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MP3 Jim Butler - Untraditional
11 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Modern Folk, FOLK: Political
Details:
UNTRADITIONAL
So here we are, a new CD, finally!!! These songs are interesting and powerful, and feel good when I sing them. This is called ‘Untraditional’ because originally it was going to be all traditional covers, but I had some songs that needed to breathe and see light. The emotional level of the songs is low and there aren’t many happy bright spots, so let’s start with the first song. I think the lyrics probably tell the story better than any description of what i''m trying to acomplish. So here are the lyrics to the originals. I did a couple of traditional tunes just to round things out a bit.
Happy
I’m happy
Can’t you see it in my face
Am I really out of place
Because I’m Happy
I’m happy
Can’t you see it in my eyes
Is it such a surprise?
That I’m Happy
I’m Happy
Can you hear it in my voice?
Do you think I have a choice?
To be Happy
I’m happy
Can you hear it in my songs?
Can it be so wrong?
To be happy
I’m happy
Can you see it in my face?
Is it such a disgrace?
To be happy
I’m Happy
Happy
Happy
Happy
So Happy
Alstead (Great Flood of 2005)
I used to live in Alstead, NH when I first moved from the city. I lived on Lake Warren on Rte 123, in Alstead NH, which is referenced in the song. This was really hard for me to write; I wanted it to be truthful, but also to show the resolve of the people that wanted to stay and rebuild. They shut down Rte 123 for awhile and had to re-route the road. All of the places where there were houses are just flat gravel now. It’s a sad and sobering drive. The person I refer to in the song (Ray) is my wife’s father, who works for the Langdon Police Department, and who was banging on doors that night, getting people out. The anniversary of the flood is Oct 9.
It was the darkest Saturday night, windblown rain fell from the left to right
Like God hadn’t cried for a thousand years, and tonight he couldn’t hold back the tears
Ray came to the house, he was a banging on the door, Said ‘Son you can’t stay here anymore’
The stream is now a river overflowin’, no time to pack, you can’t take nothing’
Made it to the edge of the property line, turned around for one last time
In the muffled thunder, a flash of yellow lightning, the house where I was born was crumblin’
Alstead, New Hampshire it’s north of Louisiana
Once was whole, well we ain’t anymore
This great flood of 2005
Has left us high and dry
The house standing across the way, straight and whole as this October day
Two lots down, you know all that’s left, is a broken well pipe and a trashed picket fence
Houses they were swallowed by the river, cars strewn around like forgotten child’s toys
Uprooted trees twisted like chicken wire, and there’s nothing left but the mud, the muck and mire
Alstead, New Hampshire it’s north of Louisiana
Once was whole well it ain’t anymore
The great flood of 2005
And it left us high and dry
There’s an uneasy feeling, there’s an eerie peace, 123 is a tangled mess of asphalt and concrete
Save our city, painted on an old brick wall, it tells this town’s tale, tells it all
Most of the locals well they made it out, they got their health still intact,
And the sun will shine one more day, we will re-build and stay
Alstead, New Hampshire is north of Louisiana
Once was whole well it ain’t anymore
The great flood of 2005
And we will rebuild and we will survive
Mirage
She moved through the fair
Wind Blowing through her hair
I thought she caught my eye
I was mistaken, she walked on by
I got on down on one knee
And I asked her to be mine
Thought I saw a tear
Thought I saw fear
We were married on a spring day
There was nothing left to say
Held hands and we prayed
That the fear would just go away
Two years, three months to the day
This love was drowned by hate
We act as if nothings wrong
We act as if nothings wrong
House is as still as a church
This sadness was replaced by hurt
This mirage of hope and love
Has died like a caged dove.
