Kind

February 9, 2016 — 5 Comments

It snowed a lot last week here in Loveland. And I came across a photo of my college boyfriend. And I had a very sore throat but I still needed to write a song for the week.

And favorite old quotations from disputed sources make great song bridges.

And I love making music with Nathan Bloom.

Here’s my song for week 5 of Song a Week 2016:

It’s snowing outside like a blanket over everything

And you’re on my mind

We once loved like children headed for a diamond ring

And then we trailed off

Now I’m happy with the path my life has taken

And you’re looking fine

But there were twists and turns where I was mistaken

Some extra miles I wish I had walked

If I had it now to do over I’d be kind

I would treasure your heart, and spend less time prospecting mine

If I had it now to do over, I’d be kind.

Back in junior high things were cut and dry

Everybody just understood

There were kids who always got laughed at

And kids who always looked good

I was never the one leading the charge

But I was fine to just stand around

And watch the uncool kids taking the hits

Keep their position close to the ground

If I had it now to do over I’d be kind

I would treasure their hearts, and spend less time prospecting mine

If I had it now to do over, I’d be kind.

Be kind, for everyone you meet

Is fighting a great battle.

The world outside’s all snowy like an empty page

And I’m ready to write

Your best days are never behind you

Unless you turn your back on your life

And all the people you want to have close to you

Are as close as they’re gonna come

You only need to reach out your hands

and take the hands reaching back for your own

We have each other right here, right now, let’s be kind

I’ll try to treasure your heart, spend less time prospecting mine

While we’re standing here in this moment I’ll be kind.

Black Dog Road

February 2, 2016 — 1 Comment

Once again, Nathan joined in on recording my song for Song a Week 2016, and it was fun! We got our daughter Lu involved in the video-making too. Here’s week 4’s song:

Oh, and as the song suggests, we added a dog to our family. Not something I thought would ever happen (again, after a trial week with a difficult dog a couple years ago), but that’s another story I hope to write about sometime in the near future.

A three-year-old girl under a green bedspread

Dreaming black dogs barking all around her head

At the kitchen table a grown man laughs

Barking like a dog in a monster mask

Hey that was so funny I’m terrified

Now pack it up honey let’s take a ride

on Black Dog Road

Black Dog Road

I keep coming back to Black Dog Road

Standing with her family when she’s ten years old

She meets a black dog sheltered in a Valley of Gold

On the ride back home she whispers I love you

The nightmares gone, now her dreams have come true

A thirty-something woman drives alone at night

Has to pull the car over it’s not running right

And the exit name, wouldn’t you know

All glowing on a green sign, Black Dog Road

Now she’s a ten-year-old’s mother and her kid wants a dog

She won’t settle for a cat or a fish or a frog

They talk and talk and talk for a number of years

Then out of the blue a black dog appears

And the mom and dad and the kids agree

He belongs at home in their family

A Song A Week!

January 19, 2016 — 5 Comments

I am excited to announce that I have joined the Song a Week 2016 challenge. As you might guess, this means I and a number of other songwriters will attempt to write a new song every week. I’ve never tried something like this before, and I know it’s going to be a good exercise in fighting my perfectionist tendencies – a song a week means I’m sure to put out some stuff I’m less than proud of, some that bores me, some I will probably even regret or look back on in embarrassment at some point!

But I think I can count on doing some good work too, since I’ll be exercising those writing muscles regularly!

Here’s to a year of hard work and a batch of 50-some new songs! (I joined a week late so I’m not sure how many weeks that actually boils down to).

And here’s the first song I submitted:

Another one is already written, recorded and in the midst of editing work for this week! Starting strong 🙂

Lastly, here are a couple songs I recorded recently but forgot to post on the blog: