Mark Shepard: A Life In Song

January And The Summer Folks-Song 014

Mark — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:16:14 +0000

“Life In Song” #14: “January And The Summer Folks” was inspired by a blizzard we had that kept us home bound for a few days. The first part of the song is descriptive of what I was seeing out my window in the snowstorm. Then the second part is remembering summer as in a day dream…then we come back to the reality of Winter but with the hopeful observation that Spring will eventually come… I recorded two version of this, one that uses a pick and strumming and the other which uses a softer finger picking style. Let me know which one you prefer! If I find any older recordings of this song they will be in the Back Stage Pass Members area as bonuses.

Audio:
Strum Version -

Finger Picking Version -

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Lyrics:

January and the Summer Folks | Song #14 | January 1978

January comes to my town once a year
Visits for a while and then
kicks on out of here
Leaving ice on the telephone wires
And a blanket of snow on the dormant backyard sapphires
Of the swimming pools…
The summer jewels

The streetlights through my window
Look like ghosts veiled in snow
Haunting the cars that struggle through
The drifts of the road below
And the wind sounds like an interstate
It threatens to take my home away
And a friend or relative, asks me to play
A summer song
A “right where they belong song”

So I create…

Kids playing tag outside the screen door
They laugh a little now and they laugh a little more
The grass is green in the yard and
There’s plenty to eat from the garden
Sing a summer song for the summer folks
Sit into the night on the porch telling jokes
Sing a summer song for the summer folks
Sit into the night on the porch telling jokes

Watching the moon and the stars for hours
Or sitting inside during thunder showers
Singing of blue skies and ice cream cones
Bare feet on sun warmed stones
Sing a summer song for the summer folks
Sit into the night on the porch telling jokes
Sing a summer song for the summer folks
Sit into the night on the porch telling jokes

But no matter what song you sing
You must have patience in the end
Cause sooner or later Spring will push
Winter round the bend…

January comes to my town once a year…

Tuning DADGAD

“January And The Summer Folks” by Mark Shepard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
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I need your help!
Please Consider contributing to the Life In Song Project. I am working on recording and sharing the over 400 songs I’ve written since 1976. Every little bit helps and is much appreciated!

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Mamas Boy-Song 013

Mark — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:25:18 +0000

“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…

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
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Songs Through A Window-Song 012

Mark — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 14:14:34 +0000

“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.

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
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We All Scream Sometimes-Song 011

Mark — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:08:05 +0000

“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
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Where Have All The Rebels Gone-Song 010

Mark — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:51:56 +0000

“Life In Song” #10: Where Have All The Rebels Gone is a protest song about the fact that by 1977 all the people from the sixties who had burned the flag and demonstrated against the Vietnam war had pretty much stopped protesting and were going for the “good life”. It was sparked by an article in the New York Times or Time Magazine or somewhere that caught my interest. It basically said that there were a lot of people in the Soviet Union who were upset that Bob Dylan seemed to have embraced Capitalism. This song was previously released on my “Live Unknown” CD. I’ll see if I can find an mp3 of it to add as a bonus in the members section for download.

Lyrics:

Where Have All The Rebels Gone? | Song #10 | October 1977

I don’t know where all the rebels went
Remember the ones who gave their lives to Kent?
And when is the last time that you raised your fist?
Or burned a flag, to resist?
And if it is too dim in your dishcloth memory
Never mind, just “Let it be”…

Where did the demonstrators go from ’69?
Perhaps they’re in front of a fire, slowly sipping wine
Maybe I should believe the Bullshit that I’m told
About how a person simply gets too old
To march in moratorium parades
And put flowers in the guns of police brigades…

Why is it that all our heroes turn to clods?
Look at Hendrix and Joplin, they really shot their wads
And did you hear Bob Dylan’s now a capitalist?
Hey it doesn’t bother me but the commies are pissed
But if it is too dim in your dish cloth memory
Never mind, just “Let it be”…

Tuning: DADGAD, Capo 5th Fret

“Where Have All The Rebels Gone” by Mark Shepard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
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Down And Around-Song 009

