Challenge Prompt: “Photograph”
Download challenge flyer: 2023 MAS Winter Songwriting Challenge.pdf
Submit your song here no later than March 1, 2023.
A Little Background To This Challenge…
Recently, I wrote a song entitled “Camera” after learning of the tragic death of Stephen Laurel “tWitch” Boss (American freestyle hip hop dancer, choreographer, actor, television producer, and television personality on Ellen DeGeneres, et al).
The song is about the masks people wear to hide their true self or personal struggles, and the contrast between the public persona they show to the world and the private persona they keep hidden. One of the most effective and primary tools we use as songwriters is imagery. The concept of a “PHOTOGRAPH” came to mind, and I thought it would be a great challenge to start 2023 off.
Paul Nye, VP
MN Assn. of Songwriters
Start Date: 2/1/23
Deadline: 3/1/23
Option: Primarily a solo write, but co-writes are accepted
Check out what they wrote!
Kaleidoscope
Date submitted: February 14, 2023 at 9:40 am
By: Manny Cortez: mannyandthemob@yahoo.com,
Copyright info: 2/12/2023
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
Photographs and Memories
Date submitted: February 20, 2023 at 1:01 pm
By: Greg Connor: gregoryaconnor@gmail.com,
Copyright info: February 2023 © Gregory A Connor All Rights Reserved
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Photographs-and-Memories-1.rtf
Photographs and Memories
February 2023 © Gregory A Connor All Rights Reserved
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
One Time Love Affair
Date submitted: February 20, 2023 at 1:29 pm
By: Greg Beck: gregb@mac.com,
Copyright info: 2023
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]
©Greg Beck | gregb@mac.com | 320-266-2460
Life is not a photograph
Date submitted: February 20, 2023 at 2:30 pm
By: Terry Kennedy-Lares: TurloughKennedy@aol.com,
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
Let’s Make More Memories
Date submitted: February 20, 2023 at 10:47 pm
By: John Bennett: storehousepro@comcast.net, Roland Trenary: storehousepro@comcast.net,
Copyright info: © John Bennett and Roland Trenary
Let’s Make More Memories © John Bennett and Roland Trenary
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
Note this is a resubmission to correct lyrics
Old School Photograher’s Blues
Date submitted: February 23, 2023 at 4:53 pm
By: Trudi Taylor: tataylor46@yahoo.com,
Copyright info: 2023
Lyrics sheet: https://mnsongwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/8/Old-School-Photographers-Blues.rtf
Old School Photographer’s Blues
Trudi Taylor © 2023
651-707-4585 cell
singalongwithtrudi.com
tataylor46@yahoo.com
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
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
Date submitted: February 24, 2023 at 11:20 am
By: Jacson Miller: jacsonwmiller@gmail.com,
Copyright info: 2023
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
Next To My Heart
Date submitted: February 25, 2023 at 10:43 am
By: Douglas Millaway: virgil.trucker@gmail.com, Dan Barnes: dan@danbarnes.net,
Copyright info: ©2023 Mill Away Publishing
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
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
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
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
Date submitted: February 26, 2023 at 7:03 pm
By: Mike Rudquist: mcjjrr1@q.com,
Copyright info: 2023
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
© 2023 Mike Rudquist, All Rights Reserved
What Do You See
Date submitted: March 1, 2023 at 9:18 pm
By: Paul Beckermann: paulandpambeckermann@gmail.com,
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?
©Paul Beckermann
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
Date submitted: March 1, 2023 at 11:17 pm
By: Pierre Bohemier: phbohemier@gmail.com,
Copyright info: 2023
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
©Pierre Bohemier | phbohemier@gmail.com | 204-952-3074
