Writing Challenges

Banana Splits

Submitted: July 9, 2020 at 11:27 am
By: Chad Shank, Gregory Connor, Mike Rudquist,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Banana-Splits-FINAL-LYRICS-1.docx

Banana Splits
By Greg Connor, Mike Rudquist, Chad Shank
© 2020 Shank, Connor, Ruquist

Grandma took me to Zesto
The ice cream shop in my hometown
Even back then it was retro
Order up at the window no place to sit down
I really have to admit
Those are the times I miss
Oh Grandma and Banana Splits

Brain freeze
Against the heat
Chocolate pineapple and strawberry red
It feels so good, wanna live it again
Oh Oh remember those things that we did
Oh Ice cream dish makes me feel like a kid
Good times, memories, and Banana Splits

Draggin main in my chevy
Feeling that freedom of Sixteen
Holding the hand of my steady
Buddies talking trash in the backseat
Bout to Stop at Zesto again
With my brand new driving permit
Oh Good times and Banana Splits

CHORUS

Went back to find Zesto
All boarded up in my hometown
It’s a wonder where the time goes
The memories keep a hanging around
I really have to admit
Those are the times I miss
All those memories and Banana Splits

CHORUS

Comments:

Small Town Girl

Submitted: July 15, 2020 at 8:57 pm
By: Vicki Morrison Goble, Douglas Millaway,
Copyright info: (c) and (p) Douglas Millaway and Vicki Morrison Goble

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Small-Town-Girl-by-Millaway-and-Goble.docx

Small Town Girl
Doug Millaway/Vicki Morrison Goebel

She was a single mom trying to make life work
In 1952, all she got was the bills
The city on the river was nothing like the farm
Couldn't be harder on a lady from the hills.
Two of those kids are from another mother.
But everybody's welcome in Dottie's home.

She lost her dreams, buried in the grave
She wasn't ready to make her own way
She’s nothing but a small-town girl
Tryin' to make it in a big city world
Dottie had a vision. Dottie had faith.
Doin’ all she could to keep her family safe.

Kid number one in a shotgun wedding
Three still home and life still ain’t easy
Her sister and her family live right across the street
Cause a little more help keeps her from going crazy
There were always presents under the tree
Cause the kids came first, just the way it should be.

Church on the weekend is a regular thing
Sunday morning breakfast brings everybody in
The neighbor’s kid acting like he belongs
Ya know, cuz Dottie doesn't care who you are, where you been
Makes everybody happy with nothing but love
It’s hard to do when you’re all alone.

She’s nothing but a small-town girl
Tryin' to make it in a big city world
Dottie had a vision. Dottie had faith.
Doin’ all she could to keep her family safe.

Comments:

This story is based on personal experience but is probably a scenario that has played out in various families throughout time. One parent dies, the remaining parent raises not only her (or his) own children but those acquired by marriage and not connected by blood. Caring members of the extended family, as well as friends, step up as needed to help, and all the children grow up knowing they are loved.

Can't Go Back

Submitted: July 17, 2020 at 9:39 am
By: Bruce Caswell, Carl Unbehaun,
Copyright info: ©Carl Unbehaun & Bruce Caswell | bcaswell4@msn.com | 952-250-2100

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Cant-Go-Back.docx

CAN’T GO BACK

You got out of school, you said the heck with your roots
Took your cash and your stash, wiped the town from your boots
You went off to live and to learn, and never return
You didn’t want a life of quid pro quid
In the same old rut like your daddy did
Searching for those things that you lack, you never looked back

CHORUS:
Well that’s right Jack, you can’t go back, when the river rose, the feed mill closed.
All that’s left of the Church of Faith, is a cemetery down by the Interstate
That’s right Jack, the folks you know, they all left town many years ago
All that’s left are their rickety shacks. You can’t go back

You worked so hard, life got in the way
Wife & children, no time to play"
And the job kept pressing harder against your soul
And even if that town was calling your name
It was always a waiting game
There was never any time to go back, that’s a fact

[REPEAT CHORUS]
BRIDGE:
The years flew by, you felt the itch, money & time were no longer a glitch
You jumped in the car, in three long days, pulled into your hometown in a daze
You walked the street and to your surprise, there was no one you recognized,
You stopped a few folks, then left in a blur, no one knew who the hell you were

[REPEAT CHORUS]

©Carl Unbehaun & Bruce Caswell | bcaswell4@msn.com | 952-250-2100

Comments:

Tapestry

Submitted: July 19, 2020 at 11:58 am
By: Paula Wilson, Tom Peschges,
Copyright info:

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Tapestry-by-Paula-Wilson-and-Tom-Peschges.rtf

Comments:

Everybody's Kid

Submitted: July 19, 2020 at 4:02 pm
By: Doyle Turner, Pat Hager,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Pat-Hager-and-Doyle-Turner-Everybodys-Kid-lyric-sheet.rtf

Comments:

This is a co-write from Pat Hager and Doyle Turner for the MAS summer co-write challenge!

Mytown

Submitted: July 20, 2020 at 8:26 pm
By: Mary Kealy-Falk, Zane Bloom,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/My-Town-Co-Write-Challenge-RTF.rtf

Comments:

Hi Brad, This is the first time I have converted a m4a file to a mp3 one. Could you please let me know if you have any problems opening it up. I used an online converter to make the change. Thanks. Mary

Where I Grew Up

Submitted: July 20, 2020 at 10:11 pm
By: JOHN BENNETT, Tom Engelhardt,
Copyright info: ©2020 by John Bennett and Tom Engelhardt

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/WHERE-I-GREW-UP-1-1.rtf

Comments:

Nice job on this submission form. and the guidelines. CUDOS

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: August 27, 2020 at 9:52 am
By: Greg Connor,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Mississippi-Moon-Lyrics-Gregory-A-Connor.rtf

I was here when the moon broke that horizon
And the sunset was still in the sky
Now that lunar light brightly shines on
The river as it gently goes by

Mississippi Moon shimmer on the water
As the river glides to the sea
Mississippi Moon help me consider
Something more than me, Mississippi Moon

So I watch the eddies as they mesmerize
Reflecting the moon and the stars
I conclude as I finally surmise
What a small part we really are

The river runs willfully
Reflecting the heavens above
I’m right here where I should be
Pondering purpose and love

Comments:

Brad, I'm at the limit of my Neanderthal brain power converting the lyrics to single space. My Word Program is 2003 (maybe updated to 2010) and your suggestion was a little too modern. I think I got it. If not let me know and I'll give it another try.

Greg

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: August 28, 2020 at 3:54 pm
By: Chad Shank,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Chad-Shank-Mississippi-Moon.rtf

Mississippi Moon
By Chad Shank

We were getting high and drinking cheapo wine
Somewhere in the weeds out by that riverside
We were teenage kids just chasing summer life
Started making out under the moonlit sky

We learned about love there that night

CHORUS:
Kissing you feeling your hands go up my T shirt
Feel the soft part of your lips
Bending our innocence finding the passion
A magical night of bliss
The riverbank crickets sang chorus in the distance
Serenaded our first time
Something got us in the mood
It’s the Mississippi Moon

We were growing up and learning as we went
Propped our blue jeans up so we could rest our heads
Watched stars go by wishing it would never end
Then we asked ourselves about what would happen next

That night we would never forget

CHORUS

We keep counting the years off
And that night never leaves my mind
Cuz when the moon is way up in the sky
It’s like no time has gone
And I’m back….

CHORUS

Comments:

Written, produced and performed by Chad Shank
(c)2020 Chad Shank Music

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 11, 2020 at 3:53 pm
By: Vicki Morrison Goble,
Copyright info: Copyright 2020 Vicki Morrison Goble

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Vicki-Morrison-Goble-Mississippi-Moon-Solo-Challenge.rtf

Mississippi Moon
Writer: Vicki Morrison Goble

“Come with me,” he said; “let’s go to Mississippi.”
His eyes were bright; his smile tight with hope
“You can even leave me when we get there.
I just need someone to help me go.

If I don’t go now,” he said, “I never will.
I’ll have a wife and kids; I’ll use an office key.
My hopes and dreams will never be fulfilled.
I really want to go, come with me please.

CHORUS
Let’s go down to Mississippi;
We’ll watch the stars at night and share a point of view
Let’s go down to Mississippi,
Where we can dance beneath the Mississippi Moon.”

I shook my head; “What would my mama say
if I took off and ran away with you?
And what about your bride; what about your wedding day?
And me, I really need to stay in school.”

Repeat Pre-Chorus

Repeat Chorus

What if I had gone, what would I have seen?
I’d like to peek into that fantasy.
Would things be diff’rent? I don’t know.
If I had dared to follow my Romeo?

Repeat Chorus

Comments:

I made it!

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 12, 2020 at 5:46 pm
By: Mike Rudquist,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/MikeRudquist-MississippiMoon-SoloChallenge-1.rtf

Mississippi Moon

Way down south
Sixty one highway
Where the Georgia Pines shade
And the alligators play
I met my best girl, Ella
Who plays the guitar
Out of tune
Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon

The Bulldogs play
the Alabama Crimson Tide
We all cheer and stomp
On Saturday night
Touchdowns and pigskins
Are all that we wanna do
Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon

Chorus
So lets go
To those river banks
Where It feels so right
Where the moon sneaks in
On those southern nights
Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon

I've travelled all around the world
Paris to Tokyo
Seen the Broadway lights
Desert Island ocean glow
But I always come back
To the place worth coming back to
Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon

So lets go
To those river banks
Where It feels so right
Where the moon sneaks in
On those southern nights
Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon

Comments:

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 13, 2020 at 10:45 pm
By: Grant Ruckheim,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/GrantRuckheim_MississippiMoon_SoloSongwritingChallenge.rtf

Mississippi Moon

I saw the Mississippi moon
She shined upon the water and up back at you
And We laid back against the wooden canoe
In darkness, I shared a secret nobody knew

Refrain:
Sometimes a friend can help you bear the load
Sometimes a friend will teach you more than you know
I’ve spend the last 8 months on my own
But It feels good to share the moonlight with you.

You listened patiently as I shared the news
And empathized how you’ve also been bruised
Told me that it could take a long time to heal
Unless I let the moonlight in and trust myself

It would take a lifetime
But now you'll be my lifeline

[Repeat refrain]

Now it has been 12 months since that Mississippi Moon
And I still here your worlds echo back at me
“Don’t listen to what he said. You’re worth much more than that.
You'll find someone to trust once you trust yourself”

[Repeat refrain]

Grant Ruckheim – grantruckheim@gmail.com – 612 708 8766

Comments:

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 14, 2020 at 11:03 am
By: Douglas Millaway,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Mississippi-Moon-.rtf

Mississippi Moon –
Doug Millaway Copyright 2020

I'm traveling down the Mississippi
The bright crescent moon overhead
There's a wat going all around me
Can't believe I'm not dead
Moonlight don't know the difference
Between peace and a bullet of lead

My job seems pretty simple
The railroad that runs underground
We sail from light into darkness
Careful to not make a sound
Moonlight don't know the difference
Between being lost or being found

Mississippi moon, what do you see?
Mississippi moon, help us be free

The blue and the gray all look the same
On a summer night lit by the moon
I'll take the chance to find all the stolen
We'll be heading up north really soon
Moonlight don't know the difference
Between Cairo and Saskatoon

Float past the lights of St Louis
I hear sounds of unrest on the shore
One man should not own another
Whether he be rich or be poor
Moonlight don't know the difference
Between flowers and manure

Comments:

Fun project

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 16, 2020 at 7:59 pm
By: Paul Beckermann,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Paul-Beckermann-Mississippi-Moon-Solo-Challenge.rtf

Mississippi Moon

Sitting by the river on a slippery rock
Probably should have given it a little more thought
We made the long climb to the top of the bridge
It was 60 feet up to the jumpin’ ledge

And we did it. Yes we did it.

Chorus:
And we’ll blame it on the moon
We’ll blame it all on the Mississippi Moon
Together in the night with the full moon bright
We’re gonna take a little ride on a risky side
We’ll dive in and blame it on the moon
We’re gonna blame it all on the Mississippi Moon

And when I jumped my pants caught hold
On a rusty old nail, that’s what I’m told
It twisted and it pulled me and it spun me around
It sent me tumblin’ down my world upside down

Toward the water, toward the water.

