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Higher Stakes

by mike skliar

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1.
The old expression fits I’d lose my head If it was not connected If I could just stop losing things Then life would be perfected Glasses wallet phone keys Always looking for one of these Keys wallet glasses, phone One’s always missing in my home Phone, keys, Glasses wallet If you lose the phone at least you can call it Wallet phone keys glasses I need to take some finding classes I lose things on schedule Just when I need them most I’ll say hello to things I’ve got The next day its “adios” Glasses wallet phone keys Always looking for one of these Keys wallet glasses, phone One’s always missing in my home Phone, keys, Glasses wallet If you lose the phone at least you can call it Wallet phone keys glasses I need to take some finding classes Maybe it’s a life lesson, a Zen thing from above Everything will leave you, everything but love The older I get, the more they hide/ This is not a joyride!/ these things must be somewhere here inside
2.
First time caller, but a long time listener thats right i never called till now they say you created the world in seven days but they never told me how im not sure i believe in the whole divine thing not sure you're any kind of being but i gotta check in and ask you, do you see this shit that we are seeing? it seems humankind is losing the thread Im wondering if we lost the plot some say its the same old stuff others wonder how much time we got you have anything to say, maybe nows a good time silence does not seem cool not asking for biblical miracles maybe just lay down a couple rules all that no killing stuff thats in the books was it just there for decoration? cause things were going good for a little while, but now theres wars and other conflagrations yeah thats a ten dollar word but i feel like spending we've invested in all this up to now so can you get right on this and sort it out? i know dont ask me how just do your thing, scare a few folks straight, maybe the rest of us take the hint oh one more thing whenever there's chocolate, can you add a little bit of mint
3.
Every beginning contains its own ending A message to the future that the past is sending American original sin, come back to roost What two hundred years of slave trade will introduce Fast forward thru the Civil War and Reconstruction The massacre in Tulsa, all of that destruction Progress its true, with help from Martin Luther King But never underestimate an angry right wing Populism, populism, the masses aggravated The indignity that to save lives they’ get vaccinated A con artist rises despite his incoherence Yelling all about election interference It was he who did the deed, the the courts are slow walking Every week’s a horror and increasingly shocking Appealing to the white supremacists and those adjacent While so many of the rest of us have gone complacent Is this the grand finale of American Democracy Dictator on day one, side order of theocracy Separation Church and State, in the Constitution I think? Did someone write it with invisible ink?
4.
This hatred goes back several thousand years or more We think that it’s gone, it comes sneaking thru the back door Its ethnic, religious and racial in overlapping waves of mistrust When fear takes over and when reason has bitten the dust Blood libel takes root where schools don’t educate in some countries it’s the policy of the state Up to now in my life, I rarely met it face to face But after October 7th, its getting to be more commonplace Tearing down posters of hostages, never thought I’d see that here Starting to understand my grandparents and their fear If you go ahead and cut us, do we not bleed? Not according to so many people’s news feed My in-laws were survivors of the Holocaust in Poland They always said antisemitism would rise again in the end I didn’t believe them, I had not seen the things they saw So forgive me if whats going on, kind of rubs me raw
5.
Playin the blues on a Red Telecaster, Red telecaster guitar Never will I be decorated, for me no silver star I’ll toil yellow fields till the sun turns red Do it again and again until I’m half dead Playin the blues on a red telecaster, red telecaster guitar Wearing black leather, playin the blues on a Red Telecaster I’m taking it at my own pace, everything around me’s getting faster I won’t let my envy turn me green and greener No purple prose here, just leaner and meaner Wearing black leather playing the blues on a red Telecaster Got a rainbow of emotions on some silver strings, silver strings so fine You went red in the face, I was tickled pink, pink all down the line Get me all the colors that I can find Just my luck you turn out to be color blind Playin the blues on a red telecaster, red telecaster that’s mine
6.
The Z word 02:59
The Z word, you hear it a lot at the protest rally The Z word, they yell it like a curse in some vile back alley But the z word does not mean what you think it means All you’re doing is as unhelpful as pouring on gasoline One group has 49 countries One has a hundred plus We only have one believe it or not I say the Z word with pride and not disgust The z word has been misunderstood and twisted repeatedly In a subject never calmly discussed, only heatedly It does not mean you can’t have yours, we just want peace We get nothing but attacks when’s it going to cease One group has 49 countries One has a hundred plus We only have one believe it or not I say the Z word with pride and not disgust (solo) It doesn’t mean you can’t have yours, we just want peace You deny our right to exist, when’s it gonna cease One group has 49 countries One has a hundred plus We only have one believe it or not I say the Z word with pride and not disgust
7.
Curse 02:38
You know what its like now You’ve heard the news Give me something uplifting Something I can use Cause things are moving quickly Going from bad to worse I’m starting to think We’re living under a curse Ive done my due diligence Considered our choices The middle is shrinking Its only crazy voices That bus that’s marked progress Seems to be going in reverse I’m starting to think We’re living under a curse Bridge- Try to be helpful, say something positive Too many want to take, no one wants to give
8.
