Congratulations to all the Solo Songwriting Challenge Participants!
What was the challenge?
In e-mail's youth, it was common to find messages like the below in your in box. Most were just fabricated, sappy stories, or "Forward this e-mail to everyone you know or break the chain" type e-mails.
And then, some carried a message which made you think about life and relationships.
We used one of these e-mails as a prompt in this solo songwriting challenge. It had only one prompt requirement. Write a song in support of the e-mail message, in opposition of it, or otherwise use it in some way to write a song. The options were wide open.
Writers were free to pick a title, genre, content and otherwise use it to spark creativity towrds a song.
Here's the e-mail they used to write their song:
God Bless the Parents Who Drugged us!
The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question.
"Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?"
I replied, I had a drug problem when I was young:
I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather. I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults.
I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.
I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profane four-letter word. I was drug out to pull weeds in mom's garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad's fields.
I was drug to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood. And, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.
Those drugs are still in my veins; and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, and think.
They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today's children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.
Author unknown
Here's what they came up with.
Enjoy!
A DIFFERENT KIND OF DRUG
Date submitted: August 25, 2021 at 4:25 pm
By: JOHN BENNETT, storehousepro@comcast.net
Copyright info: revised@2021 John Bennett
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/16/A-DIFFERENT-KIND-OF-DRUG-by-John-Bennett.rtf
A Different Kind Of Drug ©2021 by John Bennett
Another meth lab was busted on the edge of our small town
My buddy said as he shook his head and laid that paper down
He said I’m glad we didn’t have drug problems while we were growing up
I said Yes we did, but way back then we had a different kind of drug
CH
Our parents drug us to church every Sunday
Didn’t mater if it rained or snowed
They drug us to Family Reunions
even if we didn’t want to go
When we were rudeor disobeyed
they had a remedy for that too
They drug us into the corner
so we’d learn about all them rules
Those drugs still affect me the days in everything I do and say
Lessons Mom and Dad taught me still run deep inside my veins
And if kids nowadays were disciplined with that kind of love
Then they’d know how we grew up on a different kind of drug
CH
Our parents drug us to church every Sunday
Didn’t mater if it rained or snowed
They drug us to Family Reunions
even if we didn’t want to go
When we were rudeor disobeyed
they had a remedy for that too
They drug us into the corner
so we’d learn about all them rules
They drug us to the corner
so we’d learn about all them rules
Get Off My Lawn
Date submitted: August 27, 2021 at 11:39 am
By: Douglas Millaway, virgil.trucker@gmail.com
Copyright info: ©2021 Mill Away Publishing
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/16/Get-Off-My-Lawn.rtf
Riding in the back of pickup trucks seemed real cool
Trouble with authority? Just drop out of school
Smoke filled restaurants was how it was done
Angry dads and alcohol was a whole lot of fun
Take that twitter crap and throw it out the door.
Everybody knows that in life, less is more.
You don’t need to learn to think for yourself.
I’d rather have a heart attack than ask you for help
Get off my lawn.
Miss Fenwick would pull my ears when I did something wrong
Sister Bartholomew would give us a problem that was real long
Boys in white shirts and the girls dressed in plaid
Eat that tuna fish on Friday and feel so glad
Walk to school every morning and night
Get up and go to church when it still wasn’t light
Pledge of allegiance followed by the morning prayer.
Make sure you stop at the barber and cut your hair.
Get off my lawn
The good old days are over
They were mediocre at best
There’s actually life after high school
Just get on with the rest.
I ain’t got time for your new ways of life.
Everybody knows that time stopped in 1965
There’s no need for thinking outside the box.
Take your lumps from the school of hard knocks
The good old days are over
They were mediocre at best
There’s actually life after high school
Just get on with the rest.
Get off my lawn
The Drug Problem
Date submitted: September 1, 2021 at 10:13 pm
By: Terry Kennedy-Lares, TurloughKennedy@aol.com
Copyright info: 2021
The Drug Problem
William Butler Yeats once wrote, “But I, being poor, have only my dreams,
I have spread my dreams under your feet, tread softly because you tread on
my dreams.”
When I was a young lad, my parents ruled my life,
they took me to church every Sunday, and told me someday I’d have a wife.
I was slapped if I questioned my parents, I was beat if they heard me swear,
If I failed in school I was locked in my room, I just want to get out of there.
Chorus
And now, somehow I think I’m ok,
It was all meant to help me grow,
and somehow I’d shake off those demons,
but inside I know it’s not so.
It rained on the day I was baptized, because Christ, he had a plan,
I did my Christian duty, so my dad could be a big man.