Mark — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:38:03 +0000

“Life In Song” #9: Down And Around is just a simple song about appreciating the moments that truly give us life. I’ve always felt a bit wistful as the summer comes to a close and September returns with what in the New York area is the best weather of the year (for me) warm days, cool nights…but so many folks miss it in the rush of returning to school and work after summer vacation. Anyway, it’s message is still as appropriate today as it was in 1977. and coincidentally as I post this September is next week…

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:

Down And Around | Song #9 | September 1977

When you’re feeling good
Which happens from time to time
Take a long relaxing stroll
Far from where you usually go
Go alone or take a friend
It’s up to you to decide
But when you’re finally ready…

Refrain:
Take it down and around
Catch a red leaf as it’s falling
Down and around
Go to the places that are calling
Down and around
Hear the small brook gently singing
Down and around
Feel the bells in your heart ringing
Down and around
Down and around

When September comes home again
Greet her with open arms
Get away from the places
Of earning and learning and such
At least set aside a day
To let the wind blow on your face
And when you finally do…

Refrain:

When the wild geese fly south again
Listen t their lonely song
Somewhere in those wild harmonies
Lies the key to a new way of life
What that may mean
I’ll leave up to you to decide
And when you finally understand…

Refrain:

Tuning: Standard

“Down And Around” by Mark Shepard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
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Andrew-Song 008

Mark — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:21:12 +0000

Song #8. This admittedly autobiographical song captures pretty much exactly the way I felt as a teenager. It’s interesting looking back after having done so much personal development work to clear up the screwed up notions I had about women and sexuality. The message that I internalized was that it was basically bad to “want to be more than friends” with a woman. I see this same limiting belief system at work in the lives of the shy guys I do NLP coaching with. they stop themselves from being the kind of guys women are truly attracted to because of various conflicting beliefs. In case you know a shy guy who may need help… http://ShyGuyHelp.com I’m going to post this song there with a full article going more into the details of this process soon…

BTW I made some chord charts which will be available in the members area to enable you to play this song in it’s original open tuning (DADGAD).

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

Andrew | Song # 8 | September 1977

Glancing around the overflowing room,
Andrew shoves his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans
Clenches his fist around some loose change jingling
He’s sure that he’s a failure at small talk and mingling
So he leans against a helpful wall feeling out of tune
But deep inside he knows he’s different, much different than he seems…

Refrain:
And he’s always looking for a girl
Looking for a girl to know him
Talking to himself, the best and only pal he has
All about how she will be a friend, not a lover…
But Andrew needs to love her.
Andrew wants a lover…
But the time does come for him to go home
He knows he’s safe inside the headphones…
Inside the headphones, inside the headphones…*

The teacher always has to call his name a second time
And he mumbles when he answers
And the answer always seems to have slipped his mind
And he’s far beyond the classroom walls
In his drifting, chin on hand wonderland
It’s something that no one will ever be able to understand**

Refrain:

Just before the sun let’s itself down
It breaks through the clouds and gives the hills a liquid crown
Andrew’s on he way back from somewhere in the depths of town mmm
Slaps his Keds into the dust of the road with a frown

Refrain:

Refrain Variation
Looking for a girl To really know him
Looking for a girl To be his best friend
Looking for a girl To be his lover
Looking for a girl To replace his mother
Looking for a girl To be his best friend
Looking for a girl To be his best friend
But the time does come for him to go home
He knows he’s safe inside the headphones…
Inside the headphones, inside the headphones…

Tuning DADGAD (capo 2nd fret)

“Andrew” by Mark Shepard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
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Johnnys A Rover Song 007

Mark — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:30:50 +0000

Song #7:Johnny’s A Rover . I wrote this song August of 1977 while on vacation in Drummond Island Michigan on the shore of Lake Huron. The vastness of the great lakes and the huge ore freighters steaming past put me in the mood of sailors and the sea. This song is a short movie about a sailor on shore leave who “loves all the girls and leaves ‘em alone”. I’d written down the wrong tuning in my lyrics book so whenever I tried to play this it did not work! I finally figured it out and actually made some chord charts which will be available in the members area.

