Here I am tapping on your earbuds, not quite a rap but map of the new flood The blood of the nation is stuck in frustration We came so far and now this desecration We held these truths to be self-evident The trust of the country’s embodied in the President And now its a clown with fascist leanings No wonder me and all of my friends are screaming we grew up on ‘we the people’ and ‘we shall overcome’ we knew that the fight for the rights of everyone would not be resolved and all solved in one lifespan but the shit that’s going down, all I can say is goddamn theres no language that’s got enough salt to convey it forget about whose fault, we got to keep on saying it this ......... in the oval office at the rate he’s going , he’s going to off us he’ll kill everything that’s got some humanity a long time ago we passed insanity while Fox news cheers it, like fucking sean Hannity theres no language strong enough, not even profanity they actually believe they’re cloaked in Christianity but Jesus would be puking from the lies and the vanity I’m Jewish but I’d still love Christ to come back Confront that narcissistic orange-skin maniac Give him a taste of how he treats the working class Thru the eye of a needle let his fat ass try to pass Here I am tapping on your earbuds, not quite a rap but map of the new flood The blood of the nation is stuck in frustration We came so far and now this desecration Nation! We got work to do, voting booths to go to, campaigns to get thru, let me give a preview its not gonna come just out of the blue if we want to see change we got to be the change channel that outrage, don’t just rearrange try to stay sane, keep working for the prize and the big surprise when American democracy overcomes lies it’s happened before, it can happen again all the girls and the boys and the women and the men and those who identify otherwise, still our friends! Join me, join you, join every group you see Like the grass in the grass roots democracy Light up, light big, fire up the big rig Twenty years of schoolin’ its time to fight the bigwigs And here we are tapping on your earbuds, not quite a rap but a map of the new flood The blood of the nation is stuck in frustration Its more then a revolution, it’s a revelation! Here we come a million people strong new founding fathers and mothers who know its wrong for the blood of the nation to be stuck in frustration lets have a revolution, lets have a revelation! (c) M. Skliar 2018

So at the "February Album Writing Month' website, I was looking at my friend Steven Wesley Guiles' page, and under influences, he wrote: 'Jesus, Simon and Garfunkel, Elliot Smith, Wilco ... etc. I thought 'aha, there's a band-that-never-was in there, and wrote this lyric. Sent it to SWG who wrote great open-tuning themed music and recorded a great version himself. This is 'my version' and I played the guitar part a bit differently then he did. All in all, a fun time, and if Paul or Art is listening, ... sorry, it was just meant in fun! Jesus, Simon and Garfunkel, decided to form a supergroup Simon had the talent, Garfunkel could sing, and Jesus turned wine into soup Who’d get top billing? Well Simon had the ego, and Jesus, he didn’t really care Simon asked Jesus for a miracle, he said could you get me back my hair Jesus said I don’t do parlor tricks, I’m more concerned with the starving masses Meanwhile Garfunkel with his perfectionism, ‘this record’s coming slower than molasses’ Rick Rubin was producing, he had experience with messiahs, well at least with Johnny Cash But the best night of recording was when Neil Young came over with his stash Neil brought Willie, and Willie brought Dylan, and Dylan brought a two-foot fountain pen Dylan and Jesus said ‘oh yeah we know each other, from that record ‘slow train’ way back when And Willie had that guitar with the hole in the top and Paul Simon tried to figure what it meant And Jesus left early, it was in his contract, some clause about being heaven-sent lyric - M. Skliar music- Steven Wesley Guiles

Take your thoughts and take your prayers and shove ‘em where the sun don’t shine Don’t tell me empty words with kids’ bodies lying in boxes of pine Your right to have an AK-47 is some bullshit pulled out of your ass Just like my right to go to your NRA meeting and pull out some mustard gas Gun control is sane, gun control will help Just ask them in the UK or Australia ‘Cause all of your thoughts and all of your prayers Just end up a recipe for failure The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results Gun lobby’s paying politicians to pretend they’re not members of some gun loving cult So take your thoughts and prayers and go f... yourself along with your horse and the NRA And when the next election comes, look out your time is done, time to send you on your way Gun control is sane, gun control will help Just ask them in the UK or Australia ‘Cause all of your thoughts and all of your prayers Just end up a recipe for failure (spoken) Gun control for idiots, if you can shoot ten kids in ten seconds, f.u., you don’t need , you don’t get to have it, too friggin’ bad, get over it, stop whining, shut up! Take your thoughts and take your prayers and shove ‘em where the sun don’t shine Don’t tell me empty words with kids’ bodies lying in boxes of pine Gun control! Let’s do it! written after yet one more school shooting... (c) M. Skliar 2018

At 62nd and Broadway, you had to take the escalator A subterranean film buff palace, a different kind of movie theater For 36 years not following trends Sad that all good things have to end Goodbye Lincoln Plaza, goodbye Films from so many countries, unusual and challenging points of view The bold visions of old masters, or a new director’s electric breakthrough I used to joke I could walk inside Say ‘give me the next show of whatever’ and be satisfied Goodbye Lincoln Plaza goodbye first film I saw there ‘My dinner with Andre’, the last ‘in the land of the pomegranate’ There were other theaters bigger, more comfortable, but for my money this was the best on the planet 36 years it delivered the goods A bright shining spot in the neighborhood Goodbye Lincoln Plaza Goodbye (c) M. Skliar 2018 This song was written for and about the Lincoln Plaza movie theater, which just recently closed after about 35 years...

