These are my songs I made in 2017 and mainly 2018.
There are more songs I made in 2018. They are placed in Birch 2018, part 2.
Enjoy listening!

Birch 2018, part 1

A soundscape evoking anxiousness and uncertain territories while being able to find the confidence to embrace the journey.

Shimkari

Janice Merritt: vocals, percussion and arrangement
Peter Fulham: guitar rhythm, fills and solos
Bud Merritt: lyrics, arrangement, mix/mastering & photo
AI: None

NO TURNAROUND 
Intro 

Verse 1

I always wanted to be your safe full of treasures 

But you never tried to learn my combination

The numbers on that dial were oh so simple 

Why didn’t  you find trying it a sweet temptation?

	Chorus

	So I’m gonna travel a single lane for a while

	Leaving’s all that matters not where I’m bound

	Don’t wanna roundabout just need a straight line 

	No side roads and damn sure no turnaround

Verse 2

The credits are rolling ‘n there’s no backing up

My Mama told me hearts are made to be broken

They’re  all going to leave you sooner or later

Maybe that’s why you left so many words unspoken 

	Repeat Chorus

Solo

Bridge 

You used to tell me what you wanted to be

But wanting to be and being ain’t the same for me

	Repeat Chorus

Outro

No Turnaround

We walked tonight to the Guggenheim Museum
Her hair was blowing like it found its freedom
The city shimmered a restless backdrop
We talked of dreams we had and dreams we’d lost

She touched the glass where the paintings hung
Said, “Look how they capture the light, so young”
I saw a reflection that I couldn’t hold
A moment gone as the wind turned cold

Caught in the glow of a fleeting view
City lights blurred like dreams we outgrew
We’re drifting through moments we can’t reclaim
Like strangers with stories no need for names

Through the spiral halls we drifted slow
Each step we took felt like letting go
She whispered stories I’d never known
Of places she'd seen and the nights alone

Outside the doors the world was wide
Yellow cabs and the Hudson tide
She laughed like a child at the rush of it all
I watched her dance through the city's sprawl

She talked of staying of leaving too
The streets below us were painted blue
With echoes of footsteps and songs unsung
In that fleeting light we were both still young

Caught in the glow of a fleeting view
City lights blurred like dreams we outgrew
We’re drifting through moments we can’t reclaim
Like strangers with stories no need for names

1071 5th Avenue

Single Use & Recycled: songwriter, guitar
https://on.soundcloud.com/Wl2PybU0HXA8AxrTyl
Rob: bass, lyrics/vocals

I’ve got wind in my hair
Smile on my face
Needle point to ninety five
No one anywhere around

Back pinned to my seat 
She’s revving high
Pulling away clean and green
Front end up high

This jalopy has only one speed
It’s full throttle ahead
From stoplight to stoplight

Who want to take a ride
Take your life
Put it in my hands
Take a thrill ride

Check the oil, check the tires
Every night
Put a fresh shine on the paint job
Man, she looks so tight

I’ve got no reason to stop
No one gonna stop me
Needle up to hundred five
Red and blue lights all around

Hands pinned to my back
Feet spread wide
Got a fresh shiner on my eye
I know better


Take A Thrill Ride

😈🎹👱🏼‍♀️💔👩🏼‍🦳⁂©All Rights Reserved 11-2025
©Lyricist, Mixer, Mastering, Creator, & Pro License
***

TITLE: THE CURSE OF TIME
_________________________________________________________________
LYRICS:
(Narrative spoken opening)
This is a story of a jealous classical woman who had such a cruel ego, though she pretended to be nice.
She made sure that she had culled another woman with her lies into oblivion.
(Verse 1)
She walks in heels like she's floating on air
Throws her words like daggers
Doesn't care
She laughs too loud
Her lipstick's a scream
She’s the queen of the cruel
Or so it would seem

(Chorus)
Oh the curse of time
It always comes back
Turns the mirror cruel
The frame turns black
She thought she was golden
Forever divine
But no one escapes the curse of time

(Verse 2)
She called her names
Tore her dress apart
Left her standing in shadows
Broke her heart
But karma’s a painter with a heavy hand
Wrinkles and whispers
She'll understand

(Prechorus)
She can't see it yet
No she can’t see it now
But the years carve truth on every brow

(Chorus)
Oh the curse of time
It always comes back
Turns the mirror cruel
The frame turns black
She thought she was golden
Forever divine
But no one escapes the curse of time

(Bridge)
The clock ticks louder
It’s not so kind
Youth’s a fleeting stranger
Hard to find
Her beauty’s a ghost
Her laugh's a crack
She can’t outrun what’s staring back

(Outro)
Someday the curse will roll back on you & your minions too.

