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Songs For Troubled Times

by John T. Baker

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1.
If I'm trying to change your mind Would you tell me if I do it the wrong way Cuz it took me so long to find short cuts are never as good as the long way You do yourself a disservice When those feelings start to surface If you fail to take the time to write it all down in a song way If you don't see this moment You'll never see it again Treasure it like something stolen Share it with all your friends If I'm trying to change your mind Would you tell me if I do it the wrong way Cuz it took me so long to find short cuts are never as good as the long way You got it in you to do it But you gotta get to it If you fail to take the time to write it all down in a song way If you wanna live in the moment don't give up space in your head Your brain needs controlling Make up your mind instead I'll give you an opinion you might like to hear Not everyone has it in them to be now be here
2.
Remember all winter When it felt like shit Was always just about to hit the fan And even though I've seen it come and go For fifty something years Spring feels like a miracle When it finally comes Miraculous transition Remember last Summer When you beat the drums And the heat came down in waves Oh hanging out Like a rag in in the slums To see the July 4th parade Autumn came like a miracle When it finally came Miraculous transition I hear George Harrison Sing to me about the sun Gonna come And I wonder Did he really know? What did he really know? Remember last year You conquered your fear You paved the way for me I know that I was not A little is a lot Give me something to be This life is a miracle Once you're finally living it Miraculous transition
3.
Home 02:43
Where the Hell can we go to now We've burned every stick of wood for five miles in any direction I can't believe what we've been eating Handfuls of spices with nothing to put them on We managed to snare a scrawny rabbit It wasn't worth more than a couple of bites If we go out for longer than three or four hours our eyes start to burn Wish we could go home Wish it was still there Green lawns in the neighborhood Electricity to power it all Remember the days Driving the car Down to the grocery store To get something to eat And bring it home to you To enjoy while watching our favorite TV shows We entertain each other these days Acting out scenes from movies we can barely recall I wonder if we'll ever see One of those things again Wish we could go home Wish it was still there Green lawns in the neighborhood Electricity to power it all Remember the days Driving the car Down to the grocery store To get something to eat And bring it home to you To enjoy while watching our favorite TV shows
4.
Spring arrived in fits and starts Summer practically never came Fall was cold and brown and bleak In Winter it started to rain It would turn to snow every several weeks The stores would run out of bread and eggs The captain of my ship called life Apparently lost his sea legs Perhaps a day of sun every now and again To punctuate the grey and the gloom The endless rain was always a run-on sentence That left me stuck in this room By March the rain became a major feature Of a season of desperation The latter part of April was the last I saw of the sun August was cold Unbelievably so In September it started to snow Oh no no no... We've been in the caves for 28 days A week since the power went out...
5.
Computer Troglodytes The Stone Age of computing The blue screen of death Changing numbers in lines of code So addicted are we to plastic boxes with wires coming out of them so addicted are we Now where do the wires go? Everybody's wireless gave me a virus And I have retreated To a hole in the ground So addicted are we to plastic boxes with wires coming out of them so addicted are we Now where do the wires go? Everything sounds like the stone age there's no WiFi, hot spots or DSL links No PM, text or instant message We're living like cavemen here So addicted are we to plastic boxes with wires coming out of them so addicted are we Now where do the wires go? Fingerpainting our email addresses on the wall I can't remember the last time I was so bored Since I can't download a movie from the iTunes store No menu from the local restaurant and no asian porn So how do I know what I need? And how do I know what I want?
6.
The world is gonna be different It's as true now as any time You gotta be ready for whatever, whenever Cuz it's gonna be different Everything's changing all the time Nothing ever stays the same You can try to find Comfort in nostalgia Confuse the slow arc of change with timelessness But everything's gonna change Everything's gonna change You'd best develop adaptation skills We have no idea what comes next But make no mistake it's coming And you better prepare Whatever that means Get in your stance and take good care When the time is right You just gotta hope Your ability to know When the time is right Is honed to an edge Sharp and precise But everyone and everything Has a time A beginning, and end And the sooner you can make peace with that The sooner you can recognize That every moment is unique And will never be again The sooner we can truly live In the moment Cuz we'll never be here again
7.
