For Jack

Hope everyone who cares to read and follow this little venture of mine is having a happy start to 2012.  I was fortunate enough to spend the whole month of December up north at home in Pennsylvania with my parents and siblings (the whole clan), and the best part...my nephew Jack and niece Emma.  So December has been busy with celebration after celebration (I turned 25!) and tons of food.  It was definitely hard to make the 7 hour drive back down to North Carolina and start life back up again, but so it goes...

I did a lot of writing while I was home, and I will hopefully get those posted within the month.  But this post is actually not an original of mine (although I WISH I could write stuff like this).  It is by Ben Rector, who is a musical genius in my opinion.  I found his music about a month ago and have not been able to get enough of it.  Seriously, ask my sister...it's Ben Rector this and Ben Rector that.  He is a singer/songwriter out of Nashville and from what I have seen of his live youtube videos he is one of those artists that is just as good live as on record.  INSANE.  This guy is the real deal.  He wrote this song (I'm guessing) for his nephew.  It's called "Hank."  Here's my version of it.  Dedicated to little boy blue (aka Jack).  Miss and love you, buddy!

To a boy who looks just like his father, who's a brother to his sister who

sings this song with that boy from far away

I am young but you are younger until speak more words then mumbles, You'll      

have to lend an ear to everything i say.                          

So be kind and love your mother and your father, though sometimes they seem

to bother come my age, and you'll know

There the ones who'll always love you and support you, they prayed for you      before you stepped foot into this world.

                          

That's one thing that I've learned.

I remember you were walking, in a month I'll hear you talking. and There's

a million things I'd love to say to you.        

Though your parents, they are wiser and will be better advisers, maybe

hearing these things twice will get them through.

                                               

Go and find a girl for whom your love is selfless, someone who makes you

helpless, to change the way you feel. But stay away from girls who always

look so pretty, who's hearts just aren't fitting for the man in you I see.                        

Would you remember that for me?           

When you find yourself alone in times of trouble, reach inside you and

above you, there's nothing He can't heal.  

if it is you do not end up with a brother, just call your aunts and uncles,                                            

We will always lend an ear.

Would you remember that for me?      Would you remember that for me?

The Old Man of the Sea

In high school one of my favorite books we had to read was The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.  It's about an old fisherman named Santiago who has gone 84 days without catching anything.  On the 85th day he sets out to sea and catches a huge marlin.  He fights with the fish for a few days because neither he or the fish are willing to give in.  Santiago realizes this is no ordinary fish and eventually comes to revere and admire it for its strength and character.  In an unfortunate series of events sharks eventually finish off the fish and all that is left is the skeleton. 

Anyway, it's an excellent book.  It's definitely one of the "classics" for a reason.  Here's the song I wrote inspired by the book...

(Forgive the hair in my face...super annoying but I was sick of refilming, so this is the best we're going to get!)

THE OLD MAN OF THE SEA
The old man of the Sea is a tale for you and me.
His hands were rough from years of working endlessly.

84 days past and still no fish he caught on his line,
But he would not relent and went out to sea again.

And time did pay off, he caught a fish, and he held on tight.
He held on long but in the end he lost the fight.
Farther out to sea he went for he would not give up,
But the old man’s luck was soon to change when he drank from the sea’s bitter cup.

The fish was gone for good, but this old man did not give up dreaming.
He kept his fishing line and pole and he waited for a bite.
He knew that when we wait, good things come to those who are patient.
The old man worked and worked and became a great Sea King.

And time did pay off, he caught those fish, for he held on tight.
He held on long and in the end he won the fight.
Farther out to sea he went for he would not give up.
The old man’s luck had finally changed and he thanked the good Lord above.

At times we’re each this man; hoping, working, endlessly dreaming.
We cannot be deterred if our dream seems lost at sea.
Life does not slow down, we catch up or get left behind,
So like the fisherman, we should always keep our line.

Time does pay off; we’ll catch that dream, when we hold on tight.
If we hold on long, we’ll find that we have not lost the fight.
Farther out in life we go for we must not give up,
Our days and years are marked with trials but with faith, we have enough.

Redo

Newest song.  I wrote this one earlier this week.  It's called "Redo."  I got to thinking about all the times in life when we wish we could go back and redo something we said or did.  It happens to all of us and it's just part of the learning curve of life.  (Sentimental, I know.)  Lyrics are at the bottom again...

Redo

There are certain things that make me think of you

Memories of a past I wish that I could just redo.

If I had a clock I’d make the hands of time go back

Another chance to say what I was just afraid to ask

The better person was you even through your loss

You were the perfect study in how kindness comes across

I knew but I was hesitant to lay things on the line

Instead I shut myself off and left you and us behind

I would just redo much of what I said and did

I’d redo it so you would know the truth.