You'll Get Yours

The Curse Of Time

Hello again dear friends and Listeners,

For the occasion of the birth of my first Great-Grandson Hendrix... I give you the Re-Master of one of my personal favorite Piano and String improvs.

Liner notes will follow.
But In the meantime... simply Let Go and Let the Music take you where it will. Hopefully through the Beauty of Love and into the Heart and Soul of Creation.

(c) Gary Courtland-Miles
 p-line   Gary Courtland-Miles 2021, 2025

Photo (c) Martín Alfonso Sierra Ospino on Pixabay

Love Is Forever *

Idris is a genetically modified human, engineered to navigate spaceships through "sub-space" - allowing ships to traverse enormous distances. As such, he's a tremendously valuable asset and vulnerable to kidnapping. There are other costs: the process of navigation means being aware of the presence of terrifying entities that seem to wallow in sub-space... Another track inspired by Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Shards of Earth" novel.

The dusky sounding guitar is my Gibson 335 - I love the warm but crisp bite of those humbuckers!

Idris

Words and music written by Bartley Charles Mastin
Performance and production by Bartley Charles Mastin - All instruments and vocals.
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved

Tuning: Standard
Instruments: Acoustic guitar, Slide Guitar(Open D), Bass guitar, Harmonica, Round shakers, Cabasa, Tambourine, Metal drum, Conga drum, Drum set.

Lyrics:
You don’t wanna go
To Memphis
Too many thieves
Too many fences

Anything you wanna do
As long as I’m with you
Let’s talk it out 
Let’s work it out

Don’t wanna ride
You prefer walkin’
Say you can’t sleep
You feel like talking

Anything you wanna do
As long as I’m with you
Let’s talk it out 
Let’s work it out

Leave them behind
Best left forgotten
Baby blue sky
Clouds look like cotton

Anything you wanna do
As long as I’m with you
Let’s talk it out 
Let’s work it out
Let’s dream about

Anything

another wee cover while i work on some original stuff - thanks to https://soundcloud.com/beau-fiasco for the bass!🤘🏻
GUitars drums vocals - lil old me 

 You keep sayin' you've got somethin' for me
Somethin' you call love but confess
You've been a'messin' where you shouldn't 've been a'messin'
And now someone else is getting all your best
These boots are made for walkin'
And that's just what they'll do
One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you

You keep lyin' when you oughta be truthin'
And you keep losing when you oughta not bet
You keep samin' when you oughta be a'changin'
Now what's right is right but you ain't been right yet
These boots are made for walkin'
And that's just what they'll do
One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you
You keep playin' where you shouldn't be playin'
And you keep thinkin' that you'll never get burnt (ha)
I just found me a brand new box of matches, yeah
And what he knows you ain't had time to learn
These boots are made for walkin'
And that's just what they'll do
One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you
are u ready boots ? start walking 

my boots are made for walking 
boots are made for walkin
bbb boots are made for walkin
gonna walk all over you 
my boots are made walkin
boots are made for walkin
bbb boots are made for walkin
gonna walk all over you 

gonna walk all over u 
til your soul is black and blue 
and theres nothing you can do 
gonna stomp all over u

boots are made for walkin (cover)

Surfers like Us ….. composition, all guitar parts, arrangement, mix and cover photo 

Hey Everyone!
This is a continuation of my song „First Snow” ❄️ 
I hope you enjoy the live jam vibe I was trying to achieve here! 😎🎸
Many thanks for listening and support!

With a very special dedication to my dear Monika ❤️✨
Artur

Winter Ride

But the children play (2018, update 2021)

The idea for this song came when watching tv about refugee camps. I noticed that no matter how terrible their situation is, the children were mostly playing. I was impressed by that and so the song was born.

Lyrics:
But the children play
(c) HwBerkhout, 070218

Tensions in all regions
people on the run
Nothing more to fight for
Their homes are all gone
We provide them food and shelter
but mostly not in our homelands
This is not our war, we said
So, we won't shake their hands

But the children play
in every camp they stay
While they hear their mothers cry
and see their fathers die
But the children play
Regardless where they stay
They laugh and cheer
but with hearts soaked in fear

Traffickers do their evil jobs 
their boats maybe float one mile
Drowned babies at the shores
Will only take a while
Although we're shocked to watch
we see them as a plague
They mustn't reach our borders
Therefore our aid stays vague

