Happy Halloween

In the spirit of Halloween, here I am dressed as Dexter (from the Showtime Series) for a Halloween party last week. I should have some pics of the girls on Halloween come next week. I picked a costume that I don't think anybody would get, but I liked it. It was cheap.

Citing the stars and the sea

I notice in my work I use outer space and the sea a lot to form poetic analogies. This is a common theme in writing, but it was very apparent to me in the song below. Why do I think these themes crop up in my work?

There is a certain romanticism and mystery to both space and the sea. These vast bodies exist outside of our land dwelling comforts, and in comparison are giants dwarfing the world in which we regularly reside. And, as in often times, I write about my experiences with the opposite sex. Well for me they can be as elusive and as dwarfing as both space and the sea.

Again (structurally) an odd song so I have organized with three parts and a bridge. I enjoy the internal rhyming in this song, it was fun to produce. I also played with (if I remember correctly) assonance and consonance.

On Arrival

Part 1
The clouds look photo-shopped in;
The damage is on the outside-in.
If I awake first then I'm certain to win,
But as for the prize,
Surprise me.

In the light you seem slimmer;
My hands appear weaker,
As we dance to the drone of
A busted out speaker.

We stand as still as statues
And wait for the shutter to close.

Are you alive?
Am I a ghost?
Have we arrived yet?

Part 2
The sound is a lifetime away.
It echoes around like a radio wave
Traveling through the absence of space.
Can you hear it?
It's all around us.

In the dark you seem brighter;
My wit becomes sharper.
It cuts through your clothes
Like a boat through the harbor.

The covers all flap on the bed
Like waves cresting the coast.

Are you alive?
Am I a ghost?
Have we arrived yet?
Nobody knows...

Bridge
Maybe the truth is irrelevant.
If I could use my hands to get
Inside your mind,
No telling what I'd find.

In our youth we are compelled by love,
But now its waning on the passage of
Our time,
And no one seems to mind.

Are you alive?
Am I a ghost?
Have we arrived yet?

Part 3
Now the colors are all changing their hues;
A subtle difference in all of the blues.
You tilt your head but you get the same view,
Just perpendicular
To the first one.

In the day it seems duller;
By night a strong hunger.
It feeds off the feeling:
"Why can't I feel younger?"

If the moon and the stars and the planets
All align and explode...

Are you alive?
Am I a ghost
Have we survived this?
Nobody knows.

Tuesday's Photo Fun

Not doing as good this week. Don't have as much material. So, instead of funny quotes, this week there is a theme: "Working Hard."

Wrong Side of Me

This song has interesting origins. I was feeling lazy one day, and I needed to get up and do some cleaning. My daughter, Hannah, was playing with a little karaoke machine that has recording and playback functions. She came over to me and wanted me to sing something into it. Off the top of my head I sang, "I need some motivation, I've got to clean the house a little."

I eventually did get up and clean a little. And then like a week later I was putting toys away and I pushed the playback button on Hannah's karaoke machine and heard myself singing, "I need some motivation, I've got to clean the house a little," again. This time I thought, hey that's kind of catchy.

I sang the line off and on for the next couple weeks and once I changed the words to, "I need some motivation, I've got to move my bones a little," the whole song opened up and I finished writing it. Based on its origin, I didn't let the song take itself too seriously. Which is evident in lines like "God made dirt and dirt don't hurt." I have a lighter side, I swear.

Wrong Side of Me

Verse
I need some motivation,
I've got to move my bones a little.
The shades are all drawn up in the house;
I give the sun a whistle.

No reason to explain all this pain,
I let it fizzle out.
I'm destined to believe that our time
Is never running out.

Chorus
The seasons will change
Wherever you go.
The grass is always greener
Unless it snows.

I'm calling you back,
I'm calling you home.
'Cause I know in my heart you have got
The wrong side of me.

That's not who I wanted you to see.

Verse
The scene is always changing,
The road just goes a roaring by.
Everything that I'm seeing, I see
Through my reflective eye.

The shadows in the corner,
The pictures, and the pillow case
All are symbols of you and it's true
That you are in this place.

Chorus
The memories change,
The heart is a ghost.
The path is always clearer
Along the coast.

I'm calling you back,
I'm calling you home.
'Cause I know in my heart you have got
The wrong side of me.

