Author: Joel D Canfield

I Try to Be Patient

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

capo 4 | notes bass notes

C Am F G
back when we started on down this long road
we knew that the end was near
C Am F C
we skipped a few steps and gave up some things
we knew it was almost here

kept ourselves ready for what was ahead
right up around the next bend
but here we are now fifty years on
hoping that we’ll see the endchorus →

 chorus F C
I try to be patient, been waiting so long
F G
I try to be patient, I try to be strong
F C
I try to be patient like I been told
G
but it feels like nothing is changing
C
except I’m getting old
some things just take as long as they take
some things you just can’t hurry
they matter too much to skip any steps
so we might as well try not to worrychorus
bridge		    
C Am F G
driver’s up front both hands on the wheel
got this trip well in hand
C Am F C
we’ll sit in the back for as long as it takes
till we get to where we all had plannedchorus

C Am F C
back when we started on down this long road
we knew that the end was near

 bridge F
don’t want you thinking I’ve given up
C
come to the end of my rope
F
the harder it gets the harder I’ll try
G
tie a knot and hang on and hope
E C#
back when we started on down this long road
A B
we knew that the end was near
E C#
we skipped a few steps and gave up some things
A E
we knew it was almost here

kept ourselves ready for what was ahead
right up around the next bend
but here we are now fifty years on
hoping that we’ll see the endchorus →

 chorus A E
I try to be patient, been waiting so long
A B
I try to be patient, I try to be strong
A E
I try to be patient like I been told
E B
but it feels like nothing is changing
E
except I’m getting old
E C# A B E C# A E
some things just take as long as they take
some things you just can’t hurry
they matter too much to skip any steps
so we might as well try not to worrychorus
bridge		    
E C# A B E C# A E
driver’s up front both hands on the wheel
got this trip well in hand
C Am F C
we’ll sit in the back for as long as it takes
till we get to where we all had plannedchorus

E C# A E
back when we started on down this long road
we knew that the end was near

 bridge A A
don’t want you thinking I’ve given up
E E
come to the end of my rope
A A
the harder it gets the harder I’ll try
B B B B BBBB
tie a knot and hang on and hope

The Ugliest Fish

Posted on by Joel D Canfield
If you were the ugliest fish in the sea
That would only increase your appeal to me
Epipelagic depths I would go to
Cause I love you and you know too

some fish sound like they were named by a kid
like cookie cutter sharks and strawberry squid
dunno what an oarfish or barreleye does
and it really doesn’t matter because

If you were the ugliest fish in the sea
That would only increase your appeal to me
Mesopelegic depths I would go to
Cause I love you and you know too

bridge
You seem to be fascinated by everything fishy
slimy glowing tentacled transparent and generally squishy.
Even ugly creatures need love,
so I refer you to the chorus above

If you were the ugliest fish in the sea
That would only increase your appeal to me
Ridiculous depths I would go to
Cause I love you and you know too

some might say you’re cute as a button
but cremini that ain’t nuttin’
including shiitake because I can
if there’s a morel it’s nothing more than

 If you were the ugliest fish in the sea
That would only increase your appeal to me
Bathypelagic depths I would go to
Cause I love you and you know too

Making pizza or a salad
Some toppings are invalid but
If you’re fun gal you should be invited
And that’s why I have decided

If you were the ugliest fish in the sea
That would only increase your appeal to me
Abyssopelagic depths I would go to
Cause I love you and you know too

bridge
what would you name the ugliest fish in the sea?
Salmon or Gillfunkel, maybe Moby
or Sushi or Chowder or Taco or Stew
though I’m pretty sure we’d never do that to you

If you were the ugliest fish in the sea
That would only increase your appeal to me
Hadal zones that I would go to
Cause I love you and you know too

If you were the ugliest fish in the sea
That would only increase your appeal to me
O the depths I would go to
Cause I love you and you know too

Get ‘Em While They’re Hot!

