ONCE UPON A...

The Poetic Asides prompt of the day is: Complete the phrase "Once Upon A ________"

I came up with the following two offerings:.

ONCE UPON A FAIRY TALE (c) 2015 - G. Smith (BMI) ---------------------- You called me your hero, Your knight in shining armor. You were my sweet princess; Made me feel less like a farmer.

Our small place, Was a castle all our own; Till I came in last night, And found myself alone.

Once upon a fairy tale, Once upon a memory; Once upon a yesterday, You belonged to me.

Once upon a fairy tale, Once upon a broken heart, Once upon a shattered dream, Our world fell apart; Our world fell apart.

Our happily ever after, Turned to tears And hollow laughter

Once upon a fairy tale, Once upon a memory; Once upon a yesterday, You belonged to me.

Once upon a fairy tale, Once upon a broken heart, Once upon a shattered dream, Our world fell apart; Our world fell apart.

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ONCE UPON A COUNTRY ROAD G. Smith (BMI) ------------------------ That small town in south Texas, Couldn't hold both of our dreams. You went east, I headed west, We let the dust settle on the rest; But it wasn't quite as easy as it seemed, as it seemed. No, nothing's quite as easy as it seems.

Too many highways ran between us, Too many bridges burned, burned, burned. Too many miles wrapped around our hearts, Not enough lessons learned, lessons learned; Not enough lessons learned.

And, Once upon a country road, Underneath the cottonwood trees, I came full circle just to find her; She came full circle, back to me.

Those big cities on the coasts, Didn't care about our plans; Their shiny sights, neon lights, Dark and cold and lonely nights, Left us standing there with empty hands, empty hands; Empty hearts and souls and empty hands.

But too many highways ran between us, Too many bridges burned, burned, burned. Too many miles wrapped around our hearts, Not enough lessons learned,lessons learned; Not enough lessons learned.

And, Once upon a country road, Underneath the cottonwood trees, I came full circle just to find her; She came full circle, back to me.

Truck ran out of gas, Coasted to the shoulder; Had to get back home, All I wanted was to hold her. Headlights on the hill, Maybe help is on the way. When I saw her smiling face, There was nothing I could say.

And, Once upon a country road, Underneath the cottonwood trees, I came full circle just to find her; She came full circle, back to me. --------------- The full prompt and other info is at writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides.

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UNITED WE STAND

Day 3 of the Poetic Asides November Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge - details of which can be found at writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides.

This 2-for-Tuesday prompt is either: a United poem and/or: a Divided poem

Here's my "both":

UNITED WE STAND G. Smith (BMI) --------------------- There's two ways we can face this thing, Two ways we can go; One will make us stronger still, The other? Well, you know.

We didn't ask to be here, Didn't ask to face this fight; We know what we have to do, To try and make things right.

United we stand, Divided we fall, We'll go hand in hand, Put our backs to the wall. We won't let it surround us, It won't take us down; Though the troubles may hound us, We'll both stand our ground.

We've seen others tumble, We've seen others fail; We've seen their stone walls crumble, Their strength alone so frail.

So it's really not a question, If we want to carry on, We'll make our joint confession, Till these troubled times are gone.

United we stand, Divided we fall, We'll go hand in hand, Put our backs to the wall. We won't let it surround us, It won't take us down; Though the troubles may hound us, We'll both stand our ground.

There's two ways we can face this thing, Two ways we can go; One will make us stronger still, The other? Well, you know.

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I GIVE UP

The Poetic Asides November Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge continues.

The day 2 prompt was: SURRENDER

The complete prompt and such can be found at: writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides

Here's my shot~ lemme know what you think or if you'd like to work on it, or something like it, together.

I GIVE UP (c) 20015 G. Smith (BMI) ---------------------- I give up, I can't do this any longer; I give up, I'll admit you might be stronger. It's not about which one of is weaker, But which one is the finder and which one is the seeker.

I give up, I'll say that you were right, I give up, I can't keep up this fight. I cannot face this battle all alone, Though we all know Goliath fell from a single stone;

Strike my colors, Raise the white flag. Pack it in; Check the carry-on bag.

I give up, I guess the jury's spoken, I give up, I confess my heart is broken. The judges gavel's fallen, I hear lonely nights are calling.

I give up, I give in; I give up, I know that I can't win; With no hand to hold, You call; I fold.

I give up; I give up; I give up.

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THE MORNING AFTER (THE NIGHT BEFORE)

The Poetic Asides November Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge is underway, and I use it as an exercise to (attempt to), write a set of lyrics every day all month (despite my day job).

Today's prompt is: THE DAY AFTER (find the full prompt and rules and such at writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides.

Here's what I came up with... Your thoughts or comments (or partnering offers?), are more than welcome.

THE MORNING AFTER (THE NIGHT BEFORE) (c) 2015 - G. Smith (BMI) ---------------------- The alarm goes off, My eyes feel red; I don't wanna Get outta bed. But I roll over; Feet hit the floor, The morning after, The night before; The morning after, The night before.

Head to the bathroom, Shower and shave; Stumble out Of this cold, dark cave. Why did I think, I should have one more? The morning after, The night before. The morning after, The night before.

Just another day, Starting out the same old way; Leading to the same - Old ending. I say that I can try, But I know the reason why, No use anymore, Pretending...

Pull on my boots, Gather my keys; Zip up my jacket, I hate mornings like these. There on the dresser The ring that you wore; The morning after, The night before. The morning after, The night before.

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DESPITE WHAT YOU MAY THINK...