I need something stronger What I’m using now should be stronger by a half I need something stronger It used to be the truth But it’s failed the polygraph I need some assurance Some certainty in the face of all that’s wrong Pulled along in currents That roil and race And sweep away foundations To resist I must be strong So much stronger than I am Please be something stronger I’ve read the news and it keeps getting worse Please be something better It’s right now. There’s no time to rehearse Every time I hope we Will rise to the occasion Every time I think that I tell myself it’s almost over We need something larger Than ourselves to care about We need something stronger Than greed, celebrity and lust for power Every time I hope we Will rise to the occasion Every time I think that I tell myself it’s almost over
8.
Hey daffodil The first to say I will So willing that I worry about your chances The blushing debutante Everybody wants You daffodil Hey daffodil You know I love you still The killing that You made in our romances Standing and saluting Everybody's rooting for You daffodil Hello dandelion I thought you were a friend of mine They keep mowing you down But you keep coming around I cannot help but admire your style But I must tell you I'll Never love you Like I love sweet daffodil Hey daffodil You say you would, you will And yet you stay Immune to my advances You're so beautiful Everybody's pulling for You daffodil Hey daffodil
9.
When this is over And we start to move again They're gonna try to sell you Things they had convinced you You couldn't live without Don't let this opportunity to live without those things Lure you back into That old way of barely living We were so busy We didn't have time to care About each other, about the world About ourselves Now that we're learning the benefit of slowing and stopping We can't let the temptation To go back to normal Lure us back into The comfort of familiarity We are being offered A once in a lifetime chance to decide who we really are & why we're here We're in the middle of a process None of us can understand Scary sure But it needs to be reframed as an Amazing opportunity When this is over Don't let them tell you Nothing happened.
10.
Nobody's driving Nobody's flying The sky is clearer The birds are louder I've never seen a blue sky like this So alive with bits singing The days have been so long and beautiful I don't know what to think I get out into the woods every day And I see life abound The air is so clean and clear No one dares make a sound Nobody's driving Nobody's flying The sky is clearer The birds are louder It's like Earth is breathing A big sigh of relief Everything sparkles on the edges The green is beyond belief But no cars, no sound Nothing but the wind Whispering between the buildings Nobody's driving Nobody's flying The sky is clearer The birds are louder My heart's beating In case you can't see it I'm scared to death Just like everyone else But I'm trying to find The silver lining That I'm sure is there Its always there You just gotta know how to look You just gotta know where to look You just gotta know when to look You just gotta know who to look to Silver lining
11.
By the end of the month We had all had more than enough And down to the man We suffered the year's other plans The calendar page stayed the same By January 45 We awaited our Valentines But they never came The calendar page wouldn't change No matter how we played the game Please say something that will upend The January that wouldn't end Please do something real that will rescind The January that wouldn't end When Spring should be filling the Earth Celebrating the year of my birth Not saying what it's supposed to say It should be near May But the calendar page wouldn't change No matter how we played the game Everything we did to rekindle the flame But the motor stopped running we're all to blame
12.
We lose hope Underground the tunnels are so cold And we grow old Biding our time until The sun comes out I saw light Coming down as I was climbing up I reached the top I broke the seal The sun was out We go out Clean off the panels as we've been taught Let the sun shine in Unfurl ourselves The sun shines in We can't wait The time the clouds were parted Never really started We were only dreaming Undeserving Pause to let the light come in Stop to let the sun shine in Blue sky celebration
13.
Well it's a hot summer day And I think I skipped a beat I'm not thinking straight Because of the heat If I evaporate It would be bittersweet Chocolate melting on hot concrete There's gotta be a way for me to cheat Everything I say is incomplete On this hot summer day Back in the cold I couldn't believe The heat would get old enough to relieve Inside the household that I never leave If you had told me on Christmas Eve In my overcoat and under my sleeves I'd call a misquote, no chance of misery On this hot summer day But here I stand covered in sweat Hopelessly fanned and wringing wet A desperate man never forgets To meet the demand, losing a bet We shoulda planned but don't get upset Get in command of your best etiquette On this hot summer day I have to believe the heat's gonna break One of these days and it'll be great Until then we'll just sit and bake And play guitar Cuz that's who you are So play it... It's Hot!

credits

released February 4, 2021

Recorded & Mixed by Gray Comer and John T. Baker
at The Arbor Studio, Knoxville TN
Mastered by John Harvey & Mary Podio at Top Hat Recording, Knoxville TN

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John T. Baker Knoxville, Tennessee

John T. Baker is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, bassist and recording producer in Knoxville TN. He's been making original music since since the 80's. Owner of The Arbor Studio in Knoxville, he has recorded many prominent artists in the East Tennessee area. ... more

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