Some people say I really like to talk And it's true, that's no reason to mock But there's a rationale behind the act And I wrote this little ditty to give you the fact Words really fascinate me I love how they roll off my tongue I have since I was quite young I like when folks debate me Just please do not berate me If there's a new word I haven't heard I'll file it deep in my head learn new words till I'm dead words words words words Some people say I write a lot of songs And it's true, those people are not wrong But there is a reason that this is so And I've written yet another song to let you know Words really fascinate me I love how they roll off my tongue I have since I was quite young I like when folks debate me Just please do not berate me If there's a new word I haven't heard I'll file it deep in my head learn new words till I'm dead words words words words From first thing in the morning To late in the night Two of my favourite things are To read and to write Words always surround me They give me delight Sing the last chorus with me Don't put up a fight! Words really fascinate me I love how they roll off my tongue I have since I was quite young I like when folks debate me Just please do not berate me If there's a new word I haven't heard I'll file it deep in my head learn new words till I'm dead words words words words Lyric by Alex Klages music and performance by Mike Skliar
9.
The stakes are higher then they’ve ever been Go and cast that stone if you’ve got no sin Once again there are choices Tho you think they don’t exist one choice is a hand that’s trying to help’ the other’s a fascist fist the other’s a fascist fist before you rail against some little imperfection the other one tried to steal the election not too many dots to connect you don’t have to be conspiratorial one believes in democracy the other is dictatorial
10.
Tyler C was an addict, had a problem with drugs and drink One thing led to another, his fortunes began to sink He lost track of his family, while he was doing time in jail What happened next, well that’s quite a strange tale He was discharged to a halfway house, for addiction recovery While he was there, another patient stole his wallet and ID That other patient wandered off, overdosed, died at a train station All that guy had on him was Tyler’s wallet for identification The authorities assumed, that the dead guy was Tyler C They went ahead and sent the ashes to his family His family was sad, but they were not surprised all that much Last they knew of Tyler, he was off doing drugs , they had lost touch A month later Tyler, was in a convenience store He was ok but his benefit card seemed to work no more He asked around, and found out he had been declared deceased The medical examiner screwed up, and so did the police There’s a happy ending, for Tyler without a doubt He reunited with his cousin and has straightened his life out ‘that dead guy could have been me’, he realized in one of life’s flashes Only problem now is some other family has to get those ashes
11.
On October 7th, Hamas broke the cease fire Raping and killing innocents, clearly their desire They celebrated destruction, as those flames of hate grew higher Music festival kids, they proudly shot and killed Raped a few and filmed it, clearly they were thrilled Peace activists murdered, it won’t be easy to rebuild They kidnapped three year old kids , and the elderly They’ve now let one third die, for all the world to see They convinced half the world, this is how you fight to be free If you’re gay in a Muslim country, they throw you off the roof We don’t like to hear it, but damn it, it’s the truth “Queers for Palestine”’s a slogan of misguided youth Hamas took foreign aid, built tunnels underground Hides behind their own people, don’t care who is mowed down Innocent Israelis die, Gaza celebrates, how’d ya like that sound? Let’s talk about the double standard, when Israel you condemn While Gaza schools teach hatred and how to cause mayhem Their charter proudly states ‘death to Jews, all of them!” 49 Muslim countries, for the Jews, only one How many Palestinians have those 49 taken in? the answer is none A sad viscous cycle, we’re all stuck watching reruns And no we are not happy with Palestinians dead Israelis don’t love this violence, despite what you’ve read Netanyahu has got to go, its true, but that won’t put this all to bed Both sides need better leaders, sadly that is true But don’t tell me this is all Israel’s fault, what would your country do? If New Jersey attacked New York, would New Yorkers just sit and stew? Anti-Semitism is rising, rising once more Need I remind you its never Israel who starts these wars you chant ‘river to the sea’ its genocide against Jews you’re calling for Jews and Arabs both live in Israel, its not an apartheid state College kids don’t take the time to get their facts straight We were happy to give half of Israel to the Arabs in 1948 Opportunities on both sides missed, but no moderate Arab voices On Oct 7 and Sept 11, we saw the Arab world rejoices We’ve got to learn to live together, there’s really no other choices
12.
If you’re drinking coffee and get a pain in your eye, take out the spoon If youre in Finland and want the snow to melt, wait till June If you’ve got love words that seem slightly absurd, go ahead and emote Unless its accompanied by screaming bagpipes, in which case just leave a note If you’re flying a kite and the thunderstorm starts, call a guy named Ben If you’re trying to write in outer space, use a pencil, not a pen If you think you’ve met the love of your life in an internet chat room Get out, go home before that Russian bot starts calling the tune If you like rain, like really like rain, move to Seattle If you think its hard to herd some cats, switch to cattle If you like new made-up phrases, here’s one ‘vegan leather’ If you doubt manmade climate change, look at the weather Take it slow, make it right, heaven knows, its outta sight If you’re lying in bed and start to see stars, fix the hole in the ceiling If you stream lots of music but never pay for it, stop your stealing If you’re feeling fat, maybe cut down, have one less French fry If your guy is indicted 91 times, maybe he’s the bad guy
13.
64 01:28
(You'll have to listen!)
14.
Lay me down 01:28
As I lay me down…. At day’s end As I lay me down….goodnight my friend Did I do the best…..who knows Did I do the best….with what arose Is the world all healed…..not quite Is the world all healed….did I make it right Can I make a difference… a tiny bit Can I make a difference…. Time to recommit As I lay me down…. At day’s end As I lay me down….goodnight my friend

