Seasons - by Keith Birmingham

Seasons.lyrics
Copyright, 2010 by Keith Birmingham
Intro
C Am F G C G

Your long blonde hair brushed against my cheek
When you laid your body down.
Your green eyes sparkled in the morning light
As you lay there in my arms.
And, a gentle breeze sweeping through the trees
Said that spring was near an end.
I remember when our love began
And, I remember your wedding gown.

Times wer tough, but our love was strong,
And, we had what we would need.
And, our family grew, first by one then two.
Our love stood the test of time.
And, a summer breeze brought the morning sun
The night you said that you love me.
I remember when our love began,
And, we began our family.

Your long blonde hair brushed against my cheek
When you laid your body down.
Your green eyes sparkled in the morning light,
As you lay there in my arms.
With a clear blue sky, and the ocean breeze,
Another autumn said goodbye.
And, we drank a toast as I held you close.
My love for you would never die.

And, I thank the Lord for what he gave to me.
A truer love could not be found.
As the sands of time brings another day
And the world keeps spinning ‘round.
A winter breeze takes my breath away,
And, the years just pass on by.
Your green eyes sparkle in the morning light.
My love for you will never die.

Love is Elusive

Love is Elusive
Copyright: 2011 by Keith Birmingham

Sweet Sara so lovely, the queen of my nights,
But, I wasn’t ready to treat a girl right.
Susie was gorgeous with beautiful eyes.
But, I was still carefree, and telling her lies.

Love is elusive, or so it seems.
But, I was the one who shattered my dreams.

Bonnie could make a man feel like a king.
But, she wasn’t ready to wear my ring.
So, I went to Linda and treated  her right.
But, she’s in the arms of another tonight.

Love is elusive or so it seems.
How can I live with my shattered dreams.
Oh, how can I live with my shattered dreams.

But, I’ll go on thinking, tonight is the night.
That I’ll find a lover, and, I’ll treat her right.
She’ll be my woman, the love of my life.
Life will be different with her as my wife.

Love is elusive, or so it seems.
I”ll find a woman to share my dreams.
I”ll find a woman to share my dreams.

On My Own

On My Own
Copyright: 2010 by Keith Birmingham
The emphasis on this song is a driving base and drum beat.

G    A    G    A    A    A
A    C    D    A    C    D
A
You said your love was true,
           C                      D             A
And, you would never do me wrong.
A
You said you love was true,
           C                      D             A
And, you would never do me wrong.

G    A    G    A

Now there’s another man,

And, girl it didn’t take me long.

Now there’s another man,

And, girl it didn’t take me long.

G    A    G    A    C    D    A    G    G    A

Girl, I’m through with you,

And, now I’m back out on my own.

Well girl, I’m through with you,

 And, now I’m back out on my own.
G  A  G  A  C  D  A  C  D  A  C  D  A   (fade with G  A)

Ten Years Later by Keith Birmingham

Ten Years Later by Keith Birmingham
My tribute to the U.S. Military.

Ten years later
After 9-1-1.
Ten years later,
And your on the run.
You thought that I would give up.
You thought I'd go away.
I'm here to let you know,
That I've come to make you pay.

Ten years later
After 9-1-1.
Ten years later,
And your on the run.
Mohammed was the reason
That you gave to all the world
For the horrors that you caused us
On 9 -1  - 1

Ten years later,
Are you getting tired yet?
Ten years later,
Are you getting tired yet?

Ten years later.

After 9-1-1.
Ten years later,
And your on the run.
The cowards mask that hides your face
Will not save your life,
You stinking piece of garbage
I am here to take your life.

Ten years later
After 9-1-1.
Ten years later,
And your on the run.
The caves in which you hide
Will not protect you from.
The vengeance I will reap upon
your brothers and your son.

Ten years later,
Are you getting tired yet?
Ten years later,
 And I‘ve only just begun?

Ten years later
And I‘ve only just begun?

