Me and the keys singing some songs I wrote

Piano Songs

Rehearsal tapes. For the flavor of the sound, vibe, story, purpose, and possibilities. Serious inquiries welcome from creative collaborators with a spark to fire these up to the next level.

Rehearsal Tapes

Lyrics:

When the shadows kiss the treetops
And the daylight's in retreat
And the rumbling all around says,
"It's your maker. Shall we meet?"
I think about the thoughts and prayers
You sent me here from home
As I'm swallowed by the darkness
Far away and all alone

I know you wonder what the difference
You worry what to say
You wish that you could take it
Carry me away
And all the others go on living
As if I'm not even here
If they look, they look right through me
They're too high above to care.

So I choose you
For choosing me
Not because you know the right way to be
Or what to say
Or what to do
You chose me
So I choose you.

When all I feel is tired
But can't even sleep
And the pounding in my head
Is all the time that I can keep
When I can barely breathe
And all I want to be is numb
That's the only invitation 
That you need
To know
To come

I know you wonder what the difference
You worry what to say
You wish that you could take it
Carry me away
And all the others go on living
As if I'm not even here
If they look, they look right through me
They're too high above to care.

So I choose you
For choosing me
Not because you know the right way to be
Or what to say
Or what to do
You chose me
So I choose you.

The Only Invitation

I asked ChatGPT how to describe  and caption this one and talked it to:
“Whatever They Say” is a song about the kind of friendship that shows up — not with advice or judgment, but with presence, with help, with love in motion.

Born from personal moments of risk and failure, this track pushes back against the cultural script of rugged self-reliance — the one that says, “just pull yourself up.” Instead, it asks: What if the most powerful way through isn’t alone, but together?

“It’s not what they say.
It’s the things that you do.
You reach out your hand.
You don’t look away.”

This is a tribute to those who don’t look away. Who show up quietly, consistently — when it matters most. A reminder that friendship isn’t proven in words, but in actions. Especially when everything else has fallen apart.

Lyrics: 

They always say it's better
To have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all
That's what they say.

You miss every shot
You never take,
Never shake it off
If you're too scared to fake it,
(you'll never make it).

And if you get knocked down,
just get back up again.
Aren't you the only thing that can keep you down?

That's what they say,
That's what they say,
That's what they always say.

But it's not what they say.
It's the things that you do.
You reach out your hand.
You don't look away.
And the look in your eyes
Is all that you say,
Whatever they say.

I thought I saw my shot.
Didn't hesitate to take.
But you read me like a book.
My shot became your break.
And everyone I risked for
Had every right to be pissed
At me for giving up
The wrong kind of assist.

That knocked me down.
Well, just get up again!
Aren't you the only thing
that can keep you down?

That's what they say
That's what they say
That's what they always say.

But it's not what they say.
It's the things that you do.

You reach out your hand.
You don't look away.
And the look in your eyes
Is all that you say,
Whatever they say.

I thought I saw my shot.
Didn't hesitate to take.
My words all tumbled out
About the life that we could make.
And I know that you said words.
I'm sure that they were wise.
But all that I could hear
Was the pity in your eyes.

That knocked me down.
Well, just get up again!
Aren't you the only thing
that can keep you down?
That's what they say
That's what they say
That's what they always say.

But it's not what they say.
It's the things that you do.

You reach out your hand.
You don't look away.
And the look in your eyes
Is all that you say,

Whatever they say.
Whatever they say.
Whatever they say.
Whatever they say.
Whatever they say.
Whatever they say.

Wanna know the backstory? Find it at The StefStack here:

https://stefanlanfer.substack.com/p/the-story-of-a-risk-and-fail-song

Whatever They Say

For the people in our lives we know too well and love too much to ever cancel - no matter how much they might seem to be begging for it.
Lyrics:

Gramma Jean keeps getting banned from TikTok.
The youngsters lose their minds with all her ways
Of being so, like, "What? Was that offensive?"
"Well, it never was in all of my born days!"

But you can't make me doubt her.
I know too much about her.
You can't make me doubt her in my soul.
You can't make me doubt her.
I know too much about her.
She's the yin.I'm the yang.
We're the whole.

Uncle Eddie has some fine ideas.
Has his favorite sources (same as you).
And certain topics that - don't take this wrong:
You may be right, but he'll mop the floor with you.

But you can't make me doubt him.
I know too much about him.
You can't make me doubt him in my soul.
You can't make me doubt him.
I know too much about him.
He's the yin.I'm the yang.
We're the whole.

My cousins from the coast - they sure are funny.
It only takes a look to condescend.
Whether or not they mean to is debatable.(Usually they do, but it depends.)

But you can't make me doubt them.
I know too much about them.
You can't make me doubt them in my soul.
You can't make me doubt them.I know too much about them.
They're the yin.
I'm the yang.
We're the whole.
You can't make me doubt them.
I know too much about them.
They're the yin.
I'm the yang.
We're the whole.

And the backstory on the StefStack: https://bit.ly/youcantmakemedoubt

You Can't Make Me Doubt

Singer-songwriter, piano, inspired by - When the kids say, "I've found the one!" Just ask questions - three.

