"IT'S YOUR MINDSET"  composed by Tim McGurl

If you wanna see magic
Walk along and take a good look
You never know what's straight up ahead
It doesn't have to be tragic
Every time that you open that book
So, let's dance in a circle instead

{CHORUS}
It's not the load 
That breaks you down
It's your mindset 
And how you carry it 'round
Do you look where you go?
Or, do you go where you look?
It's your mindset 
Don't always play by the book

The only chance to see family
Is when you go to a wedding or a wake
You never know what's gonna be said
And when your head's kind-a dreamy
You slip-up, kind-a make a mistake
So, let's dance in a circle instead

{REPEAT CHORUS}

It's Your Mindset

"A CASE OF YOU"

NO REGRETS

GOD ONLY KNOWS

I JUST DON'T THINK I'LL EVER GET OVER YOU

"IT ALL SEEMED TO FIT" composed by Tim McGurl            

He Always Thought Good Things In Life 
All Seemed To Fit
Just Like It Does In That Place With All Four Seasons
She Came Home One Night To Say, “That Was It”.
He Never Thought He’d Hear Those Words
For No Good Reason

It All Seemed To Fit
 Until That Was It

For A Quarter Century, There Ain’t No Doubt
She Helped Him Stand Tall To Keep On Pushin’
But With Her Gone, It’s Too Hard To Go Out
On Their Front Porch Swing, Sits Her Empty Cushion

It All Seemed To Fit   
Until That Was It
       
Walkin’ Out To His Barn 
To What’s Left Of His Wood Pile
Always Pickin’ Up More Than He Can Handle
Been So Cold--To The Bone-- For Quite Awhile
The Only Source Of Warmth
Is Still That Old Candle

It All Seemed To Fit
Until That Was It


IT ALL SEEMED TO FIT

“SNAP SHOTS OF OUR LIVES”  composed by Tim McGurl
 
Oh, look at all that time slippin’ by
Floating on a river wilder than the Nile 
Look at all the open space
All without a trace of your pretty smile

Oh, look at all those years have come and gone  
They couldn't help it to end it with a song
Lookin’ at those photographs
Pictures of our long lost past that has gone
   
I want to walk forever  
Up to that chest of treasure
Where we can find  
The snap shots of our lives   


We are crossin’ over to newer times  
Takin’ with us a good sense of style 
Lookin’ at the dream catcher
Thinkin’ of a wish feather and your pretty smile                  

I want to sail forever 
Up to that chest of treasure
Where we can find 
The snap shots of our lives

Oh, look at all that time slippin’ by
Floating on a river wilder than the Nile                
Lookin’ at those photographs
Pictures of our long lost past 
And your pretty smile  

I want to drive forever 
Up to that chest of treasure
Where we can find  
The snap shots of our lives


SNAP SHOTS OF OUR LIVES

"WEST INDIES WINDS"                                                              composed by Tim McGurl
 
I knew you when we were more than friends 
We met at the Seaside Fair
We talked all night 'till mornings end
Somehow, I knew I'd meet you there  
 
So many walks all along the shore
The sea, a Turquoise Blue
We'd harmonize to "Surfer Girl"
There will never be a girl like you
There's no other girl like you

 Oh, Let's take a boat to the Islands
 We'll make good friends with the wind, and then we'll set sail
 At night, we'll map the stars in the sky.......and
 Chart our way, Right along with the Whales
 West Indies Winds........will get us there
 My West Indies Girl..... let's breathe in the air
 
We'll map our Quest from Olde Key West
We'll tack out of Schooner Wharf
We're sailin' west, and we'll do our best
Every day's like July the Fourth
 
Our Independence sets us free
To sail all Seven Seas
You're in your Sleepy Silver Dream
My Caribbean Queen
My Caribbean Queen
 
  Oh, Let's take that boat to the Islands
  We'll make good friends with the wind, and we'll set sail
  At night, we'll map the stars in the sky.........and 
  Chart our way, Right along with the Whales
   West Indies Winds...... they'll get us there
   My West Indies Girl...... just breathe in the air
 
I knew you when we were more than friends
We met at the Seaside Fair
We talked all night 'till mornings end
Somehow, I knew I'd meet you there
Somehow, I knew we'd meet-up there
 
Yeah, so many walks all along the shore
The sea, a Turquoise Blue
We'd harmonize to "Surfer Girl"
No other girl was just like you
There's no other girl like you
There's no other girl like you 


