Ukulele Play

Follow the Music from New Lyrics

You, and I, and everything
are the dancing echoes of a string;
within this space of sacred sound
all harmonies, when sought, are found
where dissonance can find a way
to grace the melodies we play,
the pepper in the pot to spice
this swirling recipe of life.
Follow the music.

For I am yours and you are mine
and we are ours in the divine;
as moon reflects the light of sun,
we mirror back what makes us one;
the aspect of a greater grace
which shines in every human face;
each one of us to play a part
in that symphonic work of art.
Follow the music.

By singing, playing out our gifts,
with varied rhythms, rhymes and riffs,
our voices blend to make or brake,
through this harmonic give and take;
joy might be ours, and not alone,
when sharing songs that bring us home
to root, to branch, to leaf, to tree;
an everlasting family.
Follow the music.

#29

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Note: Oh my heck! This one just started with the idea that all matter is made up of strings, aka ‘string theory,’ which though problematic and requiring at least 10 dimensions … is still a beautiful thought. From there, writing this was just not easy. I was trying to come up with a unifying closing stanza to sum up, but it was just so heavy handed I had to axe it. It wasn’t until I did an image search to go with posting the song that I stumbled upon the refrain that now tags the end of each stanza, “Follow the music.”

Photo: Jabber Visuals via Unsplash

Don’t Feed the Vampires … from New Lyrics

Oh no, they don’t just want your blood,
but any life or sign of heart,
and they will latch on in the bud,
desperate for breath, tear it apart,
find out the core and suck it dry,
leave nothing but an empty husk
before it had a chance to fly.
All through the night, and dawn to dusk,
they’re seeking, circling, drawing near
to any ember, flicker bright;
hiding in shadows thick with fear
to leap upon that passing light.

Don’t feed the vampires.
Don’t feed the vampires!
DON’T feed the vampires!!
DON’T FEED THE VAMPIRES!!!

They’re always waiting. Take a care
to practice out your self-defense
before they rush you unaware
and overturn your commonsense
to sack, consume all that is fine;
that frantic hunger will destroy
before it has a chance to shine,
or give you any hint of joy.

Don’t feed the vampires.
Don’t feed the vampires!
DON’T feed the vampires!!
DON’T FEED THE VAMPIRES!!!

#28

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Note: In the opening chapter of Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer, Brother David Steindl-Rast talks about three ways we can approach the gifts life has to offer. The first of these is vampiric, where we’re so desperate for joy, or recreating past happiness, that we snuff out the life of anything that might actually bring us joy. This reminds me of an article I read in BYU Magazine some time ago about how the ‘pursuit of happiness’ is really a misguided notion (according to research) … you can do things that foster happiness, but the more you pursue it, the more fleeting it is. I’m certainly guilty of having experienced something incandescently joyful, and in my desperation to feel that again, trying to recreate that moment by doing the same thing again … of course, in trying to duplicate it, my motive has changed and ruined the attempt. So, ‘don’t feed the vampires.’

Photo: Gaelle Marcel via Unsplash

Level 1 Ukulele Skills Bingo

I’ve had a great time so far with our new ukulele youth beginner class (22 students) at the TAF arts center in AF, and yesterday I recorded class for those that couldn’t make it, as well as for review for those that were there live. I thought others might appreciate it as well since we cover all seven Level 1 ukulele skills, including fingerpicking and strumming patterns, first chord pairs, tablature and the C pentatonic scale. I have posted it on my patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/posts/level-1-ukulele-124860634 (you will need to sign up for a free account to view it, or can purchase it without an account). We covered a lot of material in one hour. Hope it’s helpful!

I’d Rather Be … Right Now from New Lyrics for a New Album

I’d rather be … right now,
I’d rather be … right here
than have my head lost in some future
blinded by hopes and forest fear.

I’d rather be … right now,
I’d rather be … with you;
let what may be, both thorn and blossom,
lead me on to the rendezvous.

I’d rather be … right now, right here, my dear
than famously arrayed,
pinned up to be displayed,
bring me into your shade.
I’d rather take … what we have got,
even if it’s not a lot;
whether sailing smooth or rough,
always ‘with you’ is enough.
I’d rather be … right now.

We don’t need no more;
no taking names, no keeping score.
Time doesn’t need a guide;
just let this moment ride.

I’d rather be … right now, right here, my dear
than worried ’bout a win;
obsessed with where I’ve been.
My yang just needs your yin.
I’d rather take … what we have got,
even if it’s not a lot;
whether sailing smooth or rough,
always ‘with you’ is enough.
I’d rather be … right now.