Replace Your Gorilla Snot

 Hey Pickers and Grinners - If your out of Gorilla Snot here is a hint:

A cheap and easy to find replacement (more test may prove it to be better) for Gorrilla Snot. But, you have to apply it correctly. Just head down to any store that handles basic school, art and office supplies. Buy a tube of Elmer’s Washable School Glue. I have “disappearing purple”. slightly larger than a tube of lipstick, and cost less than $1.00/tube.

How to apply: Smear it on both side of your pick. It don’t take much. But, it don’t work so well if you try to smear it on your fingers, and it can get messy that way.

It’s easy to wash off.

Break a leg.

Well I Guess - Keith Birmingham

Well I Guess - lyrics
Copyright, 2010 by Keith Birmingham

Well, I guess she never knew how much I care.
I guess she never knew ‘cause I was not there.
She’s the only one I love.        
But, she’s gone and that’s because.
Well, I guess she never knew how much I care.

My life has been the life of a rolling stone.
And, I never even had a place called home.
But, I never done her wrong.
But, she’s gone and that’s because,
Well, I guess she never knew how much I care.

Now I often stop and think about the past.
And, I wonder just how long this pain will last.
Will I ever see an end,
To the pain my heart is in.
Well, I guess she never knew how much I care.

Workin’ Real Hard at Forgivin'

Workin’ Real Hard at Forgivin'.table
Copyright: 2010 by Keith Birmingham

Well, I’ve come a long way in the past year or so,
But, I’ve still got no reason to smile.
And, learnin’ to live like a free man again,
Well, it’s something that just takes awhile.

CHORUS:
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgettin’
About the bad things that’s happened to me.
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgivin’
The one’s that have done them to me

And, the passing of time still brings no sign
Of what my future will be
But, I’ve made a new start in a place far away
From the things that were killing me.

CHORUS:
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgettin’
About the bad things that’s happened to me.
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgivin’
The one’s that have done them to me.

And, the future is not what I’m after.
 I’m just living from day to day.
I’m not searching for all of the answers.
I’m just living from day to day.


CHORUS:
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgettin’
About the bad things that’s happened to me.
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgivin’
The one’s that have done them to me.

Researching Before Touring

**********

Just the act of preparing to hit the road as a busker has been an education to me. Yeah, I am getting close, but I am not ready yet. What is dawning on me the most is that I am seeing just how starved for music has been. There is so much music out there that I have not heard. I now realize that I have been more shut off from the rest of the world than I thought. I now know that I have missed out on a lot of life’s pleasures simply by not being a socially minded person. The real problem was that I never learned to love me as much as I loved “the wrong” other people. I must try to remedy that.

I have been researching for more songs to use as a busker. For what I am attempting to do these songs need to be simple to play, and have a good connection with the people I am playing too. In my research I am finding lots of songs and  performers that I have never even heard of even though the recordings I am listening to show that they have produced outstanding music. And, I am finding a world of songs that I have just simply forgotten about.

Currently I have a list of somewhere around 200 country tunes with a little religion thrown in there. I also have somewhere around 200 rock, blues and jazz tunes. No, I do not know them all yet. There are a few that I have simply found or copied the lyrics and chords too, but have not had time to do any further work with them. There are some that are, at this point, still out of my abilities. There are a bunch of them that I play thru, but have no desire to add them to my main list of working songs. Finally, I am gathering somewhere between 30 to 50 songs from each (country and rock) lists to do my primary work on. Here are a few songs from each of my lists:

 1.) Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
 2.) Big City - Merle Haggard
 3.) Amanda - Waylon Jennings
 4.) I Still Miss Someone - Jessie Colter
 5.) Things Change - Bobby Bare
 6.) Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay - Ottis Redding
 7.) As Tears Go By - Rolling Stones
 8.) When I Need You - Leo Sayer
 9.) If I Were a Carpenter - Tim Hardin
10.) Young Love - Sonny James

This is not a final list. It is only a few of the songs I am working with. Like I said, I am looking for songs that are easy to play, and have a good connection with people. And, I know that they sound good when performed solo with one guitar. My job is to learn to play them the right way, and in a style that people can enjoy. Right now my major problem is that I still sometimes have to look at the sheet music just to remember what I was playing without the sheet music not 10 minutes ago. Practice. Practice. Practice.

