Category Archives: About Family

About Family, Adult Themes, Americana, Ballad, Inspired by People, Inspired By Situations, Lyrics, No Music Yet, Nostalgia, Storytelling, Tribute Song, Women

Queen of Beer

When she died
All the family rejoiced
She was in so much pain
They did a long stein-hoist
They cheered and hollered
They were anxious to hear
What they were inheriting
From the true Queen of Beer

There was cash
All the jewels and homes
And the antique furniture
Her volumes of poems
They drank all the whiskey
They didn’t cry a single tear
Her death was a blessing
To heirs of the Queen of Beer

As they read the will they wept
But they accepted it with grace
She was buried in a simple coffin
In a gown made of linen and lace
Just a cross was her grave marker
In the town where she was raised
The Christian school she attended
Were surprised and amazed
When they opened their envelope
And read the long note she wrote
They would receive her whole estate
Except the Summer Home and Boat

They all stayed Labor Day Weekend
But went sailing the following Spring
The adults had grown tired of the tradition
But the kids thought it was everything

They found her stash
In an large oak and cedar chest
They chose to not report it
To keep it secret would be best
Let’s just say they had enough
To maintain the home every year
They’re grateful forever for being
The heirs of the Queen of Beer

The Matriarch and Queen of Beer

September 13, 2022

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About a Friend, About Family, Adult Themes, Failed Friendships, Failed Relationships, Grief Song, Heartbreak, Inspired by People, Inspired By Situations, Introspective, Love, Lyrics, No Music Yet, Old Wounds, Optimism, Relationships, Storytelling

People We Know

People we know are lonely
People we know are afraid
People we know are hurting
From the games they’ve played

They didn’t know they were playin’
They just wanted happiness
But the walls got higher
Those are nasty frogs they kissed

And we try to cheer them up
Say they are worthy of more
We do our best to pull them from
That isolating heartbreak store
Where you pay for your mistakes
so you can quietly go
Oh, the ones who need us the most
Are all the people we know
The people we know

The heart goes through changes
But the hardest is a love that’s lost
You can’t seem to bargain
On how much it all will cost

You turn to friends and family
Sometimes they walk away too
But I hope this is a wakeup call
That person one day could be you

And they’ll try to cheer you up
Say you are worthy of so much more
They’ll do their best to pull you from
That isolating heartbreak store
Where you pay for your misfortunes
Then quietly allowed to go
Yeah the ones we need to be there
Are all the people we know

So
If you’re going through a hardship
If it’s all blown up in your face
If you cannot find the answers
After everyone gives you space

Reach out to the ones who are close
It’s in their eyes, the ones you trust
But if they don’t then get in touch with
All the people you know, if you must

And they’ll try to cheer you up
Say you are worthy of so much more
They’ll do their best to pull you from
That isolating heartbreak store
Where you pay for your misfortunes
Then quietly allowed to go
The ones who just might be there
Are all the people you know

Oh, those who’ll help us the most
Are all the people we know
The people we know
The people we know

August 11, 2022

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About Family, Adult Themes, Growing Up, Inspired by People, Lyrics, No Music Yet, Nostalgia, Optimism

The Jewish Life

I’m not good with money
I don’t work in real estate
I don’t struggle daily
With self-love or hate
But I’ve worn the same watch
Ever since our wedding day
Even though my wife is Arabic
It’s this I’ve gotta say

I wanna be Jewish
I wanna wear gold
I’m gonna wear boxers &
White tank tops when I’m old
I wanna drive a Cadillac
With plastic covered seats
Lots of cash that’s stashed
Eating only kosher meats
I wanna be Jewish
The Jewish life’s for me

My Dad studied accounting
I love to write and perform
I’d get the kids laughing at camp
Through the darkest of storms
My Grandma ran a tight ship
She loved spoiling us boys
She paid with one credit card
We had typewriters as toys

She said one day, my grandson
you’ll end up like your Grandpa
Before we put him in his grave
And when you’re on that
Hollywood red carpet,
Be sure to smile for me & wave

I wanna be Jewish
I wanna wear gold
I’m gonna wear tank tops &
White boxers when I’m old
I wanna drive a Cadillac
With plastic covered seats
Lots of cash that’s stashed
But getting stuff for free
I wanna be Jewish
The Jewish life’s for me

The Jewish life’s for me
The Jewish life’s for me

July 13, 2022

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About Family, Adult Themes, Autobiographical, Ballad, Failed Relationships, Growing Up, Heartbreak, Inspired by People, Inspired By Situations, Love, Lyrics, No Music Yet, Old Wounds, Relationships, Romance, Toxic True Love, Wistful

Just Your Turn

You got to know my Mom and Dad
Then they brought him back into view
He had come home from the service
And he remembered kissing you

Back at a house party in the 80’s
It was a night he never forgot
I remember he came home that night
And said you were totally hot

