Song: Hopin'

you were young and so was i i'd get on my bike and ride i'd go where you'd know i was up and down your road i'd go on that three-speed very slow hopin' you'd see me... up and down your road i'd go acting like it didn't show hopin' you'd open your door my how the years went by we missed it you and i i'll give it one more try hopin' you'll open your door (c) 2017 douglas brent smith

Poem: short timers

turn the pages
quickly; isn't that
the sign of a good
book?
go fast go heady go
for the finish
have fun be done
then run

ah, the sign of a
good book, a great
game and
a sad relationship

when do you give up?
only one right but
more rare than caring
allows ~ when do you
give up?
all i senselessly say
to that can be
never never never
never never never
never never never
never never



-- douglas brent smith




(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

Poem: nonsense

it was her attempts
at perfection that
kept perfection away

locked up walled in
and
kept at bay

never quite good
enough to ever
satisfy

substantiated reservations
proof to deny

tell me again
why it all had to end
no, stop
nonsense never bears
repeating.


-- douglas brent smith




(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

Song: Don't Give Up Your Day Job

Don’t Give Up Your Day Job (Douglas Brent Smith)

Chorus:  

Don’t give up your day job

You could end up a poor slob

Life without a paycheck

Could make you a physical wreck

Don’t give up, don’t give up your day job

   

All my friends are artists, one way or another

Filled with talent filled with skills still yet undiscovered

When the routine looms they hunger for the road

Checking out, dropping off another heavy load

Before they jump into something absurd                                                                                                                  

They catch their breath, count to ten and say these six important words  (chorus)

Chicago is the kind of place the race is always steady

the competition’s stiff and hits when you’re not ready

But people here never fear we work until we drop

and one way or another they will end up on the top

But even when we reach the sky and soar just like a bird

we’re sure to tell the story well of those six important words

(chorus)

(Bridge:)

A good job is hard to find

You must be out of your mind

To chase some crazy dreams way out of reach

(chorus)

(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

Here's My ReverbNation Playlist

Song: Blue Before You Got Here

i was blue before you got here -- i'll be down after you leave
it's deeper than you understand, recognize or believe
when you're sad you could be crying - when love is dying you've got to grieve
and i was blue before you got here - and i'll be blue after you leave

i was blue before you got here -- you didn't change a thing
you had no lasting happiness available to bring
there is no lovers' island no blissful wedding ring
and i was blue before you got here -- you didn't change a thing

you warned me that you didn't care
but how could that be true?
thru endless conversations
i felt so close to you
you told me "don't start dreaming
nothing good could last"
and when you got tired of me
you put me in your past

but i was blue before you got here, you didn't pull me down
no matter how good it felt -- having you around
it hurts more than it did before, when i thought that we'd be found
but i was blue before you got here, you just kind of kept me down

(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

Song: Boomerang Babies

boomerang babies (douglas brent smith)

everybody's got grown children still living at home
boomerang babies, who can't live on their own

they've got cable TV - absolutely free
all they need WIFI - no need to buy
food in the fridge - they're living like kids
boomerang babies, living at home

everybody's got grown children still living at home
boomerang babies who can't live on their own

the ground rules have been bended
ended or suspended
we did the best that we could do
and now we've got grandchildren, too!
grown children, and their children, living at home

to be fair, a place costs more these days
college loans are more than our mortgage to pay
opportunities at work don't get them any higher
because our generation won't retire
(what's a  boomer to do? we can't afford to)

they've got cable TV - absolutely free
all they need WIFI - no need to buy
food in the fridge, they're living like kids
boomerang babies, living at home

i love those boomerang babies it's not your fault
you got caught in a troubled mess and you're so distraught
but if it's not too much trouble could you do one thing for me?
and set yourself free...


(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

Song: Not Tonight

not tonight (douglas brent smith)

there have been nights when all the treasures
of the world seemed close at hand
when there wasn't any problem
too big to understand

nights when all my dreams came true
and things turned out alright
but not tonight

there have been women who have loved me
and pampered me with smiles
swore they'd last forever
and never change with style

times when all my fantasies
became such sweet realities
but not tonight

tonight it seems that everything
is too far out of reach
like some lost message thrown to sea
washed up along the beach

(repeat first verse)






(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

Collage: World Class Pipes

You may use this image as long as you cite its use as:
(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

Song: Make Each Other Smile

(c) douglas brent smith

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