Chorus:
And we blamed it on the moon
We blamed it all on the Mississippi Moon
Together in the night with the full moon bright
We’re gonna take a little ride on a risky side
We’ll dive in and blame it on the moon
We’re gonna blame it all on the Mississippi Moon

We did it, yes we did it

And I landed by a rock that was three feet wide
I was terrified, but I didn’t die, now we think of that night
Whenever we’re lost, don’t know what to do
I’ll take that leap, and I’ll take it with you

With you and the moon

Chorus:
And we’ll blame it on the moon
We’ll blame it all on the Mississippi Moon
Together in the night with the full moon bright
We’re gonna take a little ride on a risky side
We’ll dive in and we’ll blame it on the moon
We’re gonna blame it all on the Mississippi Moon
We’re gonna blame it all on the Mississippi Moon

©Paul Beckermann | paulandpambeckermann@gmail.com | 320-455-7420

Comments:

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 17, 2020 at 8:56 pm
By: Brad Dunsé,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Brad-Dunse-Mississippi-Moon-Summer2020.rtf

Mississippi Moon

I’m Towboat Toby out’a Baton Rouge
Pushing 40 barges with a triple screw
Headed north for Cairo Illinois
Flankin’ banks at 10,000 horse
Dodging skiffs and bars of course
Smell that river… man it’s a beautiful night
And look right there, ain’t that quite a view
That’s my Mississippi, Mississippi moon

[Chorus]
No matter where I roam in this old world
My pilot house and crew are always here
Back here on the river
Pushing 46,000 ton
And to get back here all I got to do
Is see my Mississippi, Mississippi moon

Wilkerson Point’s lyin’ dead ahead
That’s one wicked piece of riverbed
It’ll throw your tow when the river’s flooding high
It pulled us under in a massive fit
My crew got out, some say I didn’t
Somethin’ ‘bout that story ain’t quite right
I’m doing fine aboard The Déjà Vu
‘Neath my Mississippi … Mississippi moon

[Repeat chorus]

They say old river pilots never die
When they go down with their tow
I reckon there’s a bit
Of truth to that old myth
Guess that one’s best left up to you
‘Neath my Mississippi … Mississippi moon

[Repeat chorus]

I come back to the river
Every time they make this run
To get me here all they got to do
Is see that Mississippi… Mississippi moon
To get me here all they got to do
Is see that Mississippi… Mississippi moon

Comments:

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 18, 2020 at 8:48 am
By: Ann Thompson,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/ALThompson.Mississippi-Moon.SoloChallenge.rtf

Mississippi Moon

There’s a carpet of light on the river tonight.
I am thinking that it is magic.
Sirens’ songs igniting, the forest delighting
Passions I fear could be tragic.

Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon,
Mississippi Moon, are you crying?

A union is coming. A dance of becoming.
Fast, clear water is running high.
Mother earth is drumming. Oaks and willows humming.
All is one water, earth, and sky.

Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon,
Mississippi Moon, are you smiling?

The Corn Moon is calling. A new day is dawning.
Ancient eyes are drawing me in.
I’m feeling surrender, bewitched in night splendor.
There’s a turning about to begin.

Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon
You are laughing!

As the sun rises and my dream starts to fade
One thing I remember Mississippi Moon is alive.

Ann L. Thompson, ©9/14/15

Comments:

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 18, 2020 at 10:02 am
By: Leslee McKee-Perry,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Mississippi-Moon-lyrics.rtf

Mississippi Moon

I've travelled the country
Seen a good bit of the world
Looking for a place I could belong
And I've seen some beauty
Made some life-long friends
But mostly what I felt like was alone

Chorus:
Doesn't matter where I go
This will always be my home
I couldn't get back here too soon
To bathe in her light
Where everything's right
I missed my Mississippi Moon

Growing up in Minnesota
With the winter's stifling cold
Spent frozen to the core half of my days
What I've realized now that I didn't see before
When it comes to love, the River has her ways

[Chorus]

Instrumental Bridge

[Chorus]

©Leslee McKee-Perry 2020

Comments:

Solo written, recorded with a little help from some friends

Schletty-Mississippi Moon-Summer Solo Challenge

Submitted: September 19, 2020 at 2:01 am
By: Richard Schletty,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Schletty-Mississippi-Moon-Summer-Solo-Challenge.rtf

Mississippi Moon
Richard Schletty

     C        G           Am    C 
I'll hammer a beat with a rusty spoon
    Dm       G         Dm       G
I'm takin' a ride on a drifting log
     C       G                  Am       C 
The night is clear, cause there ain't no fog
     Dm     G         C
I'll drop a line as I carry a tune

Am     G         F        G
When I hear that lonesome loon
Am     G     F       G 
I just wanna cry out loud
Am   Dm      F      G      
Underneath a starry shroud
          F     G     C
Under the Mississippi Moon

Comments:

MISSISSIPPI MOON

Submitted: September 19, 2020 at 5:40 pm
By: JOHN BENNETT,
Copyright info: ©2020 John Bennett

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/MISSISSIPPI-MOON-John-Bennett.rtf

MISSISSIPPI MOON

She said meet me tonight beneath the Mississippi moon
We arranged to stay late for a midnight rendezvous
Romance was in the air
We laid our souls bare

Underneath the Mississippi Mississippi moon
We wouldn't let the night to end too soon
We fell in love under the Mississippi moon

Buttermilk orb shining on two shadows bellow
While on the veranda we danced the Tango
You peaked under my mask
Love’s spell on us was cast

Underneath the Mississippi Mississippi moon
Basking in the glow of the night’s solitude
We made in love under the Mississippi moon

Stars scattered like sequins on your black velvet dress
Love shines in your eyes my words hardly can express
It’s impossible to keep
Both feet on the ground

Underneath the Mississippi Mississippi moon
We wouldn't let the night to end too soon
We fell in love under the Mississippi moon

Light shines from above and the water below
Like a rocket to the stars that keeps our hearts aglow
We wrote our love song
It took us all night long

Underneath the Mississippi Mississippi moon
My whole world now orbits around you
Since we fell in love under the Mississippi moon

Comments:

It's better not to rhyme the word overused word moon but to put a word after it Like Moondance Moon River Moon ice cream whatever.

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 20, 2020 at 5:58 pm
By: Doyle Turner,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Doyle-Turner-Mississippi-Moon-Solo-Challenge.rtf

Mississippi Moon

Verse 1
current pulled and curved
through the reds and yellows
fall brought a knowing
you were more than I deserved

Verse 2
sunlight fell away
to my pulse gone rising
like the seasons flyin
put my heart in play

Chorus
we lost track of time, lost track of ourselves
lost to the current, overwhelmed
by the light of that
Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon

Verse 3
Like a fierce spring flood
in a rush we’re carried
over the levee
you are settled in my mud

Chorus

Bridge:
rising full right were we are
orbit slow round this new star

Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon

Chorus

©Doyle Turner / mdturn@midco.net / 218-766-8522

Comments:

I would like to credit Chad Shank for his help mixing and mastering the final draft of the song.

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 20, 2020 at 7:30 pm
By: Paula Wilson,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Mississippi-Moon-Paula-Wilson.rtf

Mississippi Moon

Walked this bridge ‘bout a hundred times
Came here tonight, to clear my mind, and my
Steps are slow cuz I walk alone
I feel this hole, inside my soul

But the light reflecting on the river, brings a message for me

Mississippi Moon, filled my heart with hope, that night in June
Mississippi moon, you’re my sign, my love is coming soon
Mississippi moon, Mississippi moon

Walk this bridge with my lover new
Looking for clues, willl he be true, and he
Holds me tight this cool summer night
There in his eyes I see the sky

And the light reflecting on the river brings a message for me

Walk this bridge it’s our wedding night
I’m his he’s mine, our hearts combined, and our
Steps are slow cuz we walk alone
He fills that hole, inside my soul

And the light reflecting on the river brings a message for us

Mississippi Moon, filled our hearts with hope, that night in June
Mississippi moon, you’re our sign, we’ll grow a family soon
Mississippi moon, Mississippi moon

Comments:

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 20, 2020 at 8:02 pm
By: Steve Cassavant,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Steve-Cassavant-Mississippi-Moon-Solo-Challenge.rtf

Mississippi Moon

Emmitt Till was just 14 when he walked into the country store
In the town of Money Mississippi on that fateful day
He was accused of the crime of being friendly, that and nothing more
For flirting with a white woman, so they say
The men folk grabbed him, tortured and shot him and dragged him down to the shore
Into the muddy Tallahatchie they just threw him away
His precious life was taken too soon
‘Neath the ghostly glow of the Mississippi Moon

I pray to God that someday we’ll know
That peace will be coming soon
No more to be haunted by the ghostly glow
Of the Mississippi Moon

To help the good folks of Neshoba County register to vote
In ‘64 the Freedom Riders came to town
Cheny, Goodman, and Schwerner were the three who brought them hope
They were there to spread democracy all around
But then the KKK came and snatched them away and tied them up with rope
Then shot them in the head and chucked them in the ground
Each life was gone with a flash and a boom
‘Neath the ghostly glow of the Mississippi Moon

I pray to God that someday we’ll know
That peace will be coming soon
No more to be haunted by the ghostly glow
Of the Mississippi Moon

What will it take before we learn?
How can we heal while crosses burn?
We must work together to lift this shroud of gloom
To end the ghostly glow of the Mississippi Moon

Emmitt Till, Cheny, Goodman, and Schwerner – say their names
Martin Luther King Jr and Medgar Evers – say their names
Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice – say their names
Ahmaud Arbery and Philando Castille – say their names
George Floyd and Breonna Taylor – say their names
And the thousands more forgotten souls – say their names

I pray to God that someday we’ll know
That peace will be coming soon
No more to be haunted by the ghostly glow
Of the Mississippi Moon

No more to be haunted by the ghostly glow
Of the Mississippi Moon

Comments:

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 20, 2020 at 8:48 pm
By: Mary Kealy-Falk,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Mary-Kealy-Falk-Mississippi-Moon-Solo-Challenge.rtf

Mississippi Moon

I was sitting on the bank of the Mississippi River
On the day my Daddy died, watching the water flowing down the way
Well, he left us way too young and he left me way too soon
I looked up at the sky and I started to pray

I said Daddy, please tell me, what am I supposed to do
As the moon shined above so silently
Then I saw my Daddy’s smile, and I knew I wasn’t alone
I knew where my Daddy would always be

Chorus:
Well I saw my Daddy’s smile in the Mississippi Moon
Shining down on me from the place that he calls home
And when I see my Daddy’s smile in the Mississippi Moon
I know I will never be alone

Verse 2
Now when I ‘m sad and lonely sitting by the Mississippi River
Watching the river flowing and letting it take me wherever it goes
And when the sun goes down and the evening stars are shining
And the sky lights up and shows the full moon’s glow
I say Daddy, please tell me what am I supposed to do
As the moon looks down on me so silently
But then I see my Daddy’s smile in the Mississippi Moon
And I know that’s where Daddy will always be

Repeat Chorus

I asked again, oh Daddy, please tell me what to do
And I hear my Daddy’s voice say tenderly
Be everything you are and when it comes to pass
Become everything you were meant to be

Repeat Chorus

Comments:

Mississippi Moon

Submitted: September 20, 2020 at 9:49 pm
By: Steve Cassavant,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Steve-Cassavant-Mississippi-Moon-Challenge-2.rtf

Mississippi Moon
Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon
This is my song called Mississippi Moon

As a songwriting challenge I had to come up with a tune
And the title had be Mississippi Moon
When I first saw the theme I thought “oh great,
Now here’s something of which I cannot relate”
What am I supposed to do with this?
I’ve never even been to ‘Ol Miss

At first I wrote about a couple In June
Who fell in love ‘neath the Mississippi Moon
By and by, she passed away, and still after twenty years
Every time he looks up at the moon his eyes are filled with tears
The more I wrote, the sappier it got,
I just abandoned it … at least I gave it a shot

Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon
This is my song called Mississippi Moon

What gives Mississippi the right the claim the moon as their own?
There are lots of other places where it’s been known to have shown
Who said it was theirs? Was there a public notice?
Are there any documents signed by POTUS
Who designated it Mississippi moon? Was it Galileo or just some random guy
Or someone on the Wabasha bridge flashing his butt to the boats going by

Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon
This is my song called Mississippi Moon

I decided I’d look out on the net
To see what other ideas I could get
But every Google search gave me the same old hit:
“Oh Black Water keep on rollin’ Mississippi Moon won’t you keep on shinin’ on me”
But that didn’t help me a bit

Now it’s time for the obligatory chord progression:
One, Five, Six, One, Two
I said One, Five, Six, One, Two

Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon
This is my song called Mississippi Moon

Mississippi Moon, Mississippi Moon
Here’s the end of my song called Mississippi Moon

Comments:

This is the second song. This one was kinda spontaneous just for fun. I wanted to call it "Mississippi Moon – The Sequel", but you were pretty adamant about the title.