But now you’re both older
So much older than before
You blazed through other guys
But his heart was broken and sore
You might think he really loves you
There’s a lesson you could learn
He might never be yours, no
This is just your turn
Oh, he might never be yours, 
This is just your turn

Dad introduced you to her, bro
He once introduced a girl to me
She worked for him in Accounting
But she didn’t turn out to be

A one guy kind of woman
She shattered me one day in July
I found out my friend said to her
I was a one woman kind of guy

And now that we’re both older
So much older than before
She’s blazed through other men
My heart was broken and sore
I thought we had the real deal
But there’s a lesson I learned
I was never gonna be hers
It was just my turn
Oh, I was never gonna be hers
It was just my turn

So I see you now together
Holding hands and having fun
I don’t know if it will work out
One of you might cut and run

But I still must have faith in you
Maybe Dad opened an amazing door
Maybe you both deserve each other
God’s healing what was broken and sore
You’re both happy, that’s what matters
I hope you never have to learn
That you don’t belong with each other
And this is just your turn

Oh, I pray to heaven above,
For true love, it’s just your turn
Oh, I pray to heaven above,
For true love, it’s just your turn

March 9, 2022
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About Family, Americana, Ballad, Growing Up, Inspired by a Place, Inspired by Outdoors, Inspired by People, Introspective, Lyrics, Nostalgia, Poem, Verse Poetry, Wistful

Santa Cruz Young

Dedicated to my brothers, Russell Gray & Jeff Gray

Just to ride down that trail again
To see the whole Monterey Bay
And to feel that strong breeze
Against my golden brown face
Just to walk in that neighborhood
To Westlake with my schoolmates
And not have too worry about
What was on our dinner plates

When we were Santa Cruz young
We didn’t think too much about
Things our parents were doing
Like who they were countersuing
Or who had extra special clout
We only cared about each other
Fitting in and good sportsmanship
Riding our bikes around UCSC
We were wild and oh so crazy
As we’d go to the beach for a dip

I remember playing capture the flag
I remember how it all was and felt
And I remember my first crushes
How I thought my heart would melt
I remember my first childhood kiss
With a girl from down the block
And how my Daddy worked so hard
While Mom stayed in and was his rock

Just to be in my old room again
Just to listen to that old record play
And to be around my older brothers
So the mem’ries wouldn’t fade
If I could go back in to Calvin Place
Or hike to the bottom of the hill
I’d want to also go and visit
Ron, Shirley, Christine & Bill

When we were Santa Cruz young
We didn’t think too much about
Things our parents were doing
Like who they were countersuing
Or who had extra special clout
We only cared about each other
Baseball cards and Harvey West
Fitting in and real good manners
Visiting with the Catletts & Danners
And making sure we did our best

Just to ride down that trail again
To see the whole Monterey Bay
And to feel that strong breeze
Against my golden brown face

And to feel that strong breeze
Against my golden brown face

When we were Santa Cruz young
Oh, when we were Santa Cruz young.

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About a Friend, About Family, Americana, From The Trunk, Growing Up, Inspired by a Place, Inspired by People, Inspired By Situations, Introspective, Lyrics, Nostalgia, Poem, Verse Poetry

Maui

Mom and Dad took a trip to Maui
I was all alone for a few days
Gary said we’d throw a party
And for it, I’d get high praise

Don’t know how many were invited
But it got out of hand pretty fast
Word of mouth was how it got out
Everyone but me had a blast

Our dog Joey got out of our yard
Our rotary phone disappeared
A plant fell off the microwave
And that’s when things got weird

I found some girl in my parents room
Trying on Mom’s dresses and shoes
Someone got into my brother’s records
Everyone drank all the booze

It smelled funny in the main bath
The fire poker walked out the door
Someone was locked in my bedroom
There was trash all over the floor

Cops showed up and were speechless
I was ashamed by how bad it looked
They didn’t charge anyone with anything
But I was sure my goose was cooked

My parents got home from Maui
They grounded me for a little while
It was the craziest thing I’ve ever done
But when I think about it now, I smile

MKG

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About Family, Adult Themes, Americana, Failed Relationships, Goomba Town, Goth Folk, Inspired by People, Lyrics, Murder Ballad, No Music Yet, Relationships, Suspenseful

Went Against Their Wishes

They thought something was off with him
The moment he walked in and he met them
His cold hands, the calculated stares,
They were all Republicans, he was a Dem

They didn’t like his condescending tone
And his liberal freethinking ways
He was a Black Lives Matter supporter
And he believed in civil rights for Gays

And he loved her
She loved him, too
They couldn’t do anything
And she knew
It was freaking them out
She found him in the nick of time
Her partner in crime
Who ended up sleeping with the fishes
‘Cause he went against their wishes
Oooooh he went against their wishes

They said her and him should move closer
After they got married, it was 2 months later
But he got seriously hurt in an accident
Her lack of empathy made him hate her

As he was healing, she packed their things
All their wedding gifts, stuff they could take
They left their two dogs behind with friends
It was a journey they couldn’t make

