Ha-Yes

The saying, “crazy about you” sounds like love is akin to insanity. So this all started with the first two lines. Doesn’t it always? CHORUS Why do you tell me I’m insane When I’m just crazy about you There’s something funny with my brain It won’t stop thinking about you I hang around making Inconsequential…

It was winter, and I was feeling warmer listening to Caribbean soca music. I was moved to write my own song in that genre. In the morning in the mirror I check and see a wreck It’s an image getting clearer Like a rope around the neck When I’m slipping from the tether And falling…

I wanted to play with nonsense lyrics. When I found them, they sounded like a good match for a sea shanty. “Take a little trip with me” was a natural start, and the rest naturally followed. Take a little trip With me And we’ll get a little lost On the shining sea Make a little…

I heard the classic, “I Hear You Knockin’” on the radio, and I just took the first line and sang the first verse of a new song. Then “bad things come in threes” followed, which naturally led to the famed hell-hound. Staci Harris was kind to lend me her awesome voice and work it over two…

I had to struggle to keep the musical motifs from falling into similar riffs by the Clash. And then there’s the lyrical similarity to “I Get Around.” I know you’re out there Don’t know who, what, where Black, blonde, or red hair I’m gonna get you around Left my position In acquisition Made it my…

First, there was a news report of an 18-year old that was arrested because he’d had sex with his 17-year old girlfriend—who was two weeks younger than him. Then the Beatles sang, “She was just seventeen, if you know what I mean.” Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. It started with pondering how numerical ages are so…

I had the urge to write the lyrically simplest chorus possible. Then the strange story, cryptically told, formed while walking around a lake while I was on a mini-vacation. Headlines breadlines Ticket down a brick alley Met a ghost hanging off A girl named Sally I said, “You could do With a little more meat” She…

I always liked the song from The Music Man, “The Sadder But Wiser Girl,” which is about preferring someone with romantic experience. The title’s cliché kicked this off, along with a desire to give it a haunting feel. Hilary Forbush wasn’t the voice I was envisioning for the background vocals, but she was available—and her innocent…

This was written for a song writing contest, sponsored by a toilet paper company. Since their mascot was a puppy–I suppose because their softness makes us secretly want to wipe our butts with puppies–it had to be about a dog and how it relates to family. Sahara Hayes helps with vocals. It starts with me, a lone…

While driving, I was thinking about the insane number of people who die from the use of guns they keep in their house—for protection. Many of the names in the song have a relationship to their weapon; for example, “Peter” is from the Latin root of “rock.” Walter has a Walther Loaded in his night…

I was just banging on the piano, and started singing this like I was Buddy Holly. I thought I had finally written my first four-chord song (instead of the usual eight). But whenever I played the chorus on the piano, I couldn’t stop a finger adding a note to each of its two chords. My subconscious…

I had to include this because it’s a more fun arrangement than the “studio” version—it’s actually played, live, by real musicians, and not just me on a keyboard. That’s not me singing, as I’m playing trumpet. With only a few rehearsals before performing, it’s really ragged—missed notes, forgotten lyrics, and a bass drum pedal that was…

I thought there was a dearth of romantic songs that centered around fishing. So, this. Baby, let’s go fishin’ Pack the cooler and some worms for ammunition It’s my August wish You and me and some fish Catch 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, the limit is 11 Trout and bass and walleye…

The is the rare (for me) non-fiction song, during emotional separation from two people in my life.  Once upon a time The world was larger And you were mine, all mine Giants patrolling the land Were calmed by your steady hand And I, so was I CHORUS Turn back the cover Tuck me in tight…

Nearly the whole thing was written while I walked my bushy-tailed dog one night. I thought of the line from movie westerns, when murder was about to happen: “Say your prayers.” But what if “Include me in them” came next? So I came up with other threatening lines and made them sweeter—a little. It’s still…

No relation to the actor Dudley Moore. This came out of the delightful tongue action of “didn’t do diddly more.” This is demo quality, the same piano all the way through, with nothing else. The idea was to have short instrumental solos after every verse. Went out late Friday night Filled a pitcher with air…

Perhaps the first song I produced. I saw an innocuous, confused interchange between married friends which I mentioned sounded like “love dyslexia.” Well, I blew it The clues were all there The sound flowed from your mouth Through the delicate air But I misconstrued it And gave “wise” advice When I should’ve said, They’re wrong,…

This is an early one. I told my friend Tom Toronto about the song, and he picked up a guitar and we recorded it on the spot. I’ve tried to make more polished versions, but this is still my favorite. I really should find a singer with the range to jump up an octave on…

Though there is no voice in this recording, it started with words. I was lying in bed at night, watching the shadows of leaves move across the wall on a windy night, and was transported, apparently, to the 1920s. Being true to the era, I wrote up sheet music, complete with a logo for the…

The lyrics were written after the composition; they’re not sung here. I’ve found that doing things that way really adds to the old-timey feel, unintentionally. Modern songs take more liberties with how the words fit. Writing this way forces the lyrics into a more regular groove, even if they are over-written. . . does it really…

This song was originally about something else. As I was finishing the first verse, a muse had me change a few words, altering its course. Lianna did a good job singing a tough song with sparse instrumentation, but I think someone not from musical theater would be a better fit. Any volunteers? Send your mercy…