One special category that I have begun to work on is "Truckin' Tunes". You would think that after 35 years of trucking I would know a long list of trucking tunes. Well, the fact that I didn't often listen to truckin' stations on my radio shows just how closed off from the rest of the world my life was. Anyway, I plan will soon be sending out letters to truck stops to ask for permission to stop, visit and play on my travels through their towns.

Lazy Man’s Blues

Lazy Man’s Blues
Copyright: 2011 by Keith Birmingham
Key of A or  G, about 125 bpm, in 4/4 time.
G
You say your gonna own a mansion
             C                G
Sittin’ high upon a hill,
            C                   G
Overlookin’ all the people,
                G                      D
That you pay to do your will.

                 C                  G
But, you haven’t got a job,
                      C                  G
And, you’ve never paid a bill..
       C                       G
So, how you gonna buy
           D                  G
That mansion on a hill.

G
Well, you say your brother Johnny
              C         G
He is a selfish man.
                  C                     G
And, you say your sister Mary,
                   G               D
She won’t give you a hand.

                 C                  G
But, you haven’t got a job,
                      C                  G
And, you’ve never paid a bill..
       C                       G
So, how you gonna buy
           D                  G
That mansion on a hill.

G
It’s time for you to get up
              C                        G
You’ve got some bills to pay.
                  C                                    G
Well, it’s time you paid your dues man.
                 G                               D
And, it’s time you earned your way.

                  C                  G
Well, you haven’t got a job,
                      C                  G
And, you’ve never paid a bill..
       C                       G
So, how you gonna buy
           D                  G
That mansion on a hill.

                 C                  G
‘Cause you haven’t got a job,
                      C                  G
And, you’ve never paid a bill..
       C                       G
So, how you gonna buy
           D                  G
That mansion on a hill.

Repeat and fade.

Workin' Real Hard at Forgivin'

This is the first song I wrote after I bought my guitar in August, 2010. Until then my only music experience was playing in a California band fresh out of high school, except - I did own some equipment back in the mid-'90's for about 2.5 years.

**********

Workin’ Real Hard at Forgivin’.table
Copyright: 2010 by Keith Birmingham

Well, I’ve come a long way in the past year or so,
But, I’ve still got no reason to smile.
And, learnin’ to live like a free man again,
Well, it’s something that just takes awhile.

CHORUS:
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgettin’
About the bad things that’s happened to me.
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgivin’
The one’s that have done them to me

And, the passing of time still brings no sign
Of what my future will be
But, I’ve made a new start in a place far away
From the things that were killing me.

CHORUS:
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgettin’
About the bad things that’s happened to me.
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgivin’
The one’s that have done them to me.

And, the future is not what I’m after.
 I’m just living from day to day.
I’m not searching for all of the answers.
I’m just living from day to day.


CHORUS:
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgettin’
About the bad things that’s happened to me.
I’m just workin’ real hard at forgivin’
The one’s that have done them to me.

My Heart Bleeds

I am a wuss. Many people that think they know me think that I am callus and uncaring. Some members of my own family think that I am mean and heartless because I will no longer support them because I do not care. They have missed the point. I no longer support them because they have never done anything in there lives but rely on others to do for them what they are too lazy to do themselves.

When I look back at the songs that I have written I now realize that in some way they are each somehow connected with my life, even though I know that I tried my best to keep them from being connected to me. This is one of those songs. But, I realize that this song also deals with everyday life for the world around me. I have seen this stuff. I have lived this stuff. And, that is why there are days when something out of the blue comes drifting through my mind, and I have to find a corner where there is no one around, and sit down and cry. God, I hate myself for saying that. But, it is true. And, it is why I hate humanity.

