Categories
Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Hurricane, West Virginia Music & Songs Uncategorized

Hard

 

Tell me that you like my hat, walking through the garden path, filtered sun
Flowers sway in golden heat, smiling every time we meet, like we are one

But I know that you’re hard Goodnight Moon
And I know that you’re full of rain
And the ones you discard
I know they never walk again

Then I see you driving by, almost shy, black man against the sky, and my throat begins to shrink
Though everybody says you’re fine, benign, always smiling all the time, till I don’t know what to think

You gotta learn how to die
So why not look in your eyes

Polishing the silver bright, sparkle in the evening light, catch a smile
Hear a knock upon my door,should I answer it before you go wild

Cause I know you’ve been hard
And I know you’ve been full of rain
Standing there in my yard
Your eyes are soft and wandering

But then you catch me by surprise, oversize, black lightning from your eyes and I tell myself to run
But instead I turn and smile, denial, conversate with you a while till it starts to feel like fun

I know that everyone dies
So why not look in your eyes

Life is like an angry man, best to follow his command, don’t run and hide
See you standing hesitantly, why not have a cup of tea, come inside

Though I know that you’re hard
and I know that you’re full of rain
Still it lowers my guard
to see your brown hands trembling

But then you get me on the ground, hold me down, black spirits all around, till I don’t know what will break
And I try to spin my mind through a rhyme to another place in time, till my brain begins to shake

And then you say let’s have some fun, sticky bun, and you’re reaching for your gun, but I cannot feel your weight
Cause in my mind I’m out the door, zombie whore, shopping at the grocery store till you break my crazy eight.

 

Download Mp3Hard

Categories
Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Hurricane, West Virginia Music & Songs

Silver Rain

 

Silver Rain

Silver rain upon my hand so soft, fallingRed Arrow
Silver sky coagulate and cough, falling down
Didn’t you say it would be easier to tell the truth, you were wrong
Didn’t you say there would be somewhere in your world where I could belong

Clouds cry, something’s wrong
You knew I was not strong
I only wanted someone to care, is that wrong?

Silver words dissolve upon my tongue, tasteless
Silver links of love that stretch so long, baseless why?
Didn’t you say you would be one man in the whole wide world who never lies?
Didn’t you say you would be just one man to never cover up his eyes?

You cry, something’s wrong
You knew I was not strong
I only wanted someone to care, is that wrong?

Soft things follow me
Dark words I cannot see
Didn’t you say you would find me?

All the words left hanging in the air, silence
All the words you never need to share, violence, why?
Didn’t you say that in this big blue world, you were the man who never falls?
Didn’t you say that when the clouds fell low, you were the one who would never heed their calls?

I cry, something’s wrong
You knew I was not strong
I only wanted someone to care, is that wrong?

Download MP3: Silver Rain

Categories
Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Hurricane, West Virginia Music & Songs

The Lucky One

 

 

The Lucky OneWorms

Quilts lined his hallway
his eyes were so kind
he shook your hand, a gentle man
perhaps that was a sign.

You followed him to the patio
there were steaks on the grill
the trees swayed, the clouds flew
the world became still.

Now you awake and you’re the lucky one
you’re alive and they died
twenty white coffins lined up side by side.

They died believing that the universe was good
they died when his eyes were hid by a hood.

A face tan and placid
nothing furrowed his brow,
laying apples in a basket
he glanced over you and how

could his eyes glow like blue lakes
on which the sun shines.
he almost seemed spiritual
perhaps that was a sign.

Now you’re awake and you’re the lucky one
you’re alive and they died
layed out like white stars in boxes of pine.

They reached for goodness they reached for the light
their prayers were answered in boxes of white.

His picture still hangs on the wall by your bed
surrounded by white stars to symbolize the dead
and you gaze in his blue eyes now trying to get
the wisdom that white light would never permit.

In darkness all the stars rise
from their beds hard and plain
if they speak to you, believe in them
they have nothing to gain

And they will speak, cause you’re the lucky one
in a feather soft bed
cottony pillows to comfort your head.

Some say the universe is ruled by the good
Some say it’s ruled by a man in a hood.

 

Download MP3: The Lucky One

Categories
Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Hurricane, West Virginia Music & Songs Uncategorized

Spirits Fly

 

 

Spirits Fly

Spirits Fly

spirits fly, one two three, come up behind me tonight
shadows shine, brilliantly, burning behind me so fine

spirits talk, they whisper lies, green trees and cloudy skies- someone is high
spirits breathe upon my face; lighter than than lace I comply

people stare, stare at me, I’ll be what they want me to be- I don’t mind
stay inside, lock the door, prisoner of war so refined

spirits fly, four through six, held by the wrist I can’t lie
burning cry, lost in mist, don’t let them see in my mind

secret things on tippy toe, where do they go in the night
introduce, stop and stare, walking on air it’s not right

never known, misunderstood, nobody’s good in the night
cotton falls all over me, how can i see what is right

silver moon, decompose, never expose us tonight
spirit’s fly, seven eight, drip and dilate it’s alright

people stare, stare at me, I’ll be what they want me to be- but they can’t see in the night
spirits fly nine and ten, sun rises up muscles us into the light

brains will fall back into place,hearts wear their double face, running a race to the light
dreams will dry and disappear, cheer will replace getting high

