Written for songwriting contest, w/theme the Santa Fe River in n. Florida. Translations..."Timucuan": native people in n FL at time of Spanish Conquest.  "Cracker Cowboys": colloquial name for cattlemen who herded wild cattle north during the Civil War.  "O'leno town": ghost town on the Santa Fe, a swinging bridge built in the 1930's is still there.  

Roll On, River   c. 2023 by Mike Manetz

V. 1
The river was Timucuan,
Before the comin' of the white-man's gun.
'Neath the giant cypress trees,
They fished the river wild and free.
Spanish priests came one day,
Taught the natives how to pray,
Named the river Santa Fe,
River watched them fade away.

Chorus
Roll on, river,
On and on forever,
She'll be rollin' on when we're all passed and gone.
Through centuries of hopes and dreams,
Conquistadors, fools and thieves,
Roll on, river,
Roll on,
River, roll on...

V2
Cracker cowboys took control,
After driving out the Seminole.
Their cattle on the muddy banks,
Would feed the hungry rebel ranks.
Black man runnin' to be free, 
Down the Santa Fe on to the sea.
Midnight paddle down to where,
A Yankee gunboat's waitin' there.

Chorus

V 3  
Lovers at O'Leno town,
On a swingin' bridge they're lookin' down,
River rushes there below,
Like a thousand years ago.
Their kids will play computer games,
They'll forget the history and the names,
But the river holds the memories,
Of all she touches, all she sees...

Chorus




Their kids will play computer games,
They'll forget the history and the names,
Of all of those who came before,
Guess it doesn't matter anymore...

Centuries of hopes and dreams,
Conquistadors, fools and thieves,
All they left is all but washed away,
Their kids will play computer games,
And forget the history and the names,
of all of those who came before,
They don't care much for that anymore...

Roll On, River

Another one that's been sitting waiting patiently to be finished off.

Borderline

Cloudy Days

Cast of Characters:
cgmaness-- @user-419254289-15129531 – Chris – acoustic guitar, bass, acoustic slide guitar, drums, vocals, lyrics, mix, production, and composition
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –-mandolin, vocal harmony

This is a song that Chris wrote and shared with me last spring. We worked on it for several months. Originally, it was just Chris's acoustic guitar and some vocals. To that, I added some mandolin, thinking it would stay that way. However, he was pleasantly surprised when Chris added the entire rhythm section after the fact. I also came up with the high harmony towards the end, too. We always have a lot of fun playing together as our tastes and references are very much aligned. We have been making music together almost since we both joined SoundCloud and found each other there about two years ago. We hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as we enjoyed making it. 
Lyrics by Chris Maness:

In Time don't you think it might be time for you to rise?
In Time lost and found sleeping soundly by her side.
I know you by now, and it's not too late to come around.
In Time thinking, missing, drinking, wishing you were here.
In Time aging, watching, turning pages yester-year.
Well, I know you by now and it's not too late to come on out.
In Time don't you think it might be time for you to fly?
In Time don't you think it might be time for you to try?
In Time lost and found sleeping soundly by her side.

In Time (with cgmaness)

Der Abendstern (Composer: Robert Schumann, Lyricist: Hoffmann von Fallersleben)

Use To Be

6361 Fairytale Bvd

2024 Remix and Remaster version to bring it up to the standard of the later album tracks for full album release in 2025.
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"A furore Normannorum libera nos, Domine - From the fury of the Northmen deliver us, O Lord"

This track is now part of "The Pilgrims Way Project" exploring the history and natural world of Lindisfarne

Project Playlist

soundcloud.com/mrbouzouki/sets/the-pilgrims-way-project

Project Website

www.pilgrims-way.co.uk

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Instrumentation
The Vikings! instrumental features rolled timpani, strings, electric guitar and a choir ending. Various sound FX from that are classed as Public Domain are used to add colour to the track from www.freesound.org

creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

"Flock of Seagulls" by juskiddink (5th June 2010) licensed under creative commons attribution licence via www.freesound.org

creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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Background
Simeon of Durham recorded the grim events of the Viking attack on Lindisfarne in 793 AD

"And they came to the church of Lindisfarne, laid everything waste with grievous plundering, trampled the holy places with polluted feet, dug up the altars and seized all the treasures of the holy church. They killed some of the brothers; some they took away with them in fetters; many they drove out, naked and loaded with insults; and some they drowned in the sea" .
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'The Vikings' was in direct contrast to the dreamy first piece of the album. I came across a Latin Phrase spoken by priests as a prayer of protection from the scourge of Viking raids. It helped me get into the mindset required for this piece. I chanced upon some 'Foley' material of some actual Viking re-enactors from freesound and used this to create a very short, brooding piece that explodes into an electric guitar solo before just being suddenly left with a voiceover of me chanting the Latin phrase against the backdrop of the sound of the sea.

