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Originals

Traditional Songs

Originals

T he Rose That I Was Given

This is The Rose That I Was Given. It was written to be a patriotic song for these dark times.

Days When We Loved Close

This one seemed to resonate on Thanksgiving. A reminder that there are no perfect families.

Stumbling Stones recorded March 26, 2025 in Joshua Tree, CA

Sleeping With Clowns

Twisted and Sad. She's sleeping with clowns. Recorded with Tom Prasada Rao at the Tofu Bar in Richardson Texas. Tom also played the keyboard parts. Special thanks to Alex Ruiz for permission to use his image of Krusty (the black and white clown with the red nose). His great work can be seen at conceptmonster.net.

Barefoot in L.A. 2

Pumpkintown

Pumkintown is featured on the Gravedigger's Boy album.

All of These Cookbooks

This song was written soon after my mom died. She left a lot of cookbooks behind. It was written in a workshop, The Healing HeART of Song, facilitated by Mai Bloomfield

Mary And Joe

This is Mary and Joe. A nativity story. I wrote this one a long time ago, but I still dust it off each December. It has the distinction of having offended many a Christian due to biblical inaccuracies.. Some people get surly when you tweak the word of God. It can't be helped. Divine inspiration comes in many forms. Have a Merry Everything~

Mainspring recorded March 26, 2025 in Joshua Tree, CA

Short List

This song was produced by Tom Prasada Rao at Tofu Bar Recording. Short List, as written, may or may not be historically accurate. It was inspired by the list found in a children's biography, Gandhi by Demi. Regardless of historical accuracy, it's the emotional truth that counts~

Bring You Home

Words and music by Christopher Smith. Arthur Lee on lead guitar. Paul Knight on bass. Christopher on rhythm guitar and vocal. Recorded by Christopher Krotky of Sol Studios

Applesauce

Applesauce is on the Sweet River Grace album.

Balinese Frog Jam

Noodling on uke with the frogs in the Bali rice paddies. Recorded live in one take at Prana Dewi.

40 Cats

This song is about the beloved cats of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. And especially about one cat in particular~

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Traditional songs

Ye Mariners All

Ye Mariners All (A Jug of This). A drinking song. I learned this from Martin Carthy's first recording released in 1965. This year, (at the ripe-ish age of 84 years) Carthy rerecorded that first album, with all new interpretations of the original. This ballad is included, and the album title is a line from the song... "Transform Me Then Into A Fish". Highly recommended!

Reynardine

Old British folk tune, recorded July 11, 2025 in Woodacre, CA.

Alexander Beetle

This is Alexander Beetle, a song about forgiveness. Not a traditional English song, the lyrics were written by A.A Milne of Winnie the Pooh fame. It first appeared as the poem "Forgiven" in the book Now We Are Six. (1927) I believe it was first set to this tune by folk singer Melanie in the 1960s. I learned it from the work of one of my favorite current ballad singers, Jackie Oates. (She's fabulous! Give her a listen.)

Widdecombe Fair

Widdecombe Fair. This song reminds me of Wind in the Willows (or Mr. Toad's Wild Ride). A country gentleman sing along. Kinda like Frog He Would a Wooing Go (Heigh-Ho Sir Rowley!) Really should not be sung solo. You're welcome to join in, but you have to be good with names. I learned this one from listening to The Goblin Band. Also, I'm partial to songs about dead horses~

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