Tuesday, December 24, 2013

You Can Still Believe in Christmas

Here's a rough demo (voice and guitar) of a Christmas song I came up with a few years ago but just polished up this year.

 
S You Can Still Believe in Christmas C

If you don’t believe in Santa Claus
you might believe in love.
You don’t have to picture angels
in choirs up above.
You can still believe in Christmas,
that magic time of year
when family, friends, and miracles appear.

You don’t have to drain your bank account
to give someone a smile.
Kind words said to a stranger,
hey, now that’s the Christmas style.
You can still believe in Christmas
and warm a winters night
for love will always make the season bright.

I’ve had my humbug moments, 
held a Christmas grudge or two.
But I let them go, ‘cause now I know
t’was the Christmas thing to do.

I believe in Zuzu’s petals. 
I believe in Nat King Cole.
I believe that nearly everyone 
has some Christmas in their soul.
You can still believe in Christmas 
and toast on Christmas Eve—
t’is better to forgive than to receive.

Words & Music © 2011 by Lee Charles Kelley
West Sixty Ninth Street Music (ASCAP)

Friday, November 29, 2013

Summer's Waltz

I came across this tune while looking around on YouTube to see if there were any jazz waltzes out there about summertime. In fact I was hoping to find one with the title "Summer's Waltz." And I did! It also happened to be a very lovely tune.

It was written by jazz bassist David Carpenter. He wrote it in 2001, and unfortunately passed away a few years later at the very young age of 48. I got in touch with his widow (with the help of drummer Peter Erskine), and sent her this demo. She really liked it! 

I hope you will too!



(click on the title to listen)

Summer’s coming, the days grow long.
Bees are humming their old sweet song.
Birds are chirping, kids slurping their milk shakes and malts
and dancing to summer’s waltz.

There’ll be lakes to swim in and bikes to ride,
stones for skimmin’ and kites to glide,
there’ll be T-shirts and concerts and sweet somersaults
and dancing to summer’s waltz.

You can eat your fill at an outdoor grill
then find a girl to help you count the stars at night.
Yes, a summer fling may not mean a thing
but then again, who knows, it might.

(And though you hope that) summer leaves lasting mem’ries of
the dreams it weaves into summer love
there’s a reason the season hurries then halts—
it’s dancing to summer’s waltz

Music © 2001 by David E. Carpenter
Mild Cheddar Music (BMI)


Lyric © 2013 by Lee Charles Kelley
West Sixty Ninth Street Music (ASCAP)

Monday, September 30, 2013

She Takes Pictures

This is a nice little jazz/pop waltz about an amazing photographer I know...

 
 
(click on title to hear demo)

Sunshine, flashbulb or halogen,
the light leads her to inner peace.
You can almost feel the shock of oxygen
as each camera click brings sweet release.


She likes taking pictures—her world’s a camera lens—
quick photographic raptures, transcending all the trends.

Rock stars, hoods, and hipsters, denizens of cool—
it’s a kick to take their pictures. This chick is nobody’s fool.


L.A. to London, St. Bart's to Big Sur, 
a never ending blur streams through her aperture.
But in the shutter’s afterglow a shadow is revealed,
slightly out of focus in her depth of field.


She loves the game, she loves the game
of tryin’ to pin life’s moments in a frame.
So day and night, both day and night 
she hopes to catch the glow of natural light.
Windows and shutters and rainbows and fluttering eyes.
Double exposures bring subtle disclosures of lies.


When it all fades to blueprint blue 
there’s only one thing left to do…


… with all life’s little pressures, the things she can’t control,
they will keep her taking pictures to pacify her soul.

They’ll keep her taking pictures—there's always one more roll.


Words and Music © 2012 by Lee Charles Kelley 
West Sixty Ninth Street Music (ASCAP)