Carmine

I remember that one day When he walked into class Eyes high, smile wide And bull’s-eye on his forehead There was something in the way he walked that we hated Something subconscious we wanted desecrated And what he would give the world was never seen And what the world would take from him was everything So years passed He grew alone and angry But he seemed fine to us... I guess I didn’t look hard enough Until that one day When his bottle blew And the cap flew We never dared to think for a moment We never dared to care How we left his heart freezing and torn Out to die in the cold black air And what he would give the world was never seen And what the world would take from him was everything We were monsters And you were human You could have been strong, we couldn’t You could have been someone we aren’t But now the world keeps turning Without you It can't remember or forget One it never knew Well so long But nothing will change As always It all stays the same

Yeah, harmonica gives it the bluesy/prison feel. I like to do a lot of Dylan covers where he uses harmonica. I'd much rather do stuff for a band, though. Heavier stuff with a lot of effects.

Yep, all these are just my voice and guitar, for now. When I record them I'll add bass tracks, other guitars, maybe drums, and vocal harmonies. Oh, and for some of them like the last one I posted, I play harmonica too. I have one of those braces that goes around my neck that lets me play guitar and harmonica at the same time. And IMO, songs are the best when the lyrics and music are made at the same time. Sometimes I'll do one or the other first. If that's the case though, it's really hard to come up with a fitting counter-part.

This one is the first part to a 3-part song series I'm writing. It's inspired by a number of encounters I had with a homeless man last fall, who suddenly disappeared right before winter. Arnold He lies like a hound by the edge of the river Smoking what remains of his life away Never considered that he could be somebody else What he knew once has long been forgotten Time is no blessing on memories Faces no longer seem familiar to him Feeling cold days to come He starts to drift away Seeing colors turn to grey In time he drifts away Bread for a day is another day living A hermit in the heart of humanity Survival is religion, as the streets are his home Crunched in a ball, his fire is dying His tears hit cement like frozen rain People walk by, and so he remains alone Feeling cold days to come He starts to drift away Seeing colors turn to grey In time he drifts away The river’s dead, the air is cold The frost seeps into his soul Thoughts leave him when the day is light But he dreams when he sleeps at night Sooner or later, he’ll begin again

... Yes, carminic acid is used as a stain, and it's found on certain insects. That has nothing to do with my name, though. Carmine also isn't my real name...it's just a name. It also has nothing to do with this what I wrote. =p

Here are a few songs I wrote. They all sound more fitting when put to their music, but here are the raw lyrics: Mud Someone is waiting for me Not with open arms But instead to see me drown in the sea I have felt all I can My nerves are numb My pain is gone I'm no longer a man Let the tide pull me under Smash my skull and let it sunder Dirt will cover my broken self And hide me in this hole Alive and alone Until the flesh dies off my bones And I'll be free Of my mind and body Finally...finally... Someone is pushing my mind Beyond it's farthest confines Until I burst with anger and rage Hate and regret My actions have laid Myself to rest Let my body fill with sand My lungs with dirt, with a blade in hand Cut it open and let the mud flow away And I realize now That all along I've been waiting on The sun to dawn But now I know To be truly released I'll make dusk my day And rest finally in peace Blasted Lands Take me from these blasted lands That have concealed me for so long Release me from these iron hands Which have gripped my soul since it began Take me from these desert lands From which I have spawned Empty my head of this burning sand And free the part that has done wrong An angel came down once to greet me She said she knew I had a gift I took her hand and followed her Until she led me adrift I was betrayed by heaven that day And dangled over hell They find new ways to kill me every day But I'm not their's to bargain or sell The wronged will come to bear the burden The wronged will come to bear the burnen, she said The wronged will rise to bear this burden The wronged will rise to bear this burden Now rise with me above these drifting sands For something dwells beneath our feet Your body has been frozen Among this sweltering heat This world must realize That knowledge isn't light, and light isn't knowledge That darkness is merely what we can't understand The wronged will come to bear the burden Promise they'll come to bear your burden The wronged will come to bear the burden Promise they'll come to bear your burden The wronged will rise to bear the burden The wronged will rise to bear your burden Your time spent in darkness is what you can't understand But finally you will rise beyond these blasted lands