Mostly Love Songs!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
My Early Songs
Part 1 of 3
By
Francis William Bessler
Preface (23 Early Songs)
I wrote the following songs mostly in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The first song below, SMALL, was written in 1965 before I married for a first time, but all the others were written during the early years of my first marriage - which dated from Feb, 1967 to Jan, 1977. I call these songs my "brown book songs" because I kept them in a little brown book, only recently discovered in a shed out back. I am now transferring them to a pc file so I can share them via my website. Two of them, namely SMALL and ANITA, are also in my ORIGINAL SONGS & POEMS volume of my OUT IN THE OPEN selection of my website (Volume 8); and one of them - TWINGE AT MY HEART was featured as a patriotic song in a recent blog event I called An Old and New Patriotic Song - added as a blog on July 5th, 2013. All the other songs below, however, have not been included in my website - until now.
Welcome To:
MY EARLY YEARS!
Welcome to my "early years," but by that I mean my early years of writing. Most of the songs below were written in my early 30s - hardly my earliest of years, but nevertheless, somewhat early in my life. I am now 71 and 40 years older as I reflect upon them - and what they meant to me at the time I wrote them.
When I wrote them, I was still what I think of as a "Messianic Christian" - that is one who believes that a "messiah" is needed to "save" me from some terrible tragedy of life and "deliver" me into a "Heaven" where no one needs saved. Since my days as a "Messianic Christian," however, I have graduated - as it were - to become a "Holistic Christian". A "Holistic Christian" is one sees all life as already holy and therefore not in need of "salvation". I think the real Jesus was a Holistic Christian, but he has been seen and used mostly as a Messianic Christian - and, in fact, he has been the one who is supposed to "save" us from the terrible tragedy called life and he is the one who is supposed to "deliver" us to that better Heaven.
My later writings reflect my change of heart - or change of mind - on the issue of the actual Holiness (or sinfulness) of life, but when I wrote the songs below, I was still struggling to become a Holistic Christian. I was still trying to deal with my supposed sinfulness - and one of the songs below - PLEASE FORGIVE ME, LORD - deals with that former disposition of thinking I needed saved in the first place. A whole lot of folks, however, may see in my song, PLEASE FORGIVE ME, LORD, a look at themselves as they are now. Well, for me, it is a "been there, done that" kind of thing. I no longer think of Jesus as a "Lord" to forgive me, but as a "Master" who taught forgiveness.
Be that as it may, let me "treat" you to some songs I wrote as a "Messianic Christian" - struggling to become what I have become - a "Holistic Christian". My last writing as a Messianic Christian was written in around 1972. In 1973, I left the Messianic Christian church of my youth - The Catholic Church - behind and aimed for a brave new world of seeing everything as holy. In that light, if everything is really holy, then there is no room for sin - and thus no reason to beg the Lord for forgiveness. Consider it a "journey of a soul" - as it were.
For what it's worth, in my latter years as a Messianic Christian and my early years as a Holistic Christian, I took a creative writing course from the
For my final assignment of that class, however, I wrote a short story I called WAKE UP, BELINDA! - which I have subsequently lost. WAKE UP, BELINDA! was really about "Wake Up, Francis!" because it was all about a young married person "waking up" to her new reality of seeing life as holy when previously she saw it as sinful. Though I did lose WAKE UP, BELINDA!, I transferred Belinda - and her "awakened" husband, David - to a first philosophical novel I wrote as a "creative writer" in 1975. That one - called NEVER BE ASHAMED TO LOVE - is now forever more enshrined in the first volume of my OUT IN THE OPEN selection of my current website. So, if you want to check out Belinda and see what an independent thinking sweetheart she is, you can check her out in that story - though, of course, expect someone thinking about life and daring to challenge traditional thinking.
