My uncle, an amazing guitarist, has taken to sending me demos of stuff he's been working on. He's asked me to work up some lyrics for the songs. This is the first effort. Not my best ever, but it feels good to be writing again.

When you wake up at 4 in the mornin'
Your pillow soaked through with sweat and tears
Call on me, and I'll come runnin'
To chase away all those blues and tears

Don't cry, dry those tears
Don't cry, I'll kiss those tears away
Don't cry, dry those tears
Don't cry, everything is okay

You know there's nothing that we can't conquer
No situation that we can't outlast
Dry your eyes here on my shoulder
Remember that this, too, shall pass

Don't cry, dry those tears
Don't cry, I'll kiss those tears away
Don't cry, dry those tears
Don't cry, everything is okay

Sometimes we feel so lost and hurt
Overwhelmed by all our fears
Sometimes we feel so broken inside
But that's no reason for tears

Don't cry, dry those tears
Don't cry, I'll kiss those tears away
Don't cry, dry those tears
Don't cry, everything is okay.

This is a song I started ages ago. Had the first verse, the chorus, and part of the second verse written in one sitting. I went back and edited the first verse and chorus and added to the second verse (tweaking a few words here and there in what I already had of verse two), then added a third verse and set the whole thing to chords. I'm fairly happy with the results; it's a slower song than what I usually put together, which is a nice change. ~chuck

Stumble in, shake the sunshine from my shoulders
Shuffle off the dust from my shoes
Break a leg, move yourself to center stage
But in the spotlight, you're afraid to move
Standing on the shoulders of the shadows of giants
Building up dust to skyscrapers of gold
Seek my redemption at the bottom of the well
Run the swift race with the brave and the bold

Waiting at the bus stop for God
Waiting for the words I forgot
Waiting in your shadow all day
Waiting for you to just look my way
Waiting for you to just look my way

Stare blindly into burning moonlight
Burnt out my eyes with the light of the truth
Got new eyes now, eyes of pure love
Things getting clearer as I get long in the tooth
I ask for nothing but sight profound
A sign that this isn't all that there is
Small things forgotten, long-buried in your heart
A glimpse of the Divine, a sense of the Presence

[Chorus]

Lost in the madness of deepest disquiet
Lost in my thoughts a tthe ends of the Earth
A single voice will cry out tonight
As the wheel spins from death to rebirth.

Long time no see, folks. Haven't really written much since...um...February, but I did start putting this down on paper about a week ago. I've fiddled with it a bit since then, adding and removing pieces I liked or didn't care for. It's very much a work in progress. Damn thing still needs a chorus, for starters. But hey, it's words on a page, and I'm fairly content with several of the words, so that's a step in the right direction. ~chuck

Another graceless, shapeless morning
Another day of nameless dread
I lack the peace of mind today
To even drag myself from bed
To even drag myself from bed

Another heartless, merciless crime
Another blemish on my skin
Just one more thing to account for
In the day of reckoning
In our coming day of reckoning

Reflecting back on all my sins
I see one long, unbroken line
A strand connecting you to me
Ties your redemption up in mine
Ties your redemption up in mine

Cast out across the sleepless nights
Cast out into the darkening void
These stolen moments of harmony
Were never meant to be enjoyed
Were not ours to be enjoyed

Rattle the bars, strain the chains
This cage cannot hold me in
When I break free, you'll be there with me
And we'll never go back again
We'll never go back again.

My wife Michelle doesn't really go in much for the commodified expression of corporate-approved love (i.e., Valentine's Day), but I'm a sentimentalist and will take any excuse to shower love and affection on my significant other. Honestly, I don't really need a reason to do it, per se, but it's nice to have an excuse to give her presents and say sappy things. The song below is one I just wrote this evening; it's sort of a belated wedding present, if you will, and a meager effort to put into words what I cannot actually put into words. I figure love's kinda like an atomic particle: you can know where it's headed or where it is, but never both at once. That being said, I know I love this woman more and more each day, and I can't encompass how much I love her in words because the words don't adequately describe how I feel right this moment 'cause it's always increasing. Call me saccharine, but that's how this love stuff goes, yo. ~chuck

If the words don't quite rhyme
And they're hard to sort out
You know I stumble and stutter
Whenever you are about
And when I think
Our love goes no higher
I find I love you still more
My heart proves me a liar

How can I put into words or song
You're the love I've been looking for all along

How could I make
A box with these lines
And define my love
Which grows all the time
How can mere language
Contain the sublime
Or the way that two hearts
Beat in the same perfect time

[chorus]

So this little ditty
This lilting little poem
Is just a reminder
To my heart's true home
No matter the future
For good or for ill
I love you so much
I'll love you much more still

[chorus x2].