Lyrics:

VERSE

Can’t you picture it - one day
Our kids, when they say,
“I’ve found the one, and what I feel -” 
“All I know is this is real.”

VERSE
of course we’ll never know
Where the winds of life will blow.
So, when they come to you and me 
Let’s just ask them questions - three: 

CHORUS
What do they help you see?			
Who do they help you be?
What’s the more  -           
through that door ? (What’s the more?)

VERSE
When our folks, with all their fears
And the wisdom of their years
Still played the odds on you and me 
All they asked were questions - three: 

CHORUS
What do they help you see?			
Who do they help you be?
What’s the more  
through that door ? (What’s the more?)

BRIDGE
Far beyond the ways		
you’re as wonderful as you are,
It’s all the more.                 
than all we were before.

CHORUS
It’s what you help me see.			
It’s who you help me be.
It’s the more -           
through that door (all the more).

What's the More?

(thanks ChatGPT for this description) “A Reason to Sing” by Stefan Lanfer is a modern folk-Christmas ballad that reimagines the nativity from the perspective of the innkeeper’s wife. With acoustic warmth and poetic lyrics, it explores hospitality, humility, and the quiet moments that reveal true glory.

Lyrics:

When every room is full of a guest, my husband says, 
“Gloria!” Aren’t we so blessed?”
But, though we don’t lack for a thing, that isn’t a reason I sing:

Glo ri	a.	Glo 	ri	a.	Glo 			ria.	

I’ve never cared about the money. 
I’m happy family always stays for free
With the cousins and the friends that they bring
But that’s still not  a reason I sing:

Glo ri	a.	Glo 	ri	a.	Glo 			ria.	

“You think too much,” my husband says. 
I wish he would think some more
As he turns away that desperate pair, 
“There’s no room,” he says, and shuts the door.
But I catch them at the gate. And I show them to the place - 
not exactly fit for a king.
And the look in their eyes that says, 
“glory to God” That is a reason to sing:

Glo 	ri	a.	Glo 	ri	a.	Glo 			ria.	
Glo 	ri	a.	Glo 	ri	a.	Glo ria.

A reason to sing (the innkeeper's wife, feat. Maya Lanfer)

when your heart bursts with longing for the future you know is only possible - but you want it all

get the backstory on this one and more at: https://stefanlanfer.substack.com/

Lyrics:

CHORUS

I want it all. 

VERSE

Look at you baby girl. Look at you.
Sleeping there in my arms. 
Are you real?
My girl, my baby girl, 
the things I feel 
Counting all the precious gifts 
that life could steal

CHORUS

I want it all.	

VERSE

Are you dreaming, baby girl? Or is your mind clear?
Are you back inside the womb - 
not a worry or a care?
I’m dreaming, baby girl, 
‘bout the road ahead of you.
all the places that you’ll go 
and all the things you’ll do.

BRIDGE

I know nothing’s promised. 
Every moment is a gift.
That I should just be present. 
All your days will run so swift.
I know that’s right. 
I tell myself 
not to want the things I do.
Don’t blink or you might miss it 
is good advice and true.

CHORUS

But I want it all.

I Want it All

From the new Christmas musical "You Can Believe – or Not" — songs giving voice to the minor characters in the Nativity story.

The Magi’s wisdom wasn’t just in reading the stars—it was in daring to defy a king. ✨ “By Another Way” reimagines the three wise men’s story as a song of unity, wonder, and choosing a different path.

Lyrics:

Verse

We three as one we read the signs

And history and shrines the things we see

The same with these six eyes

And that is how you know that we are wise

Chorus

Go back by another way go back by another way go back by another way

Verse

We’ve come so far following a star

Rising from the east it stood out like a beast

So plain into these six eyes

And that is how you know that we are wise

Chorus

Go back by another way go back by another way go back by another way

Bridge

It’s true we all were glad 

that other king wasn’t half bad

He supplied our missing piece and the star reappeared in the east

Good Lord, wasn’t that wild how it settled right above The child?

Chorus

Back by another way, go back by another way go back by another way

Verse

We three as one woke up from a dream

Strange as it may seem

The dream we see the same with these six eyes

And that is how you know that we are wise

Chorus

Go back by another way go back by another way. Go back by another way go back by another way…

By another way (the three kings, feat. Drew + James Lanfer)

"Just a Father" is Joseph’s aching prayer in “Something for You” — a Christmas musical that centers the stories of the often overlooked, minor characters of the first Christmas. Joseph is central, of course, but not the center and aspects of his experience also hold clues to what it all may mean.

In this song, Joseph wrestles with doubts that have dogged him since he first entered stage right. Years after that first visit from a heavenly messenger, he faces the boy he agreed to raise — now twelve years old, confidently stepping away from his parents into the life that calls him, already wiser than any can fathom.

Part lament, part confession, part heartfelt pledge, “Just a Father” is a song of love and hope, dismay and frustration, and - finally - faith and faithfulness, all bound up together. 

Lyrics:

VERSE:

I would have called him Joseph. No one would ask us why.
But you asked me to trust you and a message from on high.