Bye Bye MN

Submitted: October 2, 2020 at 3:28 pm
By: Bardo el Dunse,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Bye-Bye-Minnesota-Lyrics.rtf

Bye-Bye Minnesota
Way up here in the north it’s cold man
Tundra fit for a friggin’ snowman
Fact is it’s truly no land
To feel your fingers and toes
Snow and Ice has lost its kicks
I’ll blow this place like a box of Kleenex
Give winter a tropical deep six
Thumbin' my Coppertoned nose
[Chorus 1]
So, it’s bye-bye Minnesota
It’s been good to know ya
ten thousand lakes, but they’re all frozen
I need water I can dip my toes in
So it’s bye-bye-bye-bye-bye Minnesota
I’ll come visit when the time is right to
Hook some Walleye maybe Northern Pike too
That week of summer the temps might spike to
It’s Fahrenheit sayin’ 80 degrees
‘Til then keep your ear muffs and mukluks
thermal undies cover ice cold numb butts
Five layers are never too much
‘til it’s time to drop trou and pee …
[Chorus 2]
Yah it’s bye-bye Minnesota
It’s sure been good to know ya
Screw those windchills of thirty below
I'm done fishing with a bunch of ice holes
So, it’s bye-bye-bye-bye-bye Minnesota
I’ll take bikinis cooking weenies at the Tiki Grill
Snapper with a tapper ‘stead of beer battered blue gill
Spend my days baking out in the rays
So when you’re done getting’ snowed in and frostbit
plan your escape from that ice cold bull _____
Margaritaville sounds more like it
Time to start wastin' away
[Chorus 3]
'Cause it's bye-bye Minnesota
It's been good to know ya
Come trade in those frigid blue lakes
For a beach full of hot bronzed babes
Cause it's bye-bye-bye-bye-bye…
Yah it's bye-bye-bye-bye-bye…
Yeah baby it's bye-bye-bye-bye-bye… Minnesota
©2020 Brad Dunsé – Mike Subialka | brad@braddunsemusic.com | 715-760-0712

Comments:

We be testin' mon

Modern Communication

Submitted: November 15, 2020 at 6:41 am
By: Douglas Millaway, Doyle Turner,
Copyright info: ©2020 Doug Millaway | Doyle Turner

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Modern-Communication-1.rtf

Another Monday morning waking up alone
I hear you downstairs on the telephone
It seems like we don't talk much anymore
A kiss goodbye as you're walking out the door
It's a human complication
Not enough information
You go one way, I go the other
Modern communication

You’re the stranger closest to my side
Caught in the net, we’re lost and disguised
With all the tweets and the messages I see
You have no idea how much this email means to me
It's a human complication
Not enough information
You go one way, I go the other
Modern communication

Signals crossed in zig-zag lines
strung across the desert of our minds
electronic wind fans the fires
ooooh we’re left whistling in the wires

leaves drop like notes from each tree branch
sunlight burns across our empty hands
only so many heartbeats in these minutes
only so many mornings with you in it
It's a human complication
Not enough information
You go one way, I go the other
Modern communication

Comments:

Spread My Wings and Fly

Submitted: November 16, 2020 at 3:35 pm
By: Vicki Morrison Goble, Kristine Vlaich,
Copyright info: ©2020 Vicki Morrison Goble | Kristine Vlaich. All Rights Reserved.

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/VlaichGoble-Spread-My-Wings-and-Fly-Cowrite-Challenge-1.rtf

You have no idea how much this email means to me
If you hadn't sent it I don't know where I would be
You've helped me understand myself and now it's plain to see
Temporary setbacks are no calamity

You told me I am strong and full of life and you have found
I've always faced my fears, I've forged ahead and held my ground
I've found my inner strength; I will be firm; I won't back down.
I'm so glad you wrote; your words have turned my life around

I can climb a mountain high
Though I may never reach the sky
If it's so muddy I just slide
I will spread my wings and fly

No more flowing tears for me; no sorrow in my heart
My depression's in the past; it won't tear me apart
I had given up; you helped me make a fresh new start
Your caring words enabled me to rise up from the dark

Comments:

Suddenly

Submitted: November 20, 2020 at 1:51 pm
By: Korina Hackert, Ann Thompson,
Copyright info: ©2020 Korina Hackert (lyrics) | Ann L. Thompson (music)

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Suddenly-for-MAS.rtf

You have no idea how much this email means to me
I saw it so suddenly
It warmed my heart and melted my walls.

You have no idea how much this email means to me
I saw it so suddenly
The love you shared flowed so easily

Your words felt so true opened my heart my defenses broke down.
Now I can see, how true love can be

You have no idea how much this email means to me
I saw it so suddenly
You brought true love and filled my life
Suddenly, suddenly, suddenly, suddenly.

Comments:

Take Me Back

Submitted: November 20, 2020 at 5:59 pm
By: Leslee McKee-Perry, Patrick Kozub,
Copyright info: ©2020 Leslee McKee-Perry | Patrick Kozub

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/LesleeMc-KeePerry_PatrickKozub-TakeMeBack-CowriteChallange.rtf

Waves rolled in, Carried your castle back again
perfect towers tumbled through the waves
and you called to me oh how cruel the sea could be
as the ocean gives, how quickly she can take

[Chorus]
our brightest days, hang around us in lonely ways
take me back to where the ocean plays
I still see you there crooked fingers and curly hair
take me back to where the ocean plays

Tides like days, crashing in then sweep away
Passing seasons, days turn into years
and you waved to me oh how fleeting the time can be
College came, and you were on your way

[Repeat Chorus]

[Bridge]
From a voyage away
Glass bottle floating for days
Message rolled up,
Bobbing in the waves
You have no idea
how much this e-mail means to me
I’ll be waiting where the ocean met the beach

[Repeat Chorus]

take me back to where the ocean plays

Comments:

Nightingales and Doves

Submitted: November 20, 2020 at 10:09 pm
By: Mary Kealy-Falk, Tony Wentersdorf,
Copyright info: ©2020 Mary Kealy-Falk | Tony Wentersdorf

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Nightengales-and-Doves-1-1.rtf

Walking down that barren road, as day turned into night
I felt so lost and lonely, I couldn’t see the light
Then suddenly I heard a sound, and looked up at the sky
Two birds were singing a soft, sweet song
One sang low and one sang high

Chorus
Nightingales and doves, I watch them as they fly
They grace us with their songs of peace and coo sweet lullabies
Nightingales and doves lift up our hearts and minds
Serenade us with their soothing notes in dark and troubled times

I sat beneath an oak tree looking at the setting sun
The birds flew low across the glow and perched where their day was done
They cooed and chirped and fluttered then stilled their lifted eyes
Again, they sang their soft, sweet song
One sang low and one sang high

Repeat Chorus

I found two friends in reverie who cheered my saddened heart
A smile came across my face as the music pined to start
They cooed and chirped and fluttered then stilled their lifted eyes
I joined them in singing their soft, sweet song
I sang low and they sang high.

Repeat Chorus

Comments:

20, 21, Whatever It Takes

Submitted: December 23, 2020 at 12:28 pm
By: Greg Connor,
Copyright info: Copyright © 2021 Gregory A Connor, All Rights Reserved

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/20-21-Whatever-It-Takes-Greg-Connor.rtf

20, 21, Whatever It Takes

The signals that we send between me and you
There’s every indication that we might be through
I’m not about to let you just slip away
Gonna call you on the phone 20 times a day

Chorus
20, 21, whatever it take
I’m not going to let you go
20, 21, whatever it take
Let It ring till you say hello
Say Hello

I know that I deserve to be left behind
I messed up with you and I’ve been unkind
But I know I can change almost everything
If you pick up the phone when you hear it ring

Repeat Chorus

Bridge
Every lonely night I’m reminded of you
When I look up and see that empty moon
I hope you’ll be coming back home real soon
Cause I ain’t gonna last much longer

Repeat Chorus

Comments:

Level 3

The chord progression, G F D C G D F G, is in the lead break

2021 Blues

Submitted: December 31, 2020 at 2:47 pm
By: Ray Pascoe,
Copyright info: (c) 2020, ray Pascoe, Jr.

Lyrics sheet:

Title: 2021 Blues
By Ray Pascoe, Jr.

This last year was a total bust.
Lost the girl of my dreams.
Lost my job and self respect.
Now I'm a man with no means.

[Chorus]
Oh, 2020 was bad enough,
I want to get some good news
That can help me fight these
2021 blues.

Sure, we had a quarrel
On our last Zoom call.
You left the session before I could say
That wasn't what I meant at all.

[Repeat Chorus]

It's just not right, just ain't true.
The signals that we send between me and you.
'Cause what I'm tryin' to tell you ain't coming through
On that crazy 'puter screen.

[Chorus]
Maybe real soon we can try again.
I really hope you will choose
To help me fight these
2021 .. just ain't right these
2021 .. say good night to these
2021 Blues.

Comments:

it said my RTF file was not permitted due to security issues. I had tried to drop a TXT file in instead. But, it said it was an illegal format.

Song: one of two silly 2021 songs.

2021

Submitted: January 1, 2021 at 11:07 am
By: Ray Pascoe,
Copyright info: (c) 2020, Ray Pascoe, Jr.

Lyrics sheet:

Title: 2021
By Ray Pascoe, Jr.

What a crazy year 2020 has been.
It started out just fine.
Then a virus hits,
Now it's the pits.
And I'm barely holding the line.

[Chorus]
Just treading water and bidin' my time,
Not much doin' with me.
I'll just have to see what
2021 will be.

First I had to cancel my trip down south
Then I had to cancel the shore.
Now the only place
I show my face (well, part of it)
Is at the groc'ry store.

[Repeat Chorus]

[Break]
At least I can do Zoom,
Don't need to leave my room.
Just hoping that real soon
I can hug somebody again.

[Chorus]
Just treading water and bidin' my time,
Not much doin' with me.
I'll just have to see what
2021 … hope to see what
2021 … have to see what
2021 will be.

Comments:

Second of two songs. This one is missing "the phrase". Otherwise, meets the other requirements. Unfortunately, that combo is not an option. So, it becomes a #1 instead of a #2 or #3. Note: this is "2021" and the other is "2021 Blues" (which is a #3) … easily mixed up with all the other data in the filename.