Here's another song I wrote in class that night. I figured it'd have a sort of Carl Perkins feel to it, but that'll probably depend largely on Clyde.

Also, I got married this weekend. Go Team Cottrell! ~chuck

I was never out hittin' the town
But my baby came and shot me down
She never once apologized
But she's steppin' out with other guys
Since I got out of the pen
This is the way it's always been

[chorus]
It's a double standard
Yeah, a double standard
I screw up, I'm on my ass
She's makin' me crawl 'cross broken glass
But she's out foolin' around
It's a double standard

I get my check, bring it on home
It goes to her her and she gets to roam
I stay home night after night
Why don't my baby treat me right
What's a whippin' boy to do?
I make a peep, she'll turn the screws

[chorus]

Well, that's it, I've had my fill
I'm climbin' in the car behind the wheel
Change my hair, change my name
Get outta town, start over again
I've had it with my ornery girl
Gonnag ive someone else a whirl

[chorus x2]

Here's a song I finished up while sitting in class last night. It was a really productive night: two complete songs, half of another, and a rewrite to a verse from a previously-completed song that I'd never really felt happy about before. Granted, I learned squat about post-secondary transition education, but what can you do? ~chuck

Do I have what it takes
Do I have the courage of my convictions
Can I own up to my mistakes
Accept that I made some wrong decisions
With gold and silver in my hand
The price is paid, though dearly bought
And for all the errors made
I can still say I'm glad I fought

[chorus]
So if the race is run
And I have found someone
Someone to hold my hand at the finish line
So if I come undone
And can't recall who won
I found someone to comfort me this time

And if this is the final act
My last chance to show what I'm worth
Resuscitated for one last effort
One last shot at a death and rebirth
I'm done spinnin' my wheels
Done with chewing on a meatless bone
Gonna grasp for my glory
Take the trophies back with me home

[chorus]

A victory hard-fought
A defeat that was so hard-won
Snatched from the jaws of life
Taken away before I'd really begun
My race is all but run
I can see what amounts to my finish line
Now I can come undone
I found someone to carry me this time

[chorus]

Dunno what this'll end up being, if anything. Could be a short story, could be a comic idea. I'm not really certain yet. Depends on how it all plays itself out. Guess we'll see... ~chuck

How far back do we go to find a beginning?

Back to the days when superhumans were feared and hated; hunted like animals for sport and spite?

To the golden age, when extraordinary individuals soared overhead like gods and goddesses of elemental power and moral superiority?

Or more recently, when we insisted they put the "human" before the "super" and walk among us; earthbound gods shackled by gravity and small, fearful minds?

No, the past is not the place for our beginning. Let us look to the present, to today: a day like any other...

Got bored during my planning period (which is what happens when you've got all your classes planned out two weeks in advance), and this is just the start of something I jotted down. ~chuck

We rolled the windows down
And got out of town
Singin' old Bruce Springsteen songs
We knew all the words
And as we took each curve
With the Boss we sang right along
Along Route Sixty-six
We got our kicks
In the diners along the way
In hte dark one night
She gave up our flight
Said she was goin' home to stay

Finally wrote a whole song, start to finish, for the first time in much too long (last whole song I wrote in one shot was back in March or April). Wrote this one during church, where I get a lot of my writing done (hey, the pastor gives decent sermons, but they go on much too long). Anyway, let me know what you think. ~chuck

You freed the captives
You saved the land
Swooped in at the last second and took my hand
You gave me love
You gave me comfort true
Held my head when I was feelin' hang-dog blue

But now
I see the writing
On the wall

You quoted chapter
You quoted verse
Told me why it wouldn't work out in a fair universe
You took your love
Took your comfort true
Took everything from me, left me hang-dog blue

And now
I see the writing
On the wall

I hear the message
I see the signs
This thing is over, long past its time
I count my blessings
I count my sins
I stand repentant as it all falls in the end

There's nothing left now
There's a husk
A pale reminder in the gathering dusk
You did me wrong, now
Took back your favors
Broke me down, to the ground, ruined my labors

And now
I see the writing
On the wall

I hear the message
I see the signs
This love is gone long past its time
I count my blessings
I count your sins
I stand repentant for the things that end
I stand repentant for the things that end
I stand repentant for the things you end.