Instrumental solo
Old folk say young folk are lazy, they do drugs and waste all their time,
But I work hard in a Meth lab, and those folks say it’s a crime.
Chorus
And sometimes I think it’s pointless, my parents are long dead and gone,
police are pounding on my door, and this is the end of my song.
Pass It On
Date submitted: September 2, 2021 at 7:01 pm
By: Paul Beckermann, paulandpambeckermann@gmail.com
Copyright info: 2021
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/16/Paul-Beckermann-Pass-It-On-Solo-Challenge.rtf
Pass It On
When your mother steadies your hand
On your first steps
And your father holds you tight
Through feverish night sweats
And they clean the sand
Out of your scun up knee
And when you’re nervous to do it
But they set you free
Pass it on
Pass it on
When your friend has your back
And the others just call you names
When you feel off track
But they still let you in the game
Someone pays for your gas
And you don’t know their name
And someone lets you merge
When you’re in the wrong lane
Pass it on
Pass it on
Make the world a better place
Pass it on
When someone needs a little grace
Pass it on
When there’s a hand in need of holding
Or a question that needs unfolding
Remember your past
And pass it on
And pass it on
And pass it on
When someone sees something wrong
And tries to make it right
And someone sees what you do
And they put you in the spotlight
And someone holds your hand
When the world seems upside down
And someone shows that they love you
Without making a sound
Pass it on
Pass it on
Pass it on
Make the world a better place
Pass it on
When someone needs a little grace
Pass it on
When there’s a hand in need of holding
Or a question that needs unfolding
When life moves on too fast
Remember your past
And pass it on
Pass it on
Pass it on
Pass it on
©Paul Beckermann | paulandpambeckermann@gmail.com | 320-455-7420
Weddings and Funerals
Date submitted: September 10, 2021 at 4:15 pm
By: Chad Shank, northloopsongwriter@gmail.com
Copyright info: 2021 Chad Shank
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/16/Weddings-and-Funerals.rtf
Weddings and Funerals
By Chad Shank
Weddings and Funerals are the only time I go to church
Someone’s getting hitched or someone’s going in the dirt
I grew up Catholic and I don’t think confession works
Weddings and Funerals are the only time I go to church
I ain’t saying that I never send my prayers up to God
I just don’t believe he’s in that building
He’s in the flowers and the voices radiating love
He’s not a place
He’s a feeling
Weddings and Funerals are the only time that I dress up
I have to pray that my pants are still big enough
I ain’t saying that I never send my prayers up to God
I just don’t believe he’s in that building
He’s in the flowers and the voices radiating love
He’s not a place
He’s a feeling
Weddings and Funerals are the only times that I choke up
Must be the spirit moving, giving my heart a nudge
Weddings and Funerals (repeats)
Copyright © 2021 Chad Shank Music
House of Deceit
Date submitted: September 12, 2021 at 11:58 am
By: Greg Beck, gregb@mac.com
Copyright info: 2021
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/16/House-of-Deceit-.rtf
House of Deceit
To the people in our town it seemed we had the perfect life
Three such respectful children a loving husband and his wife
Who went to church each Sunday always sat in the front row
The preacher would down and smile
How could he not know?
That my father had a temper it would come on in a flash
If we broke one of his many rules we were sure to take a lash
From the big brown belt he left hanging from the door
He’d say you have it coming if you cry I’ll give you more
Chorus
I grew up, in a house of deceit
It was a 2-story beauty
The nicest home on our street
No one could know, what went on inside
A history of of abuse
We knew that we must hide
My mother couldn’t protect us she lived in constant fear
You could see her start to quiver when she knew the time was near
When her husband would explode in rage over some perceived offense
He would make her pay a price if she came to our defense
If might have been the alcohol it might have been the pills
There was an empty place inside him the drugs just could not fill
They would only mask the demons he was unable to restrain
The need kept get getting stronger to make others share his pain
Repeat Chorus
He swore he’d track her down, if she ever tried to run
Said he’d rather see us dead than leave, something needed to be done
They ruled it was an accident that took my father’s life
Nobody considered that it might have been his wife
Who in an act of desperation so her children she could save
Saw the way to survive was to put him in his grave
It was well attended funeral, some folks even cried
The preacher said oh what a shame a man like him had died
Us kids well we didn’t know what really happened to our dad
But way down deep inside of us we felt more relieved than sad
My mother never talked about what happened on that night
She told us don’t you worry everything will be alright
When we packed up and left that town the secret was complete
No one ever learned the truth of the house of deceit
©Greg Beck | gregb@mac.com | 320-266-2460
Sometimes The World
Date submitted: September 18, 2021 at 10:17 pm
By: Mark Grim, markdgrim@gmail.com
Copyright info: copyright 2021
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/16/Mark-Grim-Sometimes-The-World-Solo-Challenge.rtf
Sometimes The World by Mark Grim
Sometimes it takes the world a while
to shake off the headline news
and find the best that’s yet to come
is long past overdue.