 

Download MP3: Spirits Fly

Categories
Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Hurricane, West Virginia Music & Songs

Wavy Minds

 

 

The Ohio

 

Do you remember you walked me to the car
your arm around my waist; I promised to call
I never told you that I felt our lives were so small

I drove away from you my hand on the wheel
the clouds were fluffy and high; I started to feel
how come the dreams are so much bigger than what is real

wet hearts do not burn, wavy minds cannot learn
tho i die i will return

a little house, a fence, a pure ring of gold
the basic things of this life, they flicker like a ghost
clear and uncontained i am exposed

how can everything seem so plain
a handshake, an afternoon, dry and contained
the feel of pants weighed against the fear of pain

wet hearts do not burn, wavy minds cannot learn
tho i die i will return

you said a fire of red it lives in the earth
and all our fingers and bones they hunger for it’s warmth
you said fire is where we return

and yet watch how I float then I drown
liquid arms they are guiding me down
and i feel i feel the love surround

wet hearts do not burn, wavy minds cannot learn
tho i die i will return

 

Download Mp3: Wavy Minds

 

 

Categories
Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Hurricane, West Virginia Kentucky Minerals, Mountains, Crystals, Ice, and White Music & Songs

Snowdrops

 

 

Julien Aklei in Paintsville KY
Me, exploring downtown Paintsville (Ky). It would be fair to say that Appalachia is the sort of place where you have to make your own fun.

Snowdrops

snowdrops rise from the snow
sparkle & shine- they don’t know how to warm me
i know they don’t bloom for me

sun beams fall onto the snow
sparkle & shine- they don’t know how to touch things
they only shine on the crust of things

and that’s the place where you live now

why did you leave me
you didn’t need me
i needed you

men leave tracks on the snow
sparkle & shine- they don’t know where they’re going
luminous and unknowing

a shadow falls on the snow
it’s only me, but they don’t know- they don’t see me
shiver when they are near me

but i shiver too

why did you leave me
you didn’t need me
i needed you

fingers flowing through the air
there’s nothing there, there’s nothing there
i reach for you my fingers flow like hair

place my hand into the snow
to feel the pain- i want to know what the pain is
i thought i heard it whispering

gauzy wings upon my arm
sparkle & shine- there is no harm that can change me
let the cold embrace me

and i will be a light for you

why did you leave me
you didn’t need me
i needed you

 

Download Mp3: Snowdrops

Categories
Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Hurricane, West Virginia Music & Songs

Cards and Slots

 

James says it is important to write some kind of introduction to a song, to help people understand it. And while I agree with him, it is not really possible for me to do so at this time. Because… whenever I write in prose I feel that I end up channeling some strange personality not my own. Sometimes I call this voice Mr. Pompadou and other times Mr. Belvedere, but at any rate it is horrifying to imagine that someone might mistake this voice for me.

A person’s writing voice is partially, I suppose, a reflection of who they imagine their audience to be. I imagine people reading this who are intelligent, but also close-minded and hostile. Therefore, Mr. Belvedere comes out as a protective measure.  Nobody could be mad at a man like him!

 

Cards and SlotsMan in Orange Shorts

Cards and slots, drinks and dots,
dropping more things than you got
forms a rift, continental drift…
essential things float away in the mist
and you are pissed.

But if you want to play the blame game you know
it will only be your name on the list;
still I insist
you reconsider all the evidence.

Lost in time, lost in sea, lost in space…
a man was born who never had a face;
they all say he doesn’t exist,
but they can’t explain the pain that emits from his wet kiss.

Is it amiss to be sad, to be mad
when you think of the things that you missed…
and yet you should always remember this:

That you were placed in this space
because you are the man with the gift,
to bringing light into the heart of the pit;
flying high- the blackest soil provides the greatest lift,
the deepest dose of nutrient.

Half the time you fall, half the time you are in pain
but it’s not your fault that you wear chains.

Half of what you said only made your heart lose hope,
but its not your fault that there’s
a black man stalking you dragging a long white rope.

Valentines just in time
twist your brain to form a rhyme-
tell her that you love her the most…
say that you’re about to explode!
(Knuckles crack crack, echoing inside your abode,
but as the tensions rise there are things you must know.)

Is a friend in need the type of friend you need-
what about a scratch for your back?
a feather you can slap into your cap?
cause it stalls in your craw that nobody never gives back.

A thousand faces laugh from their seats-
you’re the only man on the stage,
trying not to fly into rage, and you wonder…
were you that dumb at their age?

Goodbye, goodbye
to everything that never made sense,
to all the knots that only grew dense;
my repentance will be vengeance.

Half the time you crawl, half the time you are insane
but it’s not your fault that you wear chains.

Half of what you said, it was only a way to cope,
but soon you will turn to fight
the black man stalking you dragging his long white rope.