My most recent lyrical endeavours. And yes, I spell "endeavours" the British way. I'm an Anglophile, so deal with it. This is for one of the songs Clif wants me to write, about a relationship that started out good but has gone to bad. ~chuck

Is our love just a scrapbook
Is my unbroken heart just a picture on the page
Have our days finally run their course
Like an old love letter yellowed with time and age

Clif came up with a keen guitar riff while we were hanging out in Oklahoma. He asked me to try to put some words to it, and this is what I've come up with so far.

Considering Clif's asked me to come up with about three other songs, there's a good chance I'll actually be posting here with some regularity...assuming all the creative juices flow like they ought to. ~chuck

I faced the temptation
I went through the fire
Stared into the void
Saw the abyss and a liar
Saw nothing there for me
No need to be filled
Faced the darkness of my heart
Sat fallow in a field

Confronted my temptors
Stood accused in the court
Set up for a fall
Thrown to the lions for sport

This song is still techinically incomplete. Clif came up with this amazing bassline for it, but we never got any guitar chords put to it. Too bad, really, 'cause I think it's one of the more interesting pieces we've put together. ~chuck

How come we never do the right thing?
Why don’t we follow the Truth?
How come I always say the wrong thing?
Put my own neck into the noose?

[Chorus]:
There is nothing left to care about
There are no more wars to fight
There is no more meaning to the song
And no one cares who is right

This is done and over with
You’ve washed your hands of me
I thought that I would show you the way
But got lost myself it seems

[Chorus]

No one ever sees their own path
Until long after they’ve walked it
This latest trick of yours
Can’t wait to see how you top it

[Chorus]
I hear lies in my sleepless nights
Words screamed into the darkness
The ball is rolling much too fast
I don’t know how to stop this

[Chorus]
The folk singers sit on their front porch
Watchin’ the world go all to hell
They cry that no ever listened in
But I guess it’s just as well

[Chorus].

This is one of the few slower love songs Clif and I have written. We don't do many songs of this kind, so don't think there'll be many of these posted. It is a bit of a geeky song, though: how many other love songs do you know that refer to holes in space and time? ~chuck

And all I do is smile
And all is well
Now this is Heaven
That once was Hell
Just like the perfect morning
Of the perfect day
I can’t fight the grin
I just want to say

It feels like I’m coming home
After years abroad
Feels like I’m coming home
Warmth like the breath of God

It’s like I never knew joy
Till I knew you
Now I see the perfection
In the morning dew
Just awash in feelings
I don’t want to end
Opened up a hole in time
And caused space to bend

It feels like I'm coming home
After years abroad
Feels like I'm coming home
Warmth like the breath of God

It's like I never knew joy
Till I knew you
Now I see the perfection
In the morning dew
Just awash in feelings
I don't want to end
Opened up a hole in time
And caused space to bend

It feels like I'm coming home
After years abroad
Feels like I'm coming home
Warmth like the breath of God.

Clyde and I put the most complete version of this song together back in May or June or so of last year, right before I left Oklahoma. We knew we wouldn't have much of a chance to hammer out unfinished songs after I left for Virginia and he left for graduate school in Texas, so there was a week or so where we tried to get as many songs finished as we could. I love the chorus on this one (I think it's one of the best choruses I've written), and the rhythm is a little different than most of our tunes. It's fun to play, that's for sure. ~chuck

I don’t know what you want
I don’t know what you need
I don’t know who I am
So what does that mean?
You’re such a clever girl
With the stars in your eyes
You want a sensitive man
Who knows how to cry

I ain’t crooked
Maybe just bent
I’m no Devil
Or Heaven-sent
Not here for fortune
Or even fame
Just tryin’ to live
If it’s all the same to you

When you face Misery
Punch ‘em in the face
When you step across the line
You’re put in your place
This faithless town
Know who I used to be
Not who I am right now
Is that what’s wrong with me?

[Chorus]
I’ve got selective hearing
And I ignore your voice
Got selective memory
Forgot to make my choice
Once more, the hammer falls
We wonder who’s to blame
I see children weeping
It’s a cry shame

[Chorus].

Something I started writing this evening. It's not quite complete--only two and a half verses, still no chorus, dunno if there'll be a bridge or not--but I rather like it so far. Started with the idea of the death of a metaphor, went from there. Title is a reference to a Van Morrison song I heard once (which in turn might've been a reference to another song, though I'm not sure) called "Rave on John Donne, Part 2." I dunno, it amused me when I came up with it (and it's a damn sight better than my original title, "Lamentations of Cletus McGhee"). Anyway, lemme know what you think. ~chuck

You have to ask yourself
What's it all for?
How can there be justice
For the death of a metaphor?
Where's my frame of reference?
Tell me, what's my crime?
Do I have a guilty conscience
'Cause I treated you unkind?