Driving Into 2021

Submitted: January 1, 2021 at 11:30 pm
By: Paul Nye,
Copyright info: 2021 © nyesguyTunes Publ/BMI

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Driving-Into-2021-by-Paul-Nye-Solo-Challenge-1.rtf

Driving Into 2021 (MAS January 2021 Songwriting Challenge)
W/M by Paul Nye

I can see 2020 – everything so clear
And I’m dying to get out of here
Wanna leave this bad dream – somewhere deep in the past
I’ve seen the best do the bad, and bad take the best
A lot of heartache, my soul is begging for rest
It’s getting hard to find a love … that will last

Gonna get in my car away from this nightmare
Put the keys in the ignition – and drive somewhere
Got a tank full of faith – and a map to nowhere

Chorus:
And I can see 2020 in the rear view mirror
Got the top down – my head is clear
The future is shining – bright as the sun
Got my eyes on the horizon up ahead
Trying to forget what’s been done & said
I’m driving 2020 into 2021

Glancing in the mirror, I see a look in my eyes
I finally woke up and realized
That reality – is just a bit too real
Some will deny, some criticize
And if the truth stares ‘em in the face – it’s a lie
Then like a thief in the night, the lie will come to steal

Repeat Pre-Chorus & Chorus

Repeat Chorus

Tag:
I’m leaving 2020, for 2021

Comments:

Used concept (or imagery) of the year 2020 as 20/20 vision – our ability to look clearly at our past mistakes/decisions and move on. I used the metaphor of a vehicle leaving 2020 and moving ahead to a better vision, purpose, or hope of what 2021 could bring. I also attempted to use music (instrumental and vocal) elements to signify motion and change. Hopefully, it's "subtly apparent."

Hope 2021

Submitted: January 9, 2021 at 1:37 pm
By: Douglas Millaway,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/2021-Hope-_______Doug-Millaway-@2021.rtf

Is it true? Is it through?
The year of destruction with little hope for change?
Is it time? Can we climb?
Out of neutral and in the fast lane?
People on the edge. The house on fire.
Everybody's tired of the DC liars
Planes on the ground. Very little noise
Black Lives Matter up against Proud Boys.

The signals that we send between me and you
Mask all the fear we feel every day
The tears that we blend with the partisan glue
Fall forever on our relatives' graves.

Can we hope? Can we cope?
The year of recall of things we remember.
Can we shout? Can we sing?
Words of wisdom more to the center?
Children in the yard, stores are open.
Everybody's ready for a turn.
Cars on the road. Cheers from the crowd.
Science and nature lift the shroud.

The signals that we send between me and you
Mask all the fear we feel every day
The tears that we blend with the partisan glue
Fall forever on our relatives' graves.

Let's work together while we can.
Let's make a place for every woman and man.
Let's show the world we have a plan.
Moral Fiber – Stronger – Wiser

The signals that we send between me and you
Mask all the fear we feel every day
The tears that we blend with the partisan glue
Fall forever on our relatives' graves.

Comments:

Lots of challenges here. The only way to make the consecutive chord production work was to to play the E as a minor chord.

2021

Submitted: January 15, 2021 at 5:40 pm
By: Chad Shank,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet:

2021
By Chad Shank © 2021

I was working 2 jobs
But still an empty bank account
I had much less on my mind
Less to worry about
Less to worry about

Sometimes I daydream
And I let myself drift all the way back there
Back when…

CHORUS:
I was 20, 21
I was young and knew it all
When 2 hours of sleep was enough
I was 20,21
LIfe was lust and fun
Back at 20
21

I had my life ahead
And there were things to figure out
I know times were different then
‘Cause my friends still hung around

Sometimes I daydream
And I let myself drift all the way back there
Back when…

CHORUS:
I was 20, 21
I was young and knew it all
When 2 hours of sleep was enough
I was 20,21
LIfe was lust and fun
Back at 20
21

Livin on caffeine and junk food
Feeling on top of the world
Not realizing those were the good ol’ days

CHORUS repeats out

Comments:

It's Time for 2021

Submitted: January 16, 2021 at 9:20 am
By: Paul Beckermann,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Paul-Beckermann-Its-Time-for-2021.rtf

It’s Time For 2021
By Paul Beckermann

Alright 2020 this one’s for you
Happy New Year’s Eve, Everyone
It’s time for ‘21

The virus is rising, the markets are down, and faces are swollen with tears
No toilet paper, no headline bands, and only cardboard fans in the seats
I think I’ve aged 100 years facing all my COVID fears
On the streets of Minneapolis, they struggle to breathe, Mr. Floyd, rest in peace.
Moma bear, papa bear, how much more can we bare. All we wanna do is breathe.
All we wanna do is breathe

Chorus
It’s the year of 2020
We’re just tryin’ to get through
We hope that the year 2021
Will bring us some peace and truth
It’s the end of the year 2020
When we pulled a mask over our lives
I think that we’ve all seen plenty
It’s time for 2021

Well Chloroquine and quarantine, I’m not sure what it means, I’m workin’ from home these days
The north pole’s melting, Siberia’s burnin’ and the west coast states are ablaze
We lost the notorious RGB, can we live up to her legacy?
Too many angry tweets and conspiracies and now a zombie hurricane
And now a zombie hurricane

Repeat Chorus

Each new year brings an injection of hope
A cure for a year of woes
It's time for 2020 to go
Bring on ‘21
Bring on ‘21

Repeat Chorus

It’s time for 2021
It’s time for 2021
If the ball drops in Times Square, and there’s nobody there to see it, did it really fall? Is it really the new year? It better be, and we’ll all be better. I won’t admit 2020 won. You might have burned it down, but we’ll rise from your ashes. Welcome ‘21. We’ve been waiting for you.
2021
We’re ready for you.

Comments:

The way 2021 has begun, I might need to rewrite this song!

Twenty Twenty One

Submitted: January 18, 2021 at 10:12 am
By: Mike Rudquist,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Mike-Rudquist_2021_Song-Challenge.rtf

2021

Honey, don’t let all of this darkness
Find its way in your heart
Even if the world is sliding
And falling apart

Because we’re bigger than we think
We’re better than we know
We’re in this human race
Where love is in control

Must be Twenty twenty one
Different ways to show you care
Twenty twenty one
Ways to tell your friends you’re there
So open up your heart, let your kindness show
Twenty twenty one
Ways to let your brothers and sisters know
Give love- brothers and sisters
Kind hearts- make all the difference

How did we lose all of the signals we send
Between me and you?
Broken hearts, broken minds, broken feelings
Block out the truth

PC + Chorus

Bridge
All throughout history
There’s a light we just couldn’t see
Darkest night will always be
Before the end of the storm

PC + Chorus

Comments:

2021 Come Quietly Dear

Submitted: January 20, 2021 at 10:00 am
By: Colleen Dillon,
Copyright info: © January 2021 – Colleen Dillon, All Rights Reserved

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/2021-Come-Quietly-Dear.rtf

2021 Come Quietly Dear

When I was a girl of 20
So close to the edge
When I turned 21
I would leap from the ledge

I was so close to freedom
Old enough but still not quite
I could go to war or vote for a fool
but my whiskey I must hide

The years go by
They move along
Year after year
Song after song
So much will change
Yet stay the same
’21 – come quietly dear
Bring peace to us this year

The New Year is upon us
Many changes now have passed
Tho my icons all are aging
I still feel like that young lass

My hair is thin and grey now
This year moves much too fast
Been to places we thought we’d ne’er go
Due to leaders whose time has past

Comments:

I am uploading it this morning on a very proud day here in the USA – Inauguration day 2021!!!!! I am so proud to move forward with hope for the future. Thanks for listening!!!

2021

Submitted: January 20, 2021 at 3:28 pm
By: KRISTINE VLAICH,
Copyright info: 2020

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Kristine-Vlaich-C-all-rights-reserved-rt.rtf

Kristine Vlaich
C all rights reserved 2021

Verse 1
A New Year has begun 
Last year was awful for everyone
 Open the windows, let in the sun
 Fresh air fills the room

Chorus
2021 is better in every way
 Thank God every day 
Pray C19 goes away

Verse 2
The signals that we send between me and you
 Are clearly designed to stop, think and review 
What do we want to do? 
it with me and we’ll decide.

Chorus
2021 is better in every way
 Thank God every day 
Pray C19 goes away

Bridge
Let’s have a better life 
Spread happiness, not strife 
Play music, dance with your wife

Chorus
2021 is better every way 
Thank God every day
 Pray C19 goes away

Comments:

used new technology. no chord for keyboard. ordered but not here. sorry.

Dreaming in 2021

Submitted: January 20, 2021 at 9:03 pm
By: Chucks Madhav,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Chucks-Madhav-Dreaming-2021-Solo-Challenge.rtf

Dreaming 2021

I’m dreaming
Of a new world today
I’m wishing
For my dream to be true

Chorus:
Best dreams are for believers
For they want a world for peace
Sweet dreams are for lovers
All they want is one another

The signals
That we send between me and you
Now I’m praying
For the good to come to you

[Repeat Chorus]

Yes I’m a dreamer
Yes I’m a believer
More than a lover
Goodness starts with a dream

[Repeat Chorus]

Keep dreaming; love will find the way//
Keep dreaming

Comments:

I Just Woke Up in 2021

Submitted: January 21, 2021 at 12:05 am
By: Zane Blom,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet:

I Just Woke Up In 2021
by Zane Blom

In the past, no one passed
On dandelion wine
Or granddaddy’s shine
Why should I?
Why should I?
Rot gut— I’m disgusting?
Here’s mud in your eye

2020 kinda sounds like hindsight
Am I right?
No, not for this guy
I do try
I swear I try

So when I stood on a table last year
For a cheer for Auld Lang Syne
I was crying
As, amid my ablutions
I slurred my resolutions
Line by line
All perfunctorily
As any morally
questionable
Midnight vegetable
would venture
At just such a time

But my lack of willpower
Did not seem to sour
My dismount—
It’s the thought that counts—
And I took out the table
And those false teeth of aunt Mable on my way down.
Ouch!

Chorus

2020 wouldn’t let me regret what I’d done
What I’d done
Cash the check
I spent every red rent
It was fun!
It was fun

And it was dumb
Now it’s funny
What the heck
I just woke up to 2021

Do I date myself talking 8 tracks?
And vcrs and cars that don’t talk back when
You don’t buckle up?
You young engineer punks
I got tattoos on my butt
Older than the pee in your diaper
And the Pedialite you just drunk

Pfft. 2021- it’s 1981 or so I thunk
I was nine I had gunk in my eyes
When the sandman would come

I look back through that prism
I remember euphemisms like
“Junk in the trunk”
Had no alternate meaning
It’s all so deceiving we’re old
We don’t grow we’re emotionally young
And we laugh til we’re giddy it’s
Par for us idiots
of 2021
Yow!

Chorus

2020 wouldn’t let me regret
What I’d done
What I’d done
Cash the check
I spent every red cent
It was fun!
It was fun

And it was dumb now it’s funny
I just woke up in 2021

And it’s dumb that we’re fun
And it’s fun that we’re dumb
And we’re young
Still young in 2021

Comments:

Bugs on the Windshield

Submitted: March 10, 2021 at 8:08 pm
By: Paul Beckermann, Chad Shank,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Bugs-on-the-Windshield-1-1.rtf

Bugs on the Windshield

The summer heat was rising
Like phantoms from the highway
The spirit of the day all around
Your hand was on my shoulder
We were dreaming down the road
And cranking up the radio

Ain't it funny how a two lane
Gets etched in your brain
I can still see it plain as day
We were two kids in blue jeans
With a full tank of gas
We let the summers take us away

Chorus
We were on the black top
You were in a tank top
68 with the windows down
We just let our hair blow
Letting all our cares go
The wind is the only sound
We’re burning down the highway
Nothing in our way
Just a crystal clear view
Of blue skies and cornfields
And Bugs On The Windshield

And no matter how I tried
To wash those bugs from the window
They never seem to wash away
But that’s ok with me
‘Cause every time I see them
It takes me back to those days

Ain't it funny how a two lane
Gets etched in your brain
I can still see it plain as day
We were two kids in blue jeans
With a full tank of gas
We let the summers take us away

[Repeat Chorus]

Never wash never wash away (no, no, no)
Never wash those memories (not the memories)
Never wash those memories away (can’t wash them away)
Never wash never wash away (no, no, no)
Can’t wash those days away (those days)
Those memories are here to stay (they’re here to stay)

[Repeat Chorus]

Comments:

Please use this file instead of the one I previously uploaded. The final version is Bugs on the Windshield – Master 3. I accidently attached the wrong version on my first submission attempt. Sorry for the inconvenience. –Paul

Carry Me

Submitted: March 17, 2021 at 6:09 am
By: Vicki Morrison Goble, Doyle Turner,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Carry-Me-lyric-sheet-for-MAS.rtf

