Kids Say the Darnest Things

I took my younglins (that's what I lovingly call my two daughters) to the RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival in Bell Buckle, TN ( I am not making this up, this event and place are both totally real) and we had a really good time. We trudged in the heat through scores of locals, checking out the food and vendors set up on booths all across this tiny town, and all of this was worth it for this one moment. Here goes:

We are walking (from left to right) Hannah holding my hand, Me, and then Ava holding my other hand on the other side. A group of bikers (motorcycle riders with do-rags and leather vests) are walking to the left us, that would put them right next to Hannah. Hannah continues to look at them (I am noticing out of the corner of my eye) and it is clear that she is deeply thinking about something. Finally she very politely, and loud enough to hear, says, "Excuse me, are you a pirate?" She says this to the biker next to her and it takes a moment for the question to sink in. He and I both chuckle a bit, he answers her with, "Sort of."

Embarrassed a little at first, but later I thought to myself, "You know what, he did look like a pirate." He had three rings pierced in both ears, tattoos showing on his right shoulder, a black bandanna on his head, and black boots at the bottom of a black leather outfit. So when it was all said and done I commend Hannah for having the ability to make such good observations.

Good Enough to Lose

Preface: The songs I put on here are song ideas, not complete works of art. Your comments can ultimately affect the way I treat the song, or it may even help me decide to drop a song from my list altogether. So feel free to tell me the good the bad and the ugly. Thanks and have fun.

I have to be honest, even I don't know what the deal is with my funny facial expressions on this song. Maybe I need new contacts.

I know... another slow, sad song. I am sorry. Let me get it out of my system and then we can move on. The truth is I don't tend to write when I am in a good mood. When I am in a good mood I am outside playing with the kids, or riding my unicycle, or watching a funny show. But late at night when the world is asleep and my mind is tired, I let my guard down. It gives the internal sadness (that we all face) the ability to rush in and overwhelm me. My only defense at the point is musical therapy. I put it in a song. It never goes away, but now it has a place to exist outside of me. And I can learn from it, grow with it.

"Good Enough to Lose"

So you wake up,
Like there's a reason to.
You ain't got your shoes on yet,
And your hair's all wet,
But still you find the proof

That today you may die.
You make that possibility known.
So with your next step,
Each and every breath
Feels more and more
Like your own.

You gave me the world,
But what did I give you?
A life full of memories
Too cold and empty,
To blank to ever put to use.

You gave me the world,
But how was I to choose?
'Cause I was never giving anything
That was ever good enough to lose.

So you shake off
The bad mood that I turned on
'Cause you know that life's too short
To put so much work
In finding out who is wrong.

You live for the day,
As I slowly die.
And it's this difference
That truly sets the distance
Between who you are and who am I.

You gave me the world,
But what did I give you?
A life full of memories
Too cold and empty,
To blank to ever put to use.

You gave me the world,
But how was I to choose?
'Cause I was never giving anything
That was ever good enough...

You've got me so twisted inside.
You've got me so I cannot hide
From what I've become,
From what I've undone.

You gave me the world,
But how was I to choose?
'Cause I was never giving anything
That was ever good enough to lose.

Click here if you'd like to read my interpretation of the song. But as always, enjoy establishing your own meaning before doing so.

Good Enough to Lose - Explained

As compared to my last two songs this song's meaning and message is a little more simple. From the perspective of the person telling the story: they feel completely opposite from the person that loves them. They also feel that they have done nothing to better the life of the person that loves them, where as everything that the other person does is pure and true.

So the only justification for the storyteller is that he or she is undeserving of this kind of person and love. Undeserving because they have never been loved in this way, never been shown how to live in this way, in essence has never had anything good enough to lose. Meaning, everything else they have experienced if they were to have lost it, no big deal. But in this case it was actually something good enough to lose, to miss, to feel pain and regret for.

So in its own way the song is an apology and explanation to the person who has loved them so much. Also, I'd like to believe that because our storyteller has experienced love now, and has realized his or her shortcomings, it is a step in the right direction for this person to find happiness. As if facing this cruel truth is the first step to accepting their self and their future. But the last part is me finishing the story after the guitar and singing have stopped, the sequel if you will.

See, simple. I wrote this song about a year ago, and it still gets stuck in my head from time to time.

South out of Springfield

This is a long, slow song, but it is very dear to me. Imperfections... but of course. As always, it is about the song.

"South out of Springfield"

The clouds are heavy with rain.
You're wet as you walk through the kitchen.
With a mild look on your face,
I can tell that you're not really listening.

The paper still lays in the tray,
With a coffee cup stain on the headline.
What the bold text is trying to say
Is that there's no need to bring out the red wine

And celebrate.
No, not today.