Prechorus:
I wanna go home and hug my children
hold on and not let go
and share the patience and the love
they’ll need to know.
Sometimes the world can lay to waste
the helpless and misused
and find it still can’t break their faith
in all they held as true.
Prechorus:
I wanna go home and hug my children
hold on and not let go
and share the sorrow and the strength
they’ll need to know.
Chorus 1:
to go on about their business,
believe but don’t get fooled,
give thanks for all their blessings,
and follow the golden rule.
Instrumental break:
Prechorus:
I wanna go home and hug my children
hold on and not let go
and share the only truths
they’ll ever need to know.
Chorus 1:
Chorus 2:
to go on about your business,
believe but don’t get fooled,
mind your social distance,
and follow the golden rule.
Sy Libel
Date submitted: September 19, 2021 at 11:52 pm
By: Paul Nye, paulenye@me.com
Copyright info: 2021
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/16/Sy-Libel-by-Paul-Nye.-RTF.rtf
Sy Libel
By Paul Nye
VERSE 1:
Sy Libel was a crafty dude, A wordsmith oft many words
Oblique lyrics, no malice of heart, the worst songs I have heard
His pen bled love – in a most graceless way, no hint of his demise
A tortured soul on grammar parole, in a web of lyrical lies
Sy Libel
VERSE 2:
Sy Libel, cut his own path, no matter what others said
He did it his way, listening to little voices in his head
A wordsmith cop came knocking at his door, cited him with a wordy crime
“Sy,” he said, “your songwritin’ is bad, time to do the time.”
Sy Libel
PRE-CHORUS:
“I’m a guitar fool, failed songwriting school – was that my mistake?
“What crime did I do, what is the charge; what law did I break?”
CHORUS:
”Your syllables are total criminal
You’re emphasis don’t relate
Your lyrica lines should be minimal
Sy Libel, get it straight”
Sy Libel
VERSE 3:
Sy wanted to be a sing-song writing man
But he had no sense of rhythm, meter or time
His sentence structure was crazy y’all
Sy crimed every word he rhymed
Bad grammar lured him like a drug
Dealin’ songs like a crook
Loaded up every tune he wrote
The lyric lawyers had him hooked
PRE-CHORUS:
He was a guitar fool, failed songwriting school – that was his mistake
He committed the crime, now he’s doin’ the time, Songwriting he did break
CHORUS:
His syllables are total criminal
His emphasis didn’t relate
Your lyrica lines were minimal
He never got it straight
By Paul Nye | paulenye@me.com | 218-507-0081 | © 2021 nyesguyTunes Publ./BMI.
Widow’s Last Stand
Date submitted: September 20, 2021 at 8:26 pm
By: Zane Blom, blominonion@yahoo.com
Copyright info: 2021
Widow’s Last Stand
She’d just her tattered dress
to bandage him
Whiskey to appease him
Till his arms went cold
Her man of forty years now
Lay here murdered in the snow
Is there no law, she cried
It echoed up the canyon grade
A babbling brook the lone reply
This land that asked so much
Demanded everything in spades
Laid him to to rest beneath an oak tree
Barren now of autumn leaves
Then rocked herself to half dream
In their cabin by the babbling stream
Chorus:
Oh then to the hands of a clock
She wrung the knots from her fingers
As she watched the snowflakes fall
Like hourglass sand
God let the just prevail
Light for me the godless trail
A last Amen
A widow’s last stand
A last amen
A widow’s last stand
Now she wrapped his muddied coat
Around her faded dress
Felt the cold embrace of
Pistols at her hips
Then held his picture
For a spell
Soon as the storm cleared
She was knee deep in the snow
No tracks to guide her
Only horse sense and a forlorn gaze
No more should errant guns,
She prayed,
Range widows make in this enchanted,
Unbridled place
Winchester pressed into the softness
Of her cheek
She watched their movements
From the covert of the trees
And like a pendulum rocked
Patiently
Survival kicked in
As the murderers drew nigh
Beneath a
battering wave of white flakes
From a gunmetal colored sky
Down a mountainous decline
Bullets fell like spilling wine
Till the brilliant flashes ceased
And all lay prone
And a peaceful woman rocked alone
To the hands of the clock
She wrung the knots from her fingers
As she watched the snowflakes fall
Like hourglass sand
God let the just prevail
Light for me the godless trail
A last amen
A widow’s last stand
A last amen
A widow’s last stand
Draggin’ Me Around
Date submitted: September 20, 2021 at 8:26 pm
By: Paula Wilson, paulakwilson@hotmail.com
Copyright info: 2021
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/16/Paula-Wilson-Draggin-Me-Around-MAS-Sept-21.rtf
Draggin’ Me Around, by Paula Wilson
Don’t want to be at this party, no one cares if I am here
Mom says “behave don’t be naughty, and don’t mess your clothes your hair”
And I know, I’ve got to toe the line, and just shut my mouth
So I take the fall, and I hold it all inside, but I want to shout
You’re always draggin’ me around
Did you ever stop to ask me what I wanted to do?
