This Life

Just reporting in, catching you up on how I’ve been,

It’s 365 again this week

Hot and humid here, same as every other year

It’s sweat or a tear on my cheek

Another year passes, I gave up my glasses

I gave up my job and my smoke and  mirrors

Another year over, I’m still growing clover

I’m still trying to face down all my fears

But I’m living a good life, I’m living a fine life,

I’m living the sweetest roses and wine life

And I know you’re near me

I hope you can hear me

I hope you can see into this life

All the family home and happy as they can be

And I’m getting married there next week

Will you hear your name?

Nothing will ever be the same

A teardrop on every cheek

I’m older than you were, and I’m pretty darn sure

Yes, I think you help me find my way

They ask if I think of you,

Every day I do, every day I do

Every day

But I’m living a good life, I’m living a fine life,

I’m living the sweetest roses and wine life

And I know you’re near me

I hope you can hear me

I hope you can see into this life

Keeping track of time, keeping up on the climb,

Do you need me to tell and show or do you already know?

I always think of you, somehow it helps to get me through

I hope that you’re listening to this song

I’ll give you all the news, your memory will be my muse

And I’ll probably go on too long

I wish I had answers to cure all the cancers,

To give all the chancers their own say

Just know that I think of you

Everyday I do, everyday I do

Everyday

I’m living a good life, I’m living a fine life,

I’m living the sweetest roses and wine life

I found my true love, the one who I dreamed of

I hope you’re above us

I hope you can see us

Living a good life,

Living a fine life,

Living the sweetest roses and wine life

And I know you’re near me

I hope you can hear me

I hope you can see into this life

Susan Greenbaum - This Life

Be Grateful, Even In Your Affliction

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I love the line from Ray Wylie Hubbard...

"The days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, I have really good days!"

Ralphie 

He's Not So Far Away

When I look in the mirror I see my dad's face
Where my face used to be
Then I realize that he was about my age
When he started his own family
Then my radicalism, all my college Marxism
Starts drifting on out to deep sea
When I look in the mirror and I see my dad's face
Where my face used to be


When I was a kid I used to look at my dad
And I'd say, "This is who I am not."
He used Bryl-Creem, I used hair spray
He was fat, I was skinny
He drank beer, I smoked pot
But now my feet are disappearing beneath an ocean of beer
And not so mysteriously
When I look at my face I see in its place
My dad's physiognomy

 I used to look at my friends, they looked fifty years older
Some nights when I'd get too stoned
That's when I believed time was a visible line
With its end and beginning both shown
Now I know that's not true
But I've still got an idea pretty much of what I can expect
When I look in the mirror and I see my dad's mug
Sitting there right on top of my neck


Well, my dad had it rough, he couldn't keep his true love
He never reached his sought-after perfection
So as I headed down my own life's road
I headed straight in the other direction
Now, when I turn around, he's not so far away
And we're on the same road, I can see
When I look in the mirror and I see my dad's face
Where my face used to be


5 Chinese Brothers - My Dad's Face

These Little Victories

Friday night alone
And callin' everyone you know
Your reach for the cigarattes
You gave up long ago
You wanna go get drunk somewhere
Turn it off and just not care
For a little while
Your runnin over what went wrong
For the hundredth time today
You wonder if another thought
Will ever take its place
You're feeling like you're trapped inside
Your own bad dream
One that's never gonna end
 
But here's the funny thing
My friend
 
You feel like you're gonna die
But you don't
You think that the world
Will stop
But it won't
And it's the darndest thing I know
The sun comes up
It's another day
And your heart still beats
And you say
Hey
I'm still breathing
Take it from me
These little victories
Are all a heart needs
 
The photographs you tore in half
Are scattered on the floor
Letter where he swore
His love means nothing anymore
You can't imagine how to get from here to there
But one day you'll know where to start
That's the power of the heart
 
You feel like you're gonna die
But you don't
You think that the world will stop
But it won't
And it's the darndest thing I know
The sun comes up
It's another day
And your heart still beats
And you say
Hey
I'm still breathing
Take it from me
These little victories
Are all a heart needs.
 
The dog still barks
And your shower is hot
And you burn your hand on the coffee pot
So like it or not
Gotta say 
Hey
I'm still breathing
Take it from me
These little victories
Are all a heart needs.


 Blue Sky Riders - Little Victories

No, I Am...