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

1 4 5 in D

Cowboys life is tough
Sitting in the saddle all day
Ropin and ridin and herdin
Ain’t all yippikiyay
End of the day yer dragging
Hard to muster a smile
Cookies always got something
Makes ridin herd worthwhile

chorus
Big old plate of beans
Really hits the spot
Fry ‘em up with bacon grease
Get them while they’re hot

sometimes he makes biscuits
biscuits sure are great
tasty little morsels good for
mopping up yer plate
Sunday morning flapjacks
while someone quotes the Book
he keeps a jug of syrup
that’s why we love our cook

chorus

coffee black and hot
really can’t go wrong
fresh pot every time we stop
keeps us going strong
can’t forget the bacon
flavors up the beans
the ladies all like bacon too
and you know what that means → Do You Like Bacon?

Taylor Swift

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

an unfinished masterpiece. yes, I had a strange and slightly disturbing dream.

I don’t know why I dream the kind of things I do
who can fathom the unconscious mind?
despite all their degrees and studying and science
they haven’t yet convinced the sleeping secrets to unwind

they say dreams can teach you something about life
this morning what I learned was all about my wife

you kiss way better than Taylor Swift
maybe it’s the practice, maybe it’s a gift
I hope that you don’t take this wrong
hope you don’t get miffed
but you kiss way better than Taylor Swift

while you sleep your brain is cleaning up its house
flushing out the nonsense and sludge
now maybe that’s the reason my dreams are full of junk
I try real hard to let ’em go, try hard not to judge

but while you’re in the middle it always seems so real
and lest you get the wrong impression this is how I feel

you kiss way better than Taylor Swift
maybe it’s the practice, maybe it’s a gift
I hope that you don’t take this wrong
hope you don’t get miffed
but you kiss way better than Taylor Swift

now you know I know you know that I’m joking
dreams are just the dust of tidying your brain
we both know that we belong together
in case somebody missed it I’d like to say it plain

when I’m asleep at night I ain’t the driver of that bus
it’s all a lot of nonsense, and between the two of us

you kiss way better than Taylor Swift
maybe it’s the practice, maybe it’s a gift
I hope that you don’t take this wrong
hope you don’t get miffed
and there’s no rift
we haven’t tiffed
I don’t get biffed
I’ll make a shift
now that I’ve riffed
you get my drift
it’s just your gift
but you kiss way better than Taylor Swift

Nothing

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

notes

D E
you were all I ever wanted
G D
but you never wanted me
you’re long gone but I’m haunted
haunted by your memory

been too long and I’m crying
’cause I can barely remember your face
I lay awake and keep on trying
trying to find a trace

nothing means nothing
nothing means anything at all
nothing’s all should have expected from you
nothing, that’s all

I thought that I could make you love me
I tried so hard to catch your eye
I knew I knew I knew I knew you were thinking of me
and I’ll think of you till I die

 nothing means nothing
nothing means anything at all
nothing’s all should have expected from you
nothing, that’s all

G D
love will take your mind
love will take your soul
love can be so unkind
G A
love can make you lose control

no bass
nothing means nothing
nothing means anything at all
E
nothing’s all should have expected from you
G D
nothing, that’s all
nothing, that’s all
nothing

Coal

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

notes
A D
Take the top off that mountain
E A
Strip it bare
Bring in the world’s biggest dozer
Scrape out all that’s there

Maybe a boulder smash your house
Maybe the sludge floods your land
Maybe your kids all get cancer
Maybe you just don’t understand

D
Gotta have coal
E
Keep the country burning
D A
Coal Fire up the night
D E
Coal, natural resources
D A
You keep talking wrong and right

Our lawyers get paid more than your lawyers
Don’t work half as hard
Oughta save your money
For cleaning up your yard

Chorus

E A D E
Business is business, Nothing more
D A D E
Nothing personal, No one keeping score

Chorus

Ain’t personal, so why you keeping score?

Reading Grisham’s fine muckraking novel “Gray Mountain” put me in a mood, and when I tried to go to bed this came to me almost complete.