That's not who I wanted you to see.

Bridge
Love, love, love
Don't throw me under the bus,
'Cause if its God we trust:
God made dirt and dirt don't hurt,
And the first words that you said were,
"Hurry up."

Nobody Cares

Here is a nice, quirky song. I have no idea why I wrote it, or what it is altogether saying, but I do know I would have people chant sing the part 'nobody cares.' I broke it into parts instead of verses, etc. Letting structure go for the moment. It is a nice break from my more traditional Chase pieces, I call this my dark comedy.

Nobody Cares

Part 1
Got a note in my pocket
Telling me where to go.

It says go to hell,
And while you're there,
See if it snows.

Well it's kind of own my way,
So I might just take a stare.
'Cause when nobody knows,
Nobody cares.

Part 2
I could die in this city.
In the bricks beneath,

Bury my bones.
In my new found home
My soul will be free.

It might happen today.
Hey, you might you just take me there.
'Cause when nobody knows,
Nobody cares.

Part 3
Telephone is ringing,
But the dial-tone has long been dead.

I follow the sound,
And now I've found,
It's all in my head.

Well, I might as well pick up,
And hear the voice inside declare,
"When nobody knows,
Nobody cares."

Part 4
I know I am still waiting,
Waiting for signs of life.

And in this dream
There's you and me,
And me and my wife.

Well, I finally decided
To commit to my affair.
'Cause when nobody knows,

No one has to know.
No one has to know.
What we don't know can't hurt us;
Nobody cares.

How it Works

How it Works

Verse
These few words before I go:
You push and pull,
Fast and then slow.

You take me high as the trees,
And leave me down on my knees.

Prechorus
Maybe I should walk away,
But I feel like I need to say

Chorus
That you don't always
Have to know how it works,
To know it works good.

You don't have to have
All the pieces, though
You think that you should.

Sometimes a mystery
Is meant to be
Misunderstood.

You don't always
Have to know how it works,
To know it works good.

Verse
I can have a piece of you,
But I'll be in pieces before it's through.

I don't count my eggs before they've hatched,
Because you turn me on then turn back.

Prechorus
Maybe I should write it down,
Not like you'd read it any how.

Chorus
You don't always
Have to know how it works,
To know it works good.

You don't have to have
All the pieces, though
You think that you should.

Sometimes a mystery
Is meant to be
Misunderstood.

You don't always
Have to know how it works,
To know it works good.

Outro
These few words before I go:
You try to shake me off;
I won't let go.

Tuesday's Photo Fun

I am going to try to take a lesson from Debbie (or as the girls lovingly refer to her 'Granny') and slowly start having daily posting themes. I can see how this creates a sense of consistency for blog followers. To initiate this I am going to start Tuesday's Photo Fun.

I have done one of these already, but I am going to try to do this weekly. I take pictures of my girls and then put funny quotes with them. Again, remember, Hannah is the bigger one; Ava the little one.

"Due to the economic crisis, my castle was foreclosed on."


"When our powers combine..."

"I know, Ava. You just had to be there"

Again, I challenge someone to give me a quote. What should this say? Post and let me know.

Tied to the Wheel

It is known fact to the people that know me that I have extremely elaborate and strange dreams. I have had more than 5 dreams that I was not even in. It was like watching a movie. I have plot lines, climaxes, heroes, etc. I have written a lot of poetry, songs, and fiction based off of my dreams; and probably could do more with them if I kept a journal.

Here lately, I have noticed, I haven't been remembering my dreams. When someone says they don't dream a lot, they mean I can't remember my dreams much. Everyone dreams every night, you just may not remember them. I think it has to do with what phase of sleep you are in when you wake up. For instance, if you awake right from REM sleep, you should remember your dreams.

It always amazes me the impact that dreams have on your morning. I have, and I am sure a lot of guys have, been in trouble in the morning because a significant other dreamed I was cheating on them. The dream I awoke from this morning was simple, but has left enough of an impression to talk about it here.

I was forcefully taken hostage by some guys in black. They put me in the driver's seat of a large pick-up truck. I was already gagged, so I couldn't scream. They tied my hands to the steering wheel. They pushed the truck out of the large commercial garage we were currently in, and into street. It was night, and it was the first time I had seen where we were, and it was the middle of nowhere.