#27

Note: While I think it is good to be loosely mindful of goals, hopes and plans for the future … it is so easy to get caught up obsessing on these ‘dreams’ or lost in the past, and lose the moment we are in. I’m trying to stay grounded in the wonders of what ‘right now’ has to offer. So much of my struggle with depression in the past can be traced back to this tendency to pine or obsess … what I can do now is tend the seeds I’ve planted, remaining unattached to the outcomes, grateful for what this moment has to offer. Only one of the fig cuttings I took last Fall is thriving out of about 30. I had no control over that … I did my best to keep them watered, but still, most of them leafed only to wither and die. So much of what I do in life feels like that; why be miserable over what I can’t control. Instead, I can celebrate the one fig cutting that is leafy green and cheery and be cheery with it.

Photo: Alex Alvarez via Unsplash

Crickets from New Lyrics for a New Album

It’s not that I don’t care if you don’t listen,
I’d love to see you hear me and reply,
but audience or not, I’m sharing what I’ve got
to write and sing, it is my thing …
I know I am ‘that guy.’

I cannot help but be what God has made me,
resisting it, I’m left alone to cry.
I may as well dive in a new song and begin
to weave the words, sing for the birds,
this moment vivify.

1 2 3 4 … the song that no one’s waiting for.
5 6 7 8 … map out a dance to captivate;
dress up the tune, shoot for the moon
and hold on to your tickets
for the gentle, peaceful, lulling sound of crickets.

Chirrup up up, chirrup up up …
the gentle, peaceful, lulling sound …
of crickets.

#25
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Note: I was hesitant to share this one, but here it is anyway. Now for the sound of crickets. 🙂

Photo: Julius Jansson via Unsplash

Hush-Hush Bathtub Gin from New Lyrics for a New Album

Seems like it would be nice,
just a dalliance once or twice,
but if I flirt with you, ignore what’s proven true,
and sample your sweet vice …

I will fall in, headfirst and drowning.
Your hush-hush bathtub gin can only leave me frowning.
There is no ‘sip or two’ when I am under you;
it might just seem like fun, until I come undone.

No such thing as just one.
Slam me like a megaton;
every time I let your kiss give me a shock of bliss
it’s a bloody ‘hit and run.’

Then I fall in, headfirst and drowning.
Your hush-hush bathtub gin has only left me frowning.
There is no ‘sip or two’ when I am under you;
it might just seem like fun, until I come undone.

So let’s call it day.
I don’t really want to play.
I know you’ll try again to sway me now and then;
it’s in your DNA.

I won’t fall in, headfirst and drowning.
Your hush-hush bathtub gin has only left me frowning.
There is no ‘sip or two’ – I’m finally over you;
remind myself each day, ‘there’s so much more in play’ …
So, forget it.

#24

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Note: I purposefully left this ambiguous to allow folk to apply it to whatever addictive influence they want to break free from … whether it be an actual person, doom-scrolling on social, some kind of substance abuse (from pills to chocolate brownies to jalapeño cheese puffs), or a self-abusive thought process. Gave me a chance to write a ‘break-up’ song.

Photo: Lisa Zins via Flickr

Troubadour – In Memoriam

If death is the end
and life’s a sad joke,
where nothing’s waiting round the bend
and everything goes up in smoke,
no free will and no meaning, friend,
no choice but ‘roll, and go for broke,’
it doesn’t matter how we spend
our days, there’s nothing to transcend.

But if death is a door,
and life is a gift;
the music has an underscore
of joy that ANYTHING exists.
Between the now and evermore
we’re not alone, we’re not adrift.
So sing out like a troubadour,
‘With all that is, there’s surely more.’

To choose between these voices
proves you have the gift of choices.
In turning in, or turning out,
in choosing faith, or choosing doubt.
We all are blessed and all are free
to ‘find ourselves’ in unity,
where ‘all for one and one for all,’
a chorus of both great and small,
sing ‘there is no final curtain call.’

Death is a door,
and life is a gift;
our living has an underscore
of joy that ANYTHING exists.
Between the now and evermore
we’re not alone, we’re not adrift.
So sing out like a troubadour,
‘With all that is, there’s surely more.’

#23
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Note: In memory of David Sargent, a man whose belief in me shifted the course of my life; I’m pretty sure he was the moving force that got me accepted into the masters program in composition at BYU. He was a kind mentor to me over the course of my time there and was always ready with a warm greeting, a pun, a joke, a thoughtful anecdote, or a bit of life story. He felt deeply, but maintained a smile. I’m grateful to have known him and look forward to hearing his new music when I pass through the door to where he is now.

Photo: Alexander Grey via Unsplash

My Life is a Prayer from New Lyrics for a New Album

When I keep myself open to joyful surprise
and cheerfully notice the rose-scented air,
accepting with grace both hellos and goodbyes …
My life is a prayer.

When I let myself thrive, instead of just cope,
when I speak out my thanks and not my despair,
when I let go of grudges and hold on to hope …
My life is a prayer.