I hope that those who read this will also take the time to visit the following two links. The first article is about what one toddler did to another. The other is even uglier. I strongly believe that, in the case of the second article, there should be a law that grants the parents of these victims the right to punish these perpetrators in any fashion that their heart tells them to do. And, afterwards, if the perps are still alive they should be skinned alive, and forced to die slowly and painfully. Please read these articles. And, please read the lyrics to my song. You will then know why I am quiet satisfied to live alone.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2077039/Katie-Ann-Guttridge-3-attacked-Leicester-nursery-2-year-old.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2114924/Victoria-Tori-Stafford-trial-2012-Final-moments-girl-8-raped-murdered-Woodstock-Ontario.html?ICO=most_read_module

**********

Keith Birmingham
Copyright: 2011 by Keith Birmingham
02/08/2011

I watched a man dying from his booze.
I watched a woman cry as she died too.
I watched a family as they fell apart.
And, I tried to understand.

I see the man who slaves all day,
In the fields just to make his pay.
I see the man life is beating down,
And, I try to understand.

I saw the scars on her wrists and hands.
Broken dreams lying in the sand.
When she died I didn’t understand.
The lady dressed in red.
And, my heart bleeds.

I watched the lady as she sold her soul,
To the devil on the streets below.
She lives a life of happenstance.
And, I cannot understand.
And, my heart bleeds.
And, my heart bleeds.

I see the face of a battered child.
A broken life, lying in the dust.
Another victim of a broken home.
Another child that’s all alone.
And, my heart bleeds.
My heart bleeds.

My heart bleed for the children on the street.
For the pain they know will come.
And, the love I know they need.
And, I cry for the broken home.
And, my heart bleeds.
My heart bleeds.
My heart bleeds.
Yeah, my heart bleeds.

I’ve Got Stripes - A political parody song

I’ve Got Stripes - Keith Birmingham
Copyright, 2011
A political satire song.

On a Monday I gave them Arizona.
                  (oh well)
On a Tuesday Texas just as well.
On a Wednesday there went California
And, on Thursday - New Mexico as well.

I got stripes, stripes around my shoulders.
I got chains, chains around my feet.
I got stripes, stripes around my shoulders.
And, them chains, them chains, they’re ‘bout to drag me down.

On a Monday, I got a loan from China.
To pay the interest on the loans for my new home.
On a Tuesday, I got a loan from China,
To pay the interest on the interest on my loan.

I got stripes, stripes around my shoulders.
I got chains, chains around my feet.
I got stripes, stripes around my shoulders.
And, them chains, them chains, they’re ‘bout to drag me down.

On a Monday, China came to see me,
Wanting payments I thought that I had made.
Now it’s Tuesday, and China owns my factory,
And, it looks like I’m nothing more than China’s little slave.

I got stripes, stripes around my shoulders.
I got chains, chains around my feet.
I got stripes, stripes around my shoulders.
And, them chains, them chains, they’re ‘bout to drag me down.

(Repeat)

Family Tree

Family Tree - Keith Birmingham.lyrics
Copyright, 2011
At 100 to 110 bpm in 4/4 time

Just a foolish lad chasing after dreams, never worried about the cost.
Running fast and running free, never missed what he had lost.
Chasing shining stars he drove the fastest cars, never giving up the pace.
Running down the road, headed for the gold, a winners smile was on his face.

When he became a man his life began to change the day he headed off to war.
He learned to aggravate. He learned to fear and hate. He tasted blood and wanted more.
He watched his brothers die, and heard their mothers cry, and he held our flag up high.
Marching down the road with a heavy load, he never stopped to ask God why.

And, when he came home he was a different man, but he could not tell you why.
He never danced, and he never smiled, and you never seen him cry.
He was all alone. His love for life was gone, when she came into his life.
And, the light of his life was like a shining star and she soon became his wife.

And, the years they passed, and their love did last, and she bore his family.
And, the day she died, he sat alone and cried,  beneath a weeping willow tree.
But, what she left behind by the grace of God was to be his destiny.
Shining stars and racing cars were added to his family tree.