Sunday Afternoon Outdoors © Dave Mason Music 5 May 2020 I am just chillin’ here - in my back yard The sky is blue, the birds are singin’ - it’s not very hard I’ve decompressed, I’m kickin’ back - I am gonna take it easy for a while….. Man, I’m feelin’ mellow - eyes are almost closed It’s time to smell the roses - please excuse me while I doze My jets are cooled, I’m vegetating - watch me meditate with style….. Everybody’s out there, somewhere, fightin’ - fightin’ for their cause Not me, I’m just lyin’ here and wastin’ my Sunday afternoon outdoors … Playin’ bars and restaurants to earn my daily bread I’ll never make a million - was it what I never said? Everybody’s tryin’ to be Elvis or the next John Prine…. Coffee Shops and Farmer’s Markets never paid the rent The Music Industry’s the winter of my discontent But, today, I’m cool, I’m hangin’ loose, just floatin’ on cloud nine…. Everybody’s out there, somewhere, fightin’ - fightin’ for their cause Not me, I’m just lyin’ here and wastin’ my Sunday afternoon outdoors … Reality is fadin’, this dream is pullin’ strong My mind’s in Carolina flowing like the Scuppernong I’m just chillin’ here - on a Sunday afternoon… Me, I’m just chillin’ here - on this Sunday afternoon….

Song Time © D. Mason Nov 18, 2020 Online, it’s song time - got to keep some rhythm in my day ‘Cause, sometimes, when words rhyme, a melody can take me far away Far from all those things that try to break me Far from everything that brings me down When life itself seems somehow to forsake me On music’s wings I’m high above the ground…. It’s easy, on my PC - logging in and I will be there soon Quickly, hit return key - fill me up with lyrics, poems and tunes Tunes that flood our lives with expectations Tunes that say there’s nothing we can’t do Words to fill our hearts and heal our nations Songs of joy and hope for me and you ….. Feelings are streaming - inspiration, fantasy and rhyme Believing, not just dreaming - that miracles do happen all the time The miracle of singing and of sharing The miracle of love that’s here to stay Music is a thank you all for caring Enough for me to make it through today…. It’s song time, online - you got to get some rhythm in your day ‘Cause sometimes, when the words rhyme, a melody will take you far away…

Robin Redbreast © Dave Mason, May 4, 2020 Hey, Robin Redbreast, singing sweetly in the tree I wonder what you think about when you look down on me Living in my make believe and dreams I’ll never see In this hectic race we call humankind… Hey, Robin Redbreast, you’ve been working oh, so hard You’ve been digging up the worms, you’ve built a nest in my backyard While I’m here in my imagination, trying to find some words For this song that I’ve got running through my mind.… Robin Redbreast, building your nest Won’t you sing your song for me? Hey, Robin Redbreast, seems the weatherman was right And the storm he said was coming hit us hard late in the night Rain fell in awful torrents, wind blew with all its might And the nest you worked so hard on blew away… Hey, Robin Redbreast, did you cry a silent tear You’d worked so hard to build the nest just to watch it disappear Did you shrug your wings and tell yourself you’ll try again next year Just fortunate to live another day … Hey, Robin Redbreast, what's the lesson here for me? Believing I've a right to life, imagining I am free Would it be enlightenment to see what you can see As you sing your sweet song, once again, for me…

A cold wind blows through the streets of Washington D.C. A tyrant gloats for a world watching on TV The martyr stirs in his grave, she’s turning in her grave Rancor burns with a flame of the way we all behave In this free land of the brave…. Hope can fade like a flower pressed upon the page Love can die weathering the storms of bitterness and rage When dreams are gone like the echos of a song - “We just disagree” The piper plays our funeral parade - the truth is hard to see In this brave land of the free…. Take my hand - will you let me take your hand Understand - we’re much stronger hand in hand .… You and I, we’re the same in more than faith or name We must try to be the change within this crazy game Those who kneel, those who yearn to heal the wounds we fail to see To be the good within your neighborhood, it’s all that we can be In this brave land of the free….