When faith guides my footsteps, not merely beliefs,
and I offer my chipped, broken heart for repair
when I’m trusting my Jesus to heal all my griefs …
My life is a prayer.

My life is a prayer when I lay down my care,
and accepting his gifts, all the fog gently lifts,
and I now clearly see what this grace means to me,
and all I’m free to dare … My life is a prayer.

Come let him heal your heart.
Come let your life start …

#23
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Note: This one is heavily influenced by a book I’m now re-reading the third time: Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer by Brother David Steindl-Rast … though it is a difficult read at times, it is just so, so good … highly recommended.

Photo: Diana Simumpande via Unsplash

Doxology from New Lyrics for a New Album

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow,”
from contrabass to piccolo,
from ocean wave to mountain stream,
the beggars with the seraphim,
“Hosanna,” shout, “He will redeem,
and prove the tyrant’s overthrow.”

“Praise Him, all creatures here below,”
from shining dove to blackest crow,
the humble ant, majestic stag,
mankind from under every flag
will bend the knee, yet justly brag,
“Where Christ has gone, I too can go!”

“Praise Him above, ye heavenly host,”
descending to the uttermost,
the Christ, the Least, Servant of all
broke error’s chain, reversed the fall,
invites to share His golden hall.
Let every creature, coast to coast,
“Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

#22
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Note: I woke up this morning and the famous ‘doxology’ hymn popped into my mind, and I thought to start with the first line and write something new to go with it … this expanded to each of the verses beginning with the next line from the original and wrapping up with the last line as a coda to the last verse. I had to look up the word ‘doxology’ and “A doxology is a short hymn that praises God.” It stems from the Greek word doxa which means glory. So, a study in glory.

Photo: Andrea Zanenga via Unsplash

When I See the Way You Smile from New Lyrics for a New Album

When I see the way you smile, dear heart,
together here and all alone,
those emerald eyes transport me to the start,
when you first were mine, I was your own.

When I see the way you smile, my friend,
that look you save for only me,
I want to walk you down the aisle again;
when my ties to you became my liberty.

What if you had never challenged me that day?
Never boldly called me out?
I might be nothing but a wannabe in play;
still parched and thirsting through a lover’s drought.

When I see the way you smile, dear heart,
together here and all alone,
those emerald eyes transport me to the start,
when you first were mine, I was your own.

#21
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Note: For Dixie.

Photo: Laura Ockel via Unsplash

Honeycomb from New Lyrics for a New Album

I’d rather be a dolphin than a shark.
I’d rather swim with family
than circle in the dark.
We’d hunt and play beneath the waves
and leap into the air.
We’d watch with half a brain while sleeping
and laugh without a care.

I’d rather be a flying honey bee
than live a ground-bound ant-life
in a lightless colony.
We’d gather pollen, flower by flower
then pilot back to home,
transform the clover, seal it up
in waxy honeycomb.

I’d rather float with Lyra as a star
than wander, moon-like,
lonely through the darkness near and far.
We’d sing and shine our lights
on all the people down below.
We’d guide and cheer the sailors
as they’re sailing to and fro.

The truth be told, and all the same,
it’s time to just leave off this game,
and celebrate what is so true:
with all compares to ‘me and you’ …
So, bear, or bee, or star, or tree;
unitedly we are most free.
I’d rather take whatever comes,
as long as we’re both in the sums.

#20
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Note: This song started when walking to school with Taavi we started making up our own ‘Would you rather …” questions. I brought up sharks and dolphins – by looks, they’re so very similar, but socially they’re very different animals. When I was young and pretty socially isolated, the thought of being a mountain main, alone in the wilderness, was pretty romantic to me. Now, however, after 24 years with Dixie, I find it hard to imaging a happy life being a ‘lone wolf’ (or shark or bear). Happy Valentines Day!

Photo: Meggyn Pomerleau via Unsplash

Let Jesus In from New Lyrics for a New Album

He’s come through fasting forty days (let Jesus in),
Rebuffing all the dark one’s ways (let Jesus in).
Through wedding feast, water to wine (let Jesus in),
He is the root, the one true vine (let Jesus in).
Inviting both his foe and friend (let Jesus in),
He knocks and knocks unto the end (let Jesus in),
For though he trod the press alone (let Jesus in),
Within our hearts he’d make a home (let Jesus in).

Let him in, let him in, does not matter where you’ve been,
He can bind each broken heart, give your life a brand new start.
Let him in, let him in, let his healing hand begin;
All your error wash away … let his joy be yours today.

