Get all 7 Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Silent Nights Guitar Collection album/songbook, Hippie Hair (for the First Time), Till I'm Alone with You, Live and Listening, Almost There, Stop, Drop, and Roll, and Humming My Way Back Home.
1. |
Waiting for Spring
03:41
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It’s melting and freezing, can’t make up its mind
It’s a tease and a promise to leave winter behind
Is it faith or delusion that spring can be found
The daffodils buried in the frozen ground
Waiting for spring
Waiting for spring
The daffodils buried in the frozen ground
Waiting for spring
You’re coming and going, the door is ajar
The distance as close as the distance is far
No simple directions for healing this heart
The end of the end is the start of the start
Waiting for spring
Waiting for spring
The end of the end is the start of the start
Waiting for spring
One step and another, a word and a glance
Each morning delivers a choice and a chance
Whatever the weather, we fall and we rise
We’re taking our chances just to open our eyes
Waiting for spring
Waiting for spring
We’re taking our chances just to open our eyes
Waiting for spring
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2. |
Shoulda Coulda
03:58
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Shoulda coulda kept up with my lessons
I would be a master by now
Shoulda toured the world when I was younger
Shoulda done what mama don’t allow
Shoulda seen exactly what was coming
Shoulda known the honeymoon would end
Shoulda stopped the bully on the playground
Shoulda coulda been a better friend
In the rearview mirror, it is all so clear
Just where the road not taken would have gone
Giving so much care for the then and there
We’ve got no clue what’s really going on
Singing I...shoulda coulda
Should coulda picked a different major
Mighta made a stinking pile of dough
Mighta had the luxury and leisure
To wonder what I ever do it for
Shoulda let you how I was feeling
All the things that needed to be said
Mighta had the crucial conversation
Scripted out so clearly in my head
Chorus
Said I love you (shoulda coulda)
Flossed my teeth more
Gone to grad school
Joined the Peace Corps
Seized the moment
Wrote the novel
Told the whole truth
Cut my losses
Spoken up more
Hit the road, Jack
Used protection
Learned a language
Said thank you
Tried harder
Quit the damn job
Been kinder
I shoulda wasted way less time
Singing I...shoulda coulda
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3. |
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How long till it’s too late
To stop the shouting
Communicate
How far till it’s too far
To see each other
As we are
The loud man blows
All the angry embers
To open flame
But the only word
That he cares to hear
Is his own name
How loud till it’s too loud
To hear each other
In the crowd
How long till it’s too late
To work together
Participate
How far can we go down
Till there’s nowhere
To turn around
We feed and feed
Think it’s all we need
So cut and dried
Can we drop the mirror
Face the fear
Of the other side
How long till it’s too late
To stop the shouting
Communicate
Work together
Participate
Meet each other
Face to face
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4. |
Any Other Way
03:08
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Here comes the bell, 6:08
The coffee starts to percolate
Big blue mug in my hand
I fill the crossword with a pen
7:12, garage door up
I sail on through, sip my cup
I’m at my desk before the boss walks in
Tomorrow I will do it all again
I do it any way I want
No compromise, no need to talk
The choice is mine, the buck stops here
The lines are clean, my rules are clear
I do it any way I please
Don’t wait for my apologies
Doesn’t really matter what you say
I wouldn’t have it any other way
What now is mine, once was ours
The wife, the kids, the whole nine yards
Sneakers strewn in the hall
Finger smudges on the wall
Yes, I provided, and all I asked
Was a simple list of household tasks
She let ’em slide until one winter day
My wife packed up the kids and moved away
Chorus
Sunday I am on my knees
I give the rag a gentle squeeze
Wash the old oak floors until they shine
Some days the silence can be loud
The empty spaces call me out
I see the hollow eyes inside the mirror
How am I here?
I do it any way I want
No compromise, no need to talk
The choice is mine, the buck stops here
The lines are clean, my rules are clear
I do it any way I please
Just trying to keep my mind at ease
One step at a time and every day
I wouldn't have it
I wouldn't have it
I couldn’t have it any other way
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5. |
Write Again
03:07
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I miss the days of writing letters
On paper with a pen
Seal it in an envelope
Lick a stamp and then
Walk it to the mailbox
Raise the flag and when
The mailman brings an answer
Maybe I’ll sit and write again
Write again, my friend
Maybe I’ll sit and write again
When the mailman brings an answer
Maybe I’ll sit and write again
I miss the quiet contemplation
Imagining you there
The wishing and the waiting
The questions in the air
And then the sweet delivery
When I recognize your hand
I read your letter slowly
And it brings you near again
Near again, my friend
It brings you near again
I read your letter slowly
And it brings you near
I miss the time to think it over
And find the words to say
Share with you the yearning
That’s in my heart today
With every line across the paper
I better understand
I feel that you are with me
As I sit and write again
Write again, my friend
As I sit and write again
I feel that you are listening
As I sit and write
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6. |
Holy Man
04:05
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I am not a holy man
I take the wisdom when I can
A crack of light around a granite door
I’m trying to leave behind the din
The voices dig beneath my skin
The less they know, the louder they are sure
I’m going away, gone away
Where the blaring fades away
I am not a man of steel
I take my chance behind the wheel
A yellow beam across the blowing snow
I’m trying to find where I am bound
Crunching on the frozen ground
The only way to see is just to go
I'm going away, gone away
Where the sun breaks through the gray
Hesitation gone today
Nobody is in my way
You are not the only one
To seek the words and drop the gun
Slowly now we gather and we rise
We are stronger than we think
We might be standing on the brink
Power in our hands and in our eyes
Going away, gone away
Where we find the voice to say
Resolution here today
Nobody, nobody, nobody is in our way
I am not a holy man
Come beside and lend a hand
Put your weight against the granite door
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7. |
Sycamore Tree
08:02
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Sycamore sycamore sycamore tree,
Sprouted from a tiny seed
Did someone plant you there for me
Sycamore sycamore tree?
