Author: Joel D Canfield

All My Fault

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

when you wake up in the morning do you think of me
do you ever wish that you could have what used to be
It’s a little more than idle curiosity
Did you ever open up your eyes wide enough to see?

chorus
I worry about you almost every day
I wonder if you wonder why I went away
And whether you could hear the things that I have to say
but it was probably all my fault anyway

Do you talk to all the people that we used to know?
or are you MIA just like a UFO?
if this line of question doesn’t seem apropos
remember I’m the guy who used to love you so

chorus
I worry about you almost every day
I wonder if you wonder why I went away
And whether you could hear the things that I have to say
but it was probably all my fault anyway

you always thought that we could never get along
and I know it’s not my place to say I think you’re wrong
and now it’s far too late because it’s been so long
so maybe we’ll pretend that this is just another song

chorus
I worry about you almost every day
I wonder if you wonder why I went away
And whether you could hear the things that I have to say
but it was probably all my fault anyway

Forever

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

What would you do with forever?
What would you do if you never had to worry about
the future or past
Or if all of the things that mattered would last?

How would you live from now on?
How would it change how you spend all your time?
Would you do more or less Of each thing you do now?
Can’t keep looking back with your hand on the plow.
How would you live forever if you started right now?

What would you do with forever?
When you’re dreaming your dreams do you ever
Stop to wonder if this life would always go on
What would you do after all of your problems were gone?

How would you live from now on?
How would it change how you spend all your time?
Would you do more or less Of each thing you do now?
Can’t keep looking back with your hand on the plow.
How would you live forever if you started right now?

You ask what I mean
You ask me if it’s really true
I know it’s hard to believe
But there’s some questions I’d like to ask you:
Does it make any sense to live 80 short years
Every one full of trouble and tears
Does it make any sense that our lives are so brief
All we want is the joy And we get so much grief
It’s in everyone’s heart, The desire to live
With heads, hands, and hearts we have so much to give
So why on earth shouldn’t we
Live forever?

What would you do with forever?
What would you do if you never had to worry about
the future or past
Or if all of the things that mattered would last?

How would you live from now on?
How would it change how you spend all your time?
Would you do more or less Of each thing you do now?
Can’t keep looking back with your hand on the plow.
How would you live forever if you started right now?

Not at all happy with my voice on this one. Need a do-over when I’m feeling better.

Intent

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Silently watching through the window as you play
Intent that every single note says exactly what you have to say

Will it disquiet you to know I hear your song?
I think about how lovely it would feel if you would only let me play along

I love you so
So here I go

I boldly strum the strings to let you know I’m there
You gently change your tune to let me know you care

I love you so
So here we go

Good for the Crops

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

I’d been noodling on my tenor guitar a month ago, and woke up last night realizing that this was a banjo song. Expanded and extended and made good use of the pouring rain on the lake to add color.

A friend offered to learn this if I’d provide the notes. This is what I’ve got. I don’t really do music notation.

cdc gag de
cdc gag de
g d
g d
g d d d e d c a g

cdc gag de
cdc gag de
g d
g d
g d d d e d c a c

c a
a c d e d c a g
g a c d c a c d
g a c d c a c c

cdc gag de
cdc gag de
g d
g d
g d d d e d c a c

storyteller

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

There was a whole story in my head when I wrote the chorus and a few snippets about a year ago. I guess it’s gone, I don’t know.

I love The Man from Snowy River. In one scene, Jim says to one of his mates, “You’re welcome at my fire any time.” Seemed like a real cowboy way of expressing your respect for someone.

storyteller

he had the kind of a face most folks wouldn’t even notice
they weren’t noticing now as he stood there in the blazing sun
made to walk by, but he caught my eye
and said “I could tell quite a tale, if you’d just buy me one.”

we stepped inside and I saw all the usual faces
the lonely, the losers, the lost, and me
he sipped at his ale and he told tale upon tale
and he took me to places I never thought I would see

“it’s a great big world, under a great big sky
a man can get lost, be hard to find”
with a look in his eye that made me hope it was true, he said
“You’re welcome at my fire any time”

couldn’t tell if he was looking at me or through me
and since he started talking, I hadn’t said a word
as we sat in that booth I learned a lot of truth
and he told me every story I’d ever heard