The Bounty of the Harvest © Dave Mason August 28, 2020 Days are getting shorter, nights are closing in Farmers are out working in the field Mornings feeling colder, Soon there’ll be frost again When the bounty of the harvest is revealed Pray for sunshine…….. hope for rain Cherished farmers …… give us grain Squashes, pumpkin and potato will sustain us in our need Barley, wheat and corn our trusty shield Every autumn tells of fables, expectations we’ll exceed When the bounty of the harvest is revealed… Pray for sunshine…….. hope for rain Cherished farmers …… give us grain Yet, the busy, struggling farmers, work each day without a care Like soldiers toiling on the battlefield Without rifle, without armor - victory will soon be theirs When the bounty of the harvest is revealed… Pray for sunshine…….. hope for rain Cherished farmers …… give us grain Life is somewhat like the harvest, days of sunshine and of rain Our circumstances like the fallow field Friends are like the blessed farmers, their seeds of love will ease our pain And with this love our bruises will be healed Pray for sunshine…….. hope for rain Cherished farmers …… give us grain

Song written and copyright Fiona Tozer Artwork by Charleen Plum, Clermont-Ferrand, France There’s a place in your memory - Time outside the day Full of dreams saved from childhood - When you’ve forgotten how to play It lets you remember, The feel of the wind in your face And long forgotten freedom - Of a distant time and place. You can take a trip to Neverland But you’ll always come around again You can take a trip to Neverland…. So you look to your lover, Ask her to show you the way Make love shine like a lighthouse - In the frozen waters of the bay Can you make it last forever? Try and hold it in your hand? And burn it in your memory - As the tide turns on the sand. You can sail your ship to Neverland But you’ll always come ashore again You can sail your ship to Neverland…. And returning from the journey - Looking back on where you’ve been Spinner of the story, Retrace your steps once again And make it last forever; And make you understand It’s always there inside you - Here and now is Neverland. You can sing your song in Neverland It’ll all come around again You can sing your song in Neverland

The Soul of Splashy Fen ©Dave Mason April 1995 I had to find my way out of the city, Find another time, another place
 Get to know the feelings deep within me, Get to know the man behind this face 
It's been many years, you know, it's been a lifetime, That I've lived within this concrete countryside
 Now the open air and music was a-calling, It was time to raise my thumb and hitch a ride 
So I took that lovely road that leads through Bulwer, Until the Mountains of the Dragons lay ahead
 And at a little farm called "Splashy Fen" I rested, In a field of emerald green I made my bed Though the lifeblood of the rat-race still ran through me, I knew that I had just to spend some time Searching for those things so long forgotten It was difficult to think they had been mine So I took out my guitar and started singing To the rivers and the mountains and the sky And I swear that Mother Earth herself sang with me As I played for her this gentle lullaby While my mind it took that lovely road through Bulwer, Going over every single mile again And then I cried, my tears of joy and not of sorrow, As my spirit met the Soul of Splashy Fen Then I thought of all the people in the cities, Living in their madness every day Would they ever find this happiness that I'd found? Would they ever take that step and get away? To this place where time stands still and the folk are mellow, Where love is real and hearts aren't made of stone 'Coz it sure feels good to talk to Mother Nature Knowing deep inside you're not alone So take that lovely road that leads through Bulwer And in the Drakensberg's sweet shadows may you find A serenity that is deeper than the ocean As the music takes you high and blows your mind

I have a friend called Michael, Michael likes to fly, Michael takes his hang-glider way up into the sky After jumping off a mountain top or running down a hill He switches on his Go-Pro, he makes a video, puts it onto Facebook then he let’s his buddies know I hold my breath, my heartbeat pounding, oh man, what a thrill I wish, I wish, oh how I wish - I wish it could be me - soaring through the clouds on thermals - high and free My own imagination tells me this is all absurd, if I was meant to be up there then I’d have been a bird… I have a friend called Michael, Michael plays guitar, Michael shreds that fretboard, Michael ought to be a star He makes that guitar talk to me, oh man, he makes it cry His lyrics are original, his stories fresh and new, not regurgitated remixes of songs we all once knew It’s like, “Glory, Hallelujah!” Man, he takes me high I wish, I wish, oh how I wish - I wish it could be me - videos on YouTube or on MTV My own imagination thinks that it would be sublime if I could just compose a verse and get it all to rhyme… I have a friend called Michael, Michael works in school, Michael is a science teacher, kids all think he’s cool Experiments and catapults - it’s what kids like to do The Circumpolar Constellations, I thank my lucky stars, when I was a kid back in the day we never looked that far But we got to watch our litmus paper turn from red to blue I wish, I wish, oh how I wish - I wish it could be me - I somehow never got too far past ABC My own imagination, maybe given half the chance, might stumble on an answer just by happenstance…. I have a friend called Michael, man is Michael wired, Michael worked in diapers but now he is retired He’s always on his bicycle or running here and there I met him, once upon a time, in a place far, far away, I was the pajama man - at least, that’s what he’d say We were living in The Land of Smiles without a single care I wish, I wish, oh how I wish - I wish it could be me - but I’m not going very far with this bad knee My own imagination, well, it doesn’t want to know - so I’m just sitting writing songs, trying to take things slow… Now, Jack was always nimble, Vincent way too cool, Delilah wasn’t trusted, Tom just a love sick fool Alice had three restaurants - I’ve heard that told somewhere So, Michael, Michael, row this boat, get me to the shore; Michael, spread those angel wings, keep Satan from my door My life just wouldn’t be the same if Michael was not there!

