Song: Elvis Has Left The Building

it was a hot august night on dorinda's couch in allentown
there was a ring around the moon
the man on the tv said "elvis has left the building,
there'll never be another like him soon."

must be a record of his here somewhere
so we can pay tribute to the vegas king
must be an album of his but i can't find it
i guess i never really liked the way he'd sing

but listen,

chuck berry rocked me fats supplied the rolls
from new york to detroit memphis to muscle shoals
make it hot authentic make it black and real
i like the parts that the king could never steal

if all he were known for were those stupid movies
he'd rank right up there with good old sal mineo
but he brought feeling to the music
when he brought conviction to the theft of soul

but listen,

chuck berry rocked me james brown supplied the soul
from new york to detroit, memphis to muscle shoals
make it hot authentic make it rock and real
i like the parts that the king could never steal

it was a hot august night on dorinda's couch in allentown, new jersey
there was a ring around the moon
the man on the tv said "elvis has left the building,
there'll never be another like him soon."

chuck berry rocked me little richard supplied the rolls
from new york to detroit, memphis to muscle shoals
make it hot authentic make it freaking real
i like the parts that the king could never steal

(c) douglas brent smith

Song: Answered Prayer

the canaanite woman came to the Lord
her daughter was demon owned
the Lord's friends said to send her away
Jesus, just leave her alone

but even the dogs eat the crumbs
that fall from their master's table
and even the lowest low of all
with you Lord, we are able

Moses had troubles on every side
his enemies, even his friends
the Lord was his helper and his guide
from Egypt thru the desert till the end

(chorus)

Elijah was scared and in a cave
hiding from Jezabelle
he'd seed destruction and violence
and now he feared for himself

(chorus)

in these troubled times of woe
the hurt can said us reeling
crippled by causes we can't control
fallen, in need of healing

(chorus)

(c) Douglas Brent Smith

Song: A Happy Man

like an old sailor
who's drawn to the sea
the voice of the highway
whispers to me
i can't give a reason
for why i must go
the life of a drifter
is all that i know

i worked at the factory
the office, the store
i gave it my best shot
couldn't take any more
you can't stop a tiger
from chasing its prey
and you can't stop a drifter
from going away

every day is a road movie
every night is a new story
everyone you touch you hold forever

my kids call me crazy
but they understand
they know that i'm doing
the best that i can
you can't stop the ocean
from meeting the land
and you'll never reform
a happy man

like an old sailor
who's drawn to the sea
the voice of the highway
whispers to me
you can't stop the ocean
from kissing the sand
and you'll never reform
a happy man

whoa...that's all i am
whoa...a happy man

(c) douglas brent smith

she never said

she said that
she loved me
to the moon and back and
to the moon and
back just got a 
whole lot shorter

your roundtrip gave me
the bends as

you closed the portal and
swept this sobbing
away
as love choked gasping
on yet another
tripping dream

and 

she never said that
what she said
didn't mean a thing




(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

not a couple

every couple fights
about money about attention about
    harmless searing flirtations
    temptations, indiscretions and
    thoughts

every couple fights about passion
   and lack of passion
about furniture, fixtures, fantasies and
   families
   all those dysfunctional families and

we don't fight about any of that
    because we are
                   not a couple
and we fight about that

knowing what i want you
   choose to escape and
knowing what you want i
   senselessly cling
   a mess of depressed repression
unappealing
   stealing every ounce of hope
from the air

and you repeat (repeat, repeat) that
   we are NOT a couple but

what about this love?


-- douglas brent smith

Transparent Liberation

It's humbling to know that the world will go on without you -- but also liberating.

-- Doug Smith

poem: that dream

it's a foolish wish
to say may all your dreams
come true
                what about
the bridges disappearing in
                 perspective?      what about
the endless chases? the public nakedness?
the lack of words? the demons hiding
insecurities in playful sacks of sorrow?

let me pick my dream to live
that sweet happy ending dream of us
together hand in hand and always smiling

let me pick that time you looked at me
from across the room with a knowing
smile that spoke more love than you could
say, or contain (or, sadly, sustain) but
leave that part out (the sadness in your smile
of unbeatable fate) and let me
live that dream of

                              you smiling
                              at me and
                              happy.




(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

song: every sad song

every sad song

you might get the blues but you’ve still got to choose

no one else can walk in your shoes

your promises stood until they fell

your life felt like heaven but who can tell?

the worst thing’s the best thing that can’t stand its ground

the way up’s the break ups the heart hits the ground

every sad song sounds like

something ending

every sad song sounds like

something bending too far

so here we are, so here we are

every sad song stuck in our hearts

every sad song sounds like

something ending

every sad song sounds like

something bending too far

so here we are…

(c) 2015 douglas brent smith
from the album "etcetera" by douglas brent smith

song: i hate waiting in line

(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

poem: i wonder about you

i wonder about you
wondering about me, how
you might imagine this
changed by a kiss
or feel the pull
of something more whole
our gravity keeps crashing
but that's no reason
to cash it in

i wonder about you
all. the. time.



(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

collage: She Left Some Tools in Boulder

"She Left Some Tools in Boulder" collage by douglas brent smith, created 1 April 2017

(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

collage: Refresh Your Thinking

Refresh Your Thinking, or A Room With A View Entertaining, collage by douglas brent smith 04-01-2017

(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

collage: Birth of the Baby Machine

"Birth of the Baby Machine" by douglas brent smith, 27 September 1982

(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

collage: Taking Stage

"Taking Stage" by douglas brent smith, 10 August 1982

(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

collage: Big Lips

"Big Lips" by douglas brent smith, 26 July 1982

(c) 2017 douglas brent smith