Still a Mystery
AROUND 1996, songs began streaming in from nowhere. This was both unexpected and confounding as I had no idea why or what they were for. Although writing generally comes easy, I discovered in the ’60s that I have no ability to intentionally write a song. And I was fine with that. I can’t read music anyway.
Then they continued, one after another, writing themselves while I watched. And, from my vantage point, they were pretty good—some far more musically sophisticated than I was, me being mostly a three-chord folkie.
I recorded a few of them, starting with Slip Away—as a musical meditation for hospice patients. Not much of a market there. Then I recorded a CD—like I was going to hit the road as a middle-aged singer-songwriter with a mortgage. That also went nowhere. Then I discovered chaplaincy and set aside everything else to pursue that.
So here we are now. Along the way, I acquired a digital studio and learned how to record and mix music—specifically an album of harp compositions, also for hospice patients. Came out well but then that was that.
Twenty years later? May as well use that studio to make my own demos—songs do reveal more dimensions recorded than in a notebook!—and share them online.
Maybe you’ll like them? Maybe a more gifted musician will pick one up? Who knows? Give a listen and see what you think.
Time Machine: A demo concept album
NOW THAT I’ve aged out of any youthful fame and fortune delusions, I’m putting these songs out to the world, mostly for free. Since I am still in the process of mixing and tweaking them, the finished songs will be released as completed, one at a time, from this site. If you’re interested in receiving them, please subscribe.
Meanwhile, here’s a link to a sampling of the songs:
Slip Away: A meditation for the dying
MY MOST ELABORATE and yet least heard work. For good reason. Across any lifetime, Slip Away only needs to be played at the end. It is based on a song I wrote for my mother, diagnosed with terminal cancer, and sung to her as she passed. The experience was profoundly transcendent and led to my becoming a chaplain.
Inspired by a request from a hospice nurse, I worked with musician friends to create this 12-minute contemplative, orchestrated version to gently soothe and release a loved one who is in the final stage of dying.
I offer this YouTube video free, to be played when the time comes. May it bring peace.
