Songs

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:

Ready for a Silent Night

December 4, 2015 — 2 Comments

In the news – more mass shootings than calendar days this year. Police brutality, Black Lives Matter protests, Syrian refugees, domestic terrorists, Islamic extremists . . . and my Facebook feed lights up with posturing and politics, fear, reactionism, polarization. So much of it is ugly, irrational, unkind, thoughtless.

I used to have a lot more to say about these things, back when I was smarter and more authoritative on everything, I guess. Now, I just feel softened, tender towards everyone, silent and sorrowful, observing the overwhelming ocean of humans trying to make their way in the world – a few take their pain and anger to destructive extremes, and the Internet ignites over these incidents. Behind our screens, scanning and clicking, we think we know, we’re sure we understand the heart of the matter.

But I for one am safe and comfortable, and it’s possible that until and unless I somehow become otherwise, I simply cannot understand, have very little that’s useful or constructive to tell you from my social media soapbox.

Maybe not every form of silence is violence. Maybe we could all use a silent night or two – shut down the devices and be still. Breathe.

I still identify as a Christian after all these years of living, all the crimes and abuses done in the name of Christ, all my doubts and grievances and downright embarrassment of the church culture I’ve been part of. And the biggest reason I can think of for my tenacity in this faith, is that I have learned I don’t know it all, don’t have it all, can’t get it right – and my faith remains in a God who loves, and loves, and loves us still – all of us, no exceptions – who holds it all together. And I don’t have to be afraid. I too can love unto death, can love my enemy, need not arm myself for battle. God is greater than all. And God is love.

And “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”

PS – If you take me up on the suggestion of a silent night, you might also want some cozy-dark holiday music to ease you back out of it. Halo in the Frost fits the bill, and it’s a free download.

Cloudy Days, Starry Night

May 21, 2015 — 3 Comments

It’s been a rough few weeks of gray and rain here in usually-sunny Colorado. But I am happy to report that I will be playing out tomorrow night. I’ve even got a couple brand new songs to play!

The show will be 7:30-9:00 pm on Friday May 22nd at Starry Night Espresso Cafe, 112 S. College Ave in Fort Collins. (www.cafestarrynight.com)