A friend to talk to

February 6, 2012
By Paul B Womack

I want a friend to talk to,
Not a lover.
I want to talk about you
With another.

But don’t be scared,
I’m still in love with you.
I just want a friend to talk to.

Someone who will understand.

Because there are a lot of things
I can never say to you.
It’s not that I’m hiding anything,
It’s just not what we do.

And I don’t know why
I need to talk about what I’m going through
With someone that’s not you.

To let them know where things stand.

But whatever the reason is,
Please have courage.
Whatever the urge,
You’ll have to trust me on this.

I just want a friend to talk to.
Someone else to know what I’m gonna do.
It’s not that I don’t love you.

I just want a friend to talk to.
Someone who will understand.
To let them know where things stand.

It’s not that I don’t love you.
I just want a friend to talk to.

A Soul’s Ascent

February 6, 2012
By Paul B Womack

Thoughts are flying fast,
Past me and sometimes through me.
Images are a blur,
Brilliant and often unfathomable to me.

All are mine,
But I can’t hold on.
I grasp at everything.
I remember nothing.

Thoughts of summer days,
Harsh sunlight with unappreciated company.
Images of a spotless place,
Fried chicken and fresh tomatoes for the family.

Everything was mine,
But I stand back.
Participating in nothing.
Losing everything.

Thank you for a time well spent.
I can finally see how much it meant.
Images come alive,
Resurrected through a soul’s ascent.

Most are mine again,
But what was lost is lost.
Life is nothing.
Sharing life is everything.

Songs From the Year I Was Born : 1966

February 6, 2012
By Paul B Womack

Here’s what Mark says about this playlist of songs from the year he was born : 1966.

Movie lovers generally agree that 1939 was the greatest year for movies. There’s no similar consensus on a best year for music. But I think 1966 would have to be in the running for that spot. How many years see an album as incredible as The Beatles’s Revolver or Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde or The Beach Boys’s Pet Sounds? Well, 1966 had all three.

So here’s a playlist of songs from 1966. I haven’t tried to make this a “best of” or “greatest hits” list, just some random, sometimes off-beat, selections from the astonishing depth and breath of sheer musical awesomeness on display in ’66. And it just scratches the surface: I could easily whip up a dozen more 1966 playlists this good or better.

Lovin’ You	2:30	The Lovin’ Spoonful	Hums of the Lovin’ Spoonful
Uptight (Everthing’s Alright)	2:53	Stevie Wonder	Up-Tight
Summer Wind	2:58	Frank Sinatra	Strangers in the Night
I Idolize You	3:43	Ike & Tina Turner	River Deep, Mountain High
Obviously 5 Believers	3:34	Bob Dylan	Blonde on Blonde
Barefootin’	2:34	Robert Parker	Barefootin’
Rainy Day in June	3:11	The Kinks	Face to Face
Bang, Bang	2:42	Nancy Sinatra	How Does That Grab You?
Psychotic Reaction	3:06	The Count Five	Psychotic Reaction
Wild Thing	2:34	The Troggs	Wild Thing
I Am Waiting	3:11	The Rolling Stones	Aftermath
Somebody Groovy	3:15	The Mamas & The Papas	If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears
Season of the Witch	4:56	Donovan	Sunshine Superman
For No One	2:02	The Beatles	Revolver
Tell Me to My Face	3:05	The Hollies	For Certain Because
He’s All I Got	2:47	The Supremes	I Hear a Symphony
I’m A Boy	2:37	The Who	My Generation: The Very Best of The Who
Here Today	2:54	The Beach Boys	Pet Sounds
Take A Giant Step	2:34	The Monkees	The Monkees
Batman Theme	2:21	Neal Hefti	60s Instrumentals
20 songs/1 hour

Almost

January 23, 2012
By Paul B Womack

I’ve run out of things to say
Almost.
It’s time to be on my way
Almost.
Just one last word about what we’ve lost.

There is so much love around
And still war and violence abound.
There are so many higher emotions in man
And still death and famine cry out in the land.
Concentrate now on the beauty of life
And eliminate the strife.

That’s all I have to say
Almost.
It would be so easy to change our ways
Almost.
We just have to be willing to pay the cost.

Second Ten

January 20, 2012
By Paul B Womack

These are my second ten â€“ the ones that didn’t make my top ten Desert Island Records. Now, if this is the only box of music that washes up on shore, I’ll still be happy. Well, I don’t know. I’ll still be stranded on a desert island with ten records and no way to play them. But at least I’ll have them.