Carry Me

verse 1
can’t let it loose, this thought is bugging me
like lost love and my need to be free
speed me to the grave with certainty
oh-oh rising wind come and carry me

verse 2
breathing through me when I was young
rocked my cradle where it was hung
sang to me in familiar tongues
oh-oh rising wind come and carry me

chorus
carry me, can you carry this pain?
hold me in the sun and through the rain
Breathing softly through the leaves in the trees
rising wind come and carry me

verse 3
blowing in and out of memories
sway the branches of reverie
force of nature and identity
oh-oh rising wind come and carry me

chorus
bridge:
pages turn faster every day
slow them down
I need to keep the words,
don’t let them go away
will they stay?

chorus

©Vicki Morrison Goble/ vicki@latebloomersrock.com / 218-434-0495
©Doyle Turner / mdturn@midco.net / 218-766-8522

Comments:

Down At Bug Z's Bar

Submitted: March 19, 2021 at 8:15 am
By: Paul Nye, Zane Blom,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/1-DOWN-AT-BUG-Zs-BAR-RTF.rtf

VERSE 1:
He was minding his own business, drinking at the bar
Chick walks up, toys with her hair, says, “I bet I know who you are?”
“I don’t mean to bug you, but you’ve been in my peep sights”
“Ya see, you were my fantasy in a dream I had last night”

CHORUS:
A lotta boot bustin’ – line dance shufflin’ – Poundin’ down the floor
To Willie, Waylon, Garth & Hank – Haggard, Cash & more
Bottles clangin’ Jukebox playin’ – No one knows who you are?
Just fake a role at this waterin’ hole – Down at Bug Z’s Bar

VERSE 2:
He turns his head and wonders, “Does this princess have no life?”
Tips back a bottle of Bud (and) says, “Lady, I got a wife”
She says, “Why should that matter?” (Uh) He nearly chokes on his beer
“Hey baby, Ditch that ring, my bed’s a king, so let’s get outta here”
REPEAT CHORUS

VERSE 3:
He shoots back and says, “Girl, I’m not looking for romance”
With a devious smile, she winks a while, says “I want what’s in those pants”
He dug deep his pocket, pulled out shiny dime
Says, “Here ya go, baby, you’re a lil’ bit crazy, have yourself a good time

BRIDGE:
She snarled at him, “You’re so drunk.” He said, “That might be the case,”
“A good sleep will cure my beer buzz, but it sure won’t fix your face.”

END CHORUS (2X):
A lotta boot bustin’ – line dance shufflin’ – Poundin’ down the floor
To Willie, Dolly, Garth & Hank – Haggard, Cash & more
Bottles clangin’ Jukebox playin’ – No one cares who you are.
They’re fakin’ roles at this waterin’ hole – Down at Bug Z’s Bar

TAG:
Just fake a role at this waterin’ hole – Down at Bug Z’s Bar

By Paul Nye & Zane Blom © 2021
218-507-0081 (Paul)
218-428-3351 (Zane)

Comments:

Based on a True Story.
Bug Z's Bar is fictions, but it represents a typical country bar. The verses tell one story – a sort of microcosm – of what likely occurs on the weekends at Bug's Bar…about 23 miles due East of Lake Wobegon, and near companions who live at home some place in the prairie.

It's Buggin' Me

Submitted: March 19, 2021 at 6:17 pm
By: Douglas Millaway, Mike Rudquist,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Its-Buggin-Me.rtf

It's Bugging Me (It Ain't Bugging You)
Rudquist/Millaway
Copyright 2021

There are 13 steps from the kitchen to the door
Gotta quit counting, can't take it anymore
The music from the neighbors been blaring since four
And you don't seem to notice at all

The check engine lights on and you say its OK
Wishing and hoping to get through another day
Dishwashers rattling and there are bills to pay
And you don't seem to notice at all

How can you just keep moving on?

It's bugging me (it ain't bugging you)
That just don't seem fair
Maybe it's time for us to make a change?
It's bugging me (it ain't bugging you)
Can't you just disappear?
My life would improve in so many ways

I tried to tell you about my worried mind
My anxiety list, problems that ain't right
But you were ordering drive through burgers and fries
You didn't listen at all
You nodded your head, pulled out that mini van
So I tried to tell you my problems again
I hoped that you'd hear me, but the radio cut in
You didn't listen at all

How can you just keep moving on?

I gotta stop living with fear
Not gonna last another year
You're driving me up the wall, dear
Paranoia

Comments:

This was a fun one. We started out with a concept when I wrote. first verse. Mike wrote the second verse and I think they are seamless. This is kind of a breakup tune that's perhaps a little bitter. It's contrasted by the arrangement that sounds much more like a happy ballad. We had originally thought it would be a 6/8 tune, but we ended up going back to a standard 4/4. This was definitely a back and forth process.

Luzana Meets Buggsy

Submitted: March 20, 2021 at 3:11 pm
By: Douglas Millaway, Chucks Madhav,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Luzanne-Meets-Bugsy.docx.rtf

Bugsy Meets Luzann

Instrumental 4 bars

Luzann Cloud was a local worker
Some call her Speedy others call her Lightning
‘cause she moved, moved so fast
She’s always happy, she was delighting

Bugsy Swanson was a local misfit
Some call him Trouble others call him Cool
Didn’t like people, he didn’t like anything
Always fighting, he’s one angry fool

Nobody knows one second to another
Sometimes you are here sometimes you’re there
Nobody know one minute to another
How to be and how not to be

At the Snow Bar their worlds would collide
Bad boys wanted Bugsy gone
By the time the bullet left the gun
Luzann knew what had to be done

Nobody knows one second to another
Who's to be and who's not to be
Nobody knows one minute to another
When your time comes where will you be

So who you think is not to be?
Luzann shoved Bugsy down
Bullet went on to hit the ground

Nobody knows one second to another
Who's to be; there’s no guarantee
Nobody knows one minute to another
Who you’ll meet and how it will be

Nobody knows one second to another
Who’s your princess and who’s your knight
Tho she always claims to have stage fright
When the time came she did right

CBMadhav@StThomas.edu
612) 308-4717

Comments:

First time working with Chucks. Great partner. Full of great ideas!

Buggin' My Bedroom

Submitted: March 20, 2021 at 9:13 pm
By: Patrick Bonier, Don Strong,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Patrick-Bonier-Don-Strong-Buggin.-My-Bedroom-Co-write-Challenge.rtf

Buggin’ My Bedroom
D. Strong, P. Bonier

Chorus:
She must have been buggin’ buggin’ my bedroom
She coulda been tappin’ tappin’ my line
She must have been lurkin’ lurkin’ my insty
Or even reading my mind

Just another Saturday hangout
Same old crowd same old place
Just swiped right on my Tinder
I looked up and there was her face
We laughed she said “Yeah, I’m Gretchen
I said, “Everybody calls me MC.
”Hey Girl, let me buy you a Jaeger
She said, “Boy why don’t we leave?”

[Repeat Chorus]

Took her to iHop for breakfast
She said it was her favorite spot
She knows everything on my menu
This chile is just too damn hot!

[Repeat Chorus]

She’d seen all my favorite movies
She loves all my favorite tunes
But Mama said: “Son, better be wary
Of something too good to be true!”

Then she dropped a note on the table
“Check this, Melvin!” she laughed with a smirk,
I looked down; girl had stolen my passwords,
…and took my damn keys for dessert!

[Repeat Chorus] x2

That girl was tappin’ my line
She done left the scene of the crime

Comments:

Written entirely over Zoom over 3 sessions. Don came to Patrick's home studio for an hour to record the vocals, and the entire production was recorded & mixed by Patrick.

Better Together

Submitted: March 22, 2021 at 1:17 pm
By: Tony Wentersdorf, Ann Thompson,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Better-together-Tony-Ann.rtf

Better Together
Hey Buggsie…
Ya, doll?
How about we go to Mancini's for a little Karaoke?
Karaoke? You know I don't sing in front no one!

Bugsy, what scares ya?
Me? I’m not afraid of nuttin, cept maybe Sing Sing and facin’ my ma when I die.
Bugsy, I’ll be there for you, as long as I’m alive !
Thanks, Doll. That means the world to me.

We’re better together than we are alone For me and you, two is better than one.
You’re the tomato sauce to my spaghetti
You’re the chocolate syrup to my vanilla ice cream
We’re better You and me doll, together ya, we seem to find our way, together, you and me.

What are you afraid of Doll?
Me? I guess I’m afraid of being alone with no one who cares, no one to call.
But that won’t ever happen as long as I got you.
Ya, we’re a lucky pair.

We’re better together than we are alone For me and you, two is better than one.
You’re the peanut butter to my jelly
You’re the buttered toast to my poached eggs
We’re better You and me doll, together ya, we seem to find our way, together, you and me.

Bugsy, do you think I’m afraid of life?
Naa, you just got a little stage fright.
I’ll help if you help me , face our biggest fears.

We’re better together than we are alone For me and you, two is better than one.
You’re the steak sauce to my fried steak
You’re the Irish cream in my coffee
We’re better You and me doll, together ya, we seem to find our way, together, you and me.
Cause when we stick together, like glue and paper we make a pretty good pair.

Tony Wentersdorf, afwentersdorf@hotmail.com
Ann Thompson, athompson@sagecommunication.com, 651-592-3900

Comments:

This was intended to be a co-write submission but we missed the deadline because Tony was having some vaccine-related health issues. We believe the song does meet the recommended challenges. Wish we'd had more time but alas, that's the nature of deadlines. It was certainly a challenge.

Ladybug

Submitted: March 22, 2021 at 5:53 pm
By: Elicia Faul, Emily Whitcomb,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/EliciaFaul-EmilyWhitcomb-Ladybug-cowritechallenge.rtf

Ladybug

Little girl pig tails Little "Lady Bug"
dancing happy cries

Young girl dreams for life
turblent teenage years
yearning to take flight

Chorus:

Life goes on without a care
for those like statues standing there

There's magic in the come and go for those with wings

first time- we love her so

2nd time- Who learn and grow

3rd time- who really know

4th time- Will we ever know?

Roaming into life love and babies come overwhelmed young wife

Sleepless nights go by no end to the tears dishes piling high

Older graying hair grandma "lady bug" children everywhere

An illness in the night her final days A light

Ladybug took flight

Nature draws a close to this little song

Ladybug flying by a reminder… just try

Comments:

Horse's Gate

Submitted: June 27, 2021 at 8:33 pm
By: Jim Byron,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Horses-Gate.rtf

Don’t look for me; I’m staying home; I feel a strange malaise
The nightmares in my head are deep; I need the time to pray

CHORUS
Oh mother, you can’t save me. I fear it’s much too late
My father was a gamblin’ man, at the Horse’s Gate

The lightning comes; I see the flash, hear thunder overhead
I try to drown away the sound by climbing into bed.

[REPEAT CHORUS]

Don’t look for me; I’m staying home, rejected by the world
Lock the door and lose the key; I’ll sing my final dirge

[REPEAT CHORUS]

Comments:

We veered off from the prompt. Vicki wrote lyrics to the same quatrain structure as House of the Rising Sun. Jim wrote new chords and a new melody. Vicki sings it in the recording.

I Got It Real Bad

Submitted: July 20, 2021 at 8:28 pm
By: Mary Kealy-Falk, Mike Rudquist,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/I-Got-It-Real-Bad.rtf

I Got It Real Bad
Mary Kealy-Falk & Mike Rudquist
©2021

This food don't taste no good
This music's just too damn loud
Don't like living in this funky old neighborhood
Feel like I'm hiding under a big, fat thunderstorm cloud

I got it real bad, baby
Can't stop thinking about you
I got it real, real bad
Baby about all those things you do

You told me you were having so much fun
I was the one that you adore
When I said, tell me pretty baby that I'm the only one
You said, honey, I've been married six times before

I got it real bad, baby
Forgave you a thousand times
I got it real, real bad
One of these days, commit a crime

I always laughed at all your jokes
Even when they were lame
Put up with your introductions
When you called me by a different name
When you wanted to make love
We'd seal it with a kiss
Then I saw another warming your bed
I said "Who the hell is this"?

