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Ragamuffin

by Melanie

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1.
WHITE MAN SINGS THE BLUES I can't take no more, there ain't no use Can't keep on doin' what it is you think I do And the words that I've been listening to Are as honest as a white man sounds when he sings the blues I know we're through Take me where the wild things grow Where the truth is found 'cause its roots are down below Where the system is a saviour’s song Where I feel the rhythm but the tune is still unborn I know it's one String a feather on a silken twine Weave the twine with the laurel leaves Wring a river to make a wine Brew the wine with the laurel to make a tea Drink me I can't take no more, there ain't no use I can't keep on doin' what it is you think I do And the words that I've been listening to Are as honest as a white man sounds when he sings the blues I know we're through It’s like a white man singing the blues Like a white man singing the blues
2.
Goodnighty 02:09
GOODNIGHTY When will it be alright? When’s it gonna be alrighty? When will it be alright? To be somebody nobody loves Whomma I gonna kiss goodnight? When I say goodnighty Whomma I gonna kiss goodnight? If I’m somebody nobody loves To be somebody, somebody loves To be somebody, somebody loves To be somebody, somebody loves To be somebody, somebody loves Imma gonna be alright Imma gonna light my lightie Imma gonna be alright I’ll be somebody, somebody loves To be somebody, somebody loves
3.
GOLDEN CHAINS I'm leaving go and laying down them golden chains, old boy My body’s getting back at me for dancing without joy Those hand-me-downs were all I ever got to use To keep me free of fear and tied to you Those hand-me-downs were all I ever got to use To keep me free of fear and tied to you The very worst thing that I have ever done Was deliberately lose something I worked for hard and won Those hand-me-downs were just to cut and dry To vindicate my life and damn the lie Those hand-me-downs were all I ever got to use To keep me free of fear, keep me living here They keep me free of fear and tied to you Tragedy, it has an ancient soul Small time desperation is the only thing I know Those hand-me-downs were meant to satisfy To keep us free of fear and half-alive Those hand-me-downs were all I ever got to use To keep me free of fear, keep me living here They keep me free of fear and tied to youSmall time desperation is the only thing I know Those hand-me-downs were meant to satisfy To keep us free of fear and half-alive Those hand-me-downs were all I ever got to use To keep me free of fear, keep me living here They keep me free of fear and tied to you Those hand-me-downs Those hand-me-downs Those hand-me-downs, dragging me around Those hand-me-downs are dragging me down Those hand-me-downs, dragging me around Those hand-me-downs
4.
THE FIRST THING I SEE The first thing I see When I wake up to me Is you And it’s hard to believe Or conceive What I know to be true Against all the odds And although life’s a bitch With a hole in my heart Slight reality glitch The first thing I see When I wake up to me Is you The light in my window is on Just in case you pass by I remember you won’t And forget there are good reasons why There’s a little loose end Where dreams don’t come true Though I tied it in knots And then hit undo The first thing I see When I wake up to me Is you Now I cry for you And you cry for somebody else Love’s a conundrum of passions Heaven and Hell All I’m trying to do Is to live and let live Get through this night Forget and forgive But the first thing I see When I wake up to me I cry when I do ‘Cause I know it’s not true But the first thing I see When I wake up to me Is you
5.
DUCK BOTTOM BOAT I will sail on a duck bottom boat Where the moon shall wane with the ebb and flow The sun shall rise and that’s all I’ll know And that’s all I’ll need to know And that’s all I’ll need to know I will fly to a distant star On a silk and a glisten in a firefly jar Life shall bloom and colours glow And that’s all I’ll need to know And that’s all I’ll need to know Anything that soars Anything that sings Anything that flies Anything with wings I’ll take it in and I’ll let it go And that’s all I’ll need to know And that’s all I’ll need to know I will sail on a duck bottom boat Where the moon shall wane with the ebb and flow The sun shall rise and that’s all I’ll know And that’s all I’ll need to know And that’s all I’ll need to know I will sail on a duck bottom boat I will fly to a distant star I will sail on a duck bottom boat With a silk and glisten and there you are There you are I will sail on a duck bottom boat I will fly to a distant star I will sail on a duck bottom boat With a silk and glisten and there you are There you are With a silk and glisten and there you are There you are
6.
A LITTLE AFTER SOON There’s a branch and there’s a tree That goes throughout eternity And a clock that will stand still for you Play that song, that melody The one where all mankind is free In a world where everyone’s in tune Someday noon Me, me there A little after soon
7.
Matching things. When I was little it was very important to my mother, and to other mothers I think, for everything to match. If you had a dress with coral and teal stripes going through it (which I had) on a background of white, not refrigerator white, but that perfect creamy color white, I was not to wear bright white socks or coral and teal stripes going the other way or (heaven forbid) polka dots. The hat, the purse had to pick up some of the color in the dress, perhaps a little bunch of flowers or ribbon. And of course the hat couldn't be refrigerator white. I, however, had an inclination for 'mismatch'. And as is inevitable, I grew up and had my way. I truly think I was the first ‘on purpose’ mismatched person. No, but of course there were others rebelling, secretly or out loud; against their mothers wishes that everything match. Spring brings all of this to mind as now everything is unveiled and begins to show. Everything hidden, mismatched under sweaters and coats and jackets and vests now show, and guess what? It just doesn't matter! My mother would say, “You look like a ragamuffin”. And I took a liking to the word. Years later I was in The Netherlands and my two daughters were very small. A children's clothing line emerged - Oilily. And nothing matched! There were flower print tunics with striped leggings and polka dot socks, all in most beautiful similar color threads or even different colors! You can mix unlikely colors if you do it artfully. And that is a lesson that I think would be presented at my writers retreat. Mixing colors! (More on that later). Even before I found this company existed I tended to dress my two daughters like ragamuffins but Oilily made it much easier. They got pricier and pricier and then it became very trendy to dress your children in Oilily. By that time my daughters were grown and desiring I think, to present themselves like others, blending ~ the years of Esprit! And of course they had to have Cavaricci jeans. The first to my recollection of stupidly expensive jeans. Jeans, an American tradition had crossed the Atlantic, and came back to bite us. Mom Levi's? Oh please, no, no Wranglers. And mom, when you come to the PTA meetings couldn't you dress a little more like the other mothers? I tried a little but I could never pull it off. Sometimes in an interview they would ask, “ how do you define your style of dress? “ And I would answer ‘ragamuffin” or 'like a comfy couch with mismatched throw pillows and a red ottoman.” I'm convinced that red goes with everything, even orange. Sorry mom, ragamuffin it is, was, and most likely always will be. So spring begins! Let show your stripes, flowers and polka dots. Even Jellybean colors and Yum Yum umbrellas! And I'm turning into Dr Seuss Can you stand it? The urge toward life, and at my age too… ;-)