West Indies Winds

GLIMMER                  by Neil Young
When I'm riding down the road in my car
Traveling without you
I can still see you sittin' there, right by my side

With the headlights of the oncoming cars
Flashing in the windshield
There's a glimmer of everything that I once saw in you

Tough love can leave you almost alone
But new love brings back everything to you
All the feelings in you heart come re-awakened

Like a forest without leaves on it's trees standing in the desert
Like the light that still leaks through when you close the door

Like the changes in our life that hit so hard
That day I couldn't find you
There's a glimmer of everything good that once came before

Tough love can leave you almost alone
But new love brings back everything to you
All the feelings in you heart come re-awakened

And there's a glimmer of everything good that once came before
There's still a glimmer of everything that I first saw in you





GLIMMER

 PLASTIC FLOWERS     by Neil Young   
In the summertime, we met to see a threat
That came to harm something we both loved
And as the hours past 
We talked until at last
It came the time to part

I was doin' well, and I thought she liked my style
I had no business thinking like that
But it lasted quite a while
I got my promises made
But before the timeless father
I showed plastic flowers 
To Mother Nature’s Daughter
 
She held a vase, her misty gaze 
Brought them to life
I was amazed, she turned to me 
With a tear in her eye
                         
We went to give our thanks, along the river banks
And watched the water flow as it rolled along
She scooped some river sand 
And held it in her hand
And sang a little song

We saw the water lines
Left-there from ancient times
I watched the sand fallin’ through her fingers
On the shore so dry      

I was doin' well, and I thought she liked my style
I had no business feeling like that
But it lasted quite a while
I got my promises made
But before the timeless father
I showed plastic flowers 
To Mother Nature’s Daughter  


Plastic Flowers (Solo)

RAGS AND BONES          by J.R. Robertson

Catch a taxi to the fountainhead  
Blinking neon penny arcade
A young Caruso on the fire escape  
Painted face ladies on parade
The newsboy on the corner    
Singing out headlines
And a fiddler selling pencils   
The sign reads: Help the blind

CHORUS
Comin' up the lane callin'  
Workin' while the rain's fallin'
Ragman, your song of the street 
Keeps haunting my memory
Music in the air  
I hear it ev'rywhere
Rags, bones & old city songs 
Hear them how they talk to me  
(Play them one more time with me)

Trolley car rings out the morning
Whistle blows at noon  
A cat fight breaks open the night
While watch dogs bay at the moon  
A preacher on an orange crate
With a Salvation Army Band  
And clicking along the cobbled stones
That's the sound of the ice-cream man

The organ grinder and his monkey  
Still walkin' the same old beat
The shoe-shine boy slappin' leather  
He puts the rhythm in your feet
Strollin' by the churchyard   
List'nin' to the Sunday choir
With voices rising to the heavens 
Like sirens screaming to a fire


Rags And Bones

"RIVER"                                 by Joni Mitchell
It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees.
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace,
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on.

But it don't snow here,  it’s the same pretty green.
I'm gonna make a lot of money
Maybe split this crazy scene.
Oh, I wish I had a river, I could skate away on.

Chorus   I wish I had a river so wide,
              I would teach my feet to fly away.
              Yeah, I wish I had a river,   
              I could skate away on. 

She tried hard to help me,  tried to put me at ease.
She loved me so naughty,
Made me weak in my knees.
Yeah, I wish I had a river, I could skate away on.

But I'm so hard to handle, I'm selfish and I'm sad.
And I think I lost the only best babe
I guess I ever had.
Oh, I wish I had a river, I could skate away on.

   Chorus

It's coming on Christmas,
They're cutting down trees.
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace,
Yeah, I wish I had a river, I could skate away on.


RIVER

LIKE PAINTING THE SKY ALL BLUE
Short Grey Days and those Dark Cold Nights
The fields and branches full of snow so white
I’ been sleepin’ like Ole’ 3-Paws Bear 
Who makes his den Underneath our Forest Floor

Ole’ 3-Paws Bear he comes a’ lookin’ for treats 
He always seems to find good things to eat
Lookin’ back, I reckon by now
He’s had 6 or 7 years of Good Harvest Feasts
CHORUS
The sky was cloudy and always so grey
But one day, it felt brand new
It made the dreary clear itself away
Like Painting the Sky all Blue