He heals the sick, the blind now see (let Jesus in),
He breaks the the chain to make you free (let Jesus in)
From death and hell to walk the way (let Jesus in),
You daughters and you sons of day (let Jesus in).
Through pains that only he could bear (let Jesus in),
He’s brought a crown for you to wear (let Jesus in),
Sandals of peace to shod your feet (let Jesus in),
Open the door, your Savior greet (let Jesus in).

Let him in, let him in, does not matter where you’ve been,
He can bind the broken heart, give your life a brand new start.
Let him in, let him in, let his healing hand begin;
All your error wash away … let his joy be yours today.
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#19

Note: This is in the tradition of old ‘call and response’ spirituals and will be set in that style with a soloist calling out declarations which are answered by the choir: “Let Jesus in.” I had originally hoped to add more details of the things Jesus walked through to get to us from his life and teachings, but it took a slightly different turn. Mostly written during ‘Stake Conference’ yesterday (a bi-yearly, 2-hour, multi-congregational meeting of a combined number of ‘wards’ that make up a ‘Stake of Zion’). After singing with the choir, I came down to sit with my family and just started with the thought ‘Let him in.’ The word ‘let’ has been a big deal to me lately; the whole idea of letting things happen naturally, rather than grunting and pushing your way through life … there are times when concerted effort is necessary, but for much of life we can calmly set things up and let things happen. Letting the Savior do his work in us can be at times one of those things. I believe, like a doctor making a house call, he’s just waiting for us to let him do his work, we just have to open the door and let him in.

Still and Still Moving from New Lyrics for a New Album

How can I be still, all the same be still moving?
Content with my life, and intent on improving?
How can I belong, and yet keep my heart free?
Be found full of hope where no promise may be?

To be lost in love, yet in loving be found …
To bend in the storm while I’m standing my ground …
To offer my all while accepting the way …
To let go, release, as they cry ‘Seize the day!’

Still and still moving, still and still moving …
each moment entangled with infinity;
this time and this place filled with infinite space;
the hummus of earth sprouting divinity.

Let faith warm itself by uncertainty’s cold.
While careful of moments, my hours grow more bold.
I’ll temper my strengths to compassion and find
the child in me sees where my knowledge is blind.

To be lost in love, yet in loving be found …
To bend in the storm while I’m standing my ground …
To offer my all while accepting the way …
To let go, release, as they cry ‘Seize the day!’

Still and still moving, still and still moving …
each moment entangled with infinity;
this time and this place filled with infinite space;
the hummus of earth sprouting divinity.

#18
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Note: Inspired by a quote from T.S. Eliot, I really wanted to write on the paradoxes I’ve been forced to confront in crawling out of the pit of despair over the last two years. This one was difficult as a writing exercise; I used my eraser a lot, rewriting each stanza multiple times. I finished the last 4-lines last night (‘Let faith …’). Sometimes it surprises me how much time it takes when I get started on one of these sections … an hour disappeared before I knew it.

Photo: Suzi Kim via Unsplash

New Day from New Lyrics for a New Album

NEW DAY
I’m sorry if my writing’s messy,
I just got up on New Year’s morn;
My head is full of foggy notions,
Hazy hope of dreams reborn.

My hand is shaky, somehow separate,
Slow down, or you’ll just cross it out,
It’s time to flow into attention
on every letter I want to shout:

New year, new day, I’m walking out of grey;
See the colors shine: this moment is mine.
New walk, new way; my heart just wants to play
In your beauty divine, in your sun and your shine.
New day …

The words are sometimes stuck in honey;
Just pull them out and lick them clean.
We’ll line them down, pin up to dry,
then dress them bright in colors keen …

So, when the rows of royal, crimson,
Saffron mingle in a trance,
We can beat the drum and watch
The rhythm call them to the dance.

New year, new day, I’m dancing out of grey;
See the colors shine: this moment is mine.
New walk, new way; my heart just wants to play
In your beauty divine, in your sun and your shine.
New day …

Will you? Won’t you? Will you? Won’t you?
Come and join the dance.
Will you? Won’t you? Will you? Won’t you?
Come and join the dance.

New year, new day, I’m gliding out of grey;
See the colors shine: this moment is mine.
New walk, new way; my heart just wants to play
In your beauty divine, in your sun and your shine.
New day …

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Note: The Alice in Wonderland reference just popped into my head when I was wrapping up the lyric and it seemed appropriate as a bridge between repeats of the chorus. See the “Lobster Quadrille” if you’re curious about that source.

January 1, 2025: At least 5 minutes a day working on original lyrics for songs; if I do more, that’s great, but 5 minutes is ‘the goal’ for 2025. Obviously, there’s a lot more in my life than that, with little hopes and projects that come and go and daily commitments and obligations, but this is an area I’ve been thinking about for some time, and I’d rather write lyrics than do a traditional journal (I feel so self-conscious when I journal, but lose myself more often in lyricising). So, this morning …

Photo: Joshua Earle via Unsplash

Hello Anxiety from New Lyrics for a New Album

Hello Anxiety,
I think we’ve chatted before,
When you reminded me of broken wings,
unfinished things, the silent sings I’d rather just ignore.