Everyone is searching to make a connection On our own road finding that intersection It could be a collision it could be a kiss A beautiful vision or a near miss Everyone is searching to make a connection Everyone is scared to finally make a connection Finding someone who sees all your imperfections Could be some trauma from when you were young A long-suppressed drama from when you got stung Everyone is scared to finally make a connection But nobody knows where their path will lead It’s a sacred maze, it’s a mystery It’s a lightning flash, it’s a tiny seed That blooms into what everybody needs Everyone is thinking they make the selection That fiction in our heads we will find perfection Sometimes life is chance, sometimes its planned just get up and dance, or sing with the band everyone is thinking it’s them that makes the selection everyone is scared and searching to make a connection I wrote the lyric for the verses, and Nancy Rost wrote the music. Nancy also wrote the music and lyrics for the bridge section (but nobody knows...), and plays the piano heard on the recording.

'Beautiful clean coal' is only a thing like unicorns are a thing Immigrants commit less crimes per person then those born in the US you don’t have to stand for the national anthem, that’s what makes America great The Iran nuclear deal is actually a success “Chain Migration” never meant ‘bring in criminals’, that’s fearmongering Tax cuts give money overwhelmingly to the top one percent The stock market tripled from 2008 to 2016 Yeah, that was under Obama, the last president The dreamers have been vetted and they’re not a threat They’re an asset representing the best of this nation Only your craziest most xenophobic sycophants think that An actual Wall will solve the problem of immigration Hidden in the State of the Union address was a proposal to give Cabinet Secretaries Authority to fire Federal workers who “undermine public trust” So that means get rid of the Justice Department or the FBI, The checks and balances we all agree are just Couple this with a denigration of the free press as fake news A hallmark of fascism soon to arrive (if we’re not careful) It’s a full-time job that all of us have now To keep this democracy alive No wonder the folks in Norway want to stay there They’ve got health care, no school shootings & less guns I guess you can tell from the tone of this This state of the union address for me is just no fun With every tweet and every two-bit putdown, He’s revealing his complete lack of humanity No state of the union speech can hide that And he can’t hide from that Russia insanity When it’s Muller time, and the chickens come home to roost Call it chicken Kiev with pierogis on the side There’s few certainties in life but here’s one When he opens his mouth, you know he’s lied We’ll make American great again when the Constitution does its job That is if we vote a new Congress in So don’t sit this one out, vote Democratic in 2018 And let some long-lost healing begin Let the healing begin. (c) M. Skliar 2018

There he goes shuffling down the street He’s not getting any younger Only three blocks and he’s looking beat Not getting any younger He murmurs to those kids ‘kids get off my lawn’ But he lives in an apartment He imagines asking God ‘how did I get so old’ God said that’s not my department Every year his hair gets more grey He’s not getting any younger Age is not just a number it’s a new ache every day He’s not getting any younger The days seem so slow but it all went so fast It’s a strange unreality Stranger then that is when this old guy looks in the mirror Staring back is……. Me There I go shuffling down the street I’m not getting any younger Only a few blocks and I’m feeling beat I’m not getting any younger Not getting any younger We’re not getting any younger… (c) M. Skliar 2018

One little song in three quarter time For a time when we’re all feeling scared One little thought, for one crazy time A time without compare One little thing to keep in mind If you don’t mind, even if you do We’ll make it out of this dark hole, If we don’t, we’re really screwed One little thought that you must think Just think of the last thousand years A thousand bad things, in a thousand bad ways That caused a million sad tears Somehow we made it, made it this far Tho we’re far from heaven’s neighborhood The arc of the moral universe is long But it bends , slowly bends , towards good (c) M. Skliar

Woke up and the sun was shining Rolling meadow and the buzz of a bee Some would say it’s a fine day But its all in the way that you see Dissatisfied and horrified And all that is implied You’re inside on the far side of glad Stay grumpy, life’s bumpy Oatmeal is lumpy You’re frumpy and jumpy and sad Some people see the glass as half full And they are as happy as clams Some people see the glass is missing a drop Consult their bomb shelter diagrams Dissatisfied and horrified And all that is implied You’re inside on the far side of glad Stay grumpy, life’s bumpy Oatmeal is lumpy You’re frumpy and jumpy and sad We wouldn’t have it any other way Who needs some polyanna chirping Better a depressed canary in a coal mine Who knows where the danger is lurking Now there was no mushroom cloud up above And a meteor was not headed for the planet This circus is gonna keep going Look out for that pomegranate Dissatisfied and horrified And all that is implied You’re inside on the far side of glad Stay grumpy, life’s bumpy Oatmeal is lumpy You’re frumpy and jumpy and sad (c) M. Skliar