Some seasons back, shots heard in the air
One mighta’ clipped him, but he don’t seem to care
Friends round my Hill, we came up with his name
Because he kinda limps 
We all call him Ole’ 3-Paws Bear

It’s always Winter in this North Country
Burnin’ logs from those big old hard-wood trees
So peaceful with my two Black Labs
Two’a the best friends, this ole' country boy could ever have
          CHORUS      
The Sky was cloudy and always so Grey 
But one day, it felt brand new
It made the dreary clear itself away 
Like Painting the Sky all Blue
      
Feel the sounds from that Cold North Wind
The crunch of fresh snow under-foot again
At night you will hear that old Grey Wolf,  
Howlin’ from around the bend

I hope real soon to see a Summer's day
Floatin’ out on that clear blue mountain lake
Days are long and warm and clear and blue
A Summer's Day up hear anyone will easily take
         CHORUS       
The sky was cloudy and always so grey
But one day, it felt brand new
It made the dreary clear itself away
Like Painting the Sky all Blue

LIKE PAINTING THE SKY ALL BLUE

KEEP MAKING A FUSS
Some come to talk - about the way that they seem  - 
To always ask Why? 
Some come to talk -about the 1st Breath - 
And about the 1st Step - from their 1st Child
Some come to talk – about some of the reasons – 
That they can not step-aside
Some come to talk – about all of the things – 
That help them get by 
The things that help them get High  
That keeps passing all of us by

People, they all come and go, they walk fast & run slow, 
So clever they go, They all want you to know
People, they stop and they chat, and some chew the fat, 
Some have dogs and some cats   It all happens to be So
People, come Large and come Small, Yeah, they’re Big 
And they’re Tall, Some don’t come at all,  They all told me so
People, all look, watch and wait, some don’t hesitate, 
Some don’t even show
They didn't want you to know
They did not want to go

I am still that Child who they tried to keep mild, 
In a world increasingly wild
You, are still that Kid, you kept your feelings well-hid, 
Too much, so Now, you’ve flipped your lid
We, are those folk, who were always blowin’ smoke, 
Looked at the Establishment as some kind of Joke
They, are now Me – They, are now You – They, are now Us
And we’ll keep making such a Fuss

The smoke rings we kept blowin’, 
We’re only blowin’ them back at Us
But, some things are still worth making such a fuss
Like keepin’ that clear and present Focus
Still fightin’ for Peace and Freedom and Justice 
Let’s not forget, it’s still up to us


KEEP MAKING A FUSS

I HEARD YOU HAD A DREAM LAST NIGHT
I heard you had a dream last night
You can’t get off your mind
Take me back with you there 
‘Cause in dreams we all were kind

Dreams little children have  
Of castles in the sand
Dreams a young woman has  
For a man to take her hand
 CHORUS             
A man who has integrity  
He has his own philosophy 
So, sit right down and rest your feet
He’ll sing his song for you and me

Dreams in a Painter’s eye   
Of meadows in the sun
Dreams in an Old Man’s mind 
Of the days when he was young

Islands floating in the stream 
Fantasies come true
A man named King he winked his eye
He’s a traveler for the truth
 CHORUS           
A man who has integrity 
He has his own philosophy
So sit right down and rest your feet
He’ll sing his song for you and me

Dreams live for those of us 
With Freedom in our hearts
Dreams live for you and I 
We remember who was right

I heard you had a dream last night 
You can’t get off your mind
Take me back with you there 

If you want to be Happy  
Just begin to be Glad


"I HEARD YOU HAD A DREAM LAST NIGHT"  - Dead Branch Band - "Live at The Smoke House" - June 1981

"I'm Losing You"

Here in some stranger's room,
Late in the afternoon,
What am I doing here at all?
Ain't no doubt about it,
I'm losing you,

Somehow the wires have crossed,
Communication's lost,
Can't even get you on the telephone,
Just got to shout about it,
I'm losing you,

Here in the valley of indecision,
I don't know what to do,
I feel you sliping away,
I feel you sliping away,
I'm losing you,
I'm losing you,

You say your not getting enough,
But I remind you of all that bad stuff,
So waht the hell am I supposed to do?
Just put a bandaid on it?
And stop the bleeding now,
Stop the bleeding now,

I know I hurt you then,
But that was way back when,
And well, do you still have to carrey that cross?
Don't want to hear about it,
I'm losing you,
I'm losing you.


