Mmmmmm, this is so good, Niki! Stellar production, killer vocals that land in all the right places, and I really like how you weave the lyrics in so flawlessly. Is this a GarageBand creation?

Wow. That is amazing. Love this Niki. Great production. So good 😊

Dang - this is really cool, Niki. Loving hearing your full-instrument vision for this, and I love how you filled it out.

This feels like it could be about cracked paint and so much more. Really nicely written and performed.

Ahh! You sound so good here, Niki! I love these vibes. I dig everyone of your sonic choices!

wow the rhodes-like piano and vocal feels so vibrant and present, super cool. Such nice writing, I especially enjoyed the first verses in terms of their vivid imagery.

Ooh, what a cool/hot blues feel, Niki! The arrangement/production is so well tied in with the lyrics, consuming beautifully the entire listening space. Brilliantly done, and executed!

Oh, I love this arrangement, Niki - frames your vocal beautifully.

I echo Rich, to me anything that frames your voice is a win and this really does that superbly. The lyrics are just delectable, treats for the ear and the mind at the very same time.

SAW week 13 Cracked Paint 13-(IT CONSUMES ME)
CRACKED PAINT- WEEK 13 (MY RENO SONG)

IN THE DIM DULL LIGHT OF DAWNING
AS I LIE IN HOPE N WAIT 
THERES A FACE I SEE EACH MORNING
IN THE CEILING’S LOOSE CRACKED PAINT

ITS NOT SMILING
IT DOESN’T SCARE ME 
IT CONSUMES ME

I SHOULD DO SOME RENOVATION
COVER UP EACH TINY FLAW
MEND THE WINDOW SAND THE FLOOR BOARDS
FIX THE HANDLE ON THE DOOR
BUT I'D MISS IT 
THIS LITTLE WONDER 

IT CONSUMES ME

COVER UP THE ANGER
DISSIPATE THE PAIN
LINGER HERE FOREVER
RUN INTO THE RAIN

it consumes me

in these waking hours
in the bitter tears
we can talk about the flowers
HIDE AWAY OUR FEARS

COVER UP THE ANGER
DISSIPATE THE PAIN
LINGER HERE FOREVER
RUN INTO THE RAIN

IT CONSUMES ME
IT CONSUMES ME
IT CONSUMES ME

niki  Shepherd 's Album

Cracked paint (CONSUMES ME)THE RENO SONG(week 13)SAW

Copyright Erin Wolf 2022
7-in-7 Fearless Songwriter Challenge
July 2022
Day 1 Prompt: Without A Net

you call me to follow 
where you go
but i don't have a map
and i can't see the road

you tell me you're my
guiding light
in the brightest days
and darkest nights

ooh ooh ooh || oh woah oh

you call me to jump
right on in
but i'm with out a net or anything
to catch me and

you tell me to take this
leap of faith
that you're with me
in every place

ooh ooh ooh || oh woah oh

Spirit, hear me crying out to you
i stepped on to the waters
but it seems i'm sinking faster

help me in these changing tides
i want to find sure footing with you
with you

you call me into
new life
you promise that i don't
have to run and hide

you made me as i am
as i will be known
you call me
your own

ooh ooh ooh || oh woah oh

You Call Me

Copyright Erin Wolf 2022
7-in-7 Fearless Songwriter Challenge
July 2022
Day 2 Prompt: Beyond the Schoolyard

as a young child i wondered
what lay beyond the schoolyard
beyond those chainlink fences
and blacktop spaces that kept us in

ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo (x2)

where would the birds fly
in the days of spring
and why would the wind howl
with the snow, rain, and other debris

ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo

and how did the cars always
know where to go
and when would that fluffy dog come back
come back for a pet

ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo (x2)

who would show us all
all that was to come
and what, what would we see and explore
when the day was done

ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo

(instrumental break)

as a young child i wondered
what lay beyond the schoolyard
beyond those chainlink fences
black top spaces that kept us in

ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo
that kept us in
ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo, ooh lee lolly loo

Beyond The Schoolyard

"Armed And Dangerous" (#583, 220731)

With a tin foil badge
On a safety pin
I was the meanest sheriff
This block’s ever seen

From the cardboard spurs
And my corduroy chaps
I commanded respect
Under my half gallon hat

I was armed and dangerous
Kickin’ butt takin’ names
Only kid on the playground
Who wasn’t playin’ no games

I was short dark and handsome
Where did I go wrong
Once armed and so dangerous
Now I’m just writing songs

Had the fastest draw
This side of the park
In my size 5 footsteps
A trail of broken hearts

Don’t you gimme’ no ice
Juice box straight no chaser
All the grown ups reply
“Whatever you say, sir!”

