Junkies Lament  (James Taylor cover)

“It Is What It Is”     by Tyson A. Curtis, © 2023 

I have been revisiting writing song lyrics. 
One song started to take shape a little quicker than some of the others. It was based on the relatively new, old-saying, “It is what it is.” And that became the title of the song.
The song was really a hodgepodge of inspirations that came from many experiences over the years, mostly from my family and friends. In every verse and chorus, I exaggerated, bent, renamed, and stretched the truth, and I even combined several events into one just to make it as fun as possible.

As I revisited the pages over a period of several months, a main idea started to attach itself. From the time we are very young, and even when get older, we often buy into misguided ideas and illusions. But the truth is… It is what it is, and it ain’t what it ain’t, and some things are real, and some things aren’t, and some things you can change, and some things you can’t… and at times it is difficult to be able to tell the difference in these notions. At times our feelings betray us. After all the heart can be deceitful...

The very last chorus kind of brings the tune’s ideas together. It was blurry mixture of three or more ideas that seemed to percolate until they spilled onto the page. It came about this way… one day I was riding with my dog, Smokey. He had his head out of the window. It was fun watching that moment as he delighted having his dense, fluffy coat pushed by the wind. He tried to lick the air that rushed by. That image stuck with me.
I combined that image with a story my daughter discovered in Ancestry . Com. It seems there is an interesting tale surrounding my third, great grandfather, Sidney Burgess Thompson. The story had been handed down over the last hundred years… When he was 79, after a long, hardworking farm life, (that included surviving the battle of Gettysburg,) he came in one day and told his family that this would be his last day. But he said he wanted to take one last ride around the farm on his horse. He took that ride, came back in and told his family goodbye, and then laid down on his bed and peacefully passed away. Did it really happen? Parts did... I don’t know all the details. Ironically, his wife passed 23 years earlier on the same day. And his son, Julian, my 2nd great grandfather, would pass 3 months later in 1917 at the age of 49... Leaving Julian's 23 year-old son, (and my great grandfather, Clyde, to hold family together, in the face of the Great Depression.
This tended to bring to mind a Bible verse found in James 4: 14.
“… What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
The last chorus of the tune reiterates this verse… combined with the stories; “This life is a mystery, a pony-ride in the wind… we jump on and get started, then we hop off again.”

I may produce this tune a little more down the road… maybe attach a video later. Maybe not…
But for now it just has an acoustic guitar, bass, vocals, and a few drum samples. 
It is what it is.
Hope you enjoy the tune!

"It Is What It Is"  🤣 (Tyson A Curtis,  2023)

The title song from the album, Walk Home With Me-
Island/Reggae / Reminding we are called to walk each day. Each day is a step closer to home.

"Walk Home With Me"   by Ty Curtis

Say My Name

An upbeat, bluegrass / Christmas tune recorded by my daughter and me. Enjoy!

Carolina Christmas by Ty & Emily Curtis

Nothing But The Blood

Trying my hand at this old hymn. Challenging, but fun to try to get an authentic vibe that matches the topic of the song. This is definitely a work in progress-lol- Only about the 7th upload of this. Trying to match the EQ to an appropriate upload eq can be a task. Also, hymns serve a different purpose than a commercial pop tune, so I let the length go to 3:25 (though that is considered too long by today's standards.) I wouldn't be surprised if I adjust it again. Gonna leave 2 mixes up. If one sounds better to you let me know in the comment.

Here's another in progress. Someone said they needed something with a little more rhythm-
Got to get the last bg vocs in there, and this thing is EQd something fierce!
If it has a slight 70's vibe... Well there's a good reason for that- That's (when) I'm from! lol  Enjoy!

tycurtis3

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