I'M LOSING YOU - Dead Branch Band - Live at The Smoke House 6-7-1981

FOR YOUR OWN SAKE
Seems you don’t know 
What you want to do today Ah Ah
I could help you, 
But you better do it your own way

I can’t tell you only ask you  
Man got to do it for his own sake

For your own sake 
You got to try and please yourself  Ah Ah
If you don’t try, you will end up on a shelf

I can’t tell you  only ask you
Man got to do it for your own sake

If yourself is Good
Then Good others they will see  Ah Ah
Walter Cronkite still is on TV

Universe

I can’t tell you only ask you
We got to do it for our own sake


"FOR YOUR OWN SAKE"  - by Tim McGurl & Dead Branch Band - "Live at The Smoke House" - June 7, 1981

EARTH WATER AND SUN  (J. Piconi/T. McGurl)
The simplest thing a child knows 
Is how to make his garden grow
Earth, Water and a lot of Sun
Soon pickin' flowers one by one
Soon pickin' flowers one by one, Ah one by one

I'll take a seed and I'll take the Earth
And I'll take my right of manly-birth
To make a living by the Sun
And work with Him until fruit comes
And I'll work with Him until fruit comes, until it comes

An ominous cloud approachin' 
And the Sun rears-up to fight
I stand alone between Earth and Sky
No Peace in my Garden tonight

The victor stifles a morning yawn
And blinks His eyes to make the dawn
Then spreads His love on everyone
To make the little blossoms come
And He makes the little blossoms come, Oh how they come

And now my work is over 
And the dancing has begun
I owe my humble living 
To the product of Earth, Water and Sun
To the product of Earth, Water and Sun 
To the product of Earth, Water and Sun 

EARTH WATER AND SUN

"I'll Be Seeing You" is a popular song, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. Published in 1938.
The musical theme has emotional power, and was much loved during World War II, when it became an anthem for those serving overseas (both British and American soldiers). 

"I'LL BE SEEING YOU" - Arranged by TIM McGURL

I NEEDED TO UPDATE MY SONG ARRANGING TECHNIQUES FROM THE MASTER SONGWRITER OF ALL TIME, in my book, BRIAN WILSON. "SAIL AWAY" IS FROM BRIAN'S - SOON TO BE RELEASED ALBUM, -  "NO PIER PRESSURE".   

"SAIL AWAY"     BRIAN WILSON'S Newest SONG - With Solo Piano Arrangement by TIM McGURL

RAMBLIN’  RIVER        by TIM McGURL
I must be Ramblin’  Ramblin ’on a River
Must be Ramblin’   Baby all Night Long
Back-in-Shambles  Slippin' right-back-to-Gamblin’ 
Spent-the-Night on The Riv-er-Boat, All-Night-Long
I must be Ramblin’   Ramblin’on a River
Been Ramblin’  on a River all Night Long
Back-in-Shambles right-back-to-Gamblin’ 
Spent-the-Night on The Riv-er-Boat,   all-Night-Long
     I just-don’t-Know  - -  When to Stop
     My Heart’s on Fire And those Diamonds are Hot
     Call them Clubs   you can call them a Spade
      If this keeps-up    I’m gonna surely Get-Made

I must be Cruzin’  Unless it’s an Illusion
I must be Cruzin’   Baby all Night Long  
My thoughts-ahead    Are gettin’ too confusin’ 
So, I must be Cruzin’  Baby all Night Long 
I must be Cruzin’  Unless it’s an Illusion
I must be Cruzin’   Baby  all Night Long  
Thoughts in my head    Are gettin’ too confusin’ 
So, I must be Cruzin’ Baby all Night Long 
      One more song, pack-it-up and be gone 
      Get back on the bus Then it’s off to the next town
      I’ve played my share    Concert Halls to Bars
      Lots of last-calls   Stumblin’ out to our Cars
        
I can’t keep choosin’  Cause I’m always loosin’
I’m always  Loosin’      Baby all night long 
Each night in bed   There’s a Swirlin’ in my Head  
There’s a Swirlin’ in my Head   Baby all night long  
I can’t keep choosin’  I’m always loosin’
I can't keep choosin’  Baby all night long   
Each night in bed   There’s a Swirlin’ in my Head  
There’s a  Swirlin’ in my Head   Baby all night long  
   Thinkin’ ‘bout  ridin’ through all of those Towns
   Think-about their names out loud 
   Getting’ tired of the sounds   
    When I do finally Fall Asleep
    From Countin’ more than ten-thousand sheep