On a soft and sunny afternoon
My parents bring me home and soon
They tie a bunch of blue balloons
Right around the sycamore tree
The grass tickles on my feet
When I’m rocking in my bouncy seat
The summer breezes smell so sweet
Blowing by the sycamore tree
I stand right up and fall back down
And search for treasures on the ground
Like the fuzzy seeds lying all around
Underneath the sycamore tree
We roll a snowman up so big
And on his head we make a wig
With a pile of knobby little twigs
Fallen from the sycamore tree
Sycamore sycamore sycamore tree
Sheltering a family
Did someone plant you there for me
Sycamore sycamore tree?
I can see the tree right from my bed
All bony smooth where the bark has shed
The leaves are as big as a daddy’s head
Wise old sycamore tree
In our front yard I kick the ball
But now that space is getting small
Some weeks I don’t go out at all
To run by the sycamore tree
I’m off to high school and one day
To a leafy college far away
But in my dreams I still play
In the shade of the sycamore tree
I move to the city, and then in time
My parents long for more sunshine
I hate to see that “For Sale” sign
On the corner by the sycamore tree
Sycamore sycamore sycamore tree,
Forever in my memory
Did someone plant you there for me
Sycamore sycamore tree?
I’m a husband now and a father too
We drive for miles to catch a view
Of the shady place where I grew
Loving that sycamore tree
There’s a red-haired girl with a lemonade stand
I put three quarters in her hand
So many footprints are on this land
Remembered by the sycamore tree
I sip the juice and the memories
My little boy is on his knees
Stuffing pockets full of fuzzy seeds
Children of the sycamore tree
Each seed is a promise that if you try
If your roots dig deep
And your trunk stands high
Your leaves will stretch and taste the sky
Growing like a sycamore tree
Like a sycamore sycamore tree
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8. |
Tiny Song
03:22
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Up the tiny stairs
At a tiny desk
I feel a tiny stirring
Inside my chest
I make a tiny sound
With a tiny voice
I have no idea
I have got no choice
Callused fingers on the tiny strings
Walking me on back home
Walking me always home
It’s like a tiny building
In the nighttime sky
You spy another room
You connect the line
You see a tiny person
By a windowsill
Try to trace the story
Growing bigger still
Feel the beating of the tiny wings
No, you are not alone
You are not alone
Through a pinhole eye
Is an open view
Of the city skyline
I am there with you
All the tiny people
Form a swelling crowd
And the tiny sounds
They are getting loud
In a tiny way
I have said my piece
Such a tiny song
But a big release
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9. |
Fly
04:10
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Fly away
Drop what you’re doing
Gray skies will soon be bluing
No doubt am I entertaining
No reason for explaining
Been too much anticipating
Fed up with contemplating
No more will I be waiting
'Cause we’ve got
Stones on our shoulders and steps to climb
We’re losing our breath in the crush of time
Gather the weight and the questions on your mind
And leave it all behind
Fly away
Stop with the teasing
I got a bag of reasons
No way can I be going
No matter how it’s blowing
Been too long, too much dealing
Today I got a feeling
This moment is for stealing
'Cause we’ve got
Stones on our shoulders and steps to climb
We’re losing our breath in the crush of time
Gather the weight and the worries on your mind
And leave it all behind
Fly away
Drop what you’re doing
Gray skies will soon be bluing
No doubt am I entertaining
No reason for explaining
No doubt and no reason
No waiting, no teasing
No talk and no secret
Just spread your wings and fly
Fly
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10. |
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11. |
Googling
03:11
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When will it warm up
When will I see you again
When will I get my refund
When will I die
Why am I so ugly
Why am I so gassy
Why am I single
Why am I so awake
What if she says no
What if she says maybe
What if she has a boyfriend
What if she doesn’t text back
Will I ever be happy
Will I ever grow a beard
Will I ever be good enough
Will I ever love again
Am I a psycho
Am I a narcissist
Am I a hipster
Am I fat
Is she a player
Is she attracted to me
Is she a keeper
Is she a hoe
What if we could
What if we were real
What if we are the aliens
What if we had no moon
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12. |
Only the Soul
05:40
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Lean a little closer
Let the signals fade
Dig a little deeper
In this life we’ve made
All the shiny little figures
Are dancing on a screen
Every finger is twitching
On a shiny new machine
Chorus
Only the soul knows
Way down, way down
Easy little answers
With the easy clicks
Easy little candy
For a midnight fix
All the shiny little wrappers
Are lying in a heap
Still the hunger is calling
And will not let me sleep
Chorus
Tell me what you picture
When the screen goes gray
Tell me what you think of
When there’s nothing to say
Feel the swaying of the rhythm
When the noises start to fade
Steal the tiny little secret
Lying in the cooling shade
Chorus
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Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers Syracuse, New York
John Lennon Songwriting Contest grand prize winner and founding editor of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
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