Mark Shepard: Singer Songwriter

Mamas Boy-Song 013

August 31, 2010 By Mark

“Life In Song” #13: “Mama’s Boy” was inspired by a kid named Billy who got on the bus every morning with the most studied attitude of “cool”. He was one of the tough kids at school who over the years had made my life miserable. I was a classic bully target for most of my school days. But I started imagining that when this tough kid was at home his mother didn’t see him as a punk, he was probably her little Billy. So I kind of spun the character out from there… As far as I know this is the first time I’ve recorded this song. This is the final song I wrote in 1977 so it completes my first full year as a singer/songwriter. So while it’s not one of my personal favorites, it is at least PRESERVED and a full part of the Life In Song Project! Enjoy )
Oh, and one more thing, in case you’re thinking of having children…don’t name any of your kids “Billy”. It’s only one letter away from “Bully”. Just a suggestion…

PLEASE! Use headphones or decent speakers to listen to this instead of your tinny little computer speakers. It’s recorded in crystal clear digital sound and the headphones really make a difference!
Video:

Audio:

To get a downloadable mp3 file for your personal use Get Your Back Stage Pass! (it’s free for a limited time) and you get unlimited downloads of the entire Life in Song Project.

Lyrics:

Mama’s Boy | Song #13 | December 1977

He slurps his soggy cereal
And shoves off for school
Moving slow is his rule
The yellow bus beats him to the stop
But decides to wait
He gets on as if his dignity’s at stake…

Refrain:
Ooooo His mother loves him
Ooooo his mother loves him

When he’s deposited at school
He goes in cool…
It’s a personal rule to never look like a fool
And as he’s walking down the hall
He thinks bathroom stall
Obscenities on to the wall…

Refrain:

He never carries books because
They would spoil his looks
Ooo he’s so cool
His clothes are made from faded denim
If they rip no one’s allowed to mend them
Only an act of god (or dad) can end them…

Refrain:

He’s the owner of a Marvel comics switchblade
He tests it out on the lunch his mom made
Ooo it really makes the grade
He’s a classic example of over achieving
He takes advanced basket weaving
At the end of his 12 year in school….
He won’t be leaving

Refrain:

Tuning: Standard

“Mama’s Boy” by Mark Shepard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
.
Get Your Back Stage Pass! (it’s free for a limited time) and you get unlimited downloads of the entire Life in Song Project

Filed Under: Bullies & Bullying, Funny Songs, Life In Song 1970's

Songs Through A Window-Song 012

August 28, 2010 By Mark

"Life In Song" #12: Songs Through A Window was written after a new traffic light was put up in my neighborhood. I wondered what it might be like to live in the house right on the corner where the changing light would shine in all night. I created a young woman who took in the world through her eyes and sang songs out the window in response to what she saw...
Please Note: I also found an older version of this from my first studio LP "Songs Through A Window" recorded back in the 1980's at Squires Productions Studio in White Plains, NY. Alain Van Achte was the engineer... You can get it free in the members section.

PLEASE! Use headphones or decent speakers to listen to this instead of your tinny little computer speakers. It's recorded in crystal clear digital sound and the headphones really make a difference!
Video:

Audio:

To get a downloadable mp3 file for your personal use Get Your Back Stage Pass! (it’s free for a limited time) and you get unlimited downloads of the entire Life in Song Project.

Lyrics:

Songs Through A Window | Song #12 | December 1977

She sings love songs to the traffic light
That lives outside her window
And the rust and concrete symphony
That drifts in from the street
Finds its way into the background harmony
All night…
The clock on the dresser
Grinds away the time
And improvises any tune that comes to mind

She sings so many things through the window
The near and far away
She sings the song of the night and the day

She hums ballads to the bridges
That look like cages full of stars
And the stained glass poetry
Of the moving cars
Emerges as a painting in red and white
All night…
The clock on the dresser grinds away the time
And improvises any tune that comes to mind

She sings so many things through the window
The near and far away
She sings the song of the night and the day

And even as she’s singing
The dawn begins to rise
The new sun offers up itself
To the altar of her eyes
She bows her head in a prayer with the eastern skies
Ahhh….
The clock on the dresser grinds away the time
And improvises any tune that comes to mind…

Tuning: DADGAD

"Songs Through A Window" by Mark Shepard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
.
Get Your Back Stage Pass! (it’s free for a limited time) and you get unlimited downloads of the entire Life in Song Project

Filed Under: Life In Song 1970's, Spiritual Songs

We All Scream Sometimes-Song 011

August 27, 2010 By Mark

"Life In Song" #11 "We All Scream Sometimes" was a response to something that happened to my dad. He'd been dutifully working his heart out at Union Carbide Corporation and they gave him his pink slip. Even though he hated his job, it seemed to take a lot out of him to not have work to go to. He got a lot of support from friends at the Yorktown Presbyterian church who had the know-how to help him present a case of discrimination based on age and handicap (dad is an above the knee amputee who walks with an prosthetic leg). Singing this song right now in the midst of the "great recession" strikes home how universal this feeling is. Stuff happens in life. Sometimes it gets the better of us and we get beaten down. But we are not alone. Reach out people. Ask for help. Anyway, hope you find this song helpful.
Please Note: I also found an older version of this recorded back in the 1990's at Gene Moore's Studio. You can get it free in the members section.

Lyrics:

We all Scream Sometimes | Song # 11 | November 1977

No matter and although
I feel at times
As one who sees himself from
That standard arms length
Of controlling distance…

I still scream sometimes…

Once again I come to you
With no apology
To donate another shadow
From my soul
Don’t think for a minute
That it comes easily…
To me

We all scream sometimes…

Laughter never seems to keep
It’s promises
Although it sometimes
Patches up our holes
Why is it that a good man
Sometimes loses
More than he can hold?

We all scream sometimes…

It’s often hard to find out
Where we come from
And it’s always hard to tell
Where we will go
It seems to me no matter
How hard I try
I sometimes lose the rhyme…

We all scream sometimes…

I know a song like this is kind of
Hard to listen to
But we all know it’s
Harder to live
But that doesn’t mean the hope’s not there
It doesn’t mean I’m unaware
I know a lot of folks who care
I even know some folks who dare…
To love me….
To love me

Tuning: DADGAD

"We All Scream Sometimes" by Mark Shepard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
.
Get Your Back Stage Pass! (it’s free for a limited time) and you get unlimited downloads of the entire Life in Song Project