Lost in an urban labyrinth
Cow'd by the county fair
Adrift in my mistress' smile
Tangled up in her hair
Her eyes are nothing like the sun
I don't burn up when she stares
She hardly glances my way at all
When she does, she always glares

I stretch to reach a conclusion
I grasp with all my might
But I catch hold of nothing
But my pillow in the night.

Finished the song from the other day. Enjoy. ~chuck

I turned away from a choice
That wasn't mine to make
I stepped away from a heart
That wasn't mine to break
I fixed my mistakes by not
Making them in the first place
Undid my follies and now time
Feels like such a waste

O~~~~h, oh-ho
O~~~~h, oh-ho
O~~~~h

And I'm no longer worried
But perhaps I ought to be
Now I'm no longer frantic
Don't feel I need to hurry
Stand under a Bob Ross sky
Escape the gloom fo the mundane
No longer blase to my fate
But aware of what I might attain

O~~~~h, oh-ho
O~~~~h, oh-ho
O~~~~h

I picked you up in the
Car I don't want to drive
Y'sent me home without a kiss
Said I was lucky to be alive
I observed all your reactions
Addressed all your concerns
Spoke to all your good friends
I've so much left to learn

O~~~~h, oh-ho
O~~~~h, oh-ho
O~~~~h, oh-ho
O~~~~h, oh-ho
O~~~~h.

Just started this song tonight, so I've only got one verse (and a wordless chorus. Made me feel so very much like Van Morrison doing that). It goes with a chord progression that I've been playing around with for a couple of weeks now that I really dig. I'll post more when I've got more to it. ~chuck

I turned away from a choice
That wasn't mine to make
I stepped away from a heart
That wasn't mine to break
I fixed my mistakes by not
Making them in the first place
Undid my follies and now time
Feels like such a waste

The first ten people to comment on this post get to request a doodle from me on a subject/character of their choosing. In return, they have to post this meme in their journal.

I got bored in my education class last week and started jotting down random lines. What resulted was this song. I'm fairly pleased with it, though I think there are probably some things that could be improved or revised. It's a little morbid, but all in good fun. It recycles a couple of lines from other efforts, though the recycling is altered a bit to fit the rhyme scheme and feel of this particular piece. Ultimately, the song feels a bit like an Irish drinking song to me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. As always, comments are more than welcome. ~chuck

Well I lie here in my grave
An exile from your arms
A nomad who can't wander
Planted in this dirt farm
I've forgotten the sight of the mountains
I've forgotten the smell of the sea
Lying here in my grave
Dead as dead can be

Well I dance here on my grave
Waltz in 3/4 time
Dance with just a shadow
Of someone who was once mine
I've lost all sense of rhythm
My steps just falter and trip
Dancing on my grave
As one foot in does slip

[Bridge]
Here is the tombstone
Here the fresh dirt
See all the mourners
Who can't stop the hurt
Here the fresh flowers
The dew-soaked grass
Please forget me not
though this, too, shall pass

Well I lie here in my grave
Content that I did what I could
Stated my claim and my reasons
But never quite sure I was good
Make sure my headstone stays clear
My soul will take care of itself
Lying here in my grave
Like a book upon a shelf.

This is one of the Yeti songs I wrote right before Clyde and I went to Yellowstone. I remember getting the song worked out in the study of my parents' house in Shawnee. It's one of those songs that I think could actually end up on the radio, oddly enough, if we ever got a recording contract and issued singles. It may not be all that representative of our sound (being more contemporary pop-rock than folk-rock, country-rock, or roots-rock, however you really want to define XeY), but it was definitely representative of my lyrical style. If you count carefully, there are twelve different things the character says (if you go by where quotes begin and end) to try to get her to stay, and none of them are "I love you." ~chuck

I said "we can work it out"
"We can talk about
The way things ought to be”
Said "you can stay right here
There’s nothing to fear"
"You know you belong to me"

I said "you’re the one I need
Please don’t make me plead
You know that you should stay"
"I don’t need nobody else"
"Don’t put me on a shelf"
"Please don’t go away"

Dozens of lines float above you
But I never thought to say "I love you"

Said "baby, please don’t leave
It’ll only make me grieve
Both night and day"
"I wanna hold you in my arms"
"I’ll keep you safe from harm"
"How can I make you stay?"

Dozens of lines float above you
But I never thought to say "I love you"

And all the words are worthless
I’m empty and I’m breathless
On my own
And nothing really matters
I’m just counting down the hours
Since I turned to stone

[Repeat 1st verse, chorus x2]