Week 31 - Armed And Dangerous (220731)

Copyright Erin Wolf 2022
SAW Week 32

Song note: A close priest friend of mine died last week, and as I've been playing through music for his upcoming funeral service, this refrain of a tune kept coming back. In memory of Fr. Ed Smith (pictured here with me at camp in June - he was camp director when I was a first-time camper in the '90s, and he was with me my first summer as director in 2016).

with my last breath
let me sing hallelujah
to the God who created me

Yahweh
hallelujah
Yahweh

With My Last Breath

"Do That Myself" (#588, 220903)

 * Co-written by Michiel Taylor & JTR * 

Empty glasses on the counter
Dirty dishes in the sink
If you could see the mess I’m in
Imagine what you’d think

Evening sunlight in the window
Shadows stretched out on the wall 
Looking back I can only wonder 
Was it worth anything at all

I don’t want to break somebody’s heart
I don’t want to be another bad story
Leave my mess behind me for anybody else
To clean it up I can do that myself

Hand of cards sits on the table
A jack a queen a king
One for lovin’ one for losin’ 
And one don’t mean a thing

Week 36 - Do That Myself (220903)

Week 36 #songaweek2022. 

Here on the water in the middle of the land
You can hear the wind, it’s whispering through the wings of birds above you
And here in the forest surrounded by the trees
You can feel the pulse of all the being things around you
Ooooh. . . . and that’s called home

Deep in the hollows of your heavy heart
There is still a song reverberating in this moment
Lapsing synapses at the back of your brain
Keep trying all the ways they know to tell the story how it goes
Ooooh . . . . and that’s called life
	
And you
You will be well
You will find wisdom in the way of wonder

The Way Of Wonder

"Derp" (#590, 220918)

Gather 'round ye pilgrims if you want to hear a tale
So chilling it could haunt a ghost or beneath its cotton veil
Beware be scared be careful dare we listen lest we hear
A cautionary story filled with terror truth and fear

The legend is there was a man a long long time ago
As mean as any cowboy and as crooked as a bow
But worse by far than any trait one might consider sin
He couldn't seem to stop himself from wrecking everything

Imagine if you will a man so hapless so inept
That even evil fled away as far as it could get
He would go down in history as darkness reincarnate
But after each act deemed so dark he cried out "Oh gorsh darn it"

No doubt you've heard of Jesse James and probably Wild Bill
And then there's Old Butch Cassidy and that Sundance Kid
Well here's a name you need to know a man so lost it hurts
He messed the west up something fierce and they called him Wyatt Derp

Week 38 - Derp (220918)

"Lego my eggo" (#592, 221003)

Hey lego my eggo unhand my bran
Don't take my cornflakes I'm serious man
Quit takin' my bacon and mits off my grits
And discard my pop tarts don't play with that shit

Don't risk the biscuit release that sausage and cheese
Better not lick my benedict I'm countin' to three
Don't touch my donuts don't go for my toast
Step away from the pastries don't test me bro

Lego my eggo

Don't steal my oatmeal or take my pancakes
Please ditch the eggwich I'll do whatever it takes
Don't bogart my yogurt don't tool with my gruel
Forget my hot pockets I ain't kidding fool

Lego my eggo

Week 40 - Lego My Eggo (221003)

Hello
I know this might around strange
I'm looking for an angel - an angel
Alone - stuck inside this cage
Waiting for an angel - an angel
Find my way out,
Out into the crowd… of thousands

So, out here on my own
Looking for an angel - An angel
It's not so bad, it's not so bad
Seize the day at hand - free without a plan
See a shining light - a beacon in the night
Oh could this be mine? - feel the hope arise… but… no

So, back out on my own
Trying to make a change here
I make a start, I'll climb this rising path
Start in my own heart, Leave the rest apart,
Eye the guiding stars Drop the things I can't, 
One day here we are

Hello, I know this might sound strange
I'm looking for an angel - an angel
I saw a fragment of this page
I came here for the angel

The answer came…
You are the angel who'll save you
You are the angel who came
The wings are on your back

The Angel

Song written by Emily Longhurst. Recorded 2019 by the Island Folk Choir.

Cracked paint (CONSUMES ME)THE RENO SONG(week 13)SAW

niki s

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