Summer Stroll

One of my favorite Frankie Valli songs recorded in 1967. 

Can't Take My Eyes Off You - Cover by Tony

The title comes from a famous Irish poem from the 18th century . Cill Chais By Aodhagán Ó Rathaille ,It is a lament on the loss of land ,love and freedom , yet the last line ,this title ,gives a hope for the future ,a wish for a different outcome ,  a wonderful weapon to combat such adversity ,something that is still so important today .

Here's a link to the poem in Irish and English and a guide to some background .

https://irisharoundtheworld.com/cill-chais-by-aodhagan-o-rathaille/

Be well ,shine on  :-)

Ná Feictear é Arís Ar Lár ( We’ll See It No More Laid Low )

D-Vague Recollection

Another cocktail of styles! With a Hispanic guitar.
Encore un cocktail de styles!  Avec une  guitare hispanisante.

Chill Flamenco

WELL IF YOU HAVE PLAN TO MOTOR WEST
TRAVEL MY WAY THAT’S THE BEST
TAKE THE HIGHWAY GET YOUR KICKS
OUT ON ROUTE 66  

WE SAID IT ONCE WE CAN SAY TWICE
3 BLIND MICE AFTER A FARMER’S WIFE

LET’S CHANGE OUR PLANS I SUGGEST
AND TRAVEL EAST INSTEAD OF WEST
SWITCH THE SUN OF SAN ANTONE
WITH THE DRIZZLE AND MIST OF BRIGHTON  

WE’VE SAID IT ONCE WE CAN SAY IT THRICE
3 BLIND MICE WITH A CARVING KNIFE
ROLL ON THE DICE

THANK YOU BERRY FOR YOUR LICKS
THANK YOU GARY FOR YOUR KICKS
WE’RE ALL KIDS OF THE WIDOW WITH A SHAWL
BEING MATES IS SUCH A BALL  

3 BLIND MICE AND A TAG WITH NO PRICE
DID YOU EVER SEE SUCH A THING IN YOUR LIFE ?

GONE FROM MISSOURI
AVEC MA SOURIS
DESTINATION POURRY DOWNTOWN LE PARADIS 
UN TOUR PAR LA MAIRIE ET CHOPER LE FERRY 
SI ON L’A FAIT BEFORE ON PEUT LE FAIRE ENCORE

3 BLIND MICE ON A GRAIN OF RICE
WHERE YOU AND I TOGETHER ARE ENGRAVED FOR LIFE

THERE’S MANY A ROADS 66
FIND YOUR OWN MAKE YOUR PICK
AS LONG AS THE ROAD HAS NO END
BUT GOOD OLD FRIENDS ARE UP AROUND THE BEND

PEACE AND LOVE AND SUGAR AND SPICE
EVERLASTING CHILDHOOD WITH 3 BLIND MICE

BUT IF YOU HAVE PLAN TO MOTOR WEST
TRAVEL MY WAY THAT’S THE BEST
TAKE THE HIGHWAY GET YOUR KICKS
OUT ON ROUTE 66  

HAIL HAIL ROCK N’ROLL
BEING MATES IS SUCH A BALL
COS THE HIGHER WE GET THE SOFTER WE FALL

SEE HOW THEY RUN














3 BLIND MICE (Lyrics) + Gary Reeves on drums and Barbara Browning ad. vocals

Well hello. Here’s some rustic Mountain Blues, played on extremely oxidized guitar strings, with me hollering from the mountain top. Hahahaha. The song hints at a personal authenticity, and the experience of possibly unraveling any prior conditioning (Pavlovian or otherwise) that may constrict our lives in some way. It’s also about the different personas we portray to the outside world. How we may act at work, or on a first date, or with our spouse, or kids, friends, enemies, those who hurt us, even our stage personas comes into play…. So this song is asking a lot of us. In other news, right now in June, the mountains are snow covered and it froze last night. That is late spring, early summer here. Gardenwise, this year, I am planting a lot more Brassicas: Kale, Cabbage and Broccoli, and they are growing well. I am going to try to fence off the carrot/beet beds, as the voles always eat more carrots and beets than I ever do. Onions, leeks and garlic have been growing since March. I transplanted 50 lettuce plants I grew from seed that I saved from last year’s lettuce. The berry bushes and fruit trees have really blossomed this year. There are squash, cukes, tomato and pepper plants inside by the window, to be transplanted outside next week, quite a mess… all of which keeps me busy…. Hahaha. Thanks for dropping by, hope you’re well, Mark

'Round Here'

In The Midst Of The War

A cold day and a quickie of one of my many favs from the master songwriter Gordon Lightfoot.........cheers for having a listen


Cold On The Shoulder By Gordon Lightfoot

All you need is time All you need is time time time to make it bend
Give it a try don’t be rude put it to the test and I’ll  give it right back to you
It’s cold on the shoulder and you know that we get a little older every day

Take it around take it to town Try to defy what you feel inside You better be stong your love belongs to us 
It’s cold on the shoulder and you know that we get a little older every day

All you need is is trust  All  you need is trust trust trust to make it show
I don’t want to know everything you’ve done if you get a tip then tell it to the eskimos 
It’s cold on the shoulder and you know that we get a little older every day.