Suite for a New Life – With the Radio On

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Am F
if it all fell apart and ended in a ditch
C G
we’d have no one but ourselves to thank
Am F
we set out with nothing to our names
C G
but our clothes and the gas in the tank

Am F
nothing we had was making sense anymore
C G
so we headed out to find something else
Am F
you seemed pretty sure and I didn’t wanna scare you
C G Am
so I kept my doubts to myself

(very slowly)

Em Am
as we slipped away
you held my hand so tight I couldn’t breathe
Em Am G
drove into a sunrise full of colors I knew didn’t exist

(faster)

C G F G
I thought we’d find a new place of our own
didn’t know you were such a rolling stone
shaking off the moss, heading out into the great unknown

we didn’t know the world was so wide
once you let go knots are untied
its beauty’s just a mirror of the beauty we all have inside

C G F G (x2)

C A F G (x2)

C Am F G C Am F G
Flyin’ down the highway with the radio on
Singin’ just as loud as I can to my favorite song
Well it might be Nez or Bob or Van
But I always try to sing just as loud as I can
Flyin’ down the highway with the radio on

You pull out the map every once in a while
And I glance at you and you glance and we share a smile
And the sun glints through your golden hair
And I can’t believe my luck that we’re there
Flyin’ down the highway with the radio on

You feed me a fast-food fish sandwich; it drips on my shirt
I slurp green circle logo iced mocha and try to stay alert
Like Newtonian bodies in motion we stay
‘Cause we hate to slow down ‘less there’s no other way
Flyin’ down the highway with the radio on

bridge
F x8 C x8
Big fast car and a snappy tune And you right by my side
F x8 G FFF G G F E D
Cup o’ joe and a bite to eat Man, what a ride!

Finally pause for some greasy home cookin’ in a roadside cafe
Pay the bill and escape in a hurry to be on our way
Watchin’ a sunset we wish we could frame
Settle in for a night that’s just more of the same
Flyin’ down the highway with the radio on

Flyin’ down the highway with the radio on
Flyin’ down the highway with the radio on

This Path

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

C C
peace can be a fleeting thing
A Ab C
reach out and it flies away
C C
having you here with me
A Ab C
this peace as we end our day
F C F C
moon through our windows, shining in our eyes
F C G G
paints a peaceful path to light our way

something on the radio
we sing; the harmony is sweet
doesn’t matter where we are
you have me and you make me complete
light in our life, shining in our hearts
paints a peaceful path down any street

peace is such a precious thing
this night of still serenity
a warm bed and peaceful dreams
smiling friends awaiting you and me
moon through our windows, shining in our eyes
paints a peaceful path we’ll always see

C C
peace can be a fleeting thing
A Ab Ab Ab Ab C
reach out and hold it here with me

I’m Not Dead

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

woke up this morning found that I’m not dead
woke up this morning found that I’m not dead
my good old days must be right ahead

clouds are moving winds begun to blow
clouds are moving winds begun to blow
might be sunny somewhere I don’t know

Shuffled the cards and dealt a hand
taking nickels from the boys in the band
this road trip’s taking longer than I thought
I’m always in the train station when my ship comes into port

grass needs mowin, weeds are getting tall
grass needs mowin, weeds are getting tall
I’ll disappear entirely when I fall

grocery store stopped selling my favorite cheese
grocery store stopped selling my favorite cheese
I’d ask ’em why but I ain’t gettin on my knees

she took my money to pay the fare
then acted like I wasn’t even there
my socks don’t match and I’m wearing high-heeled shoes
pocket’s got a hole I got nothing to lose

butter ain’t the only thing to churn
butter ain’t the only thing to churn
my eyes are ringin my ears are starting to burn

radio station’s fading in and out
radio station’s fading in and out
that fool doesn’t know what he’s talking about

that look you’ve got’s a fine how-do-you-do
got a box of matches down in my shoe
I taught myself to read when I was three years old
keep using your head you’ll wind up left out in the cold

woke up this morning found that I’m not dead
woke up this morning found that I’m not dead
my good old days must be right ahead

Get Up and Go

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

If you’re leaving
get up and go
I won’t be grieving
just so you know
I stopped believing
long time ago
so if you’re leaving
get up and go

I don’t need you
Anymore
Won’t impede you
that’s for sure
Let me lead you
to the door
Cause I don’t need you
anymore

If you can get
something better for you
Someone who’ll forget
when you’re untrue
I won’t be upset
I’m glad to be through
So go see if you can get
something better for you

If you’re leaving
get up and go
I won’t be grieving
just so you know
I stopped believing
long time ago
so if you’re leaving
get up and go