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:

Johnny’s A Rover | Song #7 | August 1977

Come on now Johnny and kick off your shoes
Sit by the fire and slap off the blues
Evening is turning the day to a joke
And now you deserve a good hearty smoke

Oh But Johnny’s a rover
Oh his stay’s almost over
Oh, hey ho hi
Oh hi ho hey

Wake up now Johnny and stifle that yawn
If you don’t hurry yer ship’ll be gone
Shore is a nice place, but it ain’t yer home
So love all the girls and leave ‘em alone

Oh But Johnny’s a rover
Oh his stay is over
Oh, hey ho hi
Oh hi ho hey

Come on now Johnny and kick off your shoes
Sit on the deck and slap off the blues
Eight bells are ringing, the watch is a joke
And now you deserve a good hearty smoke…

Oh But Johnny’s a rover
Oh his trick is over
Oh, hey ho hi
Oh hi ho hey

Tuning: DGDGAD, Capo 3rd Fret

“Johnny’s A Rover” 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

I need your help!
Please Consider contributing to the Life In Song Project. I am working on recording and sharing the over 400 songs I’ve written since 1976. Every little bit helps and is much appreciated!

Contribute $5 To “A Life In Song”

Contribute $10 To “A life In Song”

Contribute $25 To “A Life In Song”

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The Game Song 006

Mark — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 15:21:25 +0000

Song #6: The Game. This is another song where I step into the shoes of another character and write a song from his perspective. There is a theme though, that you will notice beginning to form…I grew up in a pretty sheltered, stable environment and there is a longing that emerges in a number of songs for freedom, for travel, adventure etc…so you’ll see it again as we get deeper into “A Life In Song.” Thanks for watching/listening!

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

The Game | Song #6 | June 1977

Laughing across the fields
And through summers old leaves
And finally up my sleeves
The bitter wind mocks me and
Pulls all my ill concealed destinies
Out of my pocket and into the long winter night
But I clutch what dreams I have left
With desperate eyes and pull down my hat
And hold to the lies…

Out on the road, out the road, out on the road
Just another child without a name
Running away, running away, running away
Just another pawn playing the game

I’m still awake when the neon dies
In all the pubs and cafes
I’m traveling by rule of thumb at night
So I can sleep through the days…

It’s not that I think I’ll be looked for
Or followed or chased or threatened or
Even missed,
It’s just that it’s part of the game
And it must be done right
If you’re gonna play at all
So just to play fair I will tell you
That no one knows and no one will find out
Why I’m still on the road…

Out on the road, out the road, out on the road
Just another child without a home
Running away, running away, running away
Just another wanderer out on the roam

Oh come on and give me a ride
Open the door on the passenger side
I won’t pretend to know you
I won’t even give you a name
I’m just a face and a “thank you”
And you’re just part of the game…

Tuning: DADGAD, Capo 5th fret

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“The Game” by Mark Shepard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
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Running In Rain Song 005

Mark — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:19:34 +0000

Song #5: “Running In Rain” came about because my high school gym teachers had a great idea...They gave us permission to go jogging at home and as long as our parents signed off on it “proving” we actually were doing it, we didn’t have to go to gym! This was like a gift from heaven because I HATED gym. So for a few weeks I actually did go jogging (until I figured out that my parents would sign the note regardless of whether I really went or not…) Anyway this song came about after it started raining during one of my runs. Yes I AM a compulsive songwriter…

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
Running In Rain | Song # 5 | June 1977

Running in rain
And rejoicing in windshields
That drive by insisting
That I am insane
I ponder the meanings
That lie in the clouds
Knowing full well
That the answers
Lie on the ground

Traveling through the reaches
Of many self made lands
Wandering on the beaches
Formed with mind made sands

Breathing the rain
And moving in solitude
I’m part of the pavement
And part of the sky
Praying to time,
The god of Man
I ask to be able
To go where I can…

Travel through the reaches
Of many self made lands
Wander on the beaches
Formed with mind made sands

On my way home
I pass children
In their raincoats
Splashing in puddles
And they laugh with me

But, still I…

Feel the wanderer
Rushing inside
Free on the moment
And soft on the high
Moving in rhythm
Of forward thrust
I may change
But the rain stays the same

Tuning: Standard

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“Running In Rain” by Mark Shepard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
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