about

These 14 songs were all written and recorded in the month of February, 2024, as part of the "February Album Writing Month' project, an on-line songwriting group that I've been active in since 2006. There's a few thousand songwriters from all over the globe who have challenged themselves to write 14 songs in a 28 day month. (I actually wrote a good deal more then that, but picked the 'best and most representative 14' for this album.)

I wrote all the words and music, (except for the song 'Words words words words' where Alex Klages wrote the lyric which I set to music). All the vocals and instruments you hear are yours truly. In the course of the album, I play acoustic guitars, harmonica, hollow and solid body electric guitars, (including a red telecaster copy gifted by a friend- thanks PM!) bass guitar, baritone guitar, harmonica, mandolin, and on about half the tracks, this neat drum machine I just started using.

These albums of mine become a sort of 'time capsule' of what I was thinking about, and what was happening to and around me while this was being written and recorded. As of this writing in early March 2024, the upcoming US elections this fall, and the war in the Mideast are, of course, on my mind a great deal. There are also the familiar-by-now thoughts about getting older, sometimes wiser, sometimes not, and a few other tales I've related about things I've seen and read about, some comic, some not so much.

I hope you enjoy! There will perhaps, on this album, be a few lines or thoughts you may not agree with, and I'd urge you to take it in the spirit it was intended, with respect and love towards all, and with hopes for a better tomorrow for everyone. (And if you still disagree, write your own album or play or novel or article and create something yourself!).

I want to thank my family (including first, my incredible wife Helen) and friends and the FAWM songwriting community for all the support and love they've shown both for this project and for my many songwriting projects over the years.

Dedicating this album to my late mom, who died last July.

credits

released March 8, 2024

Mike Skliar- acoustic and electric guitars, baritone guitar, harmonicas, mandolin, bass guitar, drum machine and percussion, vocals.

All songs by Mike Skliar (c) all rights reserved except for 'Words words words words, lyrics by Alex Klages and music by Mike Skliar

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mike skliar New York, New York

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