RAMBLIN' RIVER

	BIRDS and NESTS         by TIM McGURL 
In a Dream she came to me
From behind our big ole’ backyard tree
She’s a Bird who’s a-singin’
Where are all those cakes of suet?   
Sunflower seeds should just about do it!
She takes-off  a-wingin’  She takes off a-wingin’
She takes-off  a-singin’
       For her little Chick-a-dee Chicks  Mama and Papa
       And their Chick-a-dee Chicks    (x2)

She’s so proudly perched  Takes flight on a quick lurch
She’s always sittin’ on a  (?)   Question----(Mark)
From a-top our back-porch rail   Will Mama & Papa prevail?
It’s what Sheeee’s been askin’ and a-wonderin’
It’s what Sheeee’s been askin’ and thinkin’
It’s what Sheeee’s been askin’          
          About their Chick-a-dee Chicks       Mama and Papa 
          And their Chick-a-dee Chicks   (x2)    

Heard her call, just checkin’-in  Hopin’ all is well with-in
Protectin’ her little nestlings
Shappin’-up a nice new nest 
This year’s home, it’ll be the best 
Often heard before she’s seen  
She's often heard before she's seen
Often heard before she's seen
         With the Chick-a-dee Chicks    Mama and Papa
          And their Chick-a-dee Chicks   (x2)

In a Dream she came to me
From behind our big ole’ backyard tree
She’s a Bird who’s a-singin’
Where are all those cakes of suet?
Sunflower seeds should just about do it! 
She takes off  a-wingin’  She takes off a-singin’      
She takes off a-wingin’
     Lookin’ for her Chick-a-dee Chicks   Mama and Papa 
     And their Chick-a-dee Chicks  (x2)


BIRDS AND NESTS

The RELICS were a four piece Rock & Roll band (Circa 1986) from Scranton, PA.  

Untitled - 06-27-16

TICKET TO RIDE - The RELICS (live in 1986)

The RELICS were a four piece Rock & Roll band (Circa 1986) from Scranton, PA.




Disc 2

"MEMPHIS" - The RELICS (live in 1986)

FACE THE WORLD SO GREEN - by Tim McGurl  (6-4-17)
I just turned Sixteen, right before my Papa died
It was just all we could take hearin' our Mama's cries
Oh, hearin' how much our Mama, she cried

You sure grow up fast tryin' to help your Mama survive
In a time and place where she was just a housewife
She taught some piano on the side, but mostly she was just Papa's wife

Those were the days when a man went out to bring home the bread
Papa did that so well, 'til things started hurtin' in his head
Who'd have known that just in four months that he'd be dead?
 
     What do you do when your Papa dies?
     And you're just still a little boy in your Mama's eyes 
     Ain't nothin' sweet about being sixteen
     When you have to face the world so green
     Face the world so green

It took a few years before Mama got back on her feet
We all did what we could to help make ends meet
Mama sure had some big hills to leap  
Before she got back on her feet

She was a real smart gal, makin' it all on her own
With those cards she was dealt, she played a good hand
It was a gamble, but she sure had grown, she surely had grown

A few years had past and I'd be off on my own 
it just went so fast and how we all had grown
Mama had a new man in her life and he helped keep on goin'

              What do you do when your Papa dies?
              And you're just still a little boy in your Mama's eyes
              Ain't nothin' sweet about being sixteen
              When you have to face the world so green
              Face the world so green
              Face the world so green

FACE THE WORLD SO GREEN - By Tim McGurl

"I Can't Make You Love Me" is a song written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin, made famous by Bonne Raitt, on her Luck Of The Draw LP

I CAN'T MAKE YOU LOVE ME

Ride My Llama (Neil Young cover)

Composed by Tim McGurl on 25 February 2018, this song is about the Navajo people being forced to walk over 300 miles, in the dead of winter, to a new reservation, called Bosque Redondo, in New Mexico in 1863. 
After 4 to 5 years of annual crop failure, sickness, disease, starvation and death, Bosque Redondo was considered a "failed experiment" by the U.S. Gov't.  Eventually, the Treaty of 1868 was signed with the Navajo Nation where they were given land in the area known as the Four Corners of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.

The Long Walk Of The Navajo

Song For The Children

TEARS IN HEAVEN

Timothy "Tim" McGurl, is a singer-songwriter from Northeastern Pennsylvania.

TIM McGURL

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