Of course the “Elon” to which I am referring is, as any graduate of Elon University will tell you, is the Hebrew word for “oak”, which was the giant ancient oak on campus, that the college ha blown into smithereens when they needed more parking near the admin building. Today, there is no oak. Same with Thousand Oaks in L.A. — not an oak standing.
So without further ado:
Elon Stole My Money
(A Bluesy Protest Anthem)
[Verse 1]
Elon stole my money, Donald took some, too,
You’ll think you are safe, but folks, they’re comin’ after you.
They sell you all their freedom, but it’s just a high-tech chain,
You’ll wake up in the morning, find your wallet down the drain.
[Chorus]
Oh, they smile real pretty while they pull the great escape,
Sell you dreams of riches, leave you broke without a trace.
Every time you blink, they take another dime or two,
But don’t you worry, friend, they say it’s all for you.
[Verse 2]
Crypto in the toilet, Wall Street rigged the game,
Every time the rich get richer, it’s the poor who take the blame.
Mars is looking cozy when the planet’s out of gas,
But your seat ain’t on that rocket, just their names are on the pass.
[Bridge] (spoken or sung slow and grimy)
Deep fakes, loopholes, Silicon lies,
Cash ain’t real, and neither are their eyes.
They tell you it’s progress while they pick apart your bones,
You’re workin’ for a future where they’re kings and you’re alone.
[Verse 3]
Elon stole my money, Donald took some, too,
I checked my bank account, man, the numbers ran from view.
They say the future’s golden, just invest and play the game,
But all I see is zeroes and a world that’s up in flames.
[Outro]
(slow fade, harmonica wails)
Oh, they smile real pretty while they pull the great escape…
(muttering: “But don’t you worry, friend, they say it’s all for you.”)
============================================================
Sing, Sing, Sing
(A Feel-Good Dopamine Rush)
[Verse 1]
Sing, sing, sing, sing, make the walls around us ping,
Just make sure it’s got that zing, that’s the best of everything.
[Chorus]
Let the echoes dance and spin, feel the music pull you in,
Tap your feet and lift your chin, let the light come pouring in.
[Verse 2]
Shake, shake, shake, shake, let the rhythm set the pace,
Feel the laughter on your face, let the groove take up the space.
[Bridge]
(soft & dreamy, then building up)
Every note’s a little spark, floating high into the dark,
Catch it, hold it, let it fly, till it sings across the sky.
[Verse 3]
Glow, glow, glow, glow, every melody’s alive,
Ride the waves, enjoy the ride, feel the joy electrify.
[Outro] (repeating, layered harmonies, soft fade-out)
Sing, sing, sing, sing… oh, let the world ring!
=========================================================
To the Moon in Brigadoon
(A Sultry Jazz Dream with a Pink Baboon)
[Verse 1]
Underneath a velvet moon,
Met a singer in Saskatoon,
She could croon a magic tune,
Said, “Let’s drift up in a balloon.”
[Chorus]
Ooooh, we’ll swoon, we’ll croon,
Lost in love in Brigadoon,
Soft as satin, warm as June,
Silver stars, a silk cocoon.
[Verse 2]
On a dune near old Lune,
She played jazz by pale monsoon,
A red-wine drinking pink baboon,
Kept the beat with a wooden spoon.
[Bridge] (soft & dreamy, then swelling gently)
Oh, the loon, he sings till noon,
Spinning dreams like a cartoon,
Hold me close, don’t pop the balloon,
Let’s stay lost inside this tune.
[Verse 3]
But the moon begins to croon,
Pulls me back from Brigadoon,
She just smiles and hums the tune,
“Darling, I’ll be back real soon.”
[Outro] (soft fade, vibraphone flourish, whispering echo)
Croon, moon, Brigadoon…
Silver stars, a silk cocoon…
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Suno Prompt for “To the Moon in Brigadoon”
female vocalist
Style: Smoky, vintage jazz torch song, in the style of Peggy Lee
Tempo: Slow to mid-tempo, sultry and hypnotic
Instrumentation: Soft brush-on-snare drums, walking double bass, dreamy,
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How about this for a brilliant concept? Writing a song to forget your troubles, but the song itself keeps circling back to them. A self-defeating, ironic bluesy number that tries to escape but just keeps getting pulled back in. So how about a song that dives deepish into that contradiction with some humor and melancholy??? Like a meta-troubled troubadour tune about trouble, trouble, trouble — right here in River City!
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“A Song to Forget”
(A Bluesy, Wistful, and Ironic Tune)
[Verse 1]
Sat down to write me a song so fine,
Something real smooth, something divine,
Just a sweet little tune to clear my mind…
But all I wrote down was the mess left behind.
