A few years ago, I decided to return to a hobby I had not touched since college: songwriting.

It had been almost two decades since I’d last sat down with a guitar and a pad of paper and attempted to fashion a song out of the chords I knew and whatever words I could finagle into meter.

Over those years, I’d taught English, worked as a journalist overseas, managed communications at an international nonprofit and worked as a consultant on a government contract. I had also married and become a father to three kids and a dog.

To be clear, it’s not as if I had turned away from a career in music - that was never in the cards. I had simply let an interest of mine go untended for a very long time.

But then an unplanned visit to Guitar Center awakened that old itch to make music. The synths on display seemed to call to me in sine waves and square waves. And then at home, the strings on my old Taylor guitar begged to be strummed.

Before I knew it, I was piecing together songs.

It felt good to do this again.

So I have kept at it for the last four years, learning all I can during spare moments — and letting the synths and guitar lead me down the path of new creation.

After recording some ambient and electronic compositions as Settled Seas and lllyre, I decided to try my hand (once again) at writing lyrics and singing along with the music I was making.

The four songs on this debut Mount Pappy release touch on topics relating to my life as a husband and father: I sing about older child adoption, parenthood, family and marriage.

Thank you for listening.


LYRICS

"We Are So Small"

Heard you laugh when I held you high
Heard you cry and I don’t know why
We are, we are, we are so small

We were three, now we’re five
Not sure why I don’t feel more alive
We are, we are, we are so small

Little ones, He said, come unto me
I still hope that applies to me
We are, we are, we are so small



"You’ll Always Be My Baby"

Face down on the bed that night
Almost missed the girl of my life
Introvert in no mood for some small talk
Lifted up, Holy Spirit got my back, ya’ll

Saw her face, saw her smile when I walked in
She cracked a joke and I was free-falling
Into waters, into oceans I had never swam
Into depths, into currents I didn’t understand

I got some words you need to hear
Wanna make it Crystal Pepsi clear

You are, you are, you are my baby
You’ll always, always be my baby
You are, you are, you are my baby
You’ll always, always be my baby

Fast forward skip here we are now
Rubbing eyes, man, we are tired though
Long way from the footbridge near Third Ring
To three kids and a house full of smart things

I got some words you need to hear
Wanna make it Crystal Pepsi clear

You are, you are, you are my baby
You’ll always, always be my baby
You are, you are, you are my baby
You’ll always, always be my baby

You are, you are, you are my baby
You’ll always, always be my baby
You are, you are, you are my baby
You’ll always always be my baby



"I Don't Know Much"

I’ve been thinking
You might be dreaming
About the one
You’ll fall in love with

I don’t know what to tell you
Other than
Find a girl like your mom

I don’t know much
I don’t know that much
But I know that
Yeah I know that

I’ve been thinking
You might be wondering
About the evil
That’s been done to you

I don’t know what to tell you
Other than
Jesus - He will right all wrongs

I don’t know much
I don’t know that much
But I know that
Yeah I know that

I’ve been thinking
You might be wondering
About this family
You’re now a part of

I don’t know what to tell you
Other than
We’re all adopted just the same

I don’t know much
I don’t know that much
But I know that
Yeah I know that



"Millions (Song of Lament)"

The view from my pandemic room
Hydrangeas and begonias bloom
A chipmunk here, a cardinal there
The sound of mowers in the air

To some the world may seem just fine
Like looking at this scene outside
But tell that to the millions who
Have lost the one they’re closest to

Oh what loss!
Oh what loss!
Oh what loss!