Once on the street they proceeded to put a blindfold on me. I heard a switch flip somewhere on the dash board and the truck started up. A second later and another switch. Someone said, "Drive!" and the truck began to move.

My foot pounded on the brake to stop the truck, that was now going about 50-60 mph and gaining. But of course the brakes did not work. I continued flying down the road, or country side, (wasn't sure, I couldn't see) without hitting anything. I was sure I would've hit something by now. My grip on the wheel tight enough to leave indentions in it, my right foot pressed hard on the floor bed. The truck continued to careen into the night, un-phased.

It was the strangest feeling, like a roller coaster ride, or falling. Except for when you are falling, you know where the bottom is. I didn't know when or how this ride would end. And then by the end of the dream I just let go. I relaxed. If I was going to hit something, I couldn't help it. It was actually very liberating in the end to just enjoy the ride.

And then I woke up. The symbolism is ridiculous.

Immediately, if not Sooner

A good friend of mine found some poems I had written some time ago. I think somewhere around 8th or 9th grade. Sometimes I forget that I was writing things that long ago. I enjoy this piece of writing, I like the implications. It has a sense of urgency. I've edited some parts for grammar and form. Thanks Lindsey!

Immediately, if not Sooner; Barely, if at all.

She wakes from her sleep,

As if there was anything else

That she could wake up from:
A sleep without rest (while eyes shut)

And dreams of my inconspicuous touch.

She wakes and walks out of her room,

And inside her heart has yet to consume
The new day.

She looks at herself with discomfort,

Knowing that beside her I am not.

Then, immediately, if not sooner,

Falls into the mindless sleep

Where and which I am so retained.

She dreams about how I touch her

Immediately, if not sooner;

Barely, if at all.

Neither of us awake.

One major difference in my writing now versus then, I believe, is imagery. I have always been good at invoking emotions (this poem as case in point) but now I try to bring elements that not only let you feel the emotion, but see the environment in which they exist. A fun challenge for me: I am going to re-write this poem with my current style.

Immediately, if not Sooner; Barely, if at all. (version 2)

She wakes from her sleep,

As if there was anything else

That she could wake up from.
As if there was any other cloud
She could fall down through.
Restlessly she clutches,
As the clouds transform to sheets.
The same white, soft, and still she dreams.

Eyes tightly shut, the essence of
My inconspicuous touch.

She wakes and walks out of her room,

Although her heart has yet to consume,
Has yet to bloom, has only swooned.
Has only forfeited and
Foreshadowed the pending doom.

All of this in a discomforting look.
In the mirror, where two bodies once stood,

Now one must occupy the space alone.

Then, immediately, if not sooner,

She falls back into the sleep

Where and which
I am so effortlessly retained.
A backwards dive off the highest loft,
A free-fall head first, hands open,
Body willingly engaged: she falls.

She dreams of how I touch her

Immediately, if not sooner;

Barely, if at all.

Neither of us awake.

It is a bit contrived, I know, but I did it on the spot. Do me a favor, leave me a comment on which version you like best. Version 1, or version 2.

Last Kiss

This is a very free flowing song. I decided against punctuation and section indicators (i.e. chorus, verse). This is circa 2005ish. An odd song for me stylistically, but I like the wordplay.

Last Kiss

The stars align
And I decline
Serendipity
Has no sympathy
For me

And mine
We're two of a kind, but
We don't combine well
We separate like oil
And water
What's the matter
It's been so long
Since I heard you laughter
I suppose
No one knows
But no one don't include
Me and you...

And me
Have a certain history
Of being cruel
And unusual
It's still a mystery that we
Can be fooled
And with a kiss from me
She knows its over

Seeing you
In this interview
We're playing through the motions

And the bombs go off
Before you start
Just ask yourself
Whats the cost of me...

And you
It'll take a half a century
To see
The truth
You know I have no sympathy
For being
Misused
And with a kiss from me
She knows its over

Must have been out of my head
Wasn't me, wasn't me
When I said what I said
It just slipped out of my...

Hands fold
In the prayer position
Hold them there
With submission
Say a prayer
If it's worth missing
Say you care
And keep on listening
You stare
Into the distance
It all falls down
In just one instance
I've lost more
Than just attention
But I'm just going to
Keep on kissing...