Enjoy my songs below, then, as you will - realizing they reflect kind of a mix between old traditions and new visions - if that makes any sense. I will feature them in the order in which they were written. OK? I even finish with a bit of duet - somewhat of an introduction, perhaps, to the later NEVER BE ASHAMED TO LOVE - and the story of a young couple, David and Belinda, seeking to wake up into a brand new world of new vision and new conduct without the trappings of any of the old world of sin and distrust that the world today knows as well now as I new it before. Belinda & David & I have moved on, however; and that just goes to show, anyone can.
And now, My Early Songs - in the order in which they were written. Again, Enjoy them as you wish. Alright?
Gently, your awakened Holistic Christian host,
Francis William Bessler
Small
Written 1965
Reach up, reach up,
and clutch the clouds.
So say the people today.
Be smart, be bright,
and break away from the crowd -
and you'll find the world
on your silver-lined plate -
But I want to be small
and not have to reach so high.
I want to be small
and give the world my dime.
I want to be small
and be my Father's child.
For only if I'm small -
will I be tall.
Be a man, be a giant
and cut down your foe.
So say the people today.
Shoot them, smash them,
keep them off your toes -
and you'll be master of your own fate -
But I want to be small
and let the sun be my stove.
I want to be small
and enjoy the quiet of a grove.
I want to be small
and not overlook my neighbor's cries.
For only if I'm small,
will I be wise.
Be kind, be yourself -
and cling to My Hands.
So does my Lord tell me.
Be truthful, be honest
and obey my commands
and give of yourself very generously.
So, I want to be small
and from vain ambition refrain.
I want to be small
and brilliance not feign.
I want to be small
letting God be my fate.
For only if I'm small,
will I be great.
Home
Written Sept, 1969
It is said and it is true
that we all need a home.
Makes no difference if it is new
if those inside are not alone.
not just a place to hang your clothes.
At home, a man should easily fit
and there, unhappiness should not be known.
Home must be satisfaction of need,
where agreement in spirit abounds.
Mutual help should be its creed -
and compromise be its sound.
Home must be our place of pride,
wherever that may be -
where in symphony friends reside
together in harmony.
The house in not at all a home
for many thousands of sad men;
and they find that they must roam
because the house contains no friends.
My advice is simple, though trite:
Don't build your home upon sand.
If you're a man, be a friend to your wife.
If you're a woman, be a friend to your man.
See You Later
Written Sept, 1969
REFRAIN:
See you later, Alligator -
after while, Crocodile.
Can't you see you're in my way now?
Don't you know that three's a crowd?
She has never found me lacking;
so you don't stand a chance.
It's best you be a going.
You needn't wait for her to dance.
I love that dear woman
so much more than you can.
We will keep a roomin
for life's entire span. Refrain.
You have no business swimming
in the private pond at hand.
So, just keep a walkin
down someone else's path.
You better hear the words I'm sayin.
Don't you dare cause her tears.
At her home, don't think of stoppin
cause she's mine throughout the years. Refrain.
Blue
Written Sept, 1969
REFRAIN:
May your day be blue
and not covered in a shroud -
the blue of the sunshine -
not the blue of a cloud.
There is a term that's thrown all around.
It tells of sadness and sorrow.
Broken bones and loves are told by the sound;
and there's tears because of tomorrow.
I'm so blue, the sayin goes;
I wish that I could die.
The trouble I've seen no one knows;
I'm so lonesome that I cry.
That is not what I mean
when I say I'm so blue.
No one knows the joys I have seen;
and it's joy I wish upon you. Refrain.
Some Day
Written Sept, 1969
Some day, young wife,
there will be another.
The time will be ripe
and you'll be a mother.
Some day, young wife,
there will be someone else
to add to our lives
and make our love felt.
Some days, young wife,
and many the days,
we have fought the fight
against non-parental dismay.
Some days, young wife,
we have been teased
to think that our nights
of no daughter will be eased.
Some days, young wife,
we have wondered long
that God in His might
would deny us a son.
Some nights, young wife,
in bed as we lay,
He has heard us cry
"Don't make us wait."