I am the strongest man alive

That might sound like idle boasting, but I have no need to lie

I have lived through storms and tempest not another soul survived

I am the strongest man alive

I have carried burdens heavier than human tongue can tell

I’ve travelled distances untold, been forth and back through Hell

I’ve endured the very worst that man and nature could provide

I am the strongest man alive

I have fought in many battles, though I have not won them all

It’s a miracle this bruised and battered body breathes at all,

Oh they say a cat has nine lives, well I’ve lived through four or five,

I am the strongest man alive

I have cheated death a thousand times, that foul and greedy thief,

But I’ve buried many comrades, which has brought me endless grief,

I alone live on while all around my friends and loved ones die

I am the strongest man alive

It’s the mental anguish that’s the worst of all the pain I’ve had

Where other men have gone insane, I’m only slightly mad

And still I bleed I breath I weep through times I’ve wished to die

I am the strongest man alive

Although I am earth’s strongest man, I’m not immune to death

There’s a motive for each motion, a purpose for each breath

For without your true and lasting love I would not,

Could not

Survive

Although I am the strongest man alive

David Bromberg - The Strongest Man Alive

How Dark Is It?

In The Dark you can sometimes hear your own heart beat
Or the heart of the one next to you
The house settles down after holding itself up all day
Shoulder slumps, gives a big sigh
You hear no one's foot fall in the hall
That drip in the kitchen sink markin' time
June bug on the window screen can't get in but he keeps on tryin'
One way or another we're all in The Dark

Fireflies, sparks, lightning, stars
Campfires, the moon, headlights on cars
The Northern Lights and The Milky Way
You can't see that stuff in the day
When the earth turns its back on the sun
The stars come out and the planets start to run around
Now they call that day is done
But really it's just getting started
Some folks take comfort in that

And how dark is it
It's too dark for goblins
And how dark is it
It's so dark you can smell the moon
How dark is it
It's so dark the wind gets lost
How dark is it
It's so dark the sky's on fire
How dark is it
It's so dark you can see Ft. Worth from here

 Guy Clark - The Dark

Mercy Now

My father could use a little mercy now
The fruits of his labor fall and rot slowly on the ground
His work is almost over it won't be long, he won't be around
I love my father, he could use some mercy now

My brother could use a little mercy now
He's a stranger to freedom, he's shackled to his fear and his doubt
The pain that he lives in it's almost more than living will allow 

I love my bother, he could use some mercy now

My church and my country could use a little mercy now
As they sink into a poisoned pit it's going to take forever to climb out
They carry the weight of the faithful who follow them down 

I love my church and country, they could use some mercy now

Every living thing could use a little mercy now
Only the hand of grace can end the race 
Towards another mushroom cloud
People in power, they'll do anything to keep their crown
I love life and life itself could use some mercy now

Yeah, we all could use a little mercy now
I know we don't deserve it but we need it anyhow
We hang in the balance dangle 'tween hell and hallowed ground
And every single one of us could use some mercy now
Every single one of us could use some mercy now
Every single one of us could use some mercy now

Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now

Blind Luck

Here comes Blind Luck swingin’ his cane,

I wonder what he’s gonna try and pull today,

He’s always got a few tricks up his sleeve,

I’ve seen him pull a few tricks you wouldn’t believe

Here comes Blind Luck calling your name

He’s got a new set of rules to a brand new game

He’s gonna make an offer that you can’t refuse

He has a way of knowing who’s got something to lose

You can hedge your bets, or you can play the odds,

Deal with the devil or go with God

It’s anybody’s game, when the wheel starts to spin,

Somebody’s gonna lose, somebody else wins

Now here comes Blind Luck, he’s your long lost friend

When the stakes are right he’s always back again

Tappin’ on your shoulder while you wait your turn,

Standing’ in your corner when there’s money to burn,

So you bet it all on the black 13,

Then you close your eyes and you start to dream

Of a brand new chance in a far off town,

Then your hands start shakin’ as the wheel slows down

So here comes Blind Luck in his new pair of shades,

A pocketful of money somebody else made,

A new white suit and a French silk tie,

He’s crossin’ against the traffic with his head held high,

All the evidence points to providence,

But your common sense says coincidence,

When the deal goes down

And the lost are found

Whether you win or lose,

That’s the Blind Luck blues

Peter Case - Blind Luck