Often Viking raids were short and bloody and I wanted to try and capture how an attack like this could change everything for the vulnerable monks. Faith was their shield but could it really protect them from these savages from the sea ?

The Vikings - 2024 Remix and Remaster

Original lyrics, vocal, and guitar by Linda Straub


Did you ever try to tame the wind,
or capture sunlight in a canning jar?
For that is how difficult it is,
to search for you amongst the stars. 

You lived, we loved, you are no more;
the person I'm now is unlike before.
I ache and mourn for what used to be,
when you were you, and I was me. 

So, I stood outside on a cool midnight,
as darkness was breached by a stream of light;
just there for a brief instant in time,
but in that moment, you gave me a sign. 

A sudden touch, warm and familiar,
ignited within me the forever embers.
Your message was clear, be all you can be;
the mantra you always repeated to me. 

Your message was clear, be all you can be;
the mantra you always repeated to me.


Sign (Original)-

I can hear you looking at me.
You’ve got to plant a pretty penny to grow a money tree.
You can taste victory but still not see
that a winner is a loser if it’s not for free - is this thing broken?

Judge a book by its cover, read it in reverse,
starting at the end just means the last comes first.
Turning water into wine won’t quench your thirst.
There’s not a lot of laughs in the back of a hearse - is this thing broken?

If I could walk a mile in someone else’s shoes,
get out of the red and stop singing the blues.
If I could stop time and make a wish come true
I could fly the sky and swim the air with you.

A sight for sore eyes is a scene to behold.
You’ll never find your fortune digging for gold.
You can’t buy love if your soul’s been sold.
You’re only as lonely as the person you hold.

Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.
It’s not what’s on your skin it’s what’s underneath.
A word to the wise keeps the sentence brief.
If it’s written in stone it’s full of grief - is this thing broken?

A week’s worth of worry’s not a day too long.
No good being a singer if you don’t have a song.
It’s pointless pointing out the point that’s wrong.
If you want to see truth don’t look at The Sun.

There’s a silence so loud you hear every sound.
You can’t get lost if you’ve never been found.
If I had a penny for every pound
there’d be enough cash to turn the whole world round.

Between the future and past you’re gonna get drawn
into a battle of presents that leaves you torn.
It’s a death wish wishing that you’d never been born.
If your life’s a bed of roses you’re gonna get thorned.

Rabbits caught in headlights shouldn’t drive cars.
You shouldn’t serve doubles in a singles bar.
Women firefighters shouldn’t burn their bras.
Don’t shoot for the moon if you can only see stars - is this thing broken?

False prophets won’t put you on the straight and narrow.
Money can’t buy you love but it can buy you sorrow.
It’s better to lend than it is to borrow.
There’s no guarantee you’ll even see tomorrow.

On my map all the roads lead South.
If you’ve got good teeth you better watch your mouth.
It’s hard to rhyme the next line so it’s thereabouts.
Better not get hung up if things aren’t exactly as you’d like them to be.
And you’d like them to be just fine - oh wouldn’t you.

Caught In The Web EP

Is This Thing Broken?

DIARIES PART ONE – THE HOTTEST SUMMER (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK)
Musik & Konzept: Colin Warner-Rochlitzer
Der Soundtrack zu meinem ersten Roman Diaries Part One – The Hottest Summer (BoD 2025).
Eine Klangreise durch den Sommer 2003 – zwischen Liebe, Wärme, Dämmerung und Erinnerung.
Jeder Track steht für einen Moment aus dem Buch:
☀️ „Main Theme – The Hottest Summer“ – die Hitze eines Nachmittags, der alles verändert.
🎞️ „Jack (Boy Made of Heat)” – innere Ruhe, Licht und Unsicherheit.
💛 „Danielle Thompson“ – laut, bunt, ehrlich.
🌙 „Rain on Düsseldorf“ – Nächte voller Regen, Zigarettenrauch und Gedanken.
🕯️ „First Light on Skin“ – ein neues Kapitel, wenn alles leiser wird.
Dieses Album ist eine Hommage an eine Zeit, die gleichzeitig vergangen und ewig ist –
und an all die Figuren, die in The Hottest Summer leben.
📚 Buch erhältlich ab 08. November 2025
ISBN (Paperback): 978-3-7597-9052-3
ISBN (E-Book): 978-3-7597-9053-0
© 2025 Colin Warner-Rochlitzer
All tracks written, performed and produced by the author.

Chapter three - In That Moment

It’s not played perfectly, recorded perfectly, mixed perfectly or mastered perfectly, but perfection is not what I’m after.  If I’m happy with it I’ll post it.  If I’m bored of it I’ll post it.

Borderline

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