Album	Artist
Us	Peter Gabriel
Communique	Dire Straits
Full Moon Fever	Tom Petty
The Southern Harmony & Musical Companion	The Black Crowes
No Code	Pearl Jam
Bringing Down the Horse	The Wallflowers
Miles from Our Home	Cowboy Junkies
Glimmer	Kim Richey
Natty Dread	Bob Marley
Mr. Happy Go Lucky	John Mellencamp

My Playlist : 20120

January 20, 2012
By Paul B Womack

Ten years ago I was already listening to about half of these bands, half I hadn’t heard of yet. That’s one of the reasons I like putting these lists together â€“ they’re a story of where you’ve been, where you are now and (perhaps) a little glimpse of where you’re going.

Song	Time	Artist	Album
Meet Me in the Indian Summer	4:00	Van Morrison	Down the Road
Beautiful Night	3:54	The Waifs	Temptation
Let it Roll	4:35	Kim Richey	Bitter Sweet
Atmosphere	3:51	Son Volt	Okemah and the Melody of Riot
Kingdom of Days	4:02	Bruce Springsteen	Working on a Dream
A Ride Back Home	3:13	John Mellencamp	Life, Death, Love & Freedom
Love Throws a Line	3:38	Patty Griffin	Impossible Dream
Lithium	4:17	Nirvana	Nevermind
I Might	4:01	Wilco	The Whole Love
Susie (Dramas)	3:25	Elton John	Honky Chateau
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard	2:44	Paul Simon	Negotiations & Love Songs
Waiting in Vain	5:41	Annie Lennox	Medusa
Sikorsky Parts	3:36	Joe Strummer	Earthquake Weather
A Bride’s Place	5:50	Cowboy Junkies	Sing in the Meadow
All I Do	6:30	The Derek Trucks Band	Songlines
Taboo	5:34	Santana	Santana III
Stand Back	3:28	The Allman Brothers Band	Eat a Peach
Tryin’	2:53	The Eagles	The Eagles

18 Songs/1.2 Hours

iTexas Tour: Riverwalk

January 6, 2012
By Paul B Womack

The Riverwalk in San Antonio is more a tourist trap and restaurant row these days than anything else. Tour boats and colored umbrellas and thousands of people with their eyes on everything but what’s in front of them. I think that all sounds too negative. I love the Riverwalk. I love the cobbled walkways and stone foot bridges. There are even a couple of places I like the Mexican food. But to me it is an older place with steel bridges spanning the river and old hotels from the art deco ’30s. That’s what I see, anyway. That’s what I take pictures of. Anybody can take a picture of a girl in a bikini top drinking a 3-foot tall frozen margarita, but that’s just what the place has become. Not what it is.

Susan’s Suggestions

December 30, 2011
By Paul B Womack

I got a list of things to listen to from Susan. Thought I would pass on her suggestions, and maybe she will send me a list of her Desert Island Records. When she does, I’ll post those, too.

Thanks, Susan. I’ve got a lot of these on my iTunes already. The ones I don’t, I’ll give a listen.

Bob Schneider:
I’m Good Now; Let the Light In; Lovely Creatures

The Black Keys:
I’m a Lonely Boy

BoDeans:
Still the Night; Go Slow Down

Big Head Todd & The Monsters

Alison Krauss

Carey Ott:
I Wouldn’t Do That To You

Chris Isaak:
Let Me Down Easy; Can’t Do a Thing

Del Amitri:
Kiss This Thing Goodbye; Always the Last to Know

Mother & Daughter

December 30, 2011
By Paul B Womack

Our Texas tours are all about history â€“ creating our family’s personal history, that is. One of the most beautiful parts of that history is watching my wife and our daughter. It is a relationship I will never fully know. I see it in it’s maturity between my wife and her mother. I see it growing between my daughter and her mother. They don’t always get along. They don’t even mostly get along. But that give and take is changing them both. Showing us all a kind of love that is rooted deeply in their souls.

iTexas Tour: Mission Details

December 7, 2011
By Paul B Womack

Beautiful, hand-crafted, bridging worlds. The details of these places of worship and war on the San Antonio Mission Trail reveal the life and aspirations of those that lived there. The simple carpentry of the communion table, the color and intricacy of a plaster wall, a Virgin that speaks to the native tribes. From across the seas these explorers brought their world with them and adapted it to their new world. It is a testament to the human spirit.