12:15 (This is a Love Song)
12:15
She can’t to find her being
All she wants to be is sleeping
And at night she always loses it
Because her life is always a Hit or Miss
So this is a love song
So this is a love song
Say something, anything, anything, anything, anything to stop the tears
Say anything, anything, anything, anything, something to stop the fears
This is a love song
This is a love song
It’s 1:15 and nobody hears her
All she wants, is someone to believe her
And after all of the self made delusion
This is where she finds the conclusion
This is a love song
This is a love song
Say something, anything, anything, anything, anything to stop the tears
Say anything, anything, anything, anything, something to stop the fears
This is a love song
This is a love song
It’s 2:15 she lies sleeping peacefully
She founds out who she wants to be
A woman who has arrived
A woman who will survive
So this is a love song
So this is a love song
Say something, anything, anything, anything, anything to stop the tears
Say anything, anything, anything, anything, something to stop the fears
This is a love song
This is a love song
Food for Thought
VERSE
I’ve been thinking
And I’ve been watching
And the difference between
The have and have nots
And we always say what can I do?
Because it’s up to me and you
And it’s all about giving
So they can go on living
PRE-CHORUS
So don’t turn your head
When children need to be fed
When you don’t have to look far
To find a family living in a car
There’s a single mother
Struggling to make it on her own
Lonely man with AIDS
Just counting the days
CHORUS
So this is where we live
And this is where we work
And we can’t turn away
From our responsibility anymore
And just because you can’t see them
Doesn’t mean they aren’t there
The homeless we forgot
It’s just food for thought
VERSE
Volunteers doing what they can
And I see them making a stand
Participation is what it’s all about
Even the smallest dollar amount
Or an hour of time
To hold someone’s hand
Or to look someone in the eye
And tell them you will be by their side.
PRE-CHORUS
There’s a battered woman
Trying to stand
Looking for a place
Hoping to be safe
An addict walking the line
Taking it one day at a time
Knowing the support
Will ease the hurt
CHORUS
So this is where we live
And this is where we work
And we can’t turn away
From our responsibility anymore
And just because you can’t see them
Doesn’t mean they aren’t there
The homeless we forgot
It’s just food for thought
Destiny
Don’t cry my little girl
Momma said don’t cry
Don’t cry little girl
I’ll be watching over you tonight
Don’t cry little one
Momma has to let you go
Don’t cry my little one
I love you more than you know
There’s a place better for you
I know you don’t understand
Momma knows what you need
And it’s just your destiny
Smile for your daddy
He is here for you
Smile for your daddy
He can take better care of you
When you look into the sky
And the sun shining bright
Where the sparrows and the robins fly
Just think of me and smile
Don’t cry my little girl
Momma said don’t cry
Don’t cry my precious one
Your life will be filled with love
Tears will flow
But it’s time to go
The leaves fall from the tree
This is your destiny
The Ice Storm
I started my car
Looks Like Rain
The cold chills to the bone
As I drive to your place
Slide the wedding ring off
Don''t know what to do
Put it in the glove box
And forget about you
I know she isn''t waiting up
Called her to let her know
Going out for a beer
After the show
I shouldn''t be here
But I am
I shouldn’t be holding you
But I am
Someone else is waiting for me
I shouldn''t be here
But I am
Rain is beating on the roof
Ringing in my ears
Double yellow line is just a blur
As the car self steers
When you open the door
I know what to do
Even though I have to go back
You still come through
Back in the car
Put my ring back on
Driving in this Ice Storm
I''ve been gone too long....
1000 Coffins (Letter to the President)
I wrote this when the Iraq war had only taken about 1,000 military lives. According to CNN, as of August 29, 2006, 2,800 coalition forces have now lost their lives. This was another song that has had many different versions and re-writes.
1000 Coffins in an airplane hangar
1000 freshly dug graves
1000 chiseled Headstones
1000 People alone
Too Many hearts still being broken
Too many lives still being stolen
And a thousand children
They don’t understand
So Dear Mr. President
How do you sleep at night
Knowing we were never meant
To fight this fight
Dear Mr. President
in that heart of stone
Would you bring our soldiers home
1000 wooden crosses
1000 lost causes
1000 unfulfilled lives
The men in power of a thousand lies
Can you look into the eyes
Of the parents and brothers and sisters
Of the sons and daughters
Who died for you
Dear Mr. President
We were in Afghanistan
Explain to me
Because I don’t understand
How we ended up under attack
In the deserts of Iraq
Dear Mr. President
Just one more thing
Don’t call on me
Don’t you think about my offspring
Your fighting and killing too
And the weapons you never found
1000 Coffins in an airplane hangar
1000 freshly dug graves
1000 chiseled Headstones
1000 have died alone
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