And who knows your pain
Better than I do.
I feel the same,
But you don't know.
There's no word today,
(But) maybe tomorrow.
I guess that this pain won't leave us alone,
Until the boys come home.

We're sitting close in the car,
But there are miles that separate what we feel.
The clouds have opened to stars,
As we're driving south out of Springfield.

The word to describe what we are
Has yet to be born in existence.
You say, "Remember the kids in the yard,"
As a smile holds a tear in resistance.

You say, "Not today,
They wouldn't want it that way."

And who knows your pain
Better than I do.
I feel the same,
But you don't know.
There's no word today,
(But) maybe tomorrow.
I guess that this pain won't leave us alone,
Until the boys come home.

We finish our chores before dark;
There's a breeze that blows through the rafters.
You fold your hand in an arch,
And pray to remember their laughter.

The beds are still made in their rooms.
You turn the light out as you leave.
My heart grows the size of the moon,
As you say you only see through me,

And on the other side
Is our babies' eyes.

And who knows your pain
Better than I do.
I feel the same,
But you don't know.
There's no word today,
(But) maybe tomorrow.
I wish that this pain would just leave us alone,
Until the boys come home.

Click here if you'd like to read my interpretation of the song. But as always, enjoy establishing your own meaning before doing so.

South out of Springfield - Explained

Spoiler Alert!

Indeed, a very strange song for me to write. The music lead me on a journey to meet two very distinct characters. The song only but touches on how well the story was established in my head before I wrote the words.

The two characters of this song are an older married couple that have two sons. Both of whom are in war, missing in action. The couple live on a farm in the southeast (somewhere South of Springfield - IN, TN?) and now have to take care of the whole farm without there son's help.

As if that wasn't sad enough, and it is, the husband is practically invisible to the wife. This is because without the kids they have nothing. The song follows them for a day. Early in the morning - later in the evening leaving town - late at night getting ready for bed.

There are some songs of mine that hate to finish. I could have written three more verses and a bridge, but I had to end it.

As with all of my writings, I'm sure there are some deep, tugging subconscious themes and reasons behind this story. But at least on the surface, this is what inspired me to write it.

By George... I think you're right

Mr. Smith was kind enough to comment on my latest video, and he has a very intriguing point. He thought it would be better if what I thought the song about was more of a foot note than the focus. So that way people could read the lyrics first and let the song mean whatever they want it to mean to them.

At the root of it all, that is what is so unique about this artform. That is why I tend to write so ambiguously. It is so each song can have it's own meaning to each individual. There might be certain lines of imagery that paint a picture of a memory in their mind. While other lines of pure emotion dig up old feelings long since lost, like ghosts suddenly appearing in the hallway conjured by a melody forged at the beginning of creation.

So I do believe next time I will not preface the song with the muses I used in finding the words. Rather, I will place my inspirations (for curiosity's sake) somewhere at the bottom.

World Wide Video

Remember my song writing skills are what are on trial here. As for my performance and video quality, the jury is still out on that. Woo hoo, My first video!

More about this song, influences and what not, is in the post directly below this one.

Updated! You can now purchase this song below.

The Young Miss Havisham

Entitled 'World Wide', my latest song is based largely off of a character from a Charles Dickens book. This song uses a lot of imagery to describe an overgrown mansion. A building like the one owned by Miss Havisham from 'Great Expectations'. But the house itself is actually the mind of the lady in my story. The house I describe is actually the isolation from others that takes place in her mind. Once beautiful and pristine - now old, rusted, and falling apart - the mansion (her mind in reality) is the perfect place to indulge misery.

The lady in my story is actually a version of a young Miss Havisham. And it is a warning about the outcome of not seeking happiness, and staying guarded from people that could possibly love you. In true 'Dickins' style it as if the ghost of Christmas future is showing the lady what is in store for her if she does not 'open her eyes.' As to what it is that has our heroine so heartbroken, the song eludes to a picture in a locket. This holds the key to her sadness: an obvious ex-lover.

"World Wide"

Did you see the signs outside your window?
Was it that the sun refused to shine?
There's a wall all along the garden
Clinging to the bricks grows a vine.

There's a golden chain and locket,
And there's a picture behind the stone.
There's rust on the bars on the gates and a sign
That says, "Just leave me alone."

This is not where it ends.
This is not where it begins.
The path that you walk ain't the same on both sides.
Open your eyes child,
And look the world wide.

There's a war being fought on your shoulders,
And the weight is bearing you down.
There's a fountain out in the courtyard,
But there's no water left to make a sound.

As the light slips in from the curtain,
It draws a line across your bed.
On one side the door, the other much more,
The will to choose has never been so bereft.

This is not where it ends.
This is not where it begins.
The walls that you build are the same that you'll climb.
Open your eyes child,
And look the world wide.