Alternate     Angles
 

1   "PLEASE YOURSELF"
At some point a person comes to realize that you have to live up to your standards and priorities and not anyone else's. It simplifies things and allows you the freedom to express and truly be yourself without hesitation or preconceptions based on what others may think.

It's like writing with smoke
Talking to the wall
Cracking a joke
No one gets at all
Stop waiting for signs
Of  whatever comes true
In the hearts and minds
That don't believe in you

(Chorus)
You've got to please yourself
It's hard enough to please yourself
You've got to believe in yourself

Do your best
When no one else is there
Find your voice
Pull it out of thin air
Let it take you where
You've never been before
Far off places
And distant shores

2   "SENIOR MOMENTS"​​​​​​​​​​​​
      Advancing years really do catch you by surprise and when they do, it's time to quickly shift gears, focus on what is really important and what you do best, and make the most of what time you have left. 
​
I used to run to catch the train
These days I just let it pass
Accept what I can't change
Free to be free at last
I rarely wear a watch
I don't always shave
I get by without a lot of things
I used to crave

(Chorus)
But that's just life, ain't a mom?
We ride its ups and downs
Then it's time to mow the lawn
We pack and unpack our baggage
Try to find where we belong
But that's just life, ain't it mom?

I still worry 'bout the damnedest things
Every now and then
And it still gets me nowhere
I haven't already been
I'll just sleep a little later
If I toss and turn
I'd try to meet your expectations
But they're of no concern

(Chorus)
But that's just life, ain't a mom?
We ride its ups and downs
Then it's time to mow the lawn
We pack and unpack our baggage
Try to forget where we went wrong
But that's just life, ain't it mom?
​
3   "APRÈS LA PLUIE"
       Instrumental

4   "SMILING THROUGH MY TEARS"
I wrote the line down a while back, but the song actually came together after an acquaintance suddenly passed away.  

(Chorus)
 I've been smiling through my tears
Doing my best
Life without you
Puts me to the test
It's gonna take time
To leave us behind
But I'm gonna make it
 
I try to forget
Our yesterdays and yet
They're all that I've got
To try is to fail
God, how can I derail
This train of thought?
But there's better days ahead
And every now and then
I feel a little bit more
Like me again
I'll use the joy we shared
How much we both cared
And be ever so thankful
For you my friend

Those long and lonely nights
Without you by my side
Still come and go
I still talk to you sometimes
Give you a piece of my mind
For leaving me so
But there's better days ahead
And every now and then
I feel a little bit more
Like me again
I'll use the joy that we shared
How much we both cared
And be ever so thankful
For you my friend
​
5   "DOPPLEGANGER"
One source noted there is a one in seven chance that everyone has a doppleganger or person who looks exactly like them. I played around with the concept for this song, and it got more outlandish as I went along.  

When I stumbled into my doppleganger
I could hardly speak
I did a double take
And he still looked just like me
He had a naked woman on his chest
A tat in a hat that you like best
He told me how you broke up too
Right about the time that I met you

I'm feeling like I'm just a memory
Hanging out with you
Just an old familiar face
Who never had a clue
We traveled to the South of France
Relived the days of that romance
You drove us straight to a fine hotel
Where they all seemed to know you well

But there's an added twist
To this peculiar tale of mine
When I met this guy, I found out why
We look like two of a kind
And then he said,
"I practically begged my doctor
I've always felt so out of place
Living with this dreadful face
Make me look like my main man
'Cuz I'm nothing if not his biggest fan"​
 
6   "SOMETIMES'
A string of one-liners that are just along for ride in something a bit different. 

Sometimes too much postive
Makes me negative
Sometimes too much negative
Makes me positive

Sometimes the only answer
Has two meanings
Sometimes the truth is
Clouded by our feelings

Sometimes things get so bad
That it makes you laugh
Sometimes we see what's
Not there in a photograph

Sometimes a leap of faith
Is just a stab in the dark
Sometimes we search for meaning
In a dumb remark

7   "DHS-2-ICE"
8   "RED, WHITE AND BLUES"
9   "BLOWHARD"
10.  "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE"
11.  "EVERYONE KNOWS"
12.  "I CAN'T WAIT"
13.  "REVIVAL"
The seven recordings noted above express my frustrations, angst and sadness at the quick unraveling of America and all that it has stood for. "Revival" is meant to end these thoughts on a hopeful set of notes that one day sees us regain our status as the world's best shining example of democratic freedoms and ideals. One can only hope. ​
​
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