Genuine...original...uplifting...creative...hip. Those are some of the glowing terms critics have used to describe the words of songwriter Mitchell Stone. Check out a few lyric lines from the songs on Mitch's 2015 album “Old Hippie/New Songs” (below), and you'll understand why listeners have such high praise for his music.“He was a man before he was ten / 'Think I'll call myself Dylan' / since then he won the world, with music and words so strong / he's lived ten lifetimes...how can he be wrong? / in this world there's only one / he's Bob Dylan, son; he's Bob Dylan, bro / hitched his way to New York one day...had so much to say...half a century ago”“I need a place where a smilin' face makes sense and makes friends / where Lucy In The Sky meets Buddy Guy, and blacks and whites shake hands / a place with vivid scenery, where ladies know how to have fun / where camels walk, and camels talk of hump days in the sun / what's wrong with that? I want a place to hang my hat, with folks like family / where people know that I can show 'em how good that I can be / and every time I flip my switch, they see the light inside of me”“How many times I've thought of you, when the waves crash on the sea / when the sun's warm glow makes me know that you're watchin' me / ya have my back and I have yours, my darlin' one; when one goes, Lord knows, a broken heart will live on”“Sometimes, I have no women to join me at home / sometimes, I got no music on the stereo / sometimes, my head's a zero, with no place to go: a conspiracy inside of me—against Mitchell Stone”“You were a beauty beyond compare / always had your nose in the air / he was lean and really mean...wore Levi's and drank Jim Beam / you were anything but serene; you both were cursed with the mean gene”“Can't believe i'm goin' home to you / you're why I do the things I do / to keep it all real / it's so surreal / you're the reason I work / you're my job's biggest perk / I can't believe I'm goin' home to you!”“At open mics on Friday nights, they gather in bars at those talent wars / but there's losers too, with their cigarettes and booze / they schmooze, they lose, with harmonicas and guitars / at those talent wars / keyboardists are free to plunk a key or two / entertainin' me—me and you”“Wasn't it only yesterday, we graduated in June? / Paul Simon sang An American Tune / and the president said we'd put a man on the moon / wasn't that only yesterday?”“I told myself, if you're willin', I'd be your biggest fan / you can fly to the top of a buildin', but that don't make ya Superman”“Create a page—don't show your age—to all your new-found friends / add a picture, quote a scripture—the fun never ends / obits...birthdays...concerts...plays, promote what you will / keep on scrollin', 'cause one thing's sure: you'll never get your fill / this habit-formin' activity has ya for eternity / if ya reach a hundred-and-three, you're gonna be scrollin' still / 'cause you've learned ways to stun and amaze, with videos and news and political views, and photographs and games / the Social Network made me face reality / an open book where anyone can look, made me what I am today: the kind of cat who joins the chat with comments, likes and jokes / who talks to friends of friends of friends, with pictures, shares, and pokes”“My flower child, you were so wild in the wayward ways of love / and dreams of you consumed my days of protests and the dove / as hawks flew in Vietnam raids in the shadows of the truth / we both were made to act on love, in the sweet days of our youth”“In school, my kids keep occupied not wearin' their thinkin' cap / but rather lookin' out for the latest app / they can share with their b-f-f / where has education gone? I think it got up and left”“When I looked at you, I knew / the secrets of the universe are in your eyes / every time I hear your sighs / makes me know why I give, and why I live, just to please you”“She didn't care for things here / so she didn't stick around / if she don't feel right, she'll send ya off / and you'll feel down / you'll wonder why / you made her cry”“When the meadowlark at the old ballpark sings like McCartney, he's singin' for you and me”“I saw Old Glory wavin' in the breeze / up in the sky and over the trees / Old Glory's faded like me—everybody gets older / if her head's on your shoulder, that's how it should be / if you got love, it's a gift from above / live long and prosper, live easy and free / if the fit feels like a hand in a glove, you're livin' in love / that's how it should be...that's how it should be...that's how it should be”“Was it a party? Was it Saturday night? / I know I did things that ain't right / Lights out...twist and shout—I got the rug pulled out / now what's this dream all about?”“Fightin' my way through the traffic flow / homeward bound with a day's pay to show / for the work I did and all the nonsense too / best time of my day, don't ya know / 'cause babe, I'm goin' home to you / I can't believe I'm goin' home to you / how lucky can I be / it makes me feel like the king of the world, 'cause it's you I'm gonna see / it's you I'm gonna feel, and it's you I'm gonna touch / why can't I speed up my wheels, baby, I love you oh so much”“Ya can't judge a book by lookin' at its cover, and ya can't judge a girl by lookin' at her lover”“I bought her everything, but I didn't know what she'd need / a woman wants a stay-at-home man, not a womanizer filled with greed / I broke her heart; now we're apart”“Got a flat downtown we could roll around, and we could live better / let's move in together...be as one forever / pool our resources...that'll be so clever / every storm that comes our way, we'll be able to weather”“If I could live my life again, I'd do it differently...the only constant: you and me / how things were don't matter now / if ya try to stop the clock, you're livin' in dreams; age is just a number / I only dream in slumber / and it's not as early as it seems”“I had a great girl on the side, but I forgot about my bride / the lady I'd married soon became wary of late office hours...too many showers...lunch with the guys / when she got wise, she blew my cover, and when it ended I cried / 'cause a beautiful thing had died”“Fries and burgers on a Saturday night / two teens in the moonlight / nothin's ever been so right...better times and days / pony tail swingin' when ya walk / red lips movin' when ya talk / lovin' the night away, lovin' the night away”“I got shut up...shot down...and shut out / blindsided, without a doubt / ya got me drinkin' from the lovin' cup / ya got me thinkin' that I'm all used up / ya got me feelin' like I need my sleep / I'd like to leave ya but I'm in too deep / this kinda thing makes me feel so cheap!”___All songs written and performed by Mitchell Stone / Copyright © Emstone Music Publishing (BMI)