So sit down, rest your weary feet;
I know you’ve been pacing up and down my street.
Take the the time to settle in
and let me shut the door.

I’ll hold you …
Embrace you …
I’ll cradle all your fears, your hopes and all your tears.
I’ll wait here …
Right by you …
Breathe in and out together and watch the stormy weather.

Bless you, Anxiety, you are that part of me
always watching for the sky to fall.
My dear Anxiety, my restless busy bee,
let down your guard a bit and listen to the call:

We’re safe here, we have enough,
and God will guide us through the smooth and rough.
We’re safe here, we have enough,
and God will guide us through the smooth and rough.
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Note: This was a 2-day lyric, worked through on January 2nd & 3rd. I will have to see how it sets to music before deciding where and if any of the text will repeat, though there are stanzas that suggest that they might be verses, pre-chorus, chorus and coda.

Photo: Mitch via Unsplash

Pit of Despair from New Lyrics for a New Album

Somewhere, there’s a Pit of Despair
with the cares of the world gathered round:
Grim-faced, while you’re being displaced,
all their whispers are pulling you down, down, down …

Cast down to the Pit of Despair,
give in to your care,
they’ve hidden the stair.
Whether you plead soft or shout,
you’ll find no way out
while the fog of your doubt
clouds the stifling air.

There’s nothing funny when you’re stuck down in that dark,
lower than an eighteen-foot giraffe,
But when you float on up with light, careless regard,
those hollow-hearted things might make you laugh.

Somewhere, there’s a Pit of Despair
where the cares of the world like to play.
I’ve found when I count them as clowns
they all quietly fade, fade away.

Float up my friend, from the Pit of Despair;
untethered you dare to fly through the air.
Freely you whisper or shout,
and singing it out, you find your new route
out of the Pit of Despair.
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Note: For a musical setting, you might imagine something from They Might Be Giants … satirical and upbeat … because if you can’t laugh, or at least poke fun, at despair, you haven’t really gotten over it.

I started this lyric a few days ago, but then needed a break from it, as I hadn’t any ideas of where to go with the second half until this morning. The thought of a giraffe in the pit, as a way to measure how deep it was, helped me to turn the lyric in the direction I was hoping it would go (hopeful as opposed to resigned). Something that has been a hard shift in attitude for me, but absolutely necessary to my journey, has been to ‘care less’ about things. The spiritual concept of becoming unattached to ideas, stories about how things should be, or outcomes I have no control over … this was really a tough one for me. But, there’s big hope and trust available to us when we care less about little hopes.

Photo: Gary Meulemans via Unsplash

Dirigible from New Lyrics for a New Album

When thoughts loop through my brain,
as reckless as a runaway train,
crushing all my happiness and hope;
I leap off of the tracks,
remind myself to stick to the facts
by singing back a smiling little joke:

I’m thinking that I’m thinking that I’m thinking that I’m thinking
that I’m thinking that I’m thinking that I’m …

When dreams with nightmares blend
and swirling writhe without an end
I stumble through the fog, longing to see …
There is a thought, like rope,
to firmly hold, that helps me cope
and leads me back to bright reality:

I’m thinking that I’m dreaming that I’m thinking that I’m dreaming
that I’m thinking that I’m dreaming that I’m …

Thoughts are just thoughts.
Dreams are just dreams.
Break up these looping pathways;
Redirect these little streams.

When navigating here,
it’s hard to step around this fear.
Changing up perspective you will find
a pathway clear and free,
dirigible-like levity
to float above the minefield of the mind.

I’m thinking that I’m floating and I’m seeing that I’m thinking
far above, perceiving forest for the trees …
And when I come to ground
I’m thinking I will soon be found
praising the God who surely lifts us from our knees.

I’m thinking that I’m floating and I’m seeing that I’m thinking
far above, perceiving forest for the trees …
_______

Note: You would think that writing about these techniques that have helped me so much with mental and spiritual health would be easy now that I’m in such a better space, but … honestly probing the things that caused me to need these meditations, prayers, and mindfulness practices, well … its tough, especially in the middle of the lyric when I examine all the darkness, before I get to the light, the solutions and the resolutions. I just hope someone else finds these thoughts helpful if they’re struggling. Its been a journey.

Let Your Heart Rejoice from New Lyrics for a New Album

Let your heart rejoice;
Let it have a voice;
Let it sing or shout;
Let it dance about;
Let your heart rejoice.
Let hope have a home,
Praying as you roam;
Thanks yielding in the night
For all His love and light,
Come let your heart rejoice.

