I wrote the songs in this group (A). They all reflect incidences in my life. One is about Mom. Another is a very long banjo improvisation. And another about a dream. The rest are about the women. I cannot write a song on demand. I've tried but it doesn't work. Sometimes the NEED for song will generate the muse, but that is no guarantee. I don't know where my songs come from. But once I've got the hook (the basic idea that makes the song different from any other), the song usually follows quickly. |
1. |
Bees to My
Honey
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Too many people hangin' around my lover's place. Her name was Paula. From Chile.
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2. | Jig Saw Puzzle |
I had already written
this song when she dumped me for being so possessive. But it certainly
reflects my feelings when she did. Her two little girls loved to sing
the chorus with me. But sadly, they forgot all about it when they grew
up.
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3. | Actions Speak Louder than Words | This fits a number of situations in my life. Live and Learn. |
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4. | Ten Times Around | Too much smoke. Not enough love. |
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5. | When You Have Found Your Superman | She wants a lot more than I got. |
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6. | Great Big Number | Telling myself the truth. |
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7. | Wild Substance | After knowing her for a long time, I suddenly see how beautiful she is. |
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8. | I Can Tell That You Love Me | Communication difficulties. |
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9. | Daddy, I Had a Dream | Twelve year old telling her father about a sexy dream she had. |
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10. | In Each Other's Arms | Barely a song. |
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11. | Good Time Mary | Mary was a slender,
tall, dark haired beauty, a hippy, and a devout Catholic. I only knew
her for a few hours. No sex. I asked her if she really believed that the
Virgin Mary ascended bodily into heaven, which all Catholics must believe on
pain of ex-communication. She answered,
"I don't know, Billy. But wouldn't it be a GAS if she did?
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12. | Funniest Thing | This song started out
to be a song about an acid trip. But somehow or other Mom got into
it. The banjo accompaniment, which includes percussion on the banjo
head, is in 11/8 time.
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13. | A#1 Whoop De Doo Banjo Thing and Waltz | Jo Ellen was making
dinner for us in my house in Lake Hill, New York. I set up the tape recorder
and played stuff into it I had been working on. It all came together
that time and I played about twenty minutes of pure banjo beauty. That
tape disappeared and I could never completely recapture what I had done. This
is the best of many attempts to do so.
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14. | Mary Morrison | Robert Burns wrote the
poem. I don't know who wrote the music. Woody Wachtel taught me
the song. I include it here because of the banjo accompaniment which
is different from any other thing I have ever done on the five string
banjo. In fact, when I heard it while auditing my old tapes at the University
of North Carolina it was very difficult to believe it was me playing because I
had absolutely no memory of doing it. It is obviously an experiment. I seem to
be following no set pattern with the banjo. The style of the
accompaniment is harsh and arhythmic; totally inappropriate for the song,
which is a tender, deeply felt statement of the poet's love for Mary Morrison.
And yet, there is something wonderful about it. I don't know what that
something is, but I love it.
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15. | Baby, You Opened My Heart | Peyote opened my eyes. The Beatles opened my ears. And Baby------------- |
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