And he loved her
She loved him as well
But could they be a good team
Only months could tell
It was freaking them out
Got a flat in Gallup, New Mexico
How was he to know
He’d end up sleeping with the fishes
‘Cause he went against their wishes
Oooooh he went against their wishes

When he said no
The family got pissed
Except one who planned it all
They rolled the dice he kissed
He had a way to combat them
It was covert and mean
It was the perfect plan
He’d create a big scene

Cause he loved her
She loved him as well
They all were quite a team
Her parents were holding the bell
He was freaking them out
They got rid of everyone he told
But he gave his attorney a note
Saying he went against their wishes
He might end up sleeping with the fishes
All cause he went against their wishes

Now he’s on a ship out in the West Indies
Mopping up the deck and cleaning dishes
All cause he went against their wishes
Oooooh he went against their wishes

December 30, 2020

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About Family, Adult Themes, Ballad, Heartbreak, Introspective, Lyrics, No Music Yet, Nostalgia, Old Wounds, Relationships, Tragic Death, Wistful

Memory

Three thirty in the morning
Woke up to go take a piss
Then went to the front room
Sat on the couch and wrote this

Rain comes down hard outside
I hear wind slamming the windows
I decided to start up some coffee
I should wash some dirty clothes

And my dog is snoring like I do
I wonder if I could trust again
With an unspoken truth
Things you never knew
And I take some time to
Scroll through your Instagram
So I can see you smiling again
And I can remember when

We were walking out by the ocean
Under the sky so bright with stars
Making small talk about the future
Our wounds that became our scars
You took my hand, gazed into my eyes
It was the first time you kissed me
As the sparkling waves were crashing
I was alive again, feeling so free
But now you’ve gone to a place
Where I can’t experience or be
My  heart breaks for our children
Cause all you are now is a memory
All you are to us now is a memory

One of them wakes at five o’ clock
Gets a glass of milk and sits down
She shares about a weird dream
Where there was a circus clown

It was fine at first and  it turned
To a nightmare, then she awoke
I can’t comfort her like you did
With me a few short years ago

We were walking out by the ocean
Under the sky so bright with stars
Making small talk about the future
Our wounds that became our scars
You took my hand, gazed into my eyes
It was the first time you kissed me
As the sparkling waves were crashing
I was alive again, feeling so free
But now you’ve gone to a place
Where I can’t experience or be
My  heart breaks for our children
Cause all you are now is a memory
All you are to us now is a memory
All you are to us now is a memory
All you are to us  now is a memory

December 30, 2020

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About Family, Adult Themes, Ballad, Country Song, Folk Ballad, Goth Folk, Inspired by a Place, Introspective, Lyrics, No Music Yet, Nostalgia, Tragic Death, Tribute Song, Wistful

Nashville, Tennessee

He was out on a Tuesday
In his Chevy getting drunk
off a twenty four pack
of bottled Budweiser Lite
Thinkin’ ‘bout the girl
he fell in love with
When they were sixteen
And everythin’ was alright

He was wonderin’ what she
was up to as he hadn’t seen
her since they parked out
by the lake one Friday night
And she said it wasn’t
Workin’ out between them
But he was too heartbroken
To put up any kind of fight

He just said he was sorry
She said it’s not you it’s me
He sat there so confused
He thought how could this be
She drove him back home
He didn’t tell his family
She moved on from him
To Nashville, Tennessee

She was out on a Thursday
On a park bench with a friend
Sharing coffee and stories ‘bout
boys who didn’t have a clue
She brought up that moment
When she tested a boy’s truth
By telling him she was leavin’
Just to see what he would do

He just said he was sorry
She said it’s not you it’s me
He sat there so confused
He thought how could this be
She drove him back home
Didn’t tell her family, then
got news they were movin’
To Nashville, Tennessee

They both had been dreamin’
What it would’ve been like
If he ended up as her husband
And she’d become his wife

But there’s a twist in the story
She looked him up on Facebook
Then sent him a friend request
and he didn’t friend him back
Cause on the way home
After bingin’ on cheap beer
He ran through a stop light,
killin’ a man wearin’ a knapsack

In court he said he was sorry
To the judge and his attorney
He sat there so void and empty
Charged for murder, unintentionally
And as he sat there in prison
One day he got a letter from her
Said she was moving back home
From Nashville, Tennessee

With an orphan child of a lady
Gunned down by the man he killed
Before he took the Amtrak up
From Nashville, Tennessee
Seven years later in a prairie
An ex-prisoner married my mother,
The man who ran into my father
Who was from Nashville, Tennessee

It seems like a hell of a nightmare
But things turned out so perfectly
Oh, God knew what he was doin’
I’ve just earned my Law Degree
I’m workin’ for a Record Label
Time flew like a seagull over a sea
I sure am proud of my hometown
Nashville, Tennessee –

Oh, now I’ll never really leave
Music City, I’ll give my all to thee
My boyhood home, Nashville, Tennessee

December 7, 2020

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