Tag: music

Teagan Does Metal

Timothy Price73 Comments

Dawn

Night To Day. Lyrics and Music by Timothy Price. Vocals by Teagan Riordain Geneviene.

I played an unplugged version of Night To Day on my freshly restored Elvis Presley Harmony guitar in my farewell to 2023 video on New Year’s Eve. I later recorded the metal version and asked Teagan if she wanted to sing it. She wasn’t sure about singing metal, but Teagan is a good sport, and she is adventurous when it comes to art and music, so she dove into the metallic pool and nailed it. Her ethereal voice is perfect for the ghostly theme of Night To Day.

If you have trouble viewing the video, you can listen to the song on SoundCloud.

Night to Day


Lyrics and Music by Timothy Price
Vocals by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

[Verse 1]
I saw Sun crash to the ground
It threw colors far and wide
With yellows into reds consumed
Swallowed up by ravenous blues

[Pre-chorus]
Dusk sang dirges to the dark
Clouds ignited a fiery show

[Chorus]
See the darkness
Nighttime’s falling
Time to slumber,
But ghosts are calling
Feel the darkness
Your skin starts crawling
Who can sleep when ghosts come calling

[Verse 2]
As embers meander through the night
Shadows creep under bright moonlight
Dawn wakes colors that light the sky
Painting darkness red, yellow, blue

[Pre-chorus]
Defeating darkness that’s Eos’ way
She breathes life into one more day

[Chorus]
See the light
Ghosts dissolving
Time to rise
A new day’s calling
Feel the light
Your skin stops crawling
When you’re up to see ghosts dissolving

[Bridge]
Night to day. Day to night
Flesh and spirits, in a moment, fight
For the right to live or die
Trading places, one sacrificed

[Outro]
See the darkness
Nighttime’s falling
Time to slumber
Ghosts come calling
See the light
A new day’s calling
Time to rise, see ghosts dissolving

Rio Samba

Altissimo

Guard hummingbird en garde

Spotted Towhee in the tree. House Finch lands in the same tree. Spotted Towhee chases House Finch away.

Spotted Towhee was all proud of himself.

Nora Owl flew over where I could get better shots of her this afternoon.

Walter and Willa were in the top of the cottonwood huddled up together and dozing on and off.

Osric Owl was trying to sleep with the wind blowing his ear tufts.

We have had persistent high winds since Thursday night. Several thunderstorms blew through this afternoon dropping a quarter inch of rain, and pelting us with marble sized hail.

Captain Jack

Timothy Price34 Comments

Captain Jack. Lyrics and Music by Billy Joel.Vocals by Timothy Price

Captain Jack from Billy Joel’s 1973 album, Piano Man, is my latest cover. I first heard this song around 1974 after I purchased Piano Man. I fell in love with it. It’s not at all biographical; however, I had friends who got messed up with drugs in the 70s. A few died of overdoses, and a few committed suicide. Seeing how drugs destroyed people’s lives, I never had a reason to experiment with them.

These spent poppies go well with Captain Jack.

Mark 5

Timothy Price22 Comments

Lyrics by Timothy Price adapted from Mark 5. Music by Timothy Price

After posting Legion last week, I decided to make a song out of Mark 5:1-18, which is the story of a man possessed by many demons who confronts Jesus. Jesus asks the man his name, and he answers, “My name is Legion, for we are many!” Legion asked Jesus not to send them out of the area or “into the abyss.” (Luke 8:31). Jesus allowed the demons to go to a herd of pigs. The herd runs into the lake and drowns. The people ask Jesus to leave. The man wants to go with Jesus, but Jesus does not let him.

1) Threatening Rain. 2) Rain. 3) Clear.

    We got .31 inches of rain today. No Fooling!

    Mark 5
    Lyrics by Timothy Price adapted from Mark 5:1-18
    Music by Timothy Price

    [Chorus]
    My name is Legion
    For we are many
    My name is Legion
    For we are many
    My name is Legion
    For we are many
    Please don’t send us into the Abyss

    [Verse 1]
    He was crazed, he was naked, and he lived among the dead
    No chains could bind him, and he broke them like they were his bread
    When he saw Jesus, he down fell to his knees
    “Oh, Son of the Most High God! Please don’t torture me!”

