Words and music written by Bartley Charles Mastin
Performance by Bartley Charles Mastin
Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

Lyrics:
Don't want to be a rose
You want to be a wildflower
Never mind the sun
You want to take a moon shower

Half a mile from here we'll disappear aboard the midnight train

You say you're getting old
You say you've reached a milestone mama
You're tired of being sold
You're tired of all the hometown drama

Half a mile from here we'll disappear aboard the midnight train

I love the way the moon glows
I love the way the wind blows
When it goes
Through your hair

Gonna be a wild ride mama
Gonna be a rodeo
Gonna be an LA drama
Gonna have to rope me down

Half a mile from here we'll disappear aboard the midnight train

Half A Mile From Here

JUST ANOTHER DAY

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown:
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
She stood in tears amid the alien corn;
The same that oft-times hath
Charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn. 

From "Ode To A Nightingale" (John Keats, 1795—1821)

Amid The Alien Corn

Cast of Characters:
Joe Stroffolino-- @joseph-stroffolino -- Taylor 114ce acoustic guitar, main vocals, harmony vocals, lyrics, composition 
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender HSS Telecaster electric guitar
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson Custom T electric guitar, mix, mastering, and production
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – piano
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –- four string Fender Precision Bass with a plectrum 
 
This song began as one of Joe's, lyrically centered songs, which he wrote and filled in with VST instruments. He came up with the lyrics by sharing ideas with fellow SoundCloud musician Michele Ansani.
   Knowing that Josh is a fan of his work, Joe offered this song to him in hopes that he'd share it with the rest of the band. Of course, Josh jumped at the opportunity to work on his song, and immediately shared it with the rest of the group. 
  Ken went to work first, adding his driving, excting drums. Josh was having a hard time coming up with a good bass line for it, until Ken suggested that he use the power of the 1/8 note to propel it. Tez was up next with his clever fills you hear throughout the first half of the song. Stephen came along right after and matched Tez's energy for the guitar fills in the second half of the song. 
  It was still missing a solo in the designated spot, though, so Mark stepped up with his innovative piano solo you hear in the middle. If it sounds a little mechanical, that's because he's using an arpeggiator to achieve the effect. We thought it sounded good in a song about AI, though. 
  Once all the parts were dialed in, and Joe had gotten all his vocals tuned up, we asked one of our resident pros, Stephen, to mix it for us. He did that and mastered it, too, expertly, as always.
  This is the first song we've ever done with Joe, and don't expect it to be the last. We all really enjoyed putting together, in no small part because Joe is such a competent, receptive, and gracious collaborator. We all hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it. 
Original lyrics by Joe Stroffolino (and Michele Ansani):
When I was thirteen I picked up my first guitar
it was my mother's, it only had one nylon string 
I tried to play it like a rock star
I learned to play the Coca-Cola jingle
So I could teach the world to sing
When I was fourteen, I put on six new strings
I learned to play Beatles, I learned a Bob Dylan song
I sounded out of tune but I tried to carry on
At fifteen I wrote my first original tune 
So bad it sounded like it might have been written by a baboon
When I was sixteen, I got a new guitar for my birthday
The metal strings sawed through my fingers 
But I continued to play
And the calluses formed and every day I learned a brand new chord
I was obsessed with that guitar and I never grew bored.
I wrote songs every day and most of them were a mess
But I believed that through hard work, I could achieve success
Malcom Gladwell wrote a book that said it takes ten thousand hours
To become and expert at your craft
But now all it takes is two commands and an enter
And in two minutes you have ten versions of the same damn new song,
You just have to choose the type
folk, rock, rap, pop, metal, jazz, trap or blues.
You don't even need to write the lyrics, 
your push a few buttons let the AI choose.
And people will think your songs are great even though you didn’t write or play a single note.
When I was 20, I did my first concert, it was time
it occurred in a village square
there were four cats all friends of mine
I was still using the plectrum and sometimes I got the chords wrong
at thirty I finally wrote what I thought was a decent song
It had a very well thought out structure
And a catchy vibe and beat
It was overly verbose but when I played it people tapped their feet
In my forties I stopped wasting my time
Work was more fun I was doing just fine

AI Sucks! (Eclectic Collective with Joe Stroffolino)

same shit, different year.........another one of my favs from the great man.....cheers for having a listen


The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
WRITTEN BY: BOB DYLAN
 William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll
 With a cane that he twirled around his diamond ring finger
 At a Baltimore hotel society gath’rin’
 And t   he cops were called in and his weapon took from him
 As they rode him in custody down to the station
 And booked William Zanzinger for first-degree murder
 But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
 Take the rag away from your face
 Now ain’t the time for your tears
 
 William Zanzinger, who at twenty-four years
 Owns a tobacco farm of six hundred acres
 With rich wealthy parents who provide and protect him
 And high office relations in the politics of Maryland
 Reacted to his deed with a shrug of his shoulders
 And swear words and sneering, and his tongue it was snarling
 In a matter of minutes on bail was out walking
 But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
Take the rag away from your face 
 Now ain’t the time for your tears
 
 Hattie Carroll was a maid of the kitchen
 She was fifty-one years old and gave birth to ten children
 Who carried the dishes and took out the garbage
 And never sat once at the head of the table
 And didn’t even talk to the people at the table
 Who just cleaned up all the food from the table
 And emptied the ashtrays on a whole other level
 Got killed by a blow, lay slain by a cane
 That sailed through the air and came down through the room
 Doomed and determined to destroy all the gentle
 And she never done nothing to William Zanzinger
 But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
 Take the rag away from your face
 Now ain’t the time for your tears
 
 In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel
 To show that all’s equal and that the courts are on the level
 And that the strings in the books ain’t pulled and persuaded
 And that even the nobles get properly handled
 Once that the cops have chased after and caught ’em
 And that the ladder of law has no top and no bottom
 Stared at the person who killed for no reason
 Who just happened to be feelin’ that way without warnin’
 And he spoke through his cloak, most deep and distinguished
 And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance
 William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence
 Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
 Bury the rag deep in your face
 For now’s the time for your tears

The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll

bringing down the alpha male

Hello… thanks for dropping by. This song is a loud, electric-slide song. It has overdriven slide, some homemade (learning how to:no drum kit) percussion, a vocal harmony and gravely vocals. I am happy I am able to do this at all, at 68 years of age… especially singing, which greatly wanes with age. (I really just started to sing within the last decade or so.) Traveling On… may be seen as a metaphor, or not, it doesn’t really matter. It might signify personal change or a movement toward and/or away from something. There is a hint of recognition, insofar as the unwavering essence of who we are… There is a suggestion of working toward peace. Again, this could be seen as metaphorical, in a sense of personal introspection. What do we espouse, condone and accept in this life for ourselves and society? Do you want to ‘Travel On’? Thanks for hanging out, Mark

Traveling On

E-Benjamin's Rabbit

Hoping you enjoy this chilled groove, thank you for all of your kind shares plays and reposts too!!

Rendezvous

Original Bob Dylan 1965

PdB Orchestra : Piano, organ, harpe and guitars

Like A Rolling Stone

Influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan's Dirty Pool and Tin Pan Alley

Played For a Fool

🐳Thank you for your support. It's very encouraging.🪼
🐱I do not use AI in my music.😊
🌺Have fun! Bandcamp!💞Thank you for your purchase!💞

E-Benjamin's Rabbit

Sanshu Seiso [Experimental Artist]