I got it real bad, baby
How could I have been so wrong?
I got it real, real bad
You've got me singing this sad, sad song

Solo

I got it real bad, baby
How could I have been so wrong?
I got it real, real bad
You've got me singing this sad, sad song

Comments:

Title comes from a lyric line in "Girl Crush"

Melody and music inspired from "Kiss" by Prince

Finding Worries

Submitted: July 21, 2021 at 9:21 pm
By: Anna Bruhn, Rachel Dunlap,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet:

Verse: 1
Good morning sun,
Are you killing me?
But your reasons seem
so incomplete.
From what I hear, it's
because I am human.
A human has got no place I fear.

Chorus 1:
Why the oceans churning?
Why boundless forests burning?
The Coral reef receding
Broken hearts are bleeding.
What could be the reason
For thee unsettled season?
Are we bound to disarray?
We’re bound to finding worries
Are you worried?

Verse 2
Oh Goodnight moon,
Are the tides changing?
We need your rhythm to lead us into the truth.
From what I see
You’ve got a pure reflection.
So shine your halo so bright that all might see.

Why all these wars are waging?
Why families disengaging?
Why starvation growing?
No nation ever knowing.
What could be the reason
For thee unsettled season?
Are we bound to disarray?
We’re bound to finding worries.
Are you worried?

Good morning sun
Are you killing me?
Oh Goodnight moon
Are the tides changing?
From what I see
You’ve got a pure reflection
So shine a halo so bright that all might see,
The LIGHT________ (the tides are changing)
The TRUTH__________ (we need that rhythm)
The WAY___________ (shine it so brightly)

Please shine a halo so bright that all might see.

Good morning world.

Comments:

We took the challenge on level 1. The title, "Finding Worries" we took from a line from "Live for Today" by The Grassroots. Anna Bruhn wrote and performed the song while Rachel Dunlap produced it.

Dream, Dream, Dream

Submitted: July 21, 2021 at 11:10 pm
By: Tony Wentersdorf, Ann Thompson,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Dream.-dream.-dream.rtf

We’ve known each other for a long, long time,
We’ve always been good friends,
But often times I wonder if that’s where things will end.
I’d like to find the highway from friendship onto love,
I’d like to start the journey that I’ve been dreaming of.

CHORUS: But so many detours block our way
To keep us far apart,
I would like to find the detour to
The junction of your heart.

Can we move on forward, not play it safe?
Can we start to dream, dream, dream, and trust the rest to faith?
Repeat Verse 1 (first 3 lines)
CHORUS

Comments:

A Lucky Hand

Submitted: November 12, 2021 at 9:46 pm
By: Mary Kealy-Falk, Greg Connor,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/A-Lucky-Hand-Mary-Kealy-Falk-Greg-Connor-Co-Write-Challenge-RTF.rtf

A Lucky Hand
Mary Kealy-Falk & Greg Connor
Copyright 2021

Verse 1

I went with Lady Luck for a walk one cool morning
As I held her lovely hand, she said to me
Good luck and bad will both be smiling at your door
And they both will play a part as you will see

Verse 2

She told me life is just a game of luck, it’s only destiny
If you think you’re in control, well think again
You’ve got air in your lungs and been blessed with God’s good fortune
So know that you’ve been dealt a lucky hand

Chorus

A lucky hand, hold it loosely,
Life was never meant to know or understand
Grab yourself a magic pen and a few blank sheets of paper
And write your song of life with a lucky hand

Bridge

Hold it loosely, and you will always know
The hand of luck is with you wherever you go

Chorus

Refrain

A lucky hand, a lucky hand, write your song of life with a lucky hand.

Comments:

Here's A Song

Submitted: November 18, 2021 at 12:27 pm
By: Jon Theis, Jan Slow,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Jon-Theis-Jan-Slow-Heres-a-Song-Cowrite-Challenge.rtf

Here’s A Song (The Ghost)
You were the sunrise I gazed on every morn
And like the sunrise in a moment you’ll be gone
Stop pretending you might stay another day
What can I give you for the promises betrayed
How can you leave the times we shared behind
There’ll be no next time no one more day of lies
So remember there are no good goodbyes
Here’s a song let it burn behind your eyes

[Chorus]
Here’s a song my parting gift to you
Here’s a song to tear you heart in two
Here’s a song to taunt your memory
Here’s a song the ghost of you and me

A song of sorrows you can hear without a sound
A song of shadows may you wander town to town
And when the night falls may teardrops fill your dreams
May you tremble as your soul tears at the seams

[Repeat Chorus]

Forget your kisses you don’t exist
I’ll ask my heartache exactly what we’ve missed
Here’s a song

[Repeat Chorus]

Jon Theis | Jan Slow

Comments:

(I'll Never Have) Way Too Much of You

Submitted: November 21, 2021 at 8:20 pm
By: Paul Beckermann, Skip Zetzman,
Copyright info: 2021

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Skip-Zetzman-and-Paul-Beckermann-Ill-Never-Have-Way-Too-Much-of-You.rtf

(I’ll Never Have) Way Too Much of You
By Skip Zetzman and Paul Beckermann

Verse 1
(I’ve had) Too much work for too many days
Straining my hands in too many ways
Nothin’ but bills and too little change for me

(I’ve had) Too much scotch and not enough rocks
Too many holes in my Sunday socks
Too much time reliving my used-to-be’s

Pre-Chorus
Then I look into your full-moon eyes
I begin to realize
Too much of you is just too little for me

Chorus
(‘Cause I’ve had) too much, way too much
Too many times I’ve craved the rush
Too much of this crazy life it seems
(I’ve had) too much, way too much
But not too much of a tender touch
Way too much of too many things it’s true
But I’ll never have way too much of you

Verse 2
Too much coffee with all those pills
Too many meds to cure my ills
Too many calories cookin’ on the grill

More’s not better, more or less
But I keep putting that to the test
I feel like I’ve climbed way too many hills

Pre-chorus
And then your hand slips into mine
And writes a poem with perfect rhyme
You restart my heartbeat every time

Repeat Chorus

Pre-chorus
And when your hand slips into mine
We write a poem with perfect rhyme
Words that join our heartbeats every time

Repeat Chorus

Outro
No, I’ll never have way too much of you
No, I’ll never ever have way too much of you

Comments:

Stuck Yesterdays

Submitted: November 21, 2021 at 10:12 pm
By: John Landretti, Vicki Morrison Goble,
Copyright info: Copyright 2021 John Landretti and Vicki Morrison Goble

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/John-Landretti-vmgoble-Stuck-Yesterdays-Co-Write-Challenge.rtf

Stuck Yesterdays

Long after hours the restaurant had closed
the stars were out as before
Hattie stepped out with the trash in her hand
and walked to the dumpster once more
she stood where the trees cast a shadow
past the light of the hot kitchen haze
then tossed up the bag that seemed the weight of her days.

CHORUS
Out on the road, up on a ridge
back on a bedroll under a bridge
My stuck yesterdays won’t follow me here
Bring on tomorrow with nothing to fear
Cares to the wind, farewell to the end
time to begin at beginning again

Back at the house the curtains were closed
her husband lay drunk on the floor
Hattie went through with a bruise on her cheek
and walked to the bedroom once more
she looked at the mirror with its postcard
of a boat setting off from the shore
then packed up her bag and walked one last time out the door.

Repeat Chorus

Long after midnight when nothing was closed
the stars were out as before
Hattie sat up with a pen in her hand
and opened her notebook once more
She sketched the early horizon up on an old cowboy ridge
then lay on her bedroll and dreamed of crossing a bridge.

Repeat Chorus

Comments:

Lover's Eyes

Submitted: April 9, 2022 at 4:39 pm
By: Stephen Garvey, Kriste Ericsson, Vicki Morrison Goble,
Copyright info: 2022

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Lovers-Eyes-Garvey-Ericsson-Goble.rtf

Lovers’ Eyes

Galaxies of stardust, scattered with delight
Tangled up in darkness, dimensions out of sight
Reaching without seeing, stretching for the sun,
Exploding into being, a myriad jewels are flung

CHORUS
Dancing with the firmament, chasing Bears across the skies
First steps of the Universe whirl out from Lovers’ eyes

Spirals of nebulae, obscured by cosmic dust
A super nova bursting free, a nuclear holocaust
Creating holes of blackness, fecund with space and time
Laughs their antithesis, white holes reign sublime

REPEAT CHORUS

Perseus and Andromeda dominate the sky
Gazing with delight into each other’s eyes

REPEAT CHORUS

Comments:

Broken Souls

Submitted: August 11, 2022 at 10:05 am
By: Liam Vance, Vicki Morrison Goble,
Copyright info: 2022

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Vance-and-Goble-Broken-Souls-CoWrite-Challenge.rtf

We’ve tried and cried, now it’s time to say good-bye
You know we’re broken, past repair and so do I
I’d sell my soul if we could go back to the way we were
But I’ll say there’s just no way, that’s for sure
We’re broken souls. We know.

My mind’s more clear since I got here, I’m glad I left
And now I know that we can grow; build a better nest
My broken soul was once an aimless weather vane
But my new heart glows enough to show the way
We’re broken souls. We know.

If I’d only understood I didn’t need to leave;
The remedy lies inside of you and me

Watch the road; I’m coming home, get ready to decide
You be you and I’ll be me; we’re both our best inside
We can go far as we were or standing on our own
We’re okay either way, together or alone.
We’re broken souls no more.

Comments:

Music written by Liam Vance; lyrics by Vicki Morrison Goble. Demo produced and mixed by Liam Vance; vocals and guitar by Vance.

Johnson/Millaway_Five Bars and a Church_Challeneg.mp3

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Five-Bars-And-One-Church__©-Mikkell-Johnson-Doug-Millaway.rtf

Somewhere between the traffic and the crowded streets
I made up my mind to leave behind this city
For twenty years those tall pines have been whispering
Not leaving before is such a pity

Gave my notice and headed for the Iron Range
No more neighbors just lakes and dirt roads
Warm summer breezes and ice cold beer
But Nothing prepared me for the Winter's cold

Don’t bother pulling out that map
Don’t mess with a google search
You know you’re in a Northern Minnesota town
When there’s five bars, and just one church

Though the mosquitoes are larger than most birds I see
I find solace walking through these woods
Now the only honking I hear come from geese
(To my ears, that sounds pretty good)

I’m dreading the parking lot on I-94
It happens every Sunday afternoon
What a shame we all have to go back home
I guess we’re all crazy as loons

Don’t bother pulling out that map
Don’t mess with a google search
You know you’re in a Northern Minnesota town
When there’s five bars, and just one church
You know you’re in a Northern Minnesota town
When there’s five bars, and just one church

Comments:

We got it in under the radar. Between Bluegrass Festivals and Uke Camps, we managed to get it done.

The Urge

Submitted: August 11, 2022 at 10:36 pm
By: Paul Nye, Greg Beck,
Copyright info: 2022

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/THE-URGE-By-Paul-Nye-Greg-Beck-RTF.rtf

The Urge
By Paul Nye & Greg Beck
Written for MAS summer co-write challenge

VERSE 1:
I been here, I been there, I been everywhere
Need a little fresh air, go somewhere – won’t know ’til I get there
They say home is where the heart is, sometimes I don’t agree
(I) never see it coming, but it takes control of me

CHORUS:
I got the urge to jump & shout, or just be chill
The urge to play it safe or maybe try a cheap thrill
To be kind and refined – sometimes rude and crude
Gotta lot latitude in my urgin’ attitude

POST CHORUS:
I got the urge. Can’t help myself, baby, got the urge
That itchin’ crazy impulse – I got the urge

VERSE 2:
Life is full of urges – we take or pass by
Some urges ain’t so right, like the urge to tell a lie
But the urge to love the life you live, don’t waste that away
It’s an urge you need to take every day!

