click any song title for the lyric page
1)
a prayer for healing
- this
song was written in New Hampshire in @ 1978. that year began a
phase of intense spiritual searching for me, at some points almost a
'conversion'. but to what? there were multiple aspects to
my quest. all, more or less, had a Christian experience at their
core. at least that was the 'mythology' that supplied the
language of transformation. among the avenues i visited
was a study group working with A Course in Miracles
[ click the title for info ] i won't try to explain how the song relates. i think the lyrics will be clear enough.
2)
derby's - one
of my pet aversions as a composer/lyricist was the entire realm of
'commercials'. art created to advertise products and services
was anathema to me. i had a revelation of sorts after moving to
rural NH. i realized that there were several local businesses
that i patronized and actually liked. this gave birth the notion
that one could write a 'jingle' for a business and, since it would be
'sincere', my integrity would remain intact. just for fun, i
created two such. this first 30 sec. spot is for a family owned
dept. store in downtown Peterborough, NH. true to my principles,
perhaps i never 'pitched' either ditty to he businesses involved.
instead i just performed occasionally in local shows. kk
kooky.
3)
feast of weeks - as
part of one 'spiritual' study group run by local guru, Herbert Swanson,
i took a year-long class in ancient Hebrew with a few other acolytes.
this was a fascinating study. i recommend it to everyone.
:-) the 'school' year ended in June, just in time to
coincide with the first harvest festival of the old Israelites,
celebrating the reaping of grain. it's called
the Feast of Weeks. the lyric will explain the rest.
4)
i dreamed your body...
- this
was written in 1972 for varda perry in San Anselmo, CA. one of my
more 'obscure' efforts on here behalf. along with 'hesitation',
it expresses the 'psychedelic' aspect of my attachment to this unusual
person. :-)) in other words, she often made me feel like
maybe i was going crazy!
5)
jesus loves to hear me sing
-
in the first phase of my New Hampshire 'spiritual' experience, i tried
some of the local brands of conventional Christianity. this
turned out to be rather disappointing, although it touched a chord
resonant with my childhood religious background. i think this
song was one effort to capture that, using the standard cliches in a
somewhat novel arrangement.
6)
love is..... -
one of my favorites. in 1982, just prior to retiring from the
stage, i was asked to do a 'workshop' with children at the public grade
school in Chesterfield, NH. i met with one class from each grade
and solicited ideas for songs, phrases, and musical fragments, etc.
from the students. with their help i assembled these into
completed songs which we performed together at the end of the school
year. my approach was a little unconventional in that i didn't
artificially exclude myself, my skills and expertise from the kids'
work. instead, i just pretended to be one of them, with possibly
some extraterrestrial experience as a song-writer. that's
cheating, i know. but so what. these aren't 'kids' songs.
they're real songs. and pretty darn good, too.
i think they were pleased with what we accomplished
together.
7)
naylor's -
see 'derby's above.
my second 'commercial' effort in NH. more of a song than a
jingle. the Naylor family lived on Rte 101 between Perterborough
and Dublin. an auto repair shop across the road from their home
went out of business, and they rented the space and converted it into a
combination convenience store and luncheonette. it had a number
of unusual features, [described in the lyric] everybody, kids.
grandparents, mom & pop all pitched in to run the place. the
food was very basic 'American'. my wife, a gourmet chef, hated
the place. i - loved it !!
8)
seven stars - the
year i settled in NH i had the encounter with the big dipper described
in the lyric of this song. true to my new 'mystical/spiritual'
orientation i somehow identified the 'stars' in the constellation with
7 people i knew locally who were tangentially related to one another.
this was pure fancy. they soon proved to have little in
common. they were related to my own destiny by means of my
own poetic construction. nevertheless, i consider the song a success in its own terms. i did eventually marry one of the 'stars', so that counts, i guess.
9)
ship of love - i
wrote this in 1972 after my move to Los Angeles. it was a
difficult time for me. everything was unfamiliar, unknown and
intimidating. the song is a prayer of sorts, an appeal for help.
10)
song of the night -
i wrote this for my second wife, Carla Richardson. she had a
young son. for the first time in my life i was close to having a
family of my own to consider. i was ready to identify with my new
role. i wanted a child of my own with Carla. it was my time
to settle down and live a peaceful life with people i loved and cared
for. i didn't happen the way i had hoped. but- we have
the song.
11)
telephone blues - all
did not go smoothly during my first year with Ms Richardson.
i was still on the road part of the time, and this lead to
'misunderstandings' and miscommunication. i called one evening
from Chicago. i felt i was talking to a stranger. later i
wasn't able to reach her at all. when i doubt, write a song.