Its more surreal by the hour Where do we go from here? Progress seems out of our power As we’re filled with more and more fear Its like the whole country needs a shower From the horror of this last year Its more surreal by the hour Where do we go from here? Do we accept the things we can’t change? Or change the things we can’t accept Can reality be so rearranged By leaders who are so inept? And will it all go up in flames If too many of us have slept? Do we accept the things we can’t change? Or change the things we can’t accept History is looking at us, its no longer business as usual The wheels have come off the bus, to deny that is delusional Its so easy to get cynical And give up on this fight And not to get rabbinical But we are all our own point of light Humanity to reach that pinnacle Must be concerned with human rights Its so easy to get cynical And give up on the fight © 2018 M. Skliar

Washington Jefferson Lincoln and Roosevelt at McSorley’s having a beer Teddy adjusting his glasses, says I can’t believe what I’m reading here Looking at a twitter feed filled with profanity “A president wrote this’? ‘this is insanity’ Before George asks ‘what the hell’s a twitter feed’ Jefferson’s on his knees Says help this country oh lord please The other presidents at nearby tables they looked downright dazed Nixon said ‘He can’t be worse then me’, Reagan said ‘let me count the ways’ Franklin Pierce said ‘I became a Confederate’ How could anybody be more unfit Lincoln turned pale like he’d just been shot Saying “Jehosephat and Great Scott!” is this trump guy the best you’ve got? Madison said ‘damn, is this my fault? For writing the constitution With that paragraph about the electoral college, I thought it’d lead to less confusion The electors are supposed to stop this 'mishegoss' Ask Hamilton, you’ll find him off with Betsy Ross George W Bush just sat there happy Sayin I don’t want to sound too sappy But now I’m looking just as good as my pappy! JFK and LBJ were not feeling OK, they were just not looking well FDR said if I could use my legs I’d kick trump straight to Hell All of the speeches that we all made Undone like someone farted in the second grade Even Calvin Coolidge started to cry And Calvin Coolidge never cried That’s right Calvin Coolidge never cried I raised my glass and I said hey guys, what the hell do we do Impeachment doesn’t always work so well, Bill and Andrew I’m looking at you They said we understand all of your objections but you have to wait around until the next election till then make the best of it change Congress in 2018 this is the saddest stuff that we’ve ever seen the whole thing’s quite obscene (c) M. Skliar 2018 inspired by a New Yorker magazine cover in which some of the past presidents were holding their heads in disgust looking at the tv showing the current president of the US.

Starts with a dab of self-justifying A little white exercise in lying Soon you’re denying two plus two Deceptions start to stick like glue Why is the world so damn dirty? Why? Compromise down that slippery slope Hang yourself with just enough rope Deal with the devil for a little extra jack What you’ve lost you can’t get back Why is the world so damn dirty? Why? Thought you and I were incorruptible over our own eyes we pulled that wool murmured 'my bad' on that Facebook feed seduced by slowly rising greed Why is the world so damn dirty? Why am I? Why are we all? Why? © 2018 M. Skliar

When you came None of us could see it coming It felt the same Nothing felt strange But you cast You cast a spell on everyone It happened fast Then everything changed Now we carry you around In the air and on the ground And all our sights and sounds Come from you We check you every second Your little beeping beckons You rule us all I reckon I can’t recall life before you You’re the king None of us could predict You’re everything Without you we feel so sick (spoken interlude...) (c) M. Skliar 2018 This song was part of a February Album Writing Month 'skirmish' where someone gives a title and you have an hour to write and record something to that title or theme. The title given was 'never saw it coming' and I went with a little social observation about how smartphones have changed our lives for better or worse...

My back pages are never gonna be a bestseller Its like watching a boat with a very slow propeller Although the lead character, he’s an OK feller My back pages are never gonna be a bestseller My back pages is typical of my generation No selfies, and very few illustrations So long ago now its probably outside the statute of limitations My back pages is typical of my generation My back pages is a relic from a different time Home movies were silent, like looking at pantomime You want to make a phone call carry yourself a dime My back pages is a relic from a different time My back pages slightly wild but not too crazy I’d tell you the story but I’m getting a little lazy And anyway, my memory is probably hazy My back pages slightly wild but not too crazy (c) M. Skliar No, this isn't the bob dylan song of the same title, but I was thinking of using some of the song title on that album (another side of bob dylan) for a project. This one kind of wrote itself, and I play it on a somewhat worse-for-wear nylon string 1929 Martin guitar that was a hand-me-down and was my first guitar.