1. Oh Man (Harry Chapin)
2. The Very Thought of You (Ray Noble)
3. Something in the Valley (Eileen Margaret Hodgkins)
4. The Touch of an Old Friend's Hand (Guy Drollinger)
5. Time (Jonatha Brooke)
6. Oh, This Time (D.C. Anderson, Matt Vinson)
7. Between Here and Gone (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
8. Summons (Aurora Levins Morales, D.C. Anderson)
9. Promised Land (Alan Chapman)
10. I Approve This Message (Roy Zimmerman
11. Songs Stay Sung (Zoe Mulford)

Track 1:
Oh Man
By Harry Chapin
Chapin Music, ASCAP
Warner Chappell
Guitar: Gantt Kushner

I was an understudy for John Herrera and Ron Orbach in the Chicago production of HARRY CHAPIN: LIES AND LEGENDS a number of years ago. I delighted in Anne Kerry Ford singing 'Oh Man'. One of my cherished memories of the rehearsal process is Tom Chapin and I, sitting three feet apart, as he accompanied me on his guitar, rehearsing Harry's 'Taxi'.

Oh Man, I call you my man
You play your own home movies on my screen
And our love line is there like a silver shaft of light
That fills the dark between
Oh Man, I call you my man
All your easy confessions are lies
And it's only when you're safe
inside the songs you sing
Do you take off your disguise
Oh my frightened lover let's be friends
At least for this one night
Let's be two gentle creatures,
soft and small and light
If I hold you, you'll be safe tonight
If I hold you, you'll be safe tonight
Oh Man, I call you my man
Won't you let me help you come undone
Take away the walls that keep our worlds apart
Tonight let's make us one
Oh my frightened lover let's be friends
At least for this one night
Let's be two gentle creatures,
soft and small and light
I will hold you, and you'll be safe tonight
I hold you and you'll be safe tonight
please be still, please don't doubt
please, I will be fair
trust in me,
trust yourself
trust your power just to be there
Oh Man, I call you my man
You're at this dangerous new place in time
And still you cannot find
the courage left to say
That crying's nobody's crime
Oh, my frightened lover let's be friends
At least for this one night
Let's be two gentle creatures, soft and small and light
I will hold you and you'll be safe tonight
I will hold you
And you'll be safe tonight

Track 2:
The Very Thought of You
By Ray Noble
PRS, (ASCAP)
Piano: David Robison

Friend, musical director, Broadway conductor was visiting. I hear him at the piano, in the front room, playing 'The Very Thought of You'. I began to sing along...

The very thought of you and I forget to do
The little ordinary things that everyone ought to do
I'm living in a kind of daydream
I'm happy as a king
And foolish though it may seem
To me that's everything
The mere idea of you, the longing here for you
You'll never know how slow the moments go till I'm near to you
I see your face in every flower
Your eyes in stars above
It's just the thought of you
The very thought of you, my love
The mere idea of you, the longing here for you
You'll never know how slow the moments go till I'm near to you
I see your face in every flower
Your eyes in stars above
It's just the thought of you
The very thought of you, my love

Track 3:
Something in the Valley
By Eileen Margaret Hodgkins
Apra/Amcos (ASCAP)
Guitar: Gantt Kushner
Harmonica: Rob Paparozzi

Okay, so, THE PERCH CREEK JUG BAND singing this, written by PCJB member Eileen Margaret Hodgkins, is PERFECTION. But, I just HAD to sing it for this recording…because, well, here we are smack dab in the middle of 2025 and there truly are 'shivers running up and down my spine.'

There's smoke risin' up from the valley
And there's a strange moon hangin' overhead
There's rats running wild in the alley
They're gonna leave us all for dead
They're gonna leave us all for dead
There's cats on the street and they're fighting
And them lights keepin' way down low
There's thunder and there's lightning
But no rain is ever gonna show
Oh, no rain is ever gonna show

There's somethin' in the valley tonight
I got shivers running up and down my spine
It feels like half four but it just struck nine
Mama, there's something in the valley tonight
Mama, there's something in the valley tonight

Well, that wind sure knows how to howl
And that night sure knows how to crow
The little humming bird he's a
heading South
'Cause he knows that he's gotta go
'Cause he knows that he's gotta go

There's somethin' in the valley tonight
I got shivers running up and down my spine
It feels like half four but it just struck nine
Mama, there's something in the valley tonight
Mama, there's something in the valley tonight

You better stay indoors keep your window shut
Sit tight in your rocking chair
Let the nighttime rock right over you
and in the morning you might still be there
Oh in the morning you might still be there

There's somethin' in the valley tonight
I got shivers running up and down my spine
It feels like half four but it just struck nine
Mama, there's something in the valley tonight
Mama, there's something the valley tonight
Mama, there's something in the valley tonight

Track 4:
The Touch of an Old Friend's Hand
By Guy Drollinger
Guitar: Gantt Kushner
Harmonica: D.C. Anderson

Iris DeMent, a favorite singer/songwriter of mine, shared this song from her living room during COVID. It's written by a neighbor of hers. It instantly reminded me of my lifelong friend, Polly.