[Chorus]
Oh no, not this again,
Tryin’ to sing my blues away, but they just sink back in,
Trouble in the melody, sorrow in the rhyme,
I wrote this song to forget, but I just press rewind.
[Verse 2]
Tried to hum a line, make the worries fade,
But each little note felt like a hand grenade,
Every chord I strummed, every word I played,
Kept bringing back the price I paid.
[Chorus]
Oh no, not this again,
Tryin’ to sing my blues away, but they just sink back in,
Trouble in the melody, sorrow in the rhyme,
I wrote this song to forget, but I just press rewind.
[Bridge] (slows down, almost spoken-word, self-aware sigh)
Maybe if I change the key…
(strums in a major chord, hopeful for a second—then back to minor)
Nah, that ain’t me.
[Verse 3]
Tried to twist the words, make ‘em bright and bold,
Turn heartbreak to laughter, make sorrow sound gold,
But no matter the color, no matter the style,
This song wears my troubles like a crooked smile.
[Outro]
Wrote me a tune just to chase them away…
Guess they’re sticking around for another day.
===================================================================
“Talking Without Talking”
(A Cool Lounge Jazz Commentary on the Phone-Zombie Epidemic)
[Verse 1] (lazy, swing groove, sultry vocals)
Walkin’ down the avenue, faces glowin’ blue,
Thumbs tappin’ rhythms like a digital voodoo,
A couple standin’ real close, but they ain’t sayin’ a thing,
Just textin’ each other ‘bout the weather and the wings.
[Chorus] (smooth, detached, ironic smirk in the delivery)
Oh, talkin’ without talkin’, scrollin’ without stoppin’,
Everybody’s present, but nobody’s watchin’!
Oh, standin’ two feet apart, starin’ at the screen,
Type out “I love you” but forget what it means.
[Verse 2] (slinkier, more attitude in delivery)
In the café corner, not a word gets said,
Sippin’ on a latte while they text instead,
Somebody sneezes loud—does anyone care?
Nah, they’re too busy likin’ pics of somebody’s lunch somewhere.
[Chorus] (oh, talkin’ without talkin’… etc.)
[Bridge] (music slows, soft bass line, spoken word—ultra cool delivery)
*”Hey, got a second?” [pause]
“Mmm… text me.”
(cue a sly vibraphone riff, music kicks back in, stronger beat)
[Verse 3] (playful yet smooth, riding the groove)
Took a walk in the park, thought I’d clear my mind,
But the joggers and the dogs, they’re all online,
Duckin’ and dodgin’ ‘round the phone-glazed herd,
Livin’ in a world where emojis are words.
[Final Chorus] (a little more dramatic, like a wry punchline)
Oh, talkin’ without talkin’, scrollin’ without stoppin’,
Everybody’s present, but nobody’s watchin’!
Oh, standin’ two feet apart, eyes locked on the glow,
Wonder where the time went? Guess we’ll never know…
[Outro] (music fades, soft brushes on the snare, slow bass walkdown, vocals whisper the final line)
“Hold on… just got a text. I’ll finish this later.”
=======================================================================
Well, when I heard the Peggy Lee sound suggested by my chatbot friend Bob, I just had to try some of our standards from Gorby’s Songbook, and you can try the same thing with the PDF version of the songbook! You’re welcome to try, just please give credit where credit is due. It’s a FAXL song, registered under BMI, available from bandcamp, but this one you won’t find there yet — we’ll get around to getting it up there, though, you can lay odds on that.
Everybody Wants a Piece of God
(Peggy Lee style cabaret lounge blues)
I guess we’ll have to take a train, They’re jamming up the astral plane,
Some novice witch is trying out a hex;
Amateur magicians
Are finding new positions
For everything from yoga to sex.
Mind control, rent-a-soul, Transcendental rock and roll,
All in all it’s really been a drain,
We had to start a new commission
To handle all the competition
Everybody’s praying for the rain.
Windowpane and tabs and cubes, Some in bottles, some in tubes,
They’re trying to ship the garbage in by truck,
With all the yogic meditations
And the cosmic realizations,
We got mantra yantra tantra gone amok.
Piles of paper on our desk, we’re over-
whelmed with trite requests,
Through angelic bureaucracy we plod,
It used to be so easy,
But now it’s gotten sleazy,
‘Cause everybody wants a piece of God.
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And now it’s time to board the Bardo bus for today’s video excursion!
Imagine living in that deli, which is more or less what you do when you’re in retail food service, with little time to rest, and then you’re off again in the early hours to buy your produce and prepare your foods for cooking and serving. The day starts early and ends late.
Just take a moment to realize that you don’t have to go to work in that space every day for the rest of your working life, to really appreciate how lucky you are not to be stuck in that particular Hell.
It isn’t Hell when you go in for a visit. Being there forever is what makes it Hell.
That’s it for now.
See You At The Top!!!
gorby