You say smile big, don’t make too much sound
Guess I don’t have a choice, so I’m following you
You’re always draggin’ me around
You’re draggin’ me, draggin’ me down (repeat)
I thought I ‘d grow up much stronger, then we met, now you’re the boss
Can’t be dismissed any longer, try to get my point across
But you say, “baby, your place is on my arm. You’re the luckiest girl”
I see in your eyes, I am the prize you drag around, and show to the world
Bridge:
I need to stand, for who I am–I follow you instead
I need some time, to clear my mind—but I can’t catch my breath, cuz you’re…
Everything I’ve Learned
Date submitted: September 20, 2021 at 9:26 pm
By: Mary Kealy-Falk, vintagevfh@gmail.com
Copyright info: 2021
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/16/Mary-Kealy-Falk-Everything-Ive-Learned-Solo-Challenge-RTF.rtf
Everything I’ve Learned
Mary Kealy-Falk
©2021
I grew up in a family that taught me many things
About living, loving and doing the best you can
I think of all the lessons that made me who I am
And how family is where it all began
Chorus
And everything I’ve learned, I learned from family
Their lessons and their lives inspired me
I’m the product of a long and loving heritage
And a wonderful extended family tree
Grandpa Jim was a miner of iron ore that made our steel
Grandpa Otto ran a business of his own
They helped our country’s effort in the Second World War
That kept America a place that we call home
My grandmothers were born at the turn of the century
Before a woman had the right to vote
But they both became professionals, liberated in their minds
One became a teacher, the other sold fur coats
Chorus
My Daddy was who some would call a renaissance man
His creativity was always shining bright
A teacher, coach, musician, sometimes entrepreneur
And a moonlighting cop on weekend nights
Mama had a different way of being who she was
Couldn’t sew a button on to save her life
But if walls were to be built, or windows added on
She was much more than my Daddy’s pretty wife
Chorus
I know my siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins near and far
Are all the let’s get together kind
When I think about them, a smile comes to my face
And I hear their laughter running through my mind
Chorus
Now many of my folk are gone, it’s how life is meant to be
But my memories of them will never die
My heart holds all their love, wisdom, hope and faith
So, I’ll never have to truly say good-bye
Chorus
In My Dreams
Date submitted: September 20, 2021 at 10:23 pm
By: Vicki Morrison Goble, vicki@latebloomersrock.com
Copyright info: 2021 Vicki Morrison Goble
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/16/In-My-Dreams-Vicki-Morrison-Goble.rtf
IN MY DREAMS
I wander through the night
Don’t remember what I’m seeking.
Floating upward toward the light
Wonder why I’m dreaming
I don’t know what to do
I don’t know what it means
I can’t tell what is true
Looking for answers
Looking for answers
Looking for answers
In my dreams.
Copyright 2021 Vicki Morrison Goble
american children
Date submitted: September 20, 2021 at 11:14 pm
By: KRISTINE VLAICH, KV2525@AOL.COM
Copyright info: 2021
Kristine Vlaich l kv2525@aol.com l 952 200 9485 @C
American children
Children need to have the drug problem I had as a child
Drug to every event
Never went wild cause I knew I’d be sent
Off to the woodshed I’d repent
Drug to help everyone we knew
Drug to help family and friends too
Drug to help anyone in need
That’s the way I was taught to succeed
Taught to respect others, be kind, be disciplined
Do good deeds, keep your mouth in line
All the work we did was free
For friends and family
You must learn and earn
Its all part of the good life, see?
More to life than the money
Verse
Everyone needs help some time
if you can lend a hand and give a dime
that’s pretty fine
Chorus
These lessons were drug into me
They affect everything I do today
Anybody teaching children, by the way?