Sometimes I wonder why I was born
Just to live out my whole life
It's already evening but it was just
morning
And sometimes I wonder why
Oh there must be a reason
For each thing that happens
Though rarely do I understand
But sometimes I feel it
And it just lasts a moment
The touch of an old friend's hand
So I'll just keep singing old songs about leaving
Not knowing where it all ends
And if I act crazy oh lord please forgive me
I was just thinking about an old friend
Oh there must be a reason
For each thing that happens
Though rarely do I understand
But sometimes I feel it
And it just lasts a moment
The touch of an old friend's hand
Do you ever wonder why you were born
Just to live out your whole life
Well it's already evening but it was just morning
But sometimes don't you wonder why
Oh, there must be a reason
For each thing that happens
Though rarely do I understand
But sometimes I feel it
And it just lasts a moment
The touch of an old friend's hand
Sometimes I feel it,
It just lasts a moment
The touch of an old friend's hand

Track 5:
Time
By Jonatha Brooke
Naughty Puppy Music (ASCAP)
Guitar: Gantt Kushner

I saw Jonatha Brooke's one woman theater piece, MY MOTHER HAS TWO NOSES, twice. Jonatha was her mother's care giver in her last years...

I don't know your name
And I can't see your face
But I know, but I know you're coming
I can hear you whisper
And I can hear you call
And I know, and I know you're coming

I'm not ready any more
I thought I was, but there's the door
I'm not ready like before
So give me just a little more time

Please don't come today
Tomorrow's not good either
'Cause I know it'll mean forever
I'm not ready any more
I thought I was, but there's the door
I'm not ready like before
So give me just a little more time

Please don't come today
Tomorrow's not good either

Track 6:
Oh, This Time
Lyrics: D.C. Anderson
Davecamson Music (ASCAP)
Music: Matt Vinson
Matt Vinson (BMI)
Piano: David Robison

When someone very, very close to me has passed on...for days afterward, I find myself wide wake when the world is at rest - 3:00 a.m. totally emptied and desperate for connection.

Oh, this time
This time of letting go
This time of talking to the sky
And dropping tears upon my thigh
Oh, this time
This time of hoping where you went
Rewards a life so bravely spent
You saw the world through loving eyes
I have no doubt your spirit flies

Oh, this time
This date with wonder
This time of looking down and in
And asking where do I begin
Oh, this time
This silent stretch of lonely night
Aware my future's in rewrite
You blessed the world with your sweet songs
I have no doubt they righted wrongs

I wish you'd circle back again
I'm selfish in that way
I wish you'd take a crack again
A month, a week, a day

Oh, this time
This time of letting go
This time of talking to the sky
And dropping tears upon my thigh
Oh, this time
This time of hoping where you went
Rewards a life so bravely spent
You saw the world through loving eyes
I have no doubt your spirit flies

Track 7:
Between Here and Gone
By Mary Chapin Carpenter
Why Walk Music (ASCAP)
Guitar: Gantt Kushner

I am obsessed, it seems, with questions about life from the perspective of an awareness of its fragility and its short duration. Mary Chapin Carpenter, Cheryl Wheeler and Melissa Etheridge kept me sane during COVID with daily videos of songs from their homes. I have loved this song from the first hearing...

Tonight the moon came up, it was nearly full
Way down here on Earth, I could feel its pull
The weight of gravity, or just the lure of light
Made me want to leave my only home tonight
Oh, I'm just wondering how we know where we belong
Is it in a photograph, or a dashboard poet's song
Will I have missed my chance to right some ancient wrong
Should I find myself between here and gone
Now I could grab my keys, and peel out in my truck
With every saint on board bringing me their luck
I could drive too fast like a midnight's thief
As if there was a way to outrun the grief
Oh, I'm just wondering how we know where we belong
In a song that's left behind, in a dream I couldn't wake from
Could I have felt the brush of a soul that's passing on
Somewhere in between here and gone

Up above me
Wayward angels
A blur of wings and grace
One for courage
One for safety
And one for 'just in case'

I thought a light went out, but now a
candle shines
I thought my tears wouldn't stop, then I dried my eyes
And after all of this, the truth that holds me here
Is that this emptiness is something not to fear
Yes, I'll keep wondering how we know where we belong
After all the journeys made and the journeys yet to come
When I feel like giving up instead of going on
Somewhere in between
Yes, I'm just wondering how we know where we belong
Is it in the arc of the moon leaving shadows on the lawn
In the path of fireflies and a single bird at dawn
Singing in between here and gone

Track 8:
Summons
Lyrics/Poem: Aurora Levins Morales
Music: D.C. Anderson
Davecamson Music (ASCAP)
Piano: David Robison

I came across the poetry of Aurora Levins Morales online. Her dream, of grandmothers drawn from their homes by a need to lead us to understanding: 'Every life is precious.', grabbed me. I had to find a way to sing this poem/story. Aurora gave me the go ahead. I can only hope I did justice to her love-ly words.