“it’s a great big world, under a great big sky
a man can get lost, be hard to find”
with a look in his eye that made me think it was true, he said
“You’re welcome at my fire any time”

he told stories that sounded like long lost letters from home
after while I wasn’t sure if they were about him or me
all the places I’d been he took me there again
then he leaned in and tapped me on the knee

“it’s a great big world, under a great big sky
a man can get lost, be hard to find”
with a look in his eye that made me know it was true, he said
“You’re welcome at my fire any time”

Poppies

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Only piece of bad advice my father ever gave me was that I couldn’t make a living playing with computers. “They call it work for a reason,” he said.

I find it interesting that the world is slowly realizing that you can do something you love and still pay the bills.

he took a job at the mill and worked all his life
because he had to take care of his kids and his wife
he never told ’em about the dreams he didn’t pursue
put in fifty years in a place that he hated
he never complained of the time that he’d waited
to finish the things that he’d always wanted to do

he took a factory job and worked all his days
it pays the bills all right but at night he prays
for a better life for the son who doesn’t fit in
he wanted to travel and see the whole world
but he stays at the job for his boy and his girl
and a wife who just wishes that he knew how to begin

some folks will never care what you do
but then it’s not their job to believe in you
you’ve got to do what you do
for the joy of getting it done
they say the tall poppy gets cut down to size
you’ll never get far believing those lies
it takes a tall poppy
to show the short poppies the sun

“we worked all our lives, and you’ll do the same
they call it work for a reason, it isn’t a game”
that’s what his father said the day his grandfather died
but he couldn’t fit into the box that they’d made
he wanted more than they’d earned for the dues that they’d paid
and he just couldn’t imagine a life where he never tried

some folks will never like what you do
but then it’s not their job to believe in you
you’ve got to do what you do
for the joy of getting it done
they say the tall poppy gets cut down to size
I lived my whole life believing those lies
it takes a tall poppy
to show the short poppies the sun

Upside Down Smile

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

I played the chords for Best Beloved and she said “It sounds like an invitation.”

I’ve had my eye on you for a while
just thinking of you makes me smile
I wonder if you’d like to go for a walk
or maybe just sit here and talk

you seem sort of quiet or maybe you’re shy
your secretive upside down smile caught my eye
let’s go for some coffee or chocolate or tea
or maybe you don’t notice me

maybe you’re thinking of somebody who
means more than a little to you
maybe the smile is a memory
that has nothing to do with me

the voices around us mean nothing to me
as long as the crowd lets me see
that quizzical smile and faraway eyes
that fill me with mad butterflies

maybe you keep all your secrets inside
with no one for you to confide
maybe the smile is hiding the fears
you’ve hidden from all of these years

the mad butterflies bring you over my way
the secretive smile makes you say
“I wonder if you’d like to go for a walk
or maybe just sit here and talk”

The Politest Pirate

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

The foamy salty sea has an attraction
For vagabonds and every sort of rogue
Whose only thought’s their selfish satisfaction
‘mongst pirates, bad manners are in vogue

But I’m here to tell the tale of the exception
About a man with manners through and through
He’d not resort to threats or vile deception
The politest pirate, Paddy McEldoo

(chorus)
He’d the fiercest crew the seas have ever seen,
And neatly piled doubloons down in the hold
He’d shout to quaking captains frightened green,
“If you’d be so good enough
Please give us all your gold”

His crew all thought him mad as a hatter
When he told them of his childhood raison d’être
His mother’s voice say’ng “Paddy, manners matter,
Manners get what rudeness doesn’t get ya”

(chorus)

Now it saddens me to have to tell you how
The politest pirate met his Waterloo
A crafty shipping merchant knew that now
’twas time to emulate the wise Sun Tzu

When Paddy spoke so mannerly once more
And let the merchant know what he should do
This crafty captain took the art of war
Saying “Please sir, I insist—after you!”

(a sigh, then, spoken)
“Neatly, men; neatly! A place for every doubloon, and every doubloon in its place.”

(chorus)