UNTRADITIONALSo here we are, a new CD, finally!!! These songs are interesting and powerful, and feel good when I sing them. This is called ‘Untraditional’ because originally it was going to be all traditional covers, but I had some songs that needed to breathe and see light. The emotional level of the songs is low and there aren’t many happy bright spots, so let’s start with the first song. I think the lyrics probably tell the story better than any description of what i'm trying to acomplish. So here are the lyrics to the originals. I did a couple of traditional tunes just to round things out a bit. HappyI’m happyCan’t you see it in my faceAm I really out of placeBecause I’m HappyI’m happyCan’t you see it in my eyesIs it such a surprise?That I’m HappyI’m HappyCan you hear it in my voice?Do you think I have a choice?To be HappyI’m happyCan you hear it in my songs?Can it be so wrong?To be happyI’m happyCan you see it in my face?Is it such a disgrace?To be happyI’m HappyHappyHappyHappySo HappyAlstead (Great Flood of 2005)I used to live in Alstead, NH when I first moved from the city. I lived on Lake Warren on Rte 123, in Alstead NH, which is referenced in the song. This was really hard for me to write; I wanted it to be truthful, but also to show the resolve of the people that wanted to stay and rebuild. They shut down Rte 123 for awhile and had to re-route the road. All of the places where there were houses are just flat gravel now. It’s a sad and sobering drive. The person I refer to in the song (Ray) is my wife’s father, who works for the Langdon Police Department, and who was banging on doors that night, getting people out. The anniversary of the flood is Oct 9. It was the darkest Saturday night, windblown rain fell from the left to rightLike God hadn’t cried for a thousand years, and tonight he couldn’t hold back the tearsRay came to the house, he was a banging on the door, Said ‘Son you can’t stay here anymore’The stream is now a river overflowin’, no time to pack, you can’t take nothing’Made it to the edge of the property line, turned around for one last timeIn the muffled thunder, a flash of yellow lightning, the house where I was born was crumblin’Alstead, New Hampshire it’s north of LouisianaOnce was whole, well we ain’t anymoreThis great flood of 2005Has left us high and dryThe house standing across the way, straight and whole as this October dayTwo lots down, you know all that’s left, is a broken well pipe and a trashed picket fenceHouses they were swallowed by the river, cars strewn around like forgotten child’s toysUprooted trees twisted like chicken wire, and there’s nothing left but the mud, the muck and mireAlstead, New Hampshire it’s north of LouisianaOnce was whole well it ain’t anymoreThe great flood of 2005And it left us high and dryThere’s an uneasy feeling, there’s an eerie peace, 123 is a tangled mess of asphalt and concreteSave our city, painted on an old brick wall, it tells this town’s tale, tells it allMost of the locals well they made it out, they got their health still intact,And the sun will shine one more day, we will re-build and stayAlstead, New Hampshire is north of LouisianaOnce was whole well it ain’t anymoreThe great flood of 2005And we will rebuild and we will survive MirageShe moved through the fairWind Blowing through her hairI thought she caught my eyeI was mistaken, she walked on byI got on down on one kneeAnd I asked her to be mineThought I saw a tearThought I saw fearWe were married on a spring dayThere was nothing left to sayHeld hands and we prayedThat the fear would just go awayTwo years, three months to the dayThis love was drowned by hateWe act as if nothings wrongWe act as if nothings wrongHouse is as still as a churchThis sadness was replaced by hurtThis mirage of hope and loveHas died like a caged dove.12:15 (This is a Love Song)12:15She can’t to find her beingAll she wants to be is sleepingAnd at night she always loses itBecause her life is always a Hit or MissSo this is a love songSo this is a love song Say something, anything, anything, anything, anything to stop the tearsSay anything, anything, anything, anything, something to stop the fearsThis is a love songThis is a love songIt’s 1:15 and nobody hears herAll she wants, is someone to believe herAnd after all of the self made delusionThis is where she finds the conclusionThis is a love songThis is a love songSay