POST CHORUS:
I got the urge. I can’t help myself, baby, got the urge
That itchin’ crazy impulse – I got the urge

SOLO

POST CHORUS:
I got the urge. Can’t help myself, I got the urge
That itchin’ crazy impulse – I got the urge
I got the urge. Can’t help myself, baby, got the urge
Gimme a little more space – yeah, I got the urge
I got the urge – bababa-baby, I got the urge

Comments:

Kaleidoscope

Submitted: February 14, 2023 at 9:40 am
By: Manny Cortez,
Copyright info: 2/12/2023

Lyrics sheet:

Kaleidoscope

Found a photo on your floor
In a thousand pieces or more
I gathered them up to see

I tried to piece the pieces back
There was too many and I lost track
The only hope that I could see

(Chorus) Put them in a Kaleidoscope
Turn the knob and hope
That the photo comes clear to me

Put them in a Kaleidoscope
Turn the knob and hope
That the photo is of you and me

I know time’s been tough with us
Sometimes we just make a fuss
Over Stupid things we say and do

It would only break my heart
If another man took my spot
And the photo I found wasn’t me with you

(Chorus)
Words & Music by Manuel Cortez
2/12/2023

Comments:

Photographs and Memories

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Photographs-and-Memories-1.rtf

Photographs and Memories

Time it seems just keeps rambling on
Days turn to night and quickly are gone
Someday we all become history
Photographs and memories that’s all there will be

A hand full of pictures remind us inside
Of those single moments that long past us by
They serve as reminders marking the past
Of the steps that it took to arrive here at last

Photographs and memories from an instant in time
Life goes by no matter how hard you try
Photographs and memories dance through your mind
It’s all that there is, when you leave it behind

As I recall I think that I’m smiling
In most of the picture that I’ve ever seen
I hope you find a warm gentle feeling
If your mind ever wanders past a memory of me

Comments:

One Time Love Affair

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Greg-Beck-One-Time-Love-Affair-Photograph-Challenge.rtf

One-time Love Affair

A photograph in black and white
Tucked away out of sight
A memory only meant for me

Image from another time
That moment she was mine
It was never meant to be

Chorus:
It was only for one night
We knew that didn’t make it right
A secret we can never share
A one-time love affair
A one-time love affair

We were friends never lovers
She belonged to another
The attraction was so strong

That time we found ourselves alone
Inhibitions overthrown
It seemed so right we both knew it was wrong

[Repeat chorus]

A photograph in black and white
Can cause the flame to reignite
Excitement of a night that shouldn’t have been

Her picture is my hidden treasure
I gaze at it my guilty pleasure
And for a flash of time she’s in my arms again

[Repeat chorus]

Comments:

Life is not a photograph

Submitted: February 20, 2023 at 2:30 pm
By: Terry Kennedy-Lares,
Copyright info: 2023

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Terry-Kennedy-Lares-Life-is-not-a-photograph-solo-challenge.rtf

Life is Not a Photograph
By Terry Kennedy-Lares -solo challenge

You wake up in the morning, thinking about your day,
The pose you choose to face it, will start you on your way.

Chorus:
You always pose for photographs, but you don’t like candid pictures
Buy good cameras, buy good glass, it’s not a soul enricher
Find the light or find the shade, find a better mixture,
But life is not a photograph.

When you look into a mirror, and things seem out of place,
worrying about your troubles, just adds wrinkles to your face.

Chorus

Bridge:
Life is not picture perfect, Just take the best shots you can.

Late in the evening, before you lay yourself down,
Those pictures that you remember, will make you smile or frown.

Chorus

Comments:

Let’s Make More Memories

Submitted: February 20, 2023 at 10:47 pm
By: John Bennett, Roland Trenary,
Copyright info: © John Bennett and Roland Trenary

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Lets-Make-More-Memories-Copyright-©-John-Bennett-and-Roland-Trenary.rtf

The old photos show how our kids have grown
As we sit by the fire, and watch the embers glow
And we laugh at all those good times gone by
My eyes are drawn to these pictures of you
You look at the camera your love in full view
But tonight your eyes still gaze into mine….So

CHORUS:
Let’s make more memories tonight
Capture this moment in our lives
I’m gonna love you for a long long time
Let’s make more memories tonight

How could I ever forget
How you looked at me when we first met
The night was clear when I first loved you
That same ol’ moon way up in the sky
I see him blush, and I know why
He must recall our first rendezvous

REPEAT CHORUS

BRIDGE
Memories last forever. Good memories stand out in time.
With you they only get better, with each, and every year that passes by…

REPEAT CHORUS

Comments:

Note this is a resubmission to correct lyrics

Old School Photograher's Blues

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Old-School-Photographers-Blues.rtf

I've got the Old School Photographer's Blues
I've got the Old School Photographer's Blues
The world's passing me by – my photos are no longer big news

My photos were known, I had arrived
Heck, my photos were shown on Larry King Live
Now my kid can shoot better pictures than me and he's only five

So I took my kid's advice and got a phone of my own (he claims its smart)
I took the kid's advice and got a phone of my own
I've taken 26,102 photos and I ain't even got the darn thing home

All the stuff I knew so well, all that don't matter no more
All the stuff I knew so well don't matter, that’s for sure
Long lenses, light meter (I love that light meter!) The kid had me throw' em in a drawer

But gotta admit New School Photography’s really kinda fun
Yep, this New School Photography’s really kinda fun
If I can hit the right button, Babe, my work is all done

Comments:

This is all new stuff for me – new computer and keyboard; new interface; huge leap in GarageBand version; never tried any blues before; never tried loops or backing tracks; never tried to play blues piano. The hardest for me? Didn't realize how stuck I was with very strict chorus /verse lyrics pattern. So this draft piece is just a tongue-in-cheek admission of how much I DON'T know. I'm trying out lots of new things I am learning from each of you (and YouTube University), and not worrying about the final product….. THANKS, Paul for this well-presented open-ended prompt, and THANKS, MAS members, for being so encouraging and excited about helping each other grow and learn.

This Photograph

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Jacson-MIller-This-Photograph-Solo-Challenge.rtf

This Photograph

I pulled the closet boxes down, And watched it flutter to the ground
Memories came rushing back, My eyes fell into the photograph

Back from the days when nights felt like, They were open windows into the life
We were soon to know, but not so fast, Had to take time out for this photograph

Chorus
This photograph with your arms around mine, And time was there, it was on our side
We grew so fast, grew so far, I grew my family in another home
But the photograph hollers back to a time when we were younger
When life was an entire concert long, This photograph is from my favorite song

I took my phone, headed out the door, To get to what I was headed for
Back to the arms in the photograph, That was in my heart and had never left

When I arrived at your door, Your face lit up like long before
You saw my hand with our photograph, And I saw your heart had never left

[Repeat Chorus]

Teary eyed, you said thank you son, You know your dad's been gone so long
I'll cherish this memory. The last photograph of our family

This photograph with your arms around mine, And time was there, it was on our side
We grew so fast, grew so far, You grew my family in another home
But the photograph hollers back to a time when we were younger
When life was an entire concert long, This photograph is from my favorite song
I'll keep it near until my days are done, This photograph is from my favorite song
This photograph is from my favorite song

This photograph with your arms around mine, And time was there, it was on our side
We grew so fast, grew so far, I grew my family in another home
But the photograph hollers back to a time when we were younger
When life was an entire concert long, This photograph is from our favorite song

Comments:

Next To My Heart

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Next-to-My-Heart.rtf

Those words you woke me to hear
in the middle of the night?
Now I know they couldn’t wait
‘Til the time was somehow right.
I should have turned a light on
And listened really close
Instead, I turned away
When you needed me the most.

I got up to go to work
And you were not around.
I went looking for your note
There was no note to be found.
I checked where you hang your keys
On the hook by our back door.
Then I saw you smile at me
From a photo on the floor.

Did you throw it down in anger?
Did you drop it by mistake?
Will you be coming back?
Are you making a clean break?
I’m afraid you dropped the picture
To make the freshest start
But you’ll always know where to find it
It’s right here next to my heart

I tried to text our friends
Hoping they’d know where you were.
Desperation’s tears
Turned my screen a lonesome blur.
I know I've been hard to love
There’s plenty of evidence
But I need the YOU — in that photo back
I have to know what you meant

The love I took for granted
Took off without an adios
When I picked up that picture
Was I reaching for a ghost?

Did you throw it down in anger?
Did you drop it by mistake?
Will you be coming back?
Or are you making a clean break?
I’m afraid you dropped the picture
To make the freshest start
But you’ll always know where to find it
It’s right here next to my heart

It’s right here next to my heart

Comments:

This was a great co-write. We didn't always agree on everything, but it's all about compromise and staying true to the song. A great experience.

A Dog Named Banjo

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/MikeRudquist_A-Dog-Named-Banjo_Solo-Challenge-1.rtf

A Dog Named Banjo

They play Bingo on Tuesdays
Thursday calendar says arts and crafts
Fridays marked as Chicken ala King
3 o clock every Saturday
We come by right after her nap
We really don't see her enough during the week

Sometimes Grandma don't remember my name
But an old box full of old photographs
Brings back her memories

That dog named BANJO
She loved as a little girl
Makes her want to sing
Dog eared photo of BANJO
B A N J O
Brings back her memories
Her memories

Black and whites and Kodachromes
Fill a Red Wing Shoe box on a shelf
Oh to hear her laugh when she talks about her Uncle Mick
Photo captions that Grandpa wrote
Wisconsin farm cows in the shed
Circa nineteen fifty five, maybe fifty six

Sometimes Grandma don't remember my name
But an old box full of old photographs
Helps her find the way

That dog named BANJO
She loved as a little girl
Makes her want to sing
Dog eared photo of BANJO
B A N J O
Brings back her memories
Her memories

Comments:

What Do You See

Submitted: March 1, 2023 at 9:18 pm
By: Paul Beckermann,
Copyright info: Copyright 2023

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/What-Do-You-See.rtf

What Do You See?

We all get to compose an image
Are we walking in or out of the picture
We can zoom out or zoom in
Crop a lot or leave everything
It’s all in how we frame the image

Chorus:
What do you see?
What’s your reality?
When you compose your final scene
And take a picture how you want it to be
What do you see?
What do you see?

I wonder how you feel about me
When I’m around you I wonder what you see
How do I frame my self in your eyes
Am I different or just one of the guys
I wonder how you feel about me

[Repeat Chorus]

You’re more than a snapshot to me
You’re a piece of art
You’re more than an evening dream
You’re a piece of my heart
What do you see?
What do you see?
When you frame your picture?
Do you include me?

[Repeat Chorus]

When you compose your final scene
And take a picture how you want it to be
Do you include me?

Comments:

I will not be able to attend the Monday sharing session. I need to work at that time, but I'm submitting anyway since I wrote a song to the prompt.

Hiding My Sadness

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Hiding-My-Sadness-Pierre-Bohemier.rtf

Hiding My Sadness

Looking at this photo from days gone by
Bittersweet memories as I sit and cry
It was just you and me, your mama wasn’t there
It’s like she vanished into thin air

Chorus:
Hiding my sadness behind a show of smiles
Knowing that families sometimes fall apart
I’m so sorry for the pain we put you through
I want you to know that I was hurting too

Looking at this photo from years ago
I can see a life I didn’t want no more
Your mama and I we weren’t getting along
You had nothing to do with it things just went wrong

[Repeat chorus]

Looking at this photo and thinking of you
We’ve come a long way and we made it through
Things worked out the best way that they could
Life’s a messy thing, that’s understood

We’re all just people who need people
Doing the best we can
Reaching out to each other
Trying to understand

Looking at this photo of you and me
I guess that’s the way it was supposed to be

Comments:

Knocking At Your Door

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Knocking-At-Your-Door-Gregory-A-Connor.rtf

Just below the consciousness, there waits a new idea
Something never thought about and never was revealed
It’s almost like a stranger that comes knocking at your door
And shares the gift of something new that no one’s seen before

When you hear that stranger knocking, try not to disregard
Open up, let him, It isn’t very hard
You just might find a simple thing you almost can’t believe
That no one’s ever realized and now has been conceived

Chorus
When you hear that stranger knocking open up the door
Invite those new ideas in and brace yourself for more
You never know what’s coming till you finally comprehend
And you see that stranger knocking with something new again
That Stranger’s knocking, knocking at your door

It’s a world of new invention changing every single day
We just keep evolving and we live our lives that way.
When you hear that stranger knocking try to understand
Recognize with open arms the gift held in his hand

Comments:

This song is a nod to creativity, perseverance and invention. Inspired by both Minnesota Association of Songwriters song challenge prompt and MacPhail's 2023 Hero Collage challenge. (Taken from MacPhail, Center for Music website: "Tell us the story of your hero that helps you persevere, inspires you, and makes this world a better place.")

