songs – the deepening ground

A Hurricane’s Warning: Found Poetry Turned Song #Hurricane #Found Poetry #Song

19 Nov 2022

Years ago, I earned some extra cash by working in the periodical section of the campus library while attending Grove City College. One quiet afternoon, I read an article in one of the newspapers we carried about Hurricane Marilyn that “wreaked havoc in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico” back on September 15-16, 1995. … More A Hurricane’s Warning: Found Poetry Turned Song #Hurricane #Found Poetry #Song

Whose Fool Are You? #Fool #Love #Longing #Song

15 Sep 2022

We’ve all played the fool at some point in our lives, especially in the name of love. Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers sang of it long before I sat down with my guitar and composed the following song. Sometimes we’ve played the fool for power, fame, or glory, fleeting as they are. Like King Solomon … More Whose Fool Are You? #Fool #Love #Longing #Song

Awaken the Dawn #Song #Marriage #Anniversary

22 Aug 2022

August and July brim over with wedding celebrations. My son’s marriage earlier this month brought the total number of wedding anniversaries from the last week of July through today, August 22nd, to FOUR just on my side of the family. In the coming two months, I believe we will celebrate three more weddings on my … More Awaken the Dawn #Song #Marriage #Anniversary

A Song for Father’s Day #Song #Father’sDay

19 Jun 2022

In general, I hate greeting card holidays. However, making a regular habit of honoring our fathers and mothers finds its roots in something far deeper and comes with the promise of a long and full life. I don’t celebrate Mother’s Day or Father’s Day because it’s printed on my calendar. I celebrate those days because … More A Song for Father’s Day #Song #Father’sDay

The Ballad of Hank: Inspired by Federico García Lorca #Songs #NPM22

4 Apr 2022

As a freshman in college, I found the poetry of Federico García Lorca inspiring (be sure to follow the hyperlink to read some of García Lorca’s work). I remember trying to imitate the style of the famed Spanish poet, without any real success. However, one of the poems found its way onto the album I … More The Ballad of Hank: Inspired by Federico García Lorca #Songs #NPM22

The Lesson from the Lesser: Ursa Minor #Constellation #Songs #Stars

6 Feb 2022

Rather than add a few more photo poems today (I may add some later this week), I turn to the newest song in my constellation series. It’s been six months since I last wrote something musically, a sad commentary on the pace and priorities of my life from a creative perspective. It’s not that I … More The Lesson from the Lesser: Ursa Minor #Constellation #Songs #Stars

Hey Scrooge! Imagining The Beatles Christmas Carol

27 Dec 2021

What if John, Paul, George, and Ringo provided the soundtrack for a musical revival of Charles Dickens’s immortal A Christmas Carol? Thanks to The Muppets, we already have at least one spectacular musical version of Dickens’s classic, and I’ve even seen one staged in Pittsburgh. But as I wrapped up our study of the novella … More Hey Scrooge! Imagining The Beatles Christmas Carol

Coming Home

24 Dec 2021

Christmas reminds me just how much I’m not at home. Strangers now own the house where I grew up outside of Philadelphia. Five years ago, my parents sold it and moved to central Pennsylvania to live closer to my sister. Shortly thereafter my mother passed away. As much as I enjoy visiting my family there … More Coming Home

Ursa Major – Constellations Vol. 2

9 Jul 2021

I’ve returned to the series of constellation songs I began working on a few years ago. I had stalled out on Ursa Major, finding the Greek myth less than inspiring. There’s only so much of Zeus being a lusty deity one can stomach. On revisiting the constellation itself, I found the fact that the two … More Ursa Major – Constellations Vol. 2

Appreciating Where We Are

26 Mar 2021

This morning, March appeared to be moving out like a lion rather than a lamb. As I sat drinking my coffee before heading up to my room for a day of distance learning, my greatest joy was watching my nearly seven-year-old son running around outside gathering the fallen branches and collecting any toy debris blowing … More Appreciating Where We Are

the deepening ground

reflections in word and song

Category: songs