something, anything, anything, anything, anything to stop the tearsSay anything, anything, anything, anything, something to stop the fearsThis is a love songThis is a love songIt’s 2:15 she lies sleeping peacefullyShe founds out who she wants to beA woman who has arrivedA woman who will surviveSo this is a love songSo this is a love songSay something, anything, anything, anything, anything to stop the tearsSay anything, anything, anything, anything, something to stop the fearsThis is a love songThis is a love songFood for ThoughtVERSEI’ve been thinkingAnd I’ve been watchingAnd the difference betweenThe have and have notsAnd we always say what can I do?Because it’s up to me and youAnd it’s all about givingSo they can go on livingPRE-CHORUSSo don’t turn your headWhen children need to be fedWhen you don’t have to look farTo find a family living in a carThere’s a single motherStruggling to make it on her ownLonely man with AIDSJust counting the daysCHORUSSo this is where we liveAnd this is where we workAnd we can’t turn awayFrom our responsibility anymoreAnd just because you can’t see themDoesn’t mean they aren’t thereThe homeless we forgotIt’s just food for thoughtVERSEVolunteers doing what they canAnd I see them making a standParticipation is what it’s all aboutEven the smallest dollar amountOr an hour of timeTo hold someone’s handOr to look someone in the eyeAnd tell them you will be by their side.PRE-CHORUSThere’s a battered womanTrying to standLooking for a placeHoping to be safeAn addict walking the lineTaking it one day at a timeKnowing the supportWill ease the hurtCHORUSSo this is where we liveAnd this is where we workAnd we can’t turn awayFrom our responsibility anymoreAnd just because you can’t see themDoesn’t mean they aren’t thereThe homeless we forgotIt’s just food for thoughtDestinyDon’t cry my little girlMomma said don’t cryDon’t cry little girlI’ll be watching over you tonightDon’t cry little oneMomma has to let you goDon’t cry my little oneI love you more than you knowThere’s a place better for youI know you don’t understandMomma knows what you needAnd it’s just your destinySmile for your daddyHe is here for youSmile for your daddyHe can take better care of youWhen you look into the skyAnd the sun shining brightWhere the sparrows and the robins flyJust think of me and smileDon’t cry my little girlMomma said don’t cryDon’t cry my precious oneYour life will be filled with loveTears will flowBut it’s time to goThe leaves fall from the treeThis is your destinyThe Ice StormI started my carLooks Like RainThe cold chills to the boneAs I drive to your placeSlide the wedding ring offDon't know what to doPut it in the glove boxAnd forget about youI know she isn't waiting upCalled her to let her knowGoing out for a beerAfter the showI shouldn't be hereBut I amI shouldn’t be holding youBut I amSomeone else is waiting for meI shouldn't be hereBut I amRain is beating on the roofRinging in my earsDouble yellow line is just a blurAs the car self steersWhen you open the doorI know what to doEven though I have to go backYou still come throughBack in the carPut my ring back onDriving in this Ice StormI've been gone too long....1000 Coffins (Letter to the President)I wrote this when the Iraq war had only taken about 1,000 military lives. According to CNN, as of August 29, 2006, 2,800 coalition forces have now lost their lives. This was another song that has had many different versions and re-writes. 1000 Coffins in an airplane hangar1000 freshly dug graves1000 chiseled Headstones1000 People aloneToo Many hearts still being brokenToo many lives still being stolenAnd a thousand childrenThey don’t understandSo Dear Mr. PresidentHow do you sleep at nightKnowing we were never meantTo fight this fightDear Mr. Presidentin that heart of stoneWould you bring our soldiers home1000 wooden crosses1000 lost causes1000 unfulfilled livesThe men in power of a thousand liesCan you look into the eyesOf the parents and brothers and sistersOf the sons and daughtersWho died for youDear Mr. PresidentWe were in AfghanistanExplain to meBecause I don’t understandHow we ended up under attackIn the deserts of IraqDear Mr. PresidentJust one more thingDon’t call on meDon’t you think about my offspringYour fighting and killing tooAnd the weapons you never found1000 Coffins in an airplane hangar1000 freshly dug graves1000 chiseled Headstones1000 have died alone