    [Chorus]

    [Verse 2]
    On a hillside nearby where pigs were in ecesis
    “Send us into the pigs!” The demons asked and begged of Jesus
    He gave them permission, and the man he was unbound
    Two thousand pigs rushed to the lake, where they were drowned.

    [Chorus]

    [Verse 3]
    When the people came to Jesus, they did not expect to find
    The man sitting there, fully dressed and in his right mind
    What happened to the man and pigs gave them much to fear
    They plead with Jesus, “Man! Please, go and get out of here!”

    [Chorus]

    [Bridge]
    Jesus stepped in the boat, the man begged to go with him
    Jesus did not let him, “Go home and tell how much the Lord has done for you”
    So the man went away and told in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.
    All the people were amazed.

    [Outro]
    Guitar solo

    An Old Man’s Blues

    Timothy Price42 Comments

    Lyrics by Timothy Price. Music by Elton John. The lyrics are at the bottom of the post.

    An Old Man’s Blues is my rewrite of Elton John’s Screw You (Young Man’s Blues), which was on the flip side of the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road single (45rpm) released in 1973. I bought the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road single in 1974 before I could afford to buy the album. I ended up playing the B-side more than the A-side because I identified with Screw You (Young Man’s Blues) when I was a sophomore in high school. I was a misfit weirdo, and I was teased a lot. One of the many reasons I dropped out of high school when I was 16.

    I was working on a cover of Screw You (Young Man’s Blues) when I decided I needed to update the lyrics from 1970s England to 2024 New Mexico. Plus, the way I rewrote the bridge addresses some of the recent strange encounters in the blogosphere.

    One of the images I did for the song art for An Old Man’s Blues.

    More bloomin’ blooms

    An Old Man’s Blues
    Lyrics by Timothy Price
    Music by Elton John

    Now that I’m old, I don’t have much fun
    I can’t see or hear or talk to anyone
    My back’s a pain. There is so much strife
    I’m gotta clean the kitty litter, oh what a life

    I say screw you
    I ain’t got nothing to choose
    I live on my laptop
    Cause there’s nothing else I can do

    Screw you, I ain’t got nothin’ to choose
    I’m livin’ on my laptop cause there’s nothin’ else I can do

    I was workin’ downtown when I got in a fight
    I was beaten in an alley out in broad daylight
    The cops could care less; they were downright scary
    Sayin’ “Make my day!” Just like Dirty Harry

    They said, “Screw you!”
    Oh, you stupid old fool
    You work downtown
    You get beaten by a Tool

    Screw you! Oh, you stupid old fool
    You work downtown
    You get beaten by a Tool

    See, there’s femmes who get laid for being slaves
    Femmes who get paid for being laid
    There’s femmes behind screen names who prey with delight
    Those femmes they are liars; they are as dark as the night
    They lie, scratch, and whine, trying to make a dime
    And all of them say, “Get out my way! Screw you!”

    I’ve stared at a screen from seven ’til nine
    The wear on my eyes nearly drove me blind
    Tryin’ to make riches with nothing to share
    Gettin’ hell from my staff, but I didn’t care

    They said, “Screw you!”
    That’s all we’re gonna do
    We’re not existing for someone like you

    Screw you! This is all we’re gonna do
    We’re not existing for someone like you

    Screw you! Screw you!
    (Screw you, screw you, screw you, screw you, screw you, screw you, screw you, screw you)

    Longhaired Redneck

    Timothy Price60 Comments

    My first cover. Longhaired Redneck by David Allen Coe

    People have asked me why I don’t do covers. My answer has been that I don’t see the point. I don’t play in a cover band, and it’s much more fun to write and record original songs. I started thinking about covers, and I decided it might be a good idea to learn songs I like as it might help to improve my vocals.

    Now that I’m letting my hair grow, Longhaired Redneck by David Allen Coe seemed to be a good song for my first cover. Since I’ve been blue from all the pain, my hair is white, and I’m a redneck; I’ve been all-American Red, White, and Blue lately.

    Dawn

    This is my therapy bunny. I needed a pillow to rest my left arm on at night. But since I don’t have a small pillow that fits on the edge of the bed, I started using the bunny.