But the children play
although no place to stay
While they hear their parents cry
when their loved-ones die
But the children play
They have nothing to say
They laugh and cheer
but with hearts soaked in fear

They saw we'd built high fences
with barbed wire all around
They expected some warm welcome
but only meet cold ground
Yes, Merkel helped them on her own
but 'Wir schaffen das' made people mad
Right-wing populists gain support
by stating humanity is bad

But the children play
where ever they stay
For justice they must wait
In every place, every state
Oh, they hear their fathers cry 
while their mothers die
But the children play
'cause they have no other way

Though their eyes see
terrible tragedies
And when they realize
Its us who denied 
How long then do children play?
There comes a day...
But children have the right to play
and somewhere safe to stay 
Somewhere safe to play

But The Children Play (Birchwood)

I love my power (2018)

I made this song not long after Trump went to Helsinki to meet his friend Putin. 
He surely loves the smell of power. I sang this song in first person. Enjoy it.

Love My Power
(c)  HWBerkhout, 170718/ 121018

We're in Helsinki, Putin and me
We talked for hours, privately
Fake-news media whined 'till they bleed
I wouldn't tell them how we'd proceed

Although I made America strong
They kept nagging all time long
Always wailing about my dear friend
I then set this to an end

Oh, I love my power
I tweet this every hour
I am a king right now
So everybody need to bow, anyhow

All former allies are now our foe
It was my decision, as you know
I prefer Kim and Putin, the way they reign
I want the same, that I shall claim 

Oh, I love my power
I tweet this every hour
I am a king right now
So everybody need to bow, anyhow

=solo=

Yes, I love my power
I tweet this every hour
I have the brightest brain
Though disbelief still remain

I rule this nation
It's already my creation
I am the king right now
everybody needs to bow

Yes, you soon do too
Oh, I  fuck you all, that I do
Because Putin wants me to

Love My Power

That Night (2017)
I wanted to make a waltz with a tempochange. As a musical challenge.
The story is situated in an old people's home. A man browsing through a photo album and recalls his Night.

Lyrics:
That Night
(c) HwB april 2017
Sitting in my room with a photobook on my lap, so sad
Browsing through the pages filled with history
I fell on the floor

The nurse had to help me up
and handed me the book again
But something made it difficult for me to look
At the faces I once knew.
I thought:

All that matters, all fly away
Yes, all that matters, it all fly away

But then there was that night, that night
Oh, that was a wonderful time, 
That night with the moon and the stars
Shine so bright in the sky

Yes, it was that night that we danced and we laughed
We were young, and that night
It changed our lives
That beautiful night

And sitting in that tiny jailish room 
with a tube in my nose
I wonder why I still be here,
While my life is already gone

Time stood still with that album on my lap 
that was filled with tears
A live behind, nothing ahead
I tried to stand up, but fell again
I thought:

Lives that matters, they all fly away
Yes, all that matters, it all goes away

But then there was that night, that night
oh that was a wonderful time, 
Yes, that night with the moon and the stars
shine so bright in the sky

Yes, it was that night that we danced and we loved
We were young, and that night
It changed our lives
That beautiful night 

Oh, it was that night, that we danced and ignite
We got old, but the night
It gave us it's light
That beautiful night...

That Night

Not today 2018)-Blues-
I composed this song in 2018, but the recording wasn't that good. This is a remake of it.  A nice sad song with a nice rhythm.

Lyrics:
Not today

(c) HwBerkhout 210818

I used to sing my favourite song
About beer, women and so on
I fell in love, more than intended
Much broken hearts to be mended

I was the villain most of the time
saw feelings flew out of my chime
I didn't want to, I'm not that bad
but troubles each morning make me sad

No, I don't need it, not this way
Life must be special, anyway
I like to see you'll be the one
To let my doubts all be gone

No, it can't be over, not today
Tell me what new song you want me to play?
It's so easy, can't you see?
If you still have these feelings for me

=solo=

Life had to give us roses,  I believed
Not the thorns we received
They often hurt me, as to you
But we managed to get through

No, I don't get it, why things can't stay
Maybe it's wrong to say
But I don't want it, not this way
You know, that villain is long gone away

No, it can't be over, not today
Tell me what new song you want me to play?
It's so easy, can't you see?
If you still have these feelings for me

=solo= 

No, it can't be over, not today
You must believe me, please do stay
It's so easy to realize
Don't throw away something nice

Not Today

I compose songs, write lyrics and sing most of them. I don't have  'one'  style. It depends on my mood or on certain issues that are going on in our world. AND some listeners can even tell which songs are genuine 'Birchwood-songs' (!)

That Night

Birchwood

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