The Hobo Guidebook - first draft of new song

Hey.

I landed back in NYC late Thursday night.  It's been a rough month.  I thank everyone for their love and gifts.

This song I'm posting is the opening number for a musical I'm writing which I plan to perform and produce in the near future.  Gonna call the show THE HOBO GUIDEBOOK.  It's about the American mythos of the hobo.  Why it exists in our narrative, and what it really means.  I'll play a charming hobo named Gilly, who will spend an hour and half with the audience, talking about his wild and fascinating life thus far traveling across the nation, living on his own terms.  He's compiled a list of his knowledge into a book he carries with him, and through the course of the show, divulges some of the tips, tricks, and tales he's learned through hobocraft.

It'll be vulgar and sweet and actually contain at least 80 percent factual knowledge - just like me!

This opening song teases the audience with what's to come.  I'm playing it on my new guitar Huckleberry, but for the show, I'd like to get someone to custom make me a cigar box guitar with an electric pick up.  Something really homey...I'll call it Smokey.

Again, thank you everyone.  I'm still feeling very anxious and scared and sad at times. But I've got theatre to do and things to make and  friends and family to love and that's what matters.

LYRICS

First verse

introduction
pleased to meet ya
call me gilly
most folks do
ive lived a rather sort of storied life
and ill share
in my travels
ive collected
words of wisdom sure to help
whenever you could use some picking up
listen well

CHORUS
its the truth
no denying
keep an ear to the ground and a heart that's ripe
find the spark
of creation
in my hobo guidebook
its my work
my life's purpose
wrote it down as it happened
and it suits me fine
there is art
there is humor
in my hobo guidebook
listen well

SECOND VERSE
'fore you leave here
youll discover
how to win your lovers heart
or how to end a fight you didnt want
guaranteed
make cheap liquor
'void the police
how to frame a life worth livin'
find comfort in a single day
'fore the night makes ghosts of us all

CHORUS

BRIDGE

CHORUS

JD - original song about my father

Hey,

I've been meaning to put up this older song for years now.  It's one of the earlier songs I wrote, and it's about my dad.

If you haven't read this post about my father, please read it now.

My dad's mother and father and sister used to call him JD (Jerryl Dwain) for short. I used it for the song because it has such a percussive quality.

The chorus refers to my father's depression.  Sometimes it would get so overwhelming, he'd lie in bed for hours during the day.  It grieved me to see him so sad, so helpless. I'd get in bed with him, and hug him tight and not say a word.

Here are the lyrics:

Chorus

jd wake up
the worlds alright
jd wake up
jd wake up
the worlds alright
jd wake up

First verse

do you remember
the day that i was born
starting out into your kind brown eyes
i wasnt easy
deaf and dumb combined i struggled
but you befriended me
even when i left the cub scouts
when i threw my soccer cleats away
you would always say
son
who you are
is what i love

CHORUS

Second Verse

i still remember
thirty four years have gone by suddenly
your silent boy sings out
no friends with money
wide awake in the dark
so bewildering
the future no one's guess
reveling in these moments
i recollect
the strength you gave me
to make good
to ride pain out
attentive to the quiet peace

CHORUS

Bridge

your smiles so rare
father
wont you let it live for a breath
i know you care
father
but regret settled in like death
all i am
father
is proof of your generosity
now its time
father
care for yourself
like you cared for me

CHORUS