about

Matching things.

When I was little it was very important to my mother, and to other mothers I think, for everything to match. If you had a dress with coral and teal stripes going through it (which I had) on a background of white, not refrigerator white, but that perfect creamy color white, I was not to wear bright white socks or coral and teal stripes going the other way or (heaven forbid) polka dots. The hat, the purse had to pick up some of the color in the dress, perhaps a little bunch of flowers or ribbon. And of course the hat couldn't be refrigerator white. I, however, had an inclination for 'mismatch'. And as is inevitable, I grew up and had my way. I truly think I was the first ‘on purpose’ mismatched person.

No, but of course there were others rebelling, secretly or out loud; against their mothers wishes that everything match. Spring brings all of this to mind as now everything is unveiled and begins to show. Everything hidden, mismatched under sweaters and coats and jackets and vests now show, and guess what? It just doesn't matter!

My mother would say, “You look like a ragamuffin”. And I took a liking to the word. Years later I was in The Netherlands and my two daughters were very small.
A children's clothing line emerged - Oilily.

And nothing matched! There were flower print tunics with striped leggings and polka dot socks, all in most beautiful similar color threads or even different colors! You can mix unlikely colors if you do it artfully. And that is a lesson that I think would be presented at my writers retreat. Mixing colors! (More on that later).

Even before I found this company existed I tended to dress my two daughters like ragamuffins but Oilily made it much easier. They got pricier and pricier and then it became very trendy to dress your children in Oilily. By that time my daughters were grown and desiring I think, to present themselves like others, blending ~ the years of Esprit! And of course they had to have Cavaricci jeans.
The first to my recollection of stupidly expensive jeans.

Jeans, an American tradition had crossed the Atlantic, and came back to bite us. Mom Levi's? Oh please, no, no Wranglers. And mom, when you come to the PTA meetings couldn't you dress a little more like the other mothers? I tried a little but I could never pull it off. Sometimes in an interview they would ask, “ how do you define your style of dress? “ And I would answer ‘ragamuffin” or 'like a comfy couch with mismatched throw pillows and a red ottoman.” I'm convinced that red goes with everything, even orange. Sorry mom, ragamuffin it is, was, and most likely always will be.

So spring begins!
Let show your stripes, flowers and polka dots.
Even Jellybean colors and Yum Yum umbrellas!

And I'm turning into Dr Seuss
Can you stand it? The urge toward life, and at my age too…
;-)

credits

released July 28, 2016

All songs © Melanie
Rhythm guitar track and lead vocals: Melanie
Background vocals, guitar & all other various accompaniment: Beau Jarred Schekeryk

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Melanie Nashville, Tennessee

Pieces of a career, scattered by the winds of experience and assembled again by the force of love into the most personal and brilliant moments of her musical journey. Melanie is poised to enlighten new generations about what it means to sing with both passion and eloquence, to write at once with intelligence and emotion, and to inspire through song. Nobody does this better.
(Robert L. Doerschuk)
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