Day 31 - 'A Goodbye...But Not'

Hello all,

A goodbye...but not.

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They say that all good things must come to an end.

This is not the most encouraging message you could send.

While we’re teaching our little ones hope, joy and love,

The message seems muddled when we mention the above…

So I prefer to view the world like this,

Though I don’t contend eternity can guarantee you bliss,

I do think good things can last, and that is why,

I say ‘I’ll see you soon’ and not ‘Goodbye’.

And if life gets in the way, confuses, causes you to stray,

It simply is a fact we all must face.

It doesn’t mean you’ve lost it all, that hasn’t been the cost at all,

Look hard enough, you’ll find a lingering trace.

And that hint will lead you back to where you were before,

As we’ve heard too often, all is fair in love and war,

So, is it fair for you to give up without a single try?

No, that’s why it’s ‘I’ll see you soon’ and not ‘Goodbye’.

We’ll say ‘I’ll see you soon’ and not ‘Goodbye’.

We’ll just say ‘I’ll see you soon’ and not ‘Goodbye’.

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Thanks for joining me for the month...and there'll be more to follow!

~Lee

Day 30 - 'The South Shall Rise'

Hey.

Today’s SOTD is a fun one.  I was playing with a character from my show, and I thought it’d be fun to write another song for her, as she is now, before I go and make the character completely different!

This is slow country for the verse, then it gets up-tempo with a bluegrass feel once we hit the chorus and bridge.

Enjoy!

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I know you’re feelin’ low…

I know life’s got you down.

Dejected, un-erected, downright blue.

Balls are hard to juggle,

But a tug’ll cure that frown,

Just listen as I ‘sang’ this vocal ‘yank’ as though on cue…

So your drive’s been far too placid,

Every part of you feels flaccid,

But the South shall rise again.

Your libido’s been defeated

And the ailment has been left untreated…

The South shall rise again.

I’ll give a healthy dose of Southern hospitality…

They say ‘Don’t Mess with Texas” boy, but you can mess with me.

I’ve called on you to draw your sword, you ain’t no General Lee!

The South shall rise again!

Your potency is stunted,

‘Cuz your blood flow has been shunted,

But the South shall rise again.

So your ego is deflated,

Because downstairs won’t get elevated…

The South shall rise again.

Hey ky-ohhhh,

You must be left a little miffed…

Hey ky-ehhhh,

Because life has left you stiffed.

Still, I assure you lots of other gents,

Have lost track of their up-come-ence, but

The South shall rise again!

(Dance break)

So your General’s worn out from all the greasy grass it’s spanned.

Like George, your arm is strong, but can ‘below’ meet the demand?

Let me battle with that Bighorn…’cus this ain’t Custer’s last stand…

Just saddle up, mount on and then…

The South shall rise again!

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Thanks for joining me for the day, and I’ll see you tomorrow with another SOTD!

~Lee

Day 29 - 'Tongue Twister'

Hello.

Today, an exercise.  I wanted to try playing with one particular sound for the rhyme scheme, and pivoting off of that.

This is a patter song, so it would be light and quick, in a major key.  Enjoy!

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When your nerves are all frayed,
‘Cuz your lover’s ‘away-ed’,
Even though you had bade him,
He ‘couldn’t have’ stayed.


So you’re stuck in a rut, thinking he may have strayed,
Maybe even betrayed you,
And just to get laid! 


Well, then I’ve got an aid, to this doubt you’ve relayed,
And replayed it again and again in your hade.


Easily put a halt on that thought cavalcade,
And release all the jaded idea’s your mind made.
If you wade in good thoughts insecurities fade,
And you’ll find peace of mind is a toll that’s been paid.


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Thanks for joining me for the day, and I'll see you tomorrow with another SOTD!

~Lee

Day 28 - 'A Drinking Song'

Hello,

And post-Birthday is always a fun day...so here's a silly tune to go with the mood.  It's been a crazy day, and I still have more weekend ahead.

This one is rubato for the verse, then uptempo chorus, bridge and chorus.

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Once a year a certain day comes creeping up on me,

And every time it catches me off-guard.

It’s dreadful, yet fantastic…makes me think I’m going spastic.

And in it’s wake, I’m left a little jarred.

I am speaking of my annual birth-i-versary,

The marker of the day that I was born,

And though I love my Mother dear, for giving life to me,

The event, itself, most recently has filled me up with scorn.

But there’s hope, I’ve found, to get around the hounding of this feeling,

A recipe for respite from this angst,

And so I mix it up a bit, and pour thoughts more appealing,

As I pray to Dionysus, and give thanks…

I have a drink.

That’s right I drink.

When my birthday is at hand, I try to smile, strike up the band,

And give a cheer,

Then grab a beer.

Or swallow any kind of beverage that is clear.

I like starting in the morning, when mourning begins,

My breakfast, eggs and waffles, and three different gins

And if this is wrong, then please, Lord forgive me my sins…

But still, I drink.

That’s right I drink.

Still, I do drink.

When my life is getting harder, well I simply pour a little chardonnay.

And who’s to say,

A nip of whiskey doesn’t go a long, long way?

Though many search for lunch at a local food cart,

I’ve got a little secret that I’ve chosen to impart,

When I’ve aged another year, the liquor cabinet’s where I start,

So I can drink.