    Spunk likes to paw the water while the other cats jug.

    G&g in the back. Loki in the front.

    The longhaired Redneck

    Springing Forward, It’s So Backward

    Timothy Price54 Comments

    Lyrics and Music by Timothy Price

    Springing Forward is my 2024 Daylight Savings Time (DST) protest song (lyrics are below). The song is hyper, so don’t be surprised if you find it annoying, like changing to DST and losing an hour of sleep.

    I’m particularly leery of losing an hour of sleep tonight since I’ve been having a lot of trouble with pain over the last several months and don’t always sleep very well. Side note: Laurie has more trouble sleeping than I do. Since last summer, I’ve been trying to get a handle on the pain. I started riding a mountain bike, changed to an anti-inflammatory diet, and lost over 35 pounds. You would think that would help a lot. But not really. I am still having a lot of joint and muscle pain, especially at night. If you noticed, I don’t write as much, don’t comment as much, and mostly write short comments; it’s because of the pain. I have enough trouble typing with numb fingertips, but with all the pain, my typing has gone to hell.

    I reached out to my new GP last month and asked her what specialist I needed to see to try and get the pain under control. She had me go in and see her. She put me on Gabapentin at night and gave me some more dietary suggestions. I have a follow-up with her next week. My pain has been down to manageable background pain most of the time during the day for the past few weeks, but I still have issues with pain increasing at night, waking me up and keeping me awake. But it’s much better than it was a few weeks ago.

    While it’s a real challenge to play guitar with numb fingertips, it is more of a challenge to play when my fingers are swollen, painful, and don’t want to move. But I play every day, whatever the condition of my hands are and how much I’m hurting elsewhere. My hands have not been as swollen over the past couple of weeks, so I was able to do halfway decent sloppy shredding on my guitar solos I recorded this morning for Springing Forward, above.

    Red sky in the morning is an ominous warning about changing to DST and losing an hour of sleep!

    Springing Forward, It’s So backward
    By Timothy Price

    (4x)
    Springing forward
    It’s so backward

    We lose an hour to save some time
    Springing forward
    It’s so backward

    Body clocks are broken; we’re running behind
    Springing forward
    It’s so backward

    Moving like zombies, we’re losing our minds
    Springing forward
    It’s so backward

    We saved an hour by losing time
    Springing forward
    It’s so backward

    It’s time for DST
    Lockstep to New Destiny
    If you thought you were free
    Don’t change your clock! You will see!

    You Fools don’t complain
    But an hour is really insane
    The clocks are sacred, can’t you see?
    We’re not free to mess around

    Springing forward. Leave time be
    It’s so backward. Can’t we see
    Springing forward. We’re not free
    To play like gods. You see?

    (4x)
    Springing forward
    It’s so backward

    It’s time again for DST
    Lockstep to New Destiny
    If you thought you were free
    Don’t change your clock! And you will see!

    Ach Nein! Nine Gnari en la Casa.

    Timothy Price150 Comments

    Lyrics and Music by Timothy Price. Vocals and CGI by Teagan Riordain Geneviene.

    The lyrics for the song are adapted from a poem I wrote in 2017 when we had nine cats:

    We enter the age of Aquarius
    Clawing at the cuffs of Heaven
    Fluorine feline in the household
    A clowder of kitties
    Infested

    Novem gatti
    Fruits of the Spirit
    Nine worthies, three of each 
    But who can say which
    Pagans, Christians, Jews?

    All piled together
    Napping nonagon de gnari
    Like the symphonies of Beethoven
    Each plays their way
    Into our hearts

    A naping nonagon de gnari. CGI by Teagan Riordain Geneviene.

    The poem is all about Nine:
    Nine is said to be lucky in Aquarius, and nine is believed to symbolize divine completeness. Fluorine is the atomic number nine, a clowder is a group of cats, and there are nine fruits of the Spirit. Jacques de Longuyon wrote “Voeux du Paon”, a popular 14th-century romance, where he introduced the “Nine Worthies”— three Pagans, three Christians, and three Jews: Hector, Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar; King Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bouillon; Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabeus — who were historical, legendary and scriptural figures that characterized the ideals of chivalry in the Middle Ages. A nonagon is a nine-sided polygon, and Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.