Let the the glories and the miracles that hint at holy grace
Be centered in your thoughts as joy moves into your embrace,
And remember all the tender mercies you have witnessed from above,
While your hands are filled with action and your soul is found in love.

[Chorus] Let your heart rejoice;
Let it have a voice;
Let it sing or shout;
Let it dance about;
Let your heart rejoice.
Let hope have a home,
Praying as you roam;
Thanks yielding in the night
For all His love and light,
Come let your heart rejoice.

Let your mind be calm, let go of all this tight anxiety,
And refresh the thought ‘the finch is fed by God for flying free.’
You are NOT living tomorrow or captive to yestermorn;
Let your life be in this moment, trusting Him, and be reborn.

Note: On a good day, like today, a lyric might take me about three hours to write, and then another half hour to type up and edit. This song is inspired by 2 Nephi 9:52, particularly the last phrase: “Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.” I really love that last phrase, don’t ‘make’ your heart rejoice, but ‘let’ it, as if it just needs permission …

Photo: Robert Collins

Creation Calls You from New Lyrics for a New Album

How can I praise thee, Lord of all, whose genius fills the earth?
How can I thank thee, dearest Heart, whose Word formed everything?
You made the red-winged cardinal to fly, almost from birth,
The crow to caw, the kite to dive, the nightingale to sing.

You formed the alpine mountain rising high to meet the storm,
Wild wind and cloud to tame and weave its blanket of the snow.
The ocean waves that nurse the life within their waters warm
Send floating, swirling, swimming colors dancing in their flow.

I listen for the testimonies found on desert sands;
Coyote howls with screeching owls answer the cactus wren,
While silent shouting in the misty shade of forest lands
The ferns and hostas, columbine repeat the praise again.

Beneath, above and all around, within, without His praise is found
In all there is and isn’t sound through all that was and yet will be
A rhythm and a harmony wherein you, I and we compound
to lift our note, our beating heart, where we belong and yet are free.
Creation calls you to be you, and calls me to be me.
No one of us can witness all the wonders of His name,
But hand in hand our voices meet the measure of our frame.

How can we praise thee, Lord of all, whose genius fills the earth?
How can we thank thee, dearest Heart, whose Word formed everything?
You made the red-winged cardinal to fly, almost from birth,
The crow to caw, the kite to dive, the nightingale to sing,
And all of us to sing.
_______

Note: Another multi-day project for me. The initial idea popped into my head after a morning prayer, an idea I may visit again in another lyric with a different slant; God wants us to be us, not anyone else … our unique voice comes in meeting the measure of our creation, not trying to be someone else. I chose the slightly more difficult rhyme scheme of ABAB, which forced me to expand my thoughts and really explore longer phrases. Some poets decry the restrictiveness of rhyme, but in this case I feel it really helped me explore this topic and expand my thoughts in ways that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

Photo: Greg Rakozy via Unsplash

Beautiful People from New Lyrics for a New Album

Look at all these beautiful people,
Leading all their beautiful lives,
Living each day breathing, breath by breath,
Under all these beautiful skies.
I wish that I could help them understand it …
I wish that I could make each one to see:
We’re more the same than different,
We are more alike than not.
Hey you, yes you, I am not your enemy.

“Viva la difference,” they hum in Paris, France.
But I will sing, “Let’s celebrate the way
Each one of us wants care, somebody to be there,
A hope and dream to guide us through our day.”

These squabbles may, might have their place,
To understand each other,
But we all run this human race
as mother, father, sister, brother.

“Viva la difference,” they hum in Paris, France.
But I will sing, “Let’s celebrate the way
We all love a good meal, good health and a good feel,
Some peace of mind, a good roll in the hay.
So, join hands and sing out, kumbaya, that good shout,
Together stand as we begin to sway …
Each one of us wants care, somebody to be there,
A hope and dream to guide us through our day,
A hope and dream to guide us through our day.”
_______

Note: This came together in three different sessions. I have a jaunty, raucous tune that popped into my head readily for the chorus, though I’m always a little suspicious when that happens (did I hear this somewhere before?). This is a bit of a jolly reaction to all the divisiveness in everything from news reporting, to popular media, to online discussions and politics. Do we sometimes need to be reminded that we’re all in the same boat? After all, no one is ditching earth to go colonize another world anytime soon … and we have far more in common with each other than not, both in and out of our individual thought spaces. Fighting is easy, peacemaking is hard. We can do hard things!

Photo: Leo_Visions via Unsplash

The Root from New Lyrics for a New Album

Why try to force a rose to bloom?
To pry its petals b’fore their hour
Is surely to destroy the flower,
So patient plant and give it room
Under the warming sun and wait
For root and branch to acclimate,
And if you guard from drought and storm
The tender bud begins to form.