You and me
Are we ancient history
Or do we
Have another remedy
For me and you
And with kiss from she knows its over

Pictures with Quotes

Welcome to the first ever 'Picture Fun' section of my blog. It is very simple, I take pictures of my kids and then give them funny quotes. Just remember, Hannah is the bigger one. Ava is the little one.

"Please let it be strawberry. Please let it be strawberry."

Ava: "Dude, like are you done taking my picture and stuff?"

Ava: "Man, they're not lying. I am really cute."

Hannah: "You know as soon as we get there I am going to push you down right?"

"Okay, so how does my hair look up here? Still beautiful? Good."

Got a funny quote for this one? Post a comment and tell me.

Rings on Saturn

This is so weird. I wrote this song while driving this weekend (my favorite time to write). It is written to a bluegrass rhythm and sound. I can hear the harmony parts, the separate mandolin and banjo solos and everything. See if you can hear it, okay? The content of the song is not very 'bluegrassy' however, just typical Chase stuff.

So strange, but hey, I always go with it. I am not one to just wad the paper up and throw it in the trash can, I just stack it in the corner and kind of chuckle at myself.

Rings on Saturn

Verse
I know why there's rings on Saturn.
I know that there's life
Undiscovered
On the bottom of the
Ocean, and the tides...

Prechorus
Roll on by
With a pull from the moon.
I close my eyes,
As the tension in the room
Starts to rise.
My heart is a balloon,
It floats on by.

Chorus
With all the things I know,
And all the things I know that I can do;
I'll never know you.
I'll never know you.
I'll never know you.

Verse
I know there's still room in heaven.
I know there's no hell.
Unless you count the
Time I spent with-
Out you in my sails...

Prechorus
The blowing wind,
Always pushing me away.
I don't know when,
But one of these new days
You'll come again,
This time to stay.

Chorus
With all the things I know,
And all the things I know that I can do;
I'll never know you.
I'll never know you.
I'll never know you.


Mandolin Solo

Okay, now let's hear a little banjo

Build
Rise and fall and crawl
It's all tumbling down.
From the bridges to the rivers
To the mountains to the underground.

Verse
I know there's no one worth loving.
I know there's no point.
It's the ones we push away
That love us,
And the ones that stay that hurt.

Prechorus
Oh, I ain't got time,
I'm getting pretty old,
With deeper lines
In the wrinkles of my soul.
The warning signs
Keep passing as I go.

Chorus
With all the things I know,
And all the things I know that I can do;
I'll never know you.
Never understand
The things you do.
I'll never know you.

After the Sunset

I started writing songs about ten years ago. On occasion I will start singing a song in my head and will think, "Who is that?" A second later and I realize it is one of my songs. Maybe one from like 5 years ago. Case in point, this song never made it to the band. Further more, never even made it to my guitar. I never put music with it, I just always heard the music in my head. Even crazier, I never even wrote the song down. I have just hummed it in my head for several years. So I decided to post it today, not because it is a great song, but so I finally have a record of it. Because eventually, and if I am not careful, it will be lost and gone forever.

I hear it being a very good R&B kind of song. It needs piano, and back-up singers.

After the Sunset

Verse
They tried to warn me,
But I wouldn't listen.
I was searching for
Something missing.
And if it was her,
Then I will never be
In my heart and soul
Completely complete.

So for a short time,
And for a large price
I found myself
Lost in paradise.
And when it was over,
When it was over
A simple 'Thank you'
Was all I told her.

Chorus
Her eyes
Were as blue as the sky,
And in my better days,
They were my sunrise.

And though I know it's set
On the horizion,
In my mind
She will always live on.

And though I can not bring it back,
I'll never regret what we had.

Verse
Now I never said,
'Take back the memories,
Forget the laughter,
For all the misery.'
Because between the lines
Of all of these times,
I would never trade
What was once mine.

Chorus
Her eyes
Were as blue as the sky,
And in my better days
They were my sunrise.

And though I know it's set
On the horizion,
In my mind
She will always live on.

And though I can not bring it back,
I'll never forget what we had.

Bridge
She could not settle down,
Ran away, and turned around.
No one could know her
No one could own her.

Chorus