    Ach Nein! Nine Gnari en la Casa.
    By Timothy Price

    [Chorus x2)
    Ach Nein! Nine Gnari en la casa
    Mama Mia! C’est la vi

    [Verse 1]
    As we enter
    The Age of Aquarius
    Clawing at
    The cuffs of Heaven

    A flock of feline
    In the household
    Or are they called
    A clowder of cats?

    [Chorus x2)
    Ach Nein! Nine Gnari en las casa
    Mama Mia! C’est la vi

    [Verse 2]
    Nove gatti
    Fruits of the Spirit
    Nine worthies
    Three of each

    But who can say
    which they might be
    Pagans, Christians
    Or the Jews?

    [Bridge]
    All piled together
    One atop the other
    A naping nonagon de gnari
    Or you can say
    But say it with conviction
    Nine cats napping
    In a pile

    [Chorus x2)
    Ach Nein! Nine Gnari en las casa
    Mama Mia! C’est la vi

    [Outro]
    Like nine
    Symphonies
    Roll over
    Beethoven

    Each plays
    Their way
    Into
    Our hearts

    Happy Valentine’s Day

    Timothy Price70 Comments
    Lyrics and music by Timothy Price

    I thought my latest song, Dick Meets Jane, would be good for Valentine’s Day. Lyrics are at the end of the post.

    I have to admit, I hated Valentine’s Day and the “Dick and Jane” books when I was a kid. Valentine’s Day was humiliating, and the “Dick and Jane” books represented a culture that was polar opposite of mine. Something I read triggered the lyrics for the song quite a while ago. With Valentine’s Day approaching, I decided to put them to music.

    Dawn

    Crescent Moon in the Tangle Heart Tree.

    First beaver sighting of 2024

    Can you find the pTerodactyl?

    Canadian Geese landing in the Rio Grande.

    Kissy cranes

    Déjà vu all over again!

    It looks like the pTer is missing some feathers on his wing. Or perhaps he was given the “Black Spot” by the other pTerodactyls à la “Treasure Island.”

    Jupiter and the crescent moon

    Tangle heart tree and crescent moon.

    Dick Meets Jane
    By Timothy Price

    [Verse 1]
    I was reading on the trolley when I looked up to see
    A Goddess of a woman standing right next to me
    I stood and kindly offered her my seat
    She blushed as she sat, and I tried not to stare
    Inviting were her amber eyes, and her smile was so sweet
    Was it our destiny that we should meet?

    [Chorus]
    Oh Lord, must you do this to me?
    You temp me with this lovely Lass
    Don’t you know that I am just way too plain
    Am I another player in her game?

    [Verse 2]
    We got off at the same stop “Thanks for giving me your seat
    My name is Jane. Who are you? May I ask?”
    “So nice to meet you, Jane. Funny, you should ask.
    My name is Richard, but people call me Dick!”
    “Dick and Jane!” We both laughed “Are we like the storybook?”
    We joined hands and skipped along
    She sang an unfamiliar song

    [Chorus]
    Oh Lord, must you do this to me?
    You temp me with this lovely Lass
    She’s a beauty and so divine
    Is this an act? Will she be mine?

    [Bridge]
    We ducked into a Starbucks
    Espressos straight-up and black
    “May I have your number, Dick?”
    “I’m free can you take me out?”
    YES! “Yes! You’re a dream come true.”

    [Chorus]
    Oh Lord, must you do this to me?
    You temp me with this lovely Lass
    Have you answered all my prayers?
    Will my dreams come true at last?

    [Outro]
    We dated, and we courted. We fell in love, I proposed
    As Dick and Jane, we got married. Two together apropos
    We are like a storybook. Lives perfectly aligned
    Together, we live in bliss, Happily and so divine

    [Chorus]
    Oh Lord, I’m happy you did this to me
    Tempted with this lovely Lass
    Now that all my prayers are answered
    We are living our dream at last

    Wolf Is In The Winter Moon

    Timothy Price110 Comments

    Wolf Moon on the rise again

    Lyrics and Music by Timothy Price. Vocals by Teagan Riordain Geneviene.