CHORUS:

It’s no small thing to ask. It’s no small thing I’ve done.
Believing better angels telling me that he’s the one.
This boy, this boy, this boy - like no other kind of son
And me, I’m just a father wondering, “Who will he become?”

VERSE:

“My father’s house,” he said and “didn’t you know” as if to shame
the both of us, like he’s through with us, who gave the boy his name.

CHORUS:

It’s no small thing to ask. It’s no small thing I’ve done.
Believing better angels telling me that he’s the one.
This boy, this boy, this boy - like no other kind of son
And me, I’m just a father wondering, “Who will he become?”

BRIDGE:

I know I share the blame. But what am I to do?
When here we are again - you asking me to trust in you
And in our boy - our gift from heaven. He always knows the way
And everything to do and exactly what to say.

CHORUS:

It’s no small thing to ask. It’s no small thing I’ve done.
Believing better angels telling me that he’s the one.
This boy, this boy, this boy - like no other kind of son

JOSEPH:
You know I wanna be faithful [but I’m still wondering] who will he become?


Just a father (Joseph)

“Something for you” is the opening number and title song to the new modern folk singer-songwriter Christmas musical, "Something for you."

This musical brings forward the minor characters in the first Christmas story — shepherds, innkeepers, fathers and mothers — those whose names we might know, or not. In any case, we rarely linger in their company, and can be left to wonder why the author even included them. "Something to See" also invites us deeper into previously unexamined moments with the more central characters - Joseph, Mary, the angel Gabriel - to help us grasp how it felt for them to be caught up in this great, grand, mysterious narrative.  

“Something for you” raises the central theme for the whole project:

👉 The heroes at center-stage aren’t the only ones whose stories can point the way to the universal and profound.

With acoustic warmth, lyrical honesty, and a modern folk sensibility, “Something to See” invites listeners to pause, look again, and discover what surprising truths are right there in plain view, waiting to be seen at the edges, between the lines, just below the surface of a story many of us thought we knew inside and out.

LYRICS:

VERSE

You might see me, if you see me, on the outside of the frame,
A kind of “also ran” - you might never know my name.
Maybe all you’ll know is I’m a husband or a wife,
A shepherd or a wise man, just living out my life.

CHORUS

There just might be a reason that all of us are here,
Even if we’re not the center of the story - nowhere near?
If you take a another look, take a moment, take two - 
You might see something that is true as true is true
You might see something for you.

VERSE

I know I’m not the hero. Not many of us are. 
But what if there’s a message written to us in the stars?
Any one of us might hold an illuminating piece
Of the puzzle, whether ours is the greatest or the least.

CHORUS

There just might be a reason that all of us are here,
Even if we’re not the center of the story - nowhere near?
If you take a another look, take a moment, take two - 
You might see something that is true as true is true
You might see something for you.

BRIDGE

You might think truth a fiction some people believe,
Candy that the masses mindlessly receive.
So be fearless with your questions.
Don’t hide it when you doubt.
And never fear to look.
Who knows what you’ll find out?

CHORUS

There just might be a reason that all of us are here,
Even if we’re not the center of the story - nowhere near?
If you take a another look, take a moment, take two - 
You might see something that is true as true is true
You might see something for you.

Something for you

✨ From the modern folk Christmas musical “Something for you”, FAITHFUL is a duet between Joseph and the angel Gabriel, as Joseph wrestles with doubt and heartbreak after learning of Mary’s pregnancy. Gabriel steps in with encouraging words, perspective on what can and can’t ever really be known, and a call to live a life of faith even when you don’t feel like it or understand it.

LYRICS:

CHORUS
		   
Joseph:	Faithful. Faithful. Faithful
		Is what I want to be and be called faithful.

VERSE

Joseph: 	I was so confused, I felt abused - that she would stray

Gabriel:	She never has, she’s always been true to you for all her days [she has been]

CHORUS

Gabriel: 	Faithful. Faithful. Faithful

Joseph:	Is what I want to be and be called faithful.

VERSE 

Joseph:	So you’re saying my - my first take…

Gabriel:	A big mistake!

Joseph:	How can I know?

Gabriel:	You can’t you won’t. What’s true is true. And all that counts is what you do. 
[So be]

CHORUS

Both: 		Faithful. Faithful. Faithful

Is what I want to be and be called faithful.

BRIDGE

Joseph:	But you’re just a dream!

Gabriel:	[Hah!] How real do I seem?

Joseph:	What about when I wake up?

Gabriel:	Pour the wine and drink it up!

CHORUS

Both: 		[And be] Faithful. Faithful. Faithful

Is what I want to be and be called faithful.

		Faithful. Faithful. Faithful

Is what I want to be and be called faithful.

Faithful (Joseph + Gabriel; feat. Drew Lanfer)

Stefan Lanfer writes piano-centered indie folk songs with the soul of a storyteller and the heart of a seeker. These are raw, unpolished recordings—work tapes that capture the emotion and depth of songs still becoming. With a vibe somewhere between Ben Folds and Cat Stevens, his music blends lyrical introspection, spiritual resonance, and quiet power. For fans who want to feel something and collaborators looking for raw material ready for their magic.