The song addresses the creative process applied to problem solving. Please notice the subtleties that bubble up in the song as an attempt to emulate inspiration. Two examples are the short riff at the end of the verses, guitar followed by Bass and the use of a thumb piano accenting the chord changes.

You Don't

Submitted: June 5, 2023 at 9:32 am
By: Manny Cortez,
Copyright info: 6/3-6/4/2023

Lyrics sheet:

You Don’t

I had a dream I found a class ring
Along a river bed the inscription read
Please return this ring to me

I got a call in the middle of the night
No one spoke and it freaked me out
Then I heard someone say to me
(Chorus)
You don’t want to go and turn on me
You don’t want to make me mad
I can make your life a living Hell
Don’t try me, don’t try me It would be bad

The Morning came with a knock on my door
It was a Stranger, though I’ve seen him before
He said that he knew of me

So I let him in and we spoke for awhile
I am the worst of you, He said with a smile
Don’t you know who I am?
(Chorus)
You don’t want to go and turn on me
You don’t want to make me mad
I can make your life a living Hell
Don’t try me, don’t try me It would be bad

I glanced at him and I came to see
That all the signs were pointing at me
The stranger only lived in my head

Words and Music Manny Cortez 6/3-6/4 2023

Comments:

My system is down so I recorded it on my I-Pad

A Stranger at Your Door

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/A-Stranger-at-Your-Door-1.rtf

A Stranger at Your Door
Terry Kennedy-Lares -2023

I don’t have the feelings that you want from me,
I can’t be the person that you want me to be,
I don’t believe in standing in someone else’s shoes,
Loving somebody with nothing left to lose’
You’re gonna lose.

Chorus
You can’t expect love, that, you ought to know,
A garden of false promises is never going to grow,
I won’t give my love away to strangers any more,
Don’t want to be a stranger knocking on your door.
A stranger at your door, A stranger at your door.

I don’t have the answer to the question of love,
I don’t have a remedy for the push and the shove,
I don’t believe in standing in someone else’s shoes,
Loving somebody with nothing left to lose.
You’re gonna lose.

Chorus et fini.

Comments:

Caller ID

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Caller-ID.rtf

Two in the morning, who could that be
Who in the world would be calling me
Some late night heckler just saying hello
I try to wake up but I’m moving so slow

Far too often the telephone rings
In the middle of the night, some ding-a-ling
He’s calling to tell me he’s just full of crap
Then laughs and laughs till the line goes flat

I thank the lord for caller ID
It’s all so clear right in front of me
Sun comes up I make the call
Rise and shine you old dirt ball
Caller ID, caller ID, thank the lord for caller ID

I like to catch em fast asleep
When I first wake up and brush my teeth
I’m just returning your late night call
Have a nice day you old hair ball

I thank the lord for caller ID
It’s all so clear right in front of me
Sun comes up I make the call
Rise and shine you old dirt ball
Caller ID, caller ID, thank the lord for caller ID

How do you like the receiving end
I got your number and I’ll call again

Comments:

Technology has leveled the playing field a bit in regard to unwanted phone calls. When combined with a reverse directory, the world becomes the victim's oyster. It's one of the perfect environments to turn frustration into enjoyment.

Like a Knock on the Door

Submitted: June 6, 2023 at 8:53 pm
By: PAUL BECKERMANN,
Copyright info: copyright Paul Beckermann 2023

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Like-a-Knock-on-the-Door.rtf

Like a Knock on the Door

Some days when every stone’s out of place
Leaves tumblin, getting tired of the chase
Torn from a branch by a crisp autumn breeze
Will I ever find peace?
Will I ever find peace?

CHORUS
(Is it) Like a knock on the door
In the dark of the night
Or a bend in the road
Something just out of sight
How will I know when I’ve found my peace
Will it make a sound?
Will it make a sound?

I’ve seen bright sun cast cool shade
On days when I think I’ve got it made
The rain starts gentle then comes down in sheets
Will I ever find peace?
Will I ever find peace?

CHORUS

I pick up the stone
I peak out the door
I look ‘round the bend
For something more
I dance in the rain
I twirl in the breeze
I flirt with the shadows
And set myself free

CHORUS

Comments:

Just When You Think

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Just-When-You-Think.rtf

Steve Earl Cantrell from Biloxi High
Was out on a summer day
He went for a swim as the day slipped by
And was shocked when his ring fell away

He put his class ring deep in his pocket
For safe keeping, or so he had thought
One dive too many, he knew he had lost it
Searching had left him fore naught

Chorus
Just when you think everything is lost
Something will change your mind
Look for the good in what comes across
And that’s what I think you will find

He and his friends they looked without end
They dove on and on in that place
The Biloxi flowed by and the water was high
They never recovered a trace

45 years, I think it was that
The gold class ring crossed his mind
Eventually came to grips with the fact
His class ring he never would find

Chorus

One day a friend said he found it on line
A 68 Gold Class Ring
Engraved with initials that matched Cantrel
It seemed like the craziest thing
A phone call or two revealed it true
It seems so hard to believe
Steve Earl Cantrel pretty sure that he knew
His class ring would soon be retrieved

Chorus

Mary Kay Johnson called with the news
Her grandchildren found that ring
On a sand bar along the Biloxi River
It was easy to spot the small shiny thing

Chorus

Comments:

True Story … Steve Earl Cantrell (Class of 1968 Biloxi High School Mississippi) lost his class ring while swimming in the Biloxi River. Thanks to the internet, Facebook specifically, Mary Kay Johnson's grandchildren found the ring on a sandbar 45 years later and was able to find the original owner.
The ring was engraved with Steve Earl Cantrell's initials, S E C.

My first impression reading the prompt ("You find a class ring along a river bed") was did that ever happen, followed quickly by what could possibly be interesting enough to write a song about that.

JUST WHEN YOU THINK EVERYTHING IS LOST, SOMETHING WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND.

Love Sick Lap Dog Fool

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Love-Sick-Lap-Dog-Fool-MAS.rtf

Love Sick Lap Dog Fool

She’s got me on choke chain
Can not break away
I was a free roaming hound on the hunt
Now she’s got me well trained

No matter when she calls
I will be right there
Could be the middle of the night it doesn’t matter
I no longer care

Chorus:
I think it’s over but then she calls
Will she be loving will she be cruel
I tell myself don’t answer but I always do
I’m her love sick lap dog fool

[Repeat Chorus]

She loves me then she doesn’t
I’m going insane
Wish I could quit her but I’m caught
Between pleasure and pain

She's an angel or a demon
Depends on the day
I’m in heaven or in hell it’s hard to tell
I live my life in disarray

[Repeat Chorus]

Comments:

Christmas Ain't What It Used To Be

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Untitled-document-2.rtf

Tomorrow night is Christmas Eve
I suppose it's time for me to leave
I need to get away from here
Don't want the kids to see my tears

When you told me we were through
I was still so in love with you
Not sure I can fake a smile
Best for me to get away for a while

Wrap the presents, trim the tree
You bring that special gift to me
It's not what it seems, It's just a dream
Christmas ain't what it used to be.

Hope for a call in the middle of the night
You just tell me it'll be all right
A 2:00 am knock on the door
You say you don't want to live apart anymore

Then I realize it's all in my head
Loneliness stole my happiness instead
Thought these were supposed to be happy days
My Christmas Spirit is just a haze

Wrap the presents, trim the tree
You bring that special gift to me
It's not what it seems. It's just a dream
Christmas ain't what it used to be.

Comments:

Time to fall

Submitted: June 10, 2023 at 8:45 pm
By: Rebecca Drimmel,
Copyright info: Rebecca Ann Drimmel June 2023

Lyrics sheet:

Time to fall (Written by Rebecca Drimmel)

Intro chorus:

It’s a long way down
It’s a long way down

Verse 1:

I awaken, a little after midnight
Rain pouring down
After all this time
That you’d be gone
Is this the call, that would end it all

Chorus:

It’s a long way down
I’m living in tears after all these years
It’s a long way down
I’m living in fear, cause you’re no longer here

It’s a long way down
It’s a long way down

Verse 2:

In my mind
I’m fighting these years and fears
Maybe a few tears
Cause your voice is still here, in my head
When I wake up
Your shadows appear
As I look into the mirror, are you here

Bridge:

Oh no, no, no
Oh no, no, no

No, you’re never coming back
I got that call
Is it time, for me to fall

Chorus:

It’s a long way down
I’m living in tears after all these years
It’s a long way down
I’m living in fear, cause you’re no longer here

Comments:

I wrote, composed, mixed and mastered this song on my DAW GarageBand and Logic.

Don't Let Go

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Dont-Let-Go-Pierre-Bohemier-June-MAS.rtf

Don’t Let Go

Still of the night, ringtone breaks the air
A daughter’s reaching out in despair
She hopes that he’ll wake and answer her call
She needs her dad to break her fall
She hears his voice and knows she won’t cry alone
He’ll listen till the night is gone
Through words of comfort he’ll dry her tears
On this late night call, he’ll calm her fears

And he tells her

Chorus:
Don’t let go, hold on tight
Everything is gonna be alright
I’ll be there to see you through
Always remember, I love you

A mother’s neglect casts a haunting spell
The damage done, the scars still dwell
The highs and lows, a childhood of strain
Now seeking refuge to deal with the pain
Too young to understand her mother’s ways
In a storm of struggles and cloudy days
With every word they speak, her healing takes flight
Through the darkness, he’s her guiding light

And he tells her

[Repeat chorus]

As the dawn breaks, the phone call fades away
But the bond between them will stay

She’ll remember

Don’t let go, hold on tight
Everything is gonna be alright
Don’t let go, hold on tight
Everything is gonna be alright

Comments:

His Name Is Rudi, I'm His Deejay

Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Dan-Barnes-His-Name-Is-Rudy-Im-His-Deejay-lyric-MAS-spring-summer-challenge-1.rtf

v1 He said he needed a little Elvis
To make his old back stronger
He said Bless You Man like always
When I cued up Blue Suede Shoes
It was his second call in August
At three a.m., as usual
I can do this in my sleep
I no longer blow my fuse

c His name is Rudi,
I’m his deejay
He says birds gave him my number
Calls my landline
It’s unlisted
Gets rung by him alone
I’ve grown to like his calling
I have Siri wake up Elvis
To sing to Rudi on speakerphone

v2 We get to chat a bit like strangers
Before I start the music
Like two city busline riders
Whose stops are miles apart
He’s a stockboy out at FoodLand
That’s on third shift, and on second
He cleans offices, five floors worth
And it kinda breaks my heart

c repeat

v3 Last June I thought he was an jackass
I swore and blocked his number
Then something said unblock it
Now I worry what it means
That my three a.m.’s gone silent
Wafting by without a whisper
Here I am in late September
And Rudi only calls my dreams

c repeat

Comments:

This song is a little "out there." I used the challenge prompt, "You get a phone call in the middle of the night." From there, I have the caller trying to request a song from a deejay. From there, what if he's dialing a wrong number? What if he's a little crazy? What if he keeps calling, on and off for weeks? And what if the guy who gets called comes to think this is OK?

I used the iOS app "iReal Pro" to generate the arrangement. It's sort of like Band In A Box, but focused on jazzy sounds and much cheaper. I ran iReal Pro on my iPad and recorded the vocal on my iPhone, then put the tracks together in Audacity on my PC. I tried to jazz up my vocal phrasing a bit, and there are a few lines whose timing I'd fine tune if I had better Audacity skills at this point. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this song.

WF

Lyrics sheet:

There is definately a lot to learn about this issue.
I like all the points you have made.

Comments:

There is definately a lot to learn about this issue.
I like all the points you have made.