Then how much more a careful role
To tend exquisite blooms, most rare,
The harvest of abiding prayer
Within the gardens of the soul,
Where working in the love of light
You prune the branch that blocks its sight,
Awaiting fruits of charity
Where faith meets hope to set us free.

So cultivate, both inward, out,
Your gardens with enduring care,
With wonder that through gifts of air
And earth and sun the seeds will sprout
If only we direct the flow
Of water, gifted, they will grow:
In time the bloom and then the fruit,
When we are mindful of the root.

_______

Copyright 2025 M. Ryan Taylor

Note: I don’t usually re-write a poem from beginning to end when it’s not working out. Version 1 was sounding pretty sing-song and hit an uninspiring brick wall, but I liked the basic idea and a few phrases from the source well-enough that I restarted on a fresh page. I gave it a slightly more sophisticated rhyme scheme to take away that ‘sing-song’ feeling (ABBACCDD), and patiently visited with every phrase and line, waiting for the ‘fruit’ to appear, and I think it did. 🙂

Photo: Ken Friis Larsen via Unsplash

The Circle from New Lyrics for a New Album

Do your thoughts run in a circle?
Round and round and round they go.
Do they chase the tail that wags them
as they wander to and fro?
Do they claw the cage, looking for cracks,
then patch up each hole and chink?
And rebounding fall with every fighting blow,
as the walls begin to shrink?

It doesn’t have to be this way, though it might just take a breath,
to realize resistance fortifies the chains of death.

Be still …
Let go …
Breathe slow …
And know …
Your mind …
Will find …
The climb …
In time …

These walls … You’re never good enough.
Will fade … You’ll never see it through.
Disolv- … You’ll never find success,
-ing shade … no matter what you try to do.
Into … You cannot do it now.
A mist … You’ll never, ever heal.
Cannot … You’re a fraud, a fake, a cow!
Persist … You’re a toppled spinning wheel.

Your hope- … When he tells me I am good enough,
-ful song … When he says that we can see it through,
and bless- … When he whispers ‘I have done the work,’
-ing long … ‘Death and hell are now behind you.’
Will thank- … Will I listen, let go, follow?
-ful play … Will I breathe into his grace?
To free … Let my heart float up in wonder?
The day … Let joy accept its rightful place.

When you … Just breathe.
Release … Just breathe.
And striv- … Just breathe.
-ing cease … Just breathe.
Let grace …
Increase …
And thrive …
In peace.
_______

Note: As far as the content … It took a complete collapse for me to realize that the circular loops of thought I have struggled with for most of my life were actually part of a sickness. The breakdown forced me to deal with this and the problem of scrupulosity (a form of OCD that I never knew existed until I sought ways to deal with ‘unwanted intrusive thoughts’ – there are some good books on this out there if you need help). Just knowing that this was a sickness was truly half the battle. Through meditation and prayer, I’ve gotten pretty good at letting these thought loops dissipate naturally, without resistance (fighting the thoughts or arguing with myself), by gently refocussing my mind back to my breath, my walk, nature, a phrase, or whatever else I’ve chosen to focus on as a focal point (playing an instrument is another good example). Sometimes it is easier than other times, but knowing that fighting with myself (shoring up or trying to argue against a thought) is a counterproductive battle that one can only lose (because it only strengthens the neural pathways in your brain related to that thought). The answer is to recognize, but not engage. “Ah, there you are. Sorry thought, I’ve got this other thing I need to focus on. Have a nice day!”

There’s some unusual form going on here … a verse, a bridge and then 4 choruses with a duet coming in the the second and third chorus (like a call and response). I can hear what’s going on musically for this in my head, so I think it will be effective once I get it all down.

Photo: Louis Reed

Tomorrow Never Comes from New Lyrics for a New Album

Sounding like a dirge or psalm depending where you stand,
In the pit of sorrow, or playing with the band,
Hear the cry of hope or doom, the voice of distant drums:
“There’s no tomorrow … tomorrow never comes.”

Breathe in, breathe out,
Zip up, or shout,
Decay or sprout,
Breath in, breathe out.

Dream, rise, rub my eyes,
Rinse, drink, pray and think,
Read, write, grab a bite,
Work, play, release the day.

Waking, walking, working, shirking,
Coping, calling, rising, falling,
Sitting, sipping, racing, chasing,
Hating, loving, holding, shoving …

Now, right now is all there is;
Osmium and carbon fizz
Passing through the dark unknown,
A point of light is all we’re shown.
Knowing all that came before
Brought this moment to the floor,
Lightly hold our little hopes,
or sink hearts with heavy ropes.