So here's a link to something that, despite what you may think of Ms. Swift, there's something to be said about her sauing, "Choose a lane..."

http://www.savingcountrymusic.com/the-lesson-of-taylor-swifts-success-choose-a-lane

g

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BIG MAMA'S FINAL ARRANGEMENT BLUES

BIG MAMA'S FINAL ARRANGEMENT BLUES (c) 2015 - G. Smith (BMI) ----------------------------------------------- When I pass don't bury me with my purse. When I pass don't bury me with my purse; There won't be room for both of us in that hearse.

When I kick don't bury me in my heels. When I kick don't bury me in my heels; I wanna know how walking barefoot in heaven feels.

When I go don't bury me with my skillet. When I go don't bury me with my skillet; Leave it with my daughter so she can fill it.

When I die don't cry and wail and moan. When I die don't cry and wail and moan; I'll be with Jesus and leave this old bag of bones.

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NOTHING VENTURED (NOTHING GAINED)

Another response to the Poem-A-Day prompts I mentioned yesterday... this one was write a "DARE" piece... That said... ________________________ NOTHING VENTURED (NOTHING GAINED) G. Smith (BMI) ------------------------------- Over in the corner, Nursing a beer, Sits a pretty little redhead; What's she doing here? She must be waiting on someone, Let's wait and see; Could be that someone she's waiting on is me Nothing ventured, nothing gained; Could be heartache, could be pain, Or it could be that she'd be the one. She'll never say yes unless, You let her say no, And the worst thing that could happen is I Go home alone. Sitting at my table, peeling the label, Wondering if I dare take the chance. Those other guys're tryin' those tired pick-up lines, I think all I'll do is just Ask her to dance. Nothing ventured, nothing gained; Could be heartache, could be pain, Or it could be that she'd be the one. She'll never say yes unless, You let her say no, And the worst thing that could happen is I Go home alone. I've seen it happen before, When they waltz out the door, Another chance that slipped through my heart. It's the same old sad story, No guts, no glory; It's time I stepped up and played a part. Nothing ventured, nothing gained; Could be heartache, could be pain, Or it could be that she'd be the one. She'll never say yes unless, You let her say no, And the worst thing that could happen is I Go home alone. .

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THINGS IN PROGRESS

April being National Poetry Month, I follow a blog or two that focus on writing a poem-a-day (PAD), and use the daily prompts to speed write a new set of lyrics each day... some are better than others, (to be expected)... I know it's already the eighth, but so far I've been successful and have seven sets completed (and I'm half-way through number 8). I won't bore you with a long recap of everything thus far, but here's one that seems to work a bit better than some of the others... the prompt was to write a "departure" piece... Your thoughts or comments are more than welcome. Y'all's; g ======== THAT TRAIN (c) 2015 - G. Smith (BMI) -------------------------------- I told her I was sorry, I admitted I was wrong; I said I could give it up. She just said that she was gone. I asked if she'd change her mind; I asked if she would wait; She said it didn't matter; It was already too late. She said... That train has left the station, That train is down the track. That train has left the station, And it's never comin' back, No, it's never comin' back. She said, "One time is one time; "Two times is too many. "This time is the last last time." That I'd had chances plenty I thought that she was joking; This had to be a gag. I saw she wasn't smilin' While she calmly packed her bag. It's clear that... That train has left the station, That train is 'round the bend. That train has left the station, It won't stop here again; No, it won't stop here again. That train has left the station, That train is down the track. That train has left the station, And it's never comin' back, No, it's never comin' back. (I guess I could have conducted my self a bit better...)

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THOUGHTS FROM THE "REAL" WORLD...

Here's an out-take from an e-mail from my co-writer, Kevin Reardon, who sent an update of recent activity he's had on some of our collaborations... Seems like decent general writing advice... "On the "cut" side, I have had several cuts with minor artists and what I've noted is that there is a consistency in what I have been able to place: 1. Pick a theme that can be summarized in 2 to 3 words ... and stick with it 2. Keep it positive and make it conversational and real (My reply to this was: It's not always possible to keep it positive (the blues will out, after all), but it IS possible to not go all "dark side"...) 3. Find new and unique ways to say it with visual metaphors and irony that clearly separates the story from other songs ... net. give it a twist 4. Enable the listener to see and personalize the story, and to visualize the scene and characters in it - either by describing it or better by connecting with something each person does so they can immediately relate it to something they know or dream about ... net: show me don't tell me 5. Trim the words to give the singer space 6. Make the melody as interesting and fun to sing as possible On the "TV/film" side, obviously we've had some good success with Hate To Say and Hard At Work. I've also had a others so what I've learned is that we need the above 6 items to apply but it is also crucial to not include names of people or places that would limit the use in a TV or film production due to conflicts with the action taking place in the scene." Now while this may seem limiting, in fact these are pretty good editing tools with which I've worked once the flash-and-rush of the original inspiration and first draft have passed. Lemme know if you've got anything similar you use. Till the next time... keep 'em tight and keep 'em in tune... g

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TAKING STOCK

From yesterday's Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides blog (writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides), prompting followers to write a "milestone" piece comes the following bluegrassy, up-tempo set of lyrics... TAKING STOCK (c) 2015 G. Smith (BMI) --------------------------- We've made it seven years, and we're alright. Folks said we'd never make it, Past our wedding night. Sure the road might've been bumpy, and the money's sometimes tight, But we've made it seven years and we're alright. We've got ourselves a brand new baby boy; It's cliche to say but He's our pride and joy, We might stumble in the darkness, and trip over his toys, But we've got ourselves a brand new baby boy. Little things are big things when they come; 'specially when they're few and far between. Regrets? You know that we've both had some; But our side of the fence is where the grass is truly green. And I fin'ly got a steady full-time job. Guess it's time that I quit jokin' About which bank to rob. It never would've happened without your uncle Bob; But I fin'ly got a steady full-time job. Little things are big things when they come; 'specially when they're few and far between. Regrets? You know that we've both had some; But our side of the fence is where the grass is truly green.

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