 

Download MP3: Cards and Slots

Categories
Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Hurricane, West Virginia Music & Songs

Born to Fly

 

Born to FlyGood Bye

Trees green, pillowy grass
Bottle in your hand- fill up my glass

Stones pressed into the dirt
I am not hurt, I am not hurt

Violet clouds and mountains high await me
I’m a feather any wind will take me

Everyone is afraid to die
But something tells me I was born to fly.

Wrap me up in cellophane
Hit with a hammer; I love pain

Dip my feet into the pond
Life goes on, life goes on

Clouds they swirl and sunbeams twirl above me
There’s a world where everyone will love me

Clouds will rain and I will cry
But something tells me I was born to fly.

Everybody hangs on so carefully
Standing hand and hand in a line
Can’t they see there’s nothing, nothing that surrounds them but time?

Sunbeams sparkle and shine
Rainbows swirl in my wine

Blankets soft forming a nest
Down on the ground; time for a rest

Birds they sing and bells they ring around me
Fairy fingers have already found me

Birds in every blue sky cry
But something tells me I was born to fly.

 

Download Mp3: Born to Fly

Categories
Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Hurricane, West Virginia Minerals, Mountains, Crystals, Ice, and White Music & Songs Uncategorized

Bone to Bone

 

It looks like I succeeded in writing a relatively happy song that doesn’t include death or murder, but still, somehow bones managed to work their way into it. I really do wish I could write a song without mentioning bones, but apparently I can’t. Before bones, it was ice and people dying from hypothermia. Why the obsession with uncuddly white things? I don’t know, but hopefully I will grow out of it.

I have been learning a little bit about bones recently- dinosaur bones. I was trying to celebrate the dullest time of year (I mean that as a complement) by learning about the most boring thing I could imagine, which for me was dinosaurs. But I have to say, once I knew a little more about them, they no longer seemed so boring. What I like most about them is how they opened my mind to larger cycles of time- deep time, as paleontologists call it. It’s a refreshing antidote to the “shallow time” perspective of our culture, which encourages us to see each decade as a major historical epoch.

 

Bone to Bone

People say you are the dark oneMy Bone
dim and dusty, cold and hard one
dry and scaly skin
blood so sour and thin
draw the curtains and let our time begin

Bone to bone now
in a dark room
press your forehead to mine
let the world resume

let them stick to their ways
I will come out changed
I will speak my mind and I
won’t care what they say

People tell me you’re a creep
you tell me people are sheep
I believe you will outlast them
watching from your mountain so steep

Your room so dark and blue
the whole world is a shadow to you
your bones they bear the lines of
every tooth that sank into you

Claw marks across your arm
why did they mean you harm?
you with a spine so straight that I
I cling to your arm

Outside the winds derange, but I
I will come out changed
I can feel your bones upon me now
so cold and so strange

Let the vinegar spill out
let it roll down your chin
let me hear your blackest words now
let your long long story begin

Nights in the jungle survived
you are the one who came out alive
dipped in blood you walked back home
so thin but swollen with pride

Your blood in my veins, I
I will come out changed
I will laugh at all of their words
I won’t care what they

Your hand on my hand now I
I can see through your eyes
all the chains were only shadows
all the flags were only their lies

The imprint of your bones
like an angel to follow me home
you will always be beside me
blood to blood and bone to bone.

 

Download Mp3: Bone to Bone

Categories
Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Hurricane, West Virginia Music & Songs Yellow, Gold, Kings, Fathers, and the Sun

Hunt for Me

 

Hmmm… I just realized that 72% of my recent songs have been about death, 31% about sadistic murders, and the remaining ones mostly about people being beat up, kidnapped, or chased. Time to seek professional help or is this just normal Scorpio behavior? Next week I will try writing happy songs, maybe.

 

Hunt for Me

Smile, smile, smile, smile
Sin, sin, sin
You were born the king of our town
I will bow, I will bend.

Two, two, two stars collide
Please stay warm upon your throne now
I will run I will hide.

Ladies in silk
Wanting to adore you
Laughing at your jokes
Kneeling on the floor for you
Look at your life, a page of fantasy.
So please, don’t hunt for me.

Dad knows best
Watch me kneel down and beg for forgiveness
Watch me stand up to the world and confess.

Gold and lace
Everything I have will be piled at your feet
Please don’t chase, please don’t chase.

Look at me crawl
Scratching at the dirt now
Look at me fall
Ripping up my shirt now
Rolling in mud, pig for all to see.
So please, don’t hunt for me.

Run so far you always follow me
Shadows so dark they always swallow me
I can make sure that no one ever loves me
I can make sure everyone’s above me

Run so far but tripping on the black lines
I can hear you say I’m running out of time
You knew it was all a big lie
Licking on your lips, because you love to watch things die.

Please no blade
No dogs die, please no rabbits,
Just humiliate, please humiliate.

Your smile is warm
Only sun, only summer
Please no storm, please no storm.

You can take some snips; I won’t try to mend me
I will tell the people never to defend me
I will tear myself apart for all to see.
So please, don’t hunt for me.

 

Download MP3: Hunt for Me