This is great man! Guitar sounds so good. Really well produced and your vocal delivery is great. Well done!

You have such a warm voice... Beautiful guitar accompaniment!... Fabulous song!✨👌

Beautiful acoustic work and vocals. Got such a cool 70's vibe going on here. Fabulous.

As the old Soviet joke goes, “In the Soviet Union, we know what the future holds. It’s the past that’s always changing.”      (lyrics below, after the song description)                                             
                                                     ****************
In this small, quaint college town, the town-gown relationship, for most of the 150 plus years since the college’s founding, had been productive.  The town benefited economically,  & students appreciated the town's charm, history & heritage.   Often on sunny days, classes of students would visit the park at the downtown square, brought by their history professors to learn not only of the town's history, but also about eleven young local men lost in America's Civil War, memorialized by the modest statue of a lone soldier, who had stood like a sentry at the the park's entrance since 1905.

But times change, don't they...
                                                   ********************

More Americans died in the American Civil War than in any other war in our country's history, including each of the World Wars.  In my song, the word "Daughters" references the Daughters Of The Confederacy, a women's civic group formed in the 1890's by daughters (and wives & nieces) of men lost in that war.  The attached picture is the inscription on the base of a statue of a uniformed soldier, standing in a park in Dallas, Georgia, a small town 30 miles northwest of Atlanta.
                                                            



Lyrics....
My name is McKenzie, and Jenkins and Embry,
And eight other names you still hear in these parts,
For over a century, I stood quiet at the entry,
On East Main into Lafayette Park,
A plaque was engraved, told why I was placed,
On those gardened grounds,
In this Small American Town.

Commissioned in 1905,
By the Daughters for fathers who died,
I was erected to honor eleven so bold,
Not a single one knowing he’d never grow old,
On these boys account I’d forever stand proud,
Stand sturdy & stout,
In this Small American Town.

The kids from the college on Heritage Hill,
Would hold class in the park’s warm sunshine,
They learned of this cruel war we waged with ourselves,
How 600,000 had died,
And of eleven from here just about their age,
Small farmers & blacksmiths & craftsmen by trade,
None fought for cotton, not one owned a slave,
And they learned why the Daughters placed me on that mound,
To keep those boys’ memories around,
In this Small American Town.

But enlightened new students don’t meet in that space,
Through new glasses old wars just don’t look the same,
Now scholars say men who went off to that war,
Fought not out of duty, but hate,
I feared I’d be forgotten by Heritage Hill,
Yesterday’s soldiers, obscure battlefields,
But alas, rearranged history determined my fate,
                          **************
Wise men have long warned of changing the past,
Of purges & vengeance & iconoclasts,
Then one fateful night there was smoke rolling down from the Hill,

Quickly surrounded by torches of fire,
Cursing & spitting & rage in the air,
Rope round my shoulders, a cheer by the crowd,
I came crashing down to the ground….
                         **************
An uneasy quiet in the town since that day,
Hushed conversations about how things have changed,
But up on the Hill it’s all smiles & goodwill,
For it’s the 2nd weekend in May,
Ceremonial speeches, awards all around,
Uncles & aunts & parents in town,
To watch the sweet children who torched & burned me to the ground,
Be awarded their caps & their gowns,
In this Small American Town.

Small American Town

Some of Us is Me

2022 Janine Levinson
Guitar: Jonathan Beckenstein  @jonathan_beckenstein
   
I’m sorry that I’m not somebody else    
I’m sorry if I let my people down
I didn’t ask for anybody’s help        
I’m sorry that I waited for this long

But it’s like trying to move your life ahead with a stranger at the wheel 
While trying very hard to get along

I’m sorry that I wrecked my lover’s heart
I hope he knows I wrecked my own heart too
I should have looked somewhere outside myself
I hope there’s room for me inside of you

Cause I’ve been trying to stand up straight when I am broken past repair
And still trying very hard to fix what’s wrong 

Some folks have got it made 
Frolicking in the shade of live oak tree
But some of us we don’t sing so loud, 
And we’re looking down
Some of us is me

I sometimes wish tomorrow wouldn’t come
But yesterday has problems of his own 
Next to you’s the only thing I’ve got
I wish I knew someplace where I belonged   

And I’ve been trying to stand up straight 
‘Cause I was thinking you might share--
And make my little world not feel so wrong

Some folks have got it made 
Frolicking in the shade of live oak tree
But some of us we don’t sing so loud, 
And we’re looking down
Some of us is me

Some Of Us Is Me - with Jonathan Beckenstein

Inspired by the Artemis project by NASA to return to the moon

Return To The Moon

This one is a bit of a jumble about the elusive search for truth.
How real clarity tends to emerge when we are on our own, in the natural world, away from the allure of the constant messages and distractions coming at us in the modern world.  Something like that anyway:)