Note: This is me trying to wrap my brain around the paradox that ‘now’ is really all there is. We may plan for the future, dream about it, prepare for what we think it may hold, but these are just thoughts … and yet we know the thoughts and actions of the past have shaped our present reality, what we are experiencing now. Jesus pointedly told us, “Take … no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself …” which is in dynamic tension with the parable of the ten virgins (and other passages), where it is emphasized how important it is to be prepared (in this case with oil for the wedding feast). I guess the short takeaway would be, “Prepare, but don’t worry. Trust God, but keep fighting the good fight.”

Photo: Christian Lue via Unsplash

Let Your Light So Shine from New Lyrics for a New Album

Pretending you’re not brilliant is not humility.
Stop building blinds about to hide your light.
Your lamp is lit, your candle burns, so we can clearly see
The patch of wonder ’round you in the night.

Let your light so shine;
Let it cast a glow
On the rough, on the fine,
So every child can know
What God freely gifts
To both yours and mine.
Through all the hurts and all the lifts,
Let your light so shine.

The scientist uncovers nature’s mystery,
The artist illustrates a point of history,
The poet through reflection, or the lover by affection,
Shine spotlights on the marvels in our sphere.
The rebel leads the fight for greater liberty,
The mystic looks within to find divinity,
Through the farmer’s garden soil, and the healer’s healing oil,
Each gift a fiery torch, when brought together make it clear
That God is good and he loves you. So …

Let your light so shine;
Let it cast a glow
On the rough, on the fine,
So every child can know
What God freely gifts
To both yours and mine.
Through all the hurts and all the lifts,
Let your light so shine.

No matter what your station,
You were born to illuminate creation.
Let your light so shine …
_______

Copyright 2025 M. Ryan Taylor

Note: I’ve reflected on Jesus’ call to be a light/salt since I was a youth, but I think I’m only beginning to understand how we are able to be the ‘light of the world’ and the ‘salt of the earth.’ Light helps us perceive what is there already through the sense of sight, and salt, never the main course, enhances the food at the table. My good works, your good works, everyone’s good works … they’re not the main event, but stand as a witness to the greatness of the giver of all good gifts.

Photo: Stefzn via Unsplash

Jesus Loves You from New Lyrics for a New Album

Eight degrees, walking to school under a sunrise rosy glow,
Boot stomping on the crunchy ice, conversing, “Hey, what’s new?”
We spot a finger-written message in the sparkling snow:
Hearts, like quote marks, framing up the words, “Jesus loves you.”

Later, strolling with my sweetheart on a lunchtime walk,
Around the block, up-down the hill, and past the park on cue,
We see more finger-written snow notes, glitter white, and talk
Of hearts and letters, winter warming, “Jesus loves you.”

I think about the sad, abandoned theater;
The empty shell we pass each day on main
Where on the old marquee, block letters, plain to see,
Spell out that “Jesus Loves You” through all weather, wind and rain.

And now I’m looking everywhere around to find those words
Reflected in the clouds or shining bright on morning dew,
In lullabies the wolves are singing to the desert birds,
When mothers whisper comfort, all cries out, “Jesus loves you.”

If life is overwhelming and you don’t know what to do,
Look up, around to hear the sound that “Jesus loves you.”
_______

Note: It actually pretty much played out as in this ‘slice of life’ from yesterday. Taavi and I walk to school together each morning and to spice things up I usually bring along some ‘conversation cards’ prompts. We saw this message in the snow (I went back later to photo this slightly melted version). Later, when walking with Dixie on our lunch break, we could see that this same person had tagged at least two other patches of snow around our block. It made us smile. This morning as I reflected on this, I thought of the old, abandoned theater on Main, which makes me a bit sad, but has had “Jesus Loves You” on the marquee ever since closing.

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I’d Rather Be … Right Now from New Lyrics for a New Album

Crickets from New Lyrics for a New Album

Hush-Hush Bathtub Gin from New Lyrics for a New Album

Troubadour – In Memoriam

My Life is a Prayer from New Lyrics for a New Album

Doxology from New Lyrics for a New Album

When I See the Way You Smile from New Lyrics for a New Album

Honeycomb from New Lyrics for a New Album

Let Jesus In from New Lyrics for a New Album

Still and Still Moving from New Lyrics for a New Album

New Day from New Lyrics for a New Album

Hello Anxiety from New Lyrics for a New Album

Pit of Despair from New Lyrics for a New Album

Dirigible from New Lyrics for a New Album

Let Your Heart Rejoice from New Lyrics for a New Album

Creation Calls You from New Lyrics for a New Album

Beautiful People from New Lyrics for a New Album

The Root from New Lyrics for a New Album

The Circle from New Lyrics for a New Album

Tomorrow Never Comes from New Lyrics for a New Album

Let Your Light So Shine from New Lyrics for a New Album

Jesus Loves You from New Lyrics for a New Album

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