Some day, young wife,
if it be His Will,
it will finally be right
and parenthood, our deal.
All the days, young wife,
regardless what comes,
I pledge you my life
with a heartful of love.
A Man Named Armstrong
Written 1969
And all the good people gazed
at the TVs in their rooms -
all watching proudly amazed
as a man named Armstrong
walked upon the moon.
We've spent many times the price
to keep a space ship in tune
than we ever have on kindness
so a man named Armstrong
could walk upon the moon.
But to let someone else be first
would open some very deep wounds
and lay on us like a curse.
So, American Armstrong
must be first upon the moon.
Our race may end someday though
under a cloud of mushroom.
But we can glory as we go.
We watched a man named Armstrong
walk upon the moon.
Let Us Walk
Written 1970
REFRAIN:
Let us walk down Life's path
with His hand in ours.
Let us stave off Life's wraths
with His hand in ours.
Let us not be afraid
to extend our hands in aid
and we will make as much joy
as anyone has made.
If your neighbor wants your help,
won't you be that friend in need?
If he wants you to help him build
and to plant his lonely seed,
assist him in making his talents felt.
Help him to become a branch
of God's gracious tree.
Refrain (several times).
Life
Written 1970
I'll sing in the sunshine.
I'll whistle in the rain.
I'll chant in a snow slide.
Won't you do the same?
Life is worth living
for those who believe
that though love is inward,
it needs expressed outwardly.
There's much more to success
than may first appear.
Laughter should bring happiness,
but so should a tear.
A tear, if it's truly felt,
should be no surprise
for those whose hearts melt
when sorrows do arise.
If sad, you should cry,
it's Nature own vent.
Don't ever close your eyes
to one who seems spent.
To laugh and cry we must
if we really love life.
Sincerity is a trust
and cannot be contrived.
So, let your whole self go,
but when you do shed tears,
try hard to weep alone.
Others have their own fears.
After the storm has fled,
you'll feel like I do.
There'll be but a small thread
of unhappiness left in you.
And you'll sing in the sunshine.
You'll whistle in the rain.
You'll chant in a snow slide;
and I'll do the same.
I'd
Written 1970
I'd walk a mile
for one of your smiles
and stand in line for a little kiss.
I'd swim a lake
to eat your cake
and write a book to be on your list.
I'd bite my tongue
while singing your song
and kneel in gravel if by your side.
I'd walk on coals
reaching for your goals
and protect you till the day you die.
BRIDGE:
My love for you is strong
and I do hope it won't be long
before you'll go with me - arm in arm
as I keep you from all harm.
I'd freeze in ice
while to posts be tied
just for a passing moment in your embrace.
I'd break my leg
to get down and beg
to be your prince in life's lonely race.
Happy-Go-Lucky
Written 1970
I didn't mind if the sun didn't shine yesterday.
I don't care if it rains or hails tomorrow.
And it makes no difference if it cloudy or not today
because I'm a bloomin, laughin,
happy-go-lucky fellow.
All I want is to wring my hands dry of fears.
All I want is to make sure my wife and I really live.
No sir, this ole son-of-a-gun
ain't gonna shed no tears
cause he's a sock-it-to-em
happy-go-lucky kid.
BRIDGE:
Now, I'm not saying I don't care about things
and that other people's lives mean nothing to me.
I just feel it makes no sense to cry my life away.
That's why I'm bound and determined
to sing and swing and sway.
So, listen, Folks,
this is what I say.
The car may not run at all well anymore.
The chickens may not lay their eggs like they used to.
The cow may not give lots of sweet milk like before.
Who should care - in rain, sleet, or hail,
I sing my happy tune.
I don't care if the grass turns brown over night.
I don't care if I break my leg trippin over Nita's toys.
I'm gonna throw up my hands like I wanna fight
cause I'm a gizzard-eatin, floor-stompin
happy-go-lucky boy.