But hind sights 20-20 and it makes me see my flaws

Part of my regret is that I didn’t give my all (to you)

You’re gone and now I sit here with some questions on my mind

I don’t know if they ever will be answered in my time

I guess in some ways I have learned to give with all I have

To say and do and feel and make the most and not look back

It’s hard to live your life avoiding all of the what if’s

But those questions will never bring back all of what you missed

It’s time that helps you come to grips with how things really are

There’s no redo or rewind and well that make life so hard.

I would just redo much of what I said and did

I’d redo it so you would know the truth.

But hind sights 20-20 and it makes me see my flaws

Part of my regret is that I didn’t give my all (to you)

Redo redo redo redo redo

I would go back and try to just redo you

I would just redo much of what I said and did

I’d redo it so you would know the truth.

But hind sights 20-20 and it makes me see my flaws

Part of my regret is that I didn’t give my all (to you)

Life's About

I wrote this song about two weeks ago.  It's called "Life's About."  Lyrics are at the bottom.  Happy listening!

Life's About

Summertime is over; winter’s on the edge.

I have 47 different thoughts inside my head.

Life’s a constant puzzle sometimes we can solve.

But mostly we are here to walk by faith and not get lost.

Life’s about singing through the rain.

And rain will always fall but it is not to blame.

The measure of a man is not in what he attains,

It’s who he becomes on the way.

Things don’t always work out the way you think they should.

Our plans and schemes and best-laid dreams often don’t turn out that good.

But purpose comes through waiting; We learn to ride things out.

And that is when we figure out what life is all about.

Life’s about singing through the rain.

And rain will always fall but it is not to blame.

The measure of a man is not in what he attains,

It’s who he becomes on the way.

Dwelling on the past we see missed opportunities

We must look ahead to truly see (that)

Life’s about singing through the rain.

And rain will always fall but it is not to blame.

The measure of a man is not in what he attains,

It’s who he becomes on the way.

The measure of a man is not in what he attains,

It’s who he becomes on the way.

Here goes...

I've blogged in the past, but never kept up with it long term.  This is usually a result of several factors, mostly time-related.  It's also because I haven't felt particularly compelled to blog about the goings-on in my life since they are not overly fascinating or interesting.  I save those kinds of day-to-day epiphanies for my personal journal.  Sometimes when I read blogs I just end up feeling overwhelmed by how perfect everyone sounds.  This blog is not an attempt for me to be a serial blogger (I know that won't happen even if I tried) or to pretend that my life is glorious and perfect.  It's not.  It's just a spot to post some of the music I've written.

So here's the deal.  The blog is mostly just a convenient place for me to keep all of my music in one place.  I learned the hard way that it's always a good idea to back-up important videos/pictures to an internet site because last October my hard-drive crashed and I lost literally everything. EVERYthing.  It was a sad day, and so I am a real promoter of backing up files on an internet space that won't be affected by electronic mishaps.  I know we can all relate; we've all been there.

When I was little I would sing harmony to the "oldies but goodies" radio station.  I've always sort of had a knack for harmonizing; and have definitely always loved to sing.  I don't pretend to be the best or most talented singer, but I do enjoy it, and I also enjoy sharing it with others.  Last January (2011) I decided that since I had always wanted to play the guitar I would give it a go and start teaching myself.  Lucky for me my Dad plays the guitar and several years ago he got a custom-built guitar made just for him.  Since he's been really busy with his work, he hasn't played in quite some time and so he was more than happy for me to try my hand at it.  I was pretty awful when I first started.  I looked up guitar chord fingerings online and stumbled my way through trying to figure out how to play them, and when I look back on some of the recordings I made I just have to laugh because it was pretty bad.  I'm not entirely sure what posessed me to do this, but one month after I started playing the guitar I sang (and played) at a church talent show.  YIKES.  The poor audience.  If anyone has a recording of that blessed performance I would honestly pay good money to relive the "glory" (aka awkwardness) and then I may or may not burn the evidence when I'm through.  Maybe.

Ever since that time I have been playing and practicing and am slowly improving.  I'm sure any guitar aficionado would cringe if they really watched me play.  I probably have really bad "form" and am breaking some pretty fundamental cardinal rules of guitar playing.  But oh well.  I don't play to be the best.

Anyway, just recently (within the last 3 weeks) have I started to write songs.  They are 100% original, and although they are still rough in spots, I'm thoroughly enjoying the process.

So, without further ado, here are some of my most recent originals.  Happy listening and here goes...