stay here, so move along, the blue man says
A right to rest, a dream at best, for that we pray. 

Verse 2
Paying customers only, the signs on restrooms read
I check my wallet again, to count the times I’ve pee’d
Couldn’t you just this once, I ask with humility
Just let me go, and leave with dignity 

Verse 3
Spent my change on coffee beans, roasted into sludge
Now that I have paid my way, I won’t ask for much
A place to sit, maybe charge my phone, is all I need
You’ll want me gone, after not too long, and I’ll concede

Verse 4
With nowhere to go and no place to be
I’ll just fly my cardboard sign
Hoping that some rich man comes
Just a little and I’ll be fine 

Chorus 
Why does it cost to exist? 
How long will we let this persist?

Chords: Ebm, G, D

fawm 2018 (Shelter Songs)

Pay to Wait

Oftentimes, the people making the final decisions truly have no idea what's going on. 

Lyrics:
Chorus: 
I'm just another problem to solve
Just another problem...to you

Verse 1:
An epidemic ignored
Enforced but what for? 
Instead of treating the cause
And opening the doors

Verse 2: 
A number on paper
A tic in the data
Not one will be cared for
Until they have faces

Verse 3: 
Domestic violence to spouses
Let’s build tiny houses
But where is the budget
Your solution’s been gutted

Verse 4: 
It’s snowing outside
With no place to hide (and sleep)
And if they get caught 
The camping tickets are steep

FAWM 2018 - Shelter Songs

Problem to Solve

5th song in my Shelter Songs series for February Album Writing Month. Kind of a love song...I guess. 

Lyrics: 
Verse1
I want to share a locker with you...til Wednesday
Keep your stuff right next to mine
And even though you have my combo
I know it’ll all be just fine

Verse 2
I want to share a locker with you...til Wednesday
And if I lose my bed again
I know you’ll try to keep it current
And keep it safe and sound til then

(Chorus 2x)
Til Wednesday, til Wednesday, it’s gonna be alright
I’ll sign my name, on the dotted line in the middle of the night

Verse 3 (slower)
One day you finally moved along...it was a Wednesday
Must’ve found housing, I assume...I hope
I went to my locker, found it empty...by half
Except a handwritten envelope...it said: 

(Last Chorus)
This Wednesday, this Wednesday, come live with me.
We’ll sign our names on the dotted line with the justice of the peace
And be hopeful, and happy, you will see
I want to share my new home with you...

FAWM 2018 (Shelter Songs)

Til Wednesday

We refer to the "rule of many" quite often at the homeless shelter I work at. It's the nicest way possible to tell residents that we can't provide custom accommodations to a single person because we don't have the staff-power to do it for all. It's the hard part of being fair to everyone. 

Chorus: 
The rule of many
Includes you too
You wouldn’t want 
Unfairly due

Verses:
If to all we can’t provide
Your request we won’t abide
Hotel we aren’t, five stars we ain’t
If no-one has it, there’s no complaint

One for all or none for one
Once in awhile it comes undone
Reign it in and watch the storms
The rule of many the thunder forms

The last one in still gets a bed
The first one’s fortune is misled
A lottery of randomness
To think you’re lucky, would be amiss

The Rule of Many

Overnight shifts are usually some of the most peaceful, uneventful hours in the shelter...but there's always one...

Lyrics:
Tranquil in the overnight
All is calm for now
Watching clock hands round the face
Just another couple hours

Everything was locked up tight
To make the building small
The staff on watch, bleary-eyed
The most vigilant of all.

(chorus)
There’s always one, who cannot sleep
There’s always one, that you must keep.
In your charge, in your care
In your sleepy mind aware

It’s 3am, try to go to bed
Stare at the bunkbed overhead
Darkness falls as my eyelids close
What is this life that I have chose(n)

The sun comes up, the lights come on
They stir in bed, the coffee’s warm
At 8am they’re on their way
To fight for life another day.

Overnights

Written for February Album Writing Month 2018 for my collection of songs based on my experiences working at a homeless shelter. 

Lyrics: 
Verses (finger-picked, both times)
I know that I’ve done wrong
Apologies don’t get nowhere ‘round here
I’ve accepted my fate, my way of being
It gets harder every year.

Chorus:
But it’s cold outside, with snowy ground
So I’ll argue round and round
How could you send me outside
If I go, I might as well die

Verses (strummed both times)
Accept responsibility
Forget my accountability
Only you see my instability
Your safety a liability

Round and Round

Ukulele, Violin, Cello (etc)
2017 FAWMling

rorowe