Now, I don’t condone, drinking on the job,

Or while driving or when caring for a child…

But in my life, I’ve none of those things,

So I think I’ll pour another drink and watch more ‘Girls Gone Wild’!

Spoken:  ‘Parts 2, 5 & 7…I like Lucy, the Slut...’

While I drink!

Another drink.

It isn’t half so bad as all you prudes may think.

It’s just that coping with another year of life gone by,

Makes my heart and mind and body heave a mournful sigh…and

Sure I could resist it, but can someone tell me why?

So I…

Drink!

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Thanks for joining me for the day, and I'll see you tomorrow with another SOTD.

~Lee

Day 27 - 'Another Year'

Hello.

So in honor of the passing of another year, I've written a ballad.  It's not as sad as it sounds at first.

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Another year has past,

And thinking back, it went so fast,

Faster than I care to admit.

Another year has flown,

And when I think how much I’ve grown,

It’s hard to grasp the fact that I lived

Through all this shit.

But I know it’s ‘onward, upward’,

I know that time will not stand still

For anything at all, or anyone…

Another year has past.

And with it, hopes are slipping fast away,

So they can keep me on the run.

You chase your hopes a million miles until your heart runs out of steam,

Your soul is weak and weary from the pace.

And when you get your second wind and catch up with your dream,

You learn that it’s already won the race…

Another year is gone,

And with it, one more door is closed,

But as it shuts, you feel a window crack,

Remember, hearts can alter, rearrange what they desire,

One goal can be released, as long as someone can inspire,

The next to take it’s place, and fill the space that’s been left vacant and free…

You’re that someone

To me.


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Thanks for joining me for the day, and I'll see you tomorrow with another SOTD.

~Lee

Day 26 - 'Where You're Meant To Go'

Hey.

Just a ballad to counter the last couple of days.  Contemporary pop ballad, to be exact.

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There’s a horizon in front,

There’s a sunset behind…

But careful not to turn around,

Or you may change your mind…

Just a glance could chance the view to change,

And perhaps spark a relapse.

‘Cuz the spectrum of this open range

Appears to have been laced with traps…

But your vision clears,

As the tears are brushed aside.

And the memories of good times linger,

Ready for the ride.

And a glimpse of what’s in store helps

Veer you toward another day.

And even though there’s more to miss than you could say…

There’s a time, and a place,

And the time has come to change your space up,

Get up and get out, so you can grow.

There’s a where, and a when,

And it’s best that every now and then you

Put it on the line, or you’ll never know…

Where you’re meant to go.

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Thanks for joining me for the day, and I'll see you tomorrow with another SOTD.

~Lee

Day 25 - 'Yellow Lament'

Hello.

Today's is another silly one, though admittedly, one of my favorites.  This is dedicated to Aimee, and meant without any offense.  (You'll understand that in a moment...)

The verse should be rubato and very speak-sing.  Then the chorus is a upbeat, George M. Cohen-esque march feel.  The bridge is very free, then builds into the 2nd verse climaxing into the last chorus, which is back to the march feel.

Enjoy!

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(verse)
Now, I know it sounds cliche, and/or slightly stereotypic,
But I have found a new love, and she's more than just terrific!
She's neat, petite...in fact, compact.  In all ways so efficient.
I think it's clear that my new dear is wholly self-sufficient.


I vowed to learn her history up to this very day,
And so I flash a slanted grin, and this is what I say...


(chorus)
I'm in love with a girl of the...Asian persuasion!
She's my China doll, through and through.
Though my ears had caught wind of a geisha's talents,
Now I know what they say is true.


When she offered to cook for me from her homeland,
I was quite easy to convince...
She walked me in, sat me down, said 'Thai it, you'll like it!"
I've been stuck on the sticky rice since.


(bridge)
Right from the very moment when we had our orient-ation...
And I gazed into her epicanthic, far east Atlantic blues,
It made me dance the Hora, and give thanks to the Torah,
To hear her say she's in no way descended from the Jews.


Then came the eve, to my reprieve, a lofty six months hense,
The night when she would finally give herself.
It wasn't such a sin, though it took quite the Ho-Chi-Minh-ute,
To ditch the slip and slip that hanbok back upon the shelf.


And now it's time, I find that I am ready to propose,
Our wedding day will splendidly surprise.
We'll knock off people's socks when we serve kook su with the lox,
And then we'll have a shinto full of old rabbis!


For she alone remains the one who's sole can quench my thirst.
However, though there's much I know, there's one thing I must find out first.


(verse 2)
Now I know that it's cliche, and it's slightly stereotypic,
But I adore this shiksa, for at spelling she's terrific.
She's brilliant with a violin, she played in South Pacific,
It seems the only problem is I cannot be specific!


(chorus 2 ext.)
I'm in love with a girl of the...Asian persuasion,
But I've just not a clue what kind!
There's Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Cambodian, Vietnamese,
Laos, Malaysian...Help me please!  There's Philippines, Korean.
Yes it's driving me out of my mind, to place...
But I swear that I will learn...
Her race!


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Thanks for joining me for the day, and I'll see you tomorrow with another SOTD!


~Lee