    Another year has passed, and the Wolf Moon is on the rise again as the new year begins. I wrote and recorded Wolf Is In The Winter Moon (above) to celebrate the 2024 Wolf Moon. To spare you my bloody awful voice, Teagan Riordain Geneviene @ Teagan’s Books gracious sang, lending her beautiful, smokey and slightly haunting voice to the song. Thank you so much, Teagan. I really appreciate your hard work on recording the vocals. Teagan’s voice is perfect for the song. She had the idea to add the howls underneath the chorus — a brilliant addition. You can find the lyrics at the end of the post.

    We say two pTerodactyls flying over the Rio Grande tonight. This one turned around and flew close. I assume he wanted to be included in the celebration of the Wolf Moon.

    pTer reflecting under the light of the Wolf Moon

    Cranes under the light of the Wolf Moon

    Wolf Moon over Resa’s Tree

    Wolf Is In The Winter Moon
    By Timothy Price

    [Verse]
    World of demons manifold and so robust
    They are possessed and driven by an insatiable lust
    For blood and power, their egos must be fed
    Innocent souls of the quick and of the dead
    Wolf’s in the Winter Moon that’s on the rise again
    Sheds light on the darkness of a cold and cruel world

    [Bridge]
    Wolf and Moon together work in perfect harmony
    Wolf and Moon together work to set our spirits free

    [Chorus]
    Wolves howl with praises and glory
    Wolves howl with praises and glory
    Wolves howl with praises and glory of the Winter Moon

    Wolves howl with praises and glory
    Wolves howl with praises and glory
    Wolves howl with praises to bring an end to winter’s gloom

    [Verse]
    Wolf is in the Winter Moon that’s on the rise again
    Shines its light on darkness as the year begins

    [Bridge]
    Wolf and Moon together work in perfect harmony
    Wolf and Moon together work to set our spirits free

    [Chorus]
    Wolves howl with praises and glory
    Wolves howl with praises and glory
    Wolves howl with praises and glory of the Winter Moon

    Wolves howl with praises and glory
    Wolves howl with praises and glory
    Wolves howl with praises to bring an end to winter’s gloom

    [Outro]
    Wolves howl with praises and glory of the Winter Moon
    Wolves howl with praises to bring an end to winter’s gloom

    Night To Day

    Timothy Price61 Comments

    In the above video, I talk about a T-shirt and a guitar, and I play one of the songs I’ve been working on called Night To Day (lyrics below) to finish out 2023. Happy New Year!

    This Harmony H950 Monterrey archtop guitar that I cleaned up and added the pickguard to cover a large crack in the top would have been produced in the early to mid-1960s. In a catalog from 1965, the H950 cost $52.50, which is $516.67 in 2023 dollars. New archtop guitars made in the USA today run thousands of dollars, so this guitar was a great deal in its day. The coolest thing about this old guitar is that it’s the same model Elvis Presley played in several movies, including G.I. Blues, Fun in Acapulco, Roustabout and Paradise, Hawaiian Style.

    Night to Day
    By Timothy Price

    [Verse 1]
    I saw Sun crashing to the ground
    It threw colors far and wide
    With yellows into reds consumed
    Swallowed up by ravenous blues

    [Pre-chorus]
    Dusk sang dirges to the dark
    Clouds ignited a fiery show

    [Chorus]
    See the darkness
    Nighttime’s falling
    Time to slumber,
    But ghosts are calling
    Feel the darkness
    Your skin starts crawling
    Who can sleep when ghosts come calling

    [Verse 2]
    As embers meander through the night
    Shadows creep under bright moonlight
    Dawn wakes colors that light the sky
    Painting darkness red, yellow, blue

    [Pre-chorus]
    Defeating darkness that’s Eos’ way
    She breathes life into one more day

    [Chorus]
    See the light
    Ghosts dissolving
    Time to rise
    A new day’s calling
    Feel the light
    Your skin stops crawling
    When you’re up to see ghosts dissolving

    [Bridge]
    Night to day. Day to night
    Flesh and spirits, in a moment, fight
    For the right to live or die
    Trading places, one sacrificed

    [Outro]
    See the darkness
    Nighttime’s falling
    Time to slumber
    Ghosts come calling
    See the light
    A new day’s calling
    Time to rise, see ghosts dissolving