All you need is faith All you need is faith faith faith to make it nice
Kick it around don’t be rude if you gonna make a mistake don”t you make it twice 
It’s cold on the shoulder and you know that we get a little older every day.
It’s cold on the shoulder and you know that we get a little older every day.

Cold On The Shoulder (Gordon Lightfoot)

This one is a very nostalgic song that I wrote back in 2008, it has that early 60's vibe to it. My wife I needed some good vibrations since we were dealing with her Breast Cancer treatments and all that. We really needed a feel good song and so I wrote this. I even got her to sing background vocals with me on two songs at that time, this being the first and "Back In Younger Days" being the second, I'll be making a video on that one later on this year. 
    I double-tracked Charlie's vocals and he sang it perfectly! I remember having a real good time at these sessions, lots of laughing and finger snapping and rockin' & rollin' and what not!😂 I always want to relive the good ole days where smiles were plenty and frowns were few, like on "Memory Lane"! 

VIDEO - https://youtu.be/h5xvwxljOZc

     The video is brand spanking new, I just finished it last week! I worked hard on it for several days and tried to capture that Beach Boys kind of vibe of the early 1960's. I finished the video after hearing the sad news of Brian Wilson's passing on June 11th, 2025. That really made me sad, another of my musical hero's now gone. He was a real musical genius! There are 3 parts to the song, all about guys begging forgiveness from their girlfriends for something stupid that guys always seem to do, I Still Remember that!😂
     I think this is one Miami Jeff's best songs and certainly one of my favorites. It's very catchy and is a perfect summertime song! So I hope everyone is having a great summer and is eager to take another trip down Memory lane with me. This time to the beach! Let your hair down, take your shoes off, put the top down on the convertible and let the good times roll! Ooh, Ooh! Ooh!😎✌🏼

“I STILL REMEMBER”

I CAN STILL RECALL THE DAY I MADE YOU CRY,    
HOW I HURT YOU, YES I HURT YOU,    
I’M SO SORRY I COULD DIE,
               
I WAS YOUNG AND DIDN’T CARE IF YOU WERE SAD,   
NOW I’M OLDER, YES I’M OLDER,   
AND I MISS THE LOVE WE HAD,
                   
I REMEMBER, OOH, OOH,         
I STILL REMEMBER, OOH, OOH,        
THE WAY YOU HELD ME TIGHT,           
THE WAY WE KISSED GOODNIGHT,      
I REMEMBER, OOH, OOH,             
I STILL REMEMBER, OOH, OOH,         
THOSE SUMMERS ON THE BEACH,      
THEY’RE STILL WITHIN’ OUR REACH,       
SO PLEASE,         
IF THESE WORDS SOMEHOW TOUCH YOU DEEP INSIDE,       
MY WHOLE WORLD STILL IN YOUR EYES,       
SO PLEASE FORGIVE THIS FOOLISH HEART OF MINE,

I KNOW I WAS WRONG FOR TREATING YOU THAT WAY,  
PLEASE FORGIVE ME, JUST FORGIVE ME,   
GIVE ME ONE MORE CHANCE TO SAY,

I WILL NEVER BREAK YOUR HEART AS I DID THEN, 
I WILL LOVE YOU, ALWAYS LOVE YOU,  
IF YOU FILL MY ARMS AGAIN,
     
I REMEMBER, OOH, OOH,        
I STILL REMEMBER, OOH, OOH,          
THE WAY YOU HELD ME TIGHT,        
THE WAY WE KISSED GOODNIGHT,       
I REMEMBER, OOH, OOH,             
I STILL REMEMBER, OOH, OOH,               
THOSE SUMMERS ON THE BEACH,      
THEY’RE STILL WITHIN’ OUR REACH,       
SO PLEASE,      
IF THESE WORDS SOMEHOW TOUCH YOU DEEP INSIDE,     
MY WHOLE WORLD STILL IN YOUR EYES,         
SO PLEASE FORGIVE THIS FOOLISH HEART OF MINE,

I STILL REMEMBER, DARLING I REMEMBER,        
I STILL REMEMBER, DARLING I REMEMBER,         
I STILL REMEMBER, DARLING I REMEMBER.

BY JIM VALDES 
© 2008

"I STILL REMEMBER" (Video - https://youtu.be/h5xvwxljOZc)

on your mark

get ready to

cannonball

into the blue



after swimming

sparkle all around you

catch the sound

breakers breaking



stop the boat

get ready to

pick a spot

to slip into



after swimming

as the sunlight bakes you

summer sips

on a sand dune



after swimming

after swimming

come swimming

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

image by Leandro Crespi via Unsplash

After Swimming

Demos and sketches of songs, mostly recorded in my home studio.
Part of the Netta&McGill duo.
Thanks for having a listen.

Cold On The Shoulder (Gordon Lightfoot)

Jim Mcgill