If you haven’t visited sixstr stories in a while, this is what’s been going on. 

(If you have, you can skip this and scroll right down to the songs on Side 4.)

There Are (These Songs, Too) is a collection of 45 songs.

Covering the years 1976 – 2026, I wrote these songs before, during and after putting together my three “officially” released albums: There Are (Songs To Be Sung), Anytime and Five Songs.

These acoustic-guitar-and-vocals (with the occasional harmonica) performances were captured in my home studio, direct-to-two-track, with no overdubs, splicing, editing or other electronic shenanigans.

I’ve chosen to present this collection in nine, five song “Sides.” (I guess you could call this my “box set.”) The song sequence is chronological, by year of initial composition. Any songs that were subject to a re-write and/or re-recorded at a later date are so noted.

Several of these recordings, it will also be noted, have been previously released here on sixstr stories.

Most are available here for the first time.

So, here we go…

Track 16: “The Steps”

When my wife went to New Jersey for her 20th high school reunion, she also paid a visit to one of her old neighborhoods. I got to tag along.

The Steps

She walked up the steps for the first time
In twenty-five years or longer
She stood on the porch, feeling like Alice
Everything looked so much smaller
This was the house where they’d lived
Those were the steps where she tripped
Carrying the bottle of milk
And she missed the dance with the only boy in class
Who was just a little bit taller

She was back in town for her high school reunion
And a little vacation
Caught up in all the remember when’s
Old friends and a destination
She drove around in the rain and the leaves
Down the street where the woods
That she used to explore used to be
And she stopped at the house with no small amount
Of hope and hesitation

That was the tree she climbed
Those were the days when she’d hide in the leaves 
Piled by the curb

She knocked on the door a couple of times
Before she peeked in the window
She’d have preferred to find nobody home
But the sun came out on a very cold shoulder
She knew she was taking a chance
All she wanted was one last glimpse
Of a piece of her past
As she pulled away, all she could say was
“Do you believe this weather?
Maybe it’s all for the better.”


1992

Track 17: “Pavement Ends”

One night, probably while driving home from a gig, I came upon a large electric road sign… and inspiration struck!

Pavement Ends

Pavement ends
The sign flashes in the night
Better slow down
At least ‘till you see what’s coming
Wouldn’t it be nice if every bump along the road
Every hazard and every hole
Always let you know in the nick of time?
And somehow, if a message could be sent
When the pavement ends

Falling rocks
That one always makes me wonder
What do I do
If I chance to see one coming?
Now, I know what it’s like to be driving late at night
Going sixty, sixty-five
And have a rock big as a brick bounce off the hood
Half a second more and I’d have been
Where the pavement ends

Now, it’s only very recently
I’ve given any thought
To too much more than where I’m going next
Ah, but way off in the distance now
Is looming very large
And this fragile, beating heart
Has seen enough to know 
There’s only so much left

No u-turns 
And no bearing right
Better slow down
And yield to those pedestrians
Now’s the time to make the time it takes to do things right
Banish all disguise
And love even when it’s least deserved
So, keep your eyes on the road that lies ahead
And leave the last hurrahs to someone else
When the pavement ends


1993

“Pavement Ends” was previously released here on sixstr stories on December 8, 2019, in the post: “‘Tis The Season…”

Track 18: “The Shelter Of Your Arms”

Around here, the wintertime weather has become rather unpredictable. There is no “normal” anymore. So, the Winter of ’94 would probably now be categorized as an “old fashioned” New England winter.

The Shelter of Your Arms

Another morning, five below
No sign of relief
Heard them talking ‘bout more snow
By the end of the week
January’s finally over
But it broke my heart
When you reminded me that last year, the big one,
Hit us in the middle of March

Oh, won’t you take me away
Somewhere safe and warm
I know a place
In the shelter of your arms

Other people take vacations
They just up and go
According to my calculations
We’ll be staying home
Folks with nannies, gramps and grannies
Get to get away
We make popcorn, watch a movie
And know we can’t complain

Come on and take me away
Somewhere safe and warm
I know a place
In the shelter of your arms

Another morning, far behind us
What a day it’s been
Golden moments, minor crises
Can’t remember when they weren’t like this
As we settle ‘neath the covers
Feels like coming home
In the shelter we discover
What we’ve always know

Oh, won’t you take me away
Somewhere safe and warm
I know a place 
In the shelter of your arms
Come on and take me away
Where we both belong
You know the place
In the shelter of our arms


1994

“The Shelter Of Your Arms” was previously released here on sixstr stories on February 14, 2015, in the post: “A 1990’s Love Song Resurrected For The 16th Valentines Day Of The 21st Century.”

Track 19: “Get Me Through These Days”

This is more of a prayer than a song. Written during a long string of seemingly endless very busy days. (I think this is the only song in this collection with a key change.)

Get Me Through These Days

Get me through these days
Take my hand and help me over
Show me the way
Catch me if I fall
Well, I don’t care even if I have to crawl
Just get me through these days
That’s all.

I know what it’s like
I’ve been down this road before
It looks like paradise
But paradise is never where you are
It’s always just ahead
Or else it’s somewhere
So long ago
Still waiting
Behind the other door
Well, that one doesn’t make me wonder
Anymore. 

So, get me through these days
Take my hand and help me over
Show me the way
Catch me if I fall
Well, I don’t care even if I have to crawl
Just get me through these days
That’s all.

Oceans once so wide
Now are crossed in merely hours
Taken all in stride
But strides cannot be made without a cost
And time cannot be spent
Without a sense that 
Something has been lost
And somewhere
Someone pays the price.
How could anybody think
That this was paradise?
 
So, get me through these days
Take my hand and help me over
Show me the way
Catch me if I fall
Well, I don’t care even if I have to crawl
Just get me through these days
That’s all.

Well, I’m not looking for a miracle
I’m not tearing my hair
All I want is some kind of signal that
The end of this tunnel
Really is out there somewhere
Somewhere.

So, get me through these days
Take my hand and help me over
Show me the way
Catch me if I fall
Well, I don’t care even if I have to crawl
Just get me through these days
That’s all.

Get me through these days
That’s all.


1994

Track 20: “On A Sunny Summer Day (Walking In The Woods)”

This is what I call an “echo song.” When I perform it, I invite my audience to sing back to me every line I sing to them… for the whole song. As you listen, I invite you to do the same. Are you ready?

On A Sunny Summer Day (Walking In The Woods)

I was walking in the woods
On a sunny summer day
I was looking for a song
To sing along the way
Just a simple little song
Good for walking in the woods
On a sunny summer day.

So, I hummed a little tune
And I whistled it a while
And it made me feel good,
Yes, it made me smile
Just a simple little tune
Good for walking in the woods
On a sunny summer day.

Anywhere you go
Wherever you may be
You can find a song
To keep you company.

Then before I knew
Right before my eyes
As I walked along
And rhapsodized
The simple little tune
Turned itself into a song
On a sunny summer day,

La la la la la
Tweedle dee dee dee
Bo dee oh doh doh
Yah da yah da yah da yah
Bop scoobie doo wah
Shwah shwah shwah bo
Ba la bam boom

Zip a dee doo da
Walla walla bing bang
Hidee hidee hidee ho
Schimina rinka dinka doo
Ob la di bla da
Whoopie ti yi oh
Yoddle ay ee oo.  


1995

There you are! I hope you enjoyed the songs on Side 4! Stay tuned for more!