All rights reserved 9/15/2022

Standing in the station
The moon is shining low…
With a touch of revelation
And nowhere else to go

Waiting by the ocean
For answers to reveal…
You beg, steal and borrow
For the things you cannot feel

Beauty isn’t wise
No matter what they say
if you see through the disguise
In the light of day
fate is on our side 
If we let it in…

Cruisin through the canyon
With the sunlight in my eyes
I recall the conversation
Was it all a pack of lies

Beauty isn’t wise
No matter what they say…
if you see through the disguise
In the light of day
Fate is on our side
If we let it in

Light of Day

It's Not A Straight Line - Jamie Rhind

Well i wrote this song for the Rolling Stones if they should ever get around to listening to it,  i have always been a big fan so i decided to mix a bit of Gospel, a bit of Blues and Hey presto a new song for Mick and Keith. In true Keith Richard tradition i took my Bass E string off and tuned the guitar to key of G. The main guitar is the Bridge pick up on the Les Paul giving a nice rounded sound and the lead is the bridge pick up more giving a more trebly and cutting through the mix a bit. No processing all clean as they sound. My vocals have a bit of Saturation and distortion and Compression to give me that bluesy sound, hope you'll like it and Mick & Keith if your out there let me know how i did..

Written by Johnny Mc Farlane for the Rolling Stones.

Wash My Soul in the River

IN A DOORWAY
IN THE SHADOWS
AS THE RAIN MUTES
THE NEON SIGNS


HANDS IN POCKETS
OF A SLICKER
MIDNIGHT STRAGGLERS
MEANDER BY

HOLLOW PROMISE
REMINISENCE
LIKE AN ARCING
ELECTRIC LINE

4:00 IN THE MORNIN’
SHE’S AT THE AFTERPARTY
NO ONE IS WARNIN’
SHE SHOULDN’T LEAVE ALONE, NO…

EVERLASTING
I DON’T THINK SO
EVERY BARGAIN
WILL BE BETRAYED

JESUS TOLD ME
I AM SPECIAL
CLOCK IS TICKING
IT’S JUDGEMENT DAY

FADE TO BLACK
SHE’S NOT COMING BACK

FADE TO BLACK
A FRESH MANIAC

Thanks to Janine Levinson, Cheesemont Paisley-Paisley, and Wheelwright for consultations various.

Amour Noir

21st Century Chill Jab

Long Way / Paploviante Open Collaboration Offer
Paploviante: Bass, Composing, Arrangement, Mix, Picture and Mastering
BPM 118
Free Download
If you want the track different ...  contact me!
The track is downloadable as a mp3 file!
You can complete what you want!
If you publish it, you have to mention me in the description and title!

Long Way / Open Collaboration Offer

Guitar quartet. Made during an unexpected bout of sobriety.

First Night Clean

Isn't it funny how things are changing? Isn’t it sad how they stay the same.
Some folks stay busy rearranging. Some play the game.
I know you just want what’s best for your family. 
Everybody else just wants that too.
Maybe at the end of the day all that really matters is not so much what you do,
Or who you do it to, it’s why you do what you do.

If love is not the answer, do you even know what the question is?
If I know my brother has my back, he can surely know that I have his.
If there’s gonna be tomorrow, better be taking care of today.
‘Cause there’s only so much sorrow that can be washed away.

In a perfect world we could all do our own thing.
But we know perfection don't’ live ‘round here
Start singing the song, let the world hear you singing. Love live’s ‘round here.
And when you come around to the chorus, sing it,
Hum along if you don’t know the words.
Maybe you can even add a little harmony. Set your spirit free.
Sing along with me. Sing in harmony.

If love is not the answer, do you even know what the question is?
If I know my brother has my back, he can surely know that I have his.
If there’s gonna be tomorrow, better be taking care of today.
‘Cause there’s only so much sorrow that can be washed away.

Every time you turn your back on someone in need, a little piece of you slowly dies.
Yes, I realize you will not always succeed, but at least you’ll know you tried.

If love is not the answer, do you even know what the question is?
If I know my brother has my back, he can surely know that I have his.
If there’s gonna be tomorrow, better be taking care of today.
‘Cause there’s only so much sorrow that can be washed away.




If Love Is Not the Answer

I am amazed at the level of talented artists encountered on this site.  Sharing and providing feedback is such an effective way to nurture the creative process.  I am so inspired by many of you.  My songs consist of mostly live instruments and voice.  An organic approach to song writing with a few surprises in the mix.  Please feel free to comment and download if you like!  Todd

Light of Day

tbone711

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