Children all across the land, take your parents by the hand October’s here you know that means - Happy Haunted Halloween Don’t be foolish, look real hard when entering a stranger’s yard Ghouls are nasty, ghosts are mean on Happy Haunted Halloween Look for tiny vampire bats, witches with their pointed hats Things that howl up at the moon, Halloween is coming soon… Every son and every daughter, don’t forget your Holy Water No defense is too extreme on Happy Haunted Halloween Grab your candy, eat your treats - Goblins LOVE their victims sweet With a dash of frosted cream on Happy Haunted Halloween In your teeny angel suit you may think you look quite cute Like a giant monster treat - you look good enough to eat! They’re so loathsome, they don’t care if you soil your underwear So hold your parents’ hands real tight or you may not survive the night. Frankenstein or Dracula, werewolves, zombies, Grim Reaper They’ll cut you up and they’ll eat your spleen - Happy Haunted Halloween….

Alive Dave Mason Music June 2020 Clouds are floating in the sky, birdsong in the trees nearby Busy, buzzing bees among the flowers On my face, a gentle breeze, the sunlight trickles through the leaves Tranquil, I could stay right here for hours… I am alive (X2) Now I’m watching fireflies - glowing, quick like tigers’ eyes Fairly lights upon a summer evening Imagination running wild, in my mind I am still a child Caught between reality and dreaming… I am alive (X2) The sun’s gone down, the night is falling - I can hear an owl calling Sending soft, sweet shivers up my spine Twilight rays, glowing, velvet - silver moon’s not risen yet I smell the fragrant perfume of the pines… I am alive (X2) Instrumental Some folks find it really hard, relaxing in their own backyard They’re always busy, busy doing something I may just be wasting time, but inspiration so sublime Helps me to be someone I believe in… I am alive (X2)

The Legend of Bronco Brad © Dave Mason, Aug 19, 2020 Far from New York City, way out on the trail, There are rumors of a brave Sir Galahad They sounds so unbelievable, these celebrated tales The legend of the fabled Bronco Brad… Nothing known can scare him, no such thing as fear, Like a demi-God in some Olympiad Even flying kielbasas run a mile when he is near He will eat them for his dinner, Bronco Brad… CH: So, come hither, little children, come hither weak and small (one and all) The story that I tell will make you glad Every problem you encounter, every devious curve ball Ain’t nothin’ when compared to Bronco Brad.. He can sing a true falsetto in an operatic key, Be a hero like your favorite granddad He can dance like Michael Jackson, play his clackers in between Eat his beans right from the fire, Bronco Brad…. Now, you may not believe me though I swear it is the truth You can shake your head and think I’m kinda sad You doubters and you haters should have seen him in his youth Even Batman was inspired by Bronco Brad… CH: Now, if you feel neglected, like some cog within a wheel Like the remnants of a dream you never had Believe, believe in miracles - one day they will be real ’Cause our world need far more men like Bronco Brad … CH: So, come hither, little children, from the cities and the farms From Waco, Texas to Islamabad His stories will amaze you - every song and every yarn You’ll laugh until you cry with Bronco Brad.. Come hither, little children, from the cities and the farms From Washington DC to Leningrad He may be a little crazy but you can’t deny his charm The singing, dancing cowboy - Bronco Brad…

A Good Chardonnay © Dave Mason, July 22, 2020 My PC’s a lifeline, my life is on hold My world has a virus - I’m feeling old I would head for the mountains for fresh air and some space But the order says “shelter in place”… I have battened down hatches, I am lost out at sea I am stuck in the the doldrums in the Land of the Free Every White House encounter - such a “Faucical Affair” No guidance in my times of despair.… Rhetorical questions of what might have been Fake propaganda by the doctors of spin We all look to Google - Alexa cannot say Why the vaccine is light years away…. I’m self isolating so I don’t get paid! The Internet is streaming my masquerade We’re all jokers on banjoes or tambourines Singing songs about COVID-19… Still, nature is thriving, the air is so clean As pure and as fresh as when Vicky was queen The birds are rejoicing on this sweet summer’s day Isn’t life like a good chardonnay?… INSTRUMENTAL Meanwhile, in my kitchen, my coffee is cold It’s no use complaining - I just do as I am told We’re all dying to know if these masks will help us through We’re so smart, but, we don’t have a clue….