Last night I dreamed
ten thousand grandmothers
from the twelve hundred corners of the earth
walked out into the gap
one breath deep
between the bullet and the flesh between the bomb and the family.
They told me we cannot wait for governments.
There are no peacekeepers boarding planes.
There are no leaders who dare to say, “Every life is precious.”, so it will have to be us.
They said we will cup our hands around each heart.
We will sing the earth's song, the song of water, a song so beautiful that vengeance will turn to weeping, the mourners will embrace, and grief replace every impulse toward harm.
“Ten thousand is not enough.”, they said, so, we have sent this dream, like a flock of doves into the sleep of the world. Wake up. Put on your shoes.
You who are hearing this, I am bringing bandages and a bag of scented guavas from my trees. I think I remember the tune.
A song so beautiful that vengeance will turn to weeping, the mourners will embrace, and grief replace every impulse toward harm.
Meet me at the corner.
Let's go

Track 9:
Promised Land
By Alan Chapman
Completely Baked Music (ASCAP)
Piano: David Robison

Karen Benjamin and Alan Chapman are good friends from Los Angeles. When Karen sings her husband's song, 'Promised Land', I cannot keep my ears off of her.

There's a woman on a journey
To a strange and far off place
And all the hope she ever had is written on her face
And in her arms she holds a child
Too young to understand
And they rock to sleep on the ocean waves
That take them to the promised land

There's a sadness deep inside her
And it fills her now and then
As she pictures all the faces
That she'll never see again
And as the tears begin to fall, she takes her child's hand
And they rock to sleep on the ocean waves
That take them to the promised land

There's a woman on a journey
Not really knowing what she'll find
But still she knows the time has come to leave the past behind
It's eighteen eighty one
It's nineteen ten
It's nineteen forty five
And she rocks her child on the ocean waves
Thanking God to be alive

Track 10:
I Approve This Message
By Roy Zimmerman
Watunes (BMI)
Guitar: Gantt Kushner

I grew up listening to Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Melanie…It was my dream to sing in a folk group. It came true when I was a member of THE FOREMEN led by Roy Zimmerman. Roy has continued writing, touring, recording! Here is one of my favorites.

I am the donut lady
I am the civil engineer
I am the tractor salesman who's a stand-up comic at his daughter's wedding
I am the court reporter
I am the guy in the sandwich suit
I am the third grade teacher
And I approve this message

I am the dental hygienist
I am the undertaker's son
I'll be the undertaker when the
undertaker has been taken under
I am the tattoo addict
I am the runner-up Miss Maine
I am the ice cream vendor
And I approve this message

I am John the Baptist
And I am Nancy, the Presbyterian
And I'm Jerome, the Jewish
Unitarian, Born-Again Buddhist
Wiccan Agnostic
I am the banjo lawyer
I am the laptop Kerouac
I am the NASCAR widow
And I approve this message

I am the conspiracy theorist
And I know five other conspiracy
theorists
What, you think that's a coincidence?

I am the precinct walker
And I am the polling place volunteer
And I'm the statistician
And four out of five of me approve this message

I am Yip Harburg, saying
it don't matter how high the throne
What sits on it is the same as your own
And I'm Molly Ivins, saying what's
the difference who's in that chair
Change doesn't come from there
Change comes from here

I am the huddled masses
I am the amber waves of grain
I am the toothless carny
in the shooting gallery at the County Fair
I am the singer / songwriter / waitress
And I am another mother for peace
I am the assistant scoutmaster
And I approve this message

I am the White House switchboard operator
And I approve this message
I am the FAA air traffic controller who was discharged because, 'Well, why not?'
And I am that FAA air traffic controller who was reinstated with back pay!
And I approve this message
And I am the middle school principal who wins the lottery and keeps on working!
And I am
And I approve this message
I am
And I approve this message
I am...
And I approve this message
I am...

Track 11:
Songs Stay Sung
By Zoe Mulford
Squash Flower (ASCAP)
Guitar: Gantt Kushner

Watch the animated video of Zoe's song, 'The President Sang Amazing Grace', sung by Joan Baez. Then take a dive into Zoe Mulford's catalogue of songs...You'll be glad you did!

There is an end to every thing -
the breath we take and the songs we sing
and the last note rings and dies away
but the song stays sung 'til the end of days
and all we do may be undone
but love stays loved and songs stay sung
Love stays loved and songs stay sung

Astronomers could never chart
the constellations of the heart
For lovers part and lovers pine
but the love stays loved 'til the end of time
and all we do may be undone
but love stays loved and songs stay sung
Love stays loved and songs stay sung

And every life's a brief, bright spark
that dies and seems to leave no mark
So we curse the dark and we mourn the flame
but the things it showed us still remain
and all we do may be undone
but love stays loved and songs stay sung
Love stays loved and songs stay sung

And I've been told that we are made
of dust cast off when stars decayed
and the bodies fade that once were ours
but the dust goes on to make new stars
and all we do may be undone
but love stays loved and songs stay sung
Love stays loved and songs stay sung!