I can't smile

I Can't Smile
Copyright(C)2002 by Sherin Hartley

chorus
I want you to feel
the way that that I feel,
so you can understand
what I'm going through.

I want you to feel
the way that I feel,
'cause I can't smile
when I'm away from you.

(1st verse)
You made me a promise
you'd be here to stay.
Well, you broke that promise
just the other day.

You said we'd be together
'till the end of time.
Then you left me alone
to write this rhyme.

bridge (4x)
I can't smile when I'm away from you.

(2nd verse)
I know we've had some problems
in our life.
We've both had our share
of troubles and strife.

Our fate has somehow
turned to different paths .
There's no more room
for pain or wrath.

(repeat chorus)

(tag)
I want you to feel the way that I feel.

          Backer whacker

Backer Whacker
Copyright(C)2002 by Sherin Hartley

(1st verse)
When you pulled out a bag of Red Man
I said, "Honey, You need to quit."
Surely Darlin', surely not,
you ain't really gonna spit!

Then I took you down to the picture show
to catch the latest flick,
when a wad of backer hit my foot
and it nearly made me sick.

(chorus)
Don't you spit that backer on my foot, Darlin'.
Don't you spit that backer on me.
You might be a backwoods Cajun Queen,
but don't you spit that backer on me!

(2nd verse)
Well, we went down to the crawdad boil
to get a bite to eat,
before I got the first one peeled
somethin' nasty hit my feet.

You didn't even say excuse me.
You didn't say fare thee well.
If you spit that backer on me one more time
I'm gonna send you straight to hell!

(repeat chorus)

(3rd verse)
Now, your Daddy was a preacher
and your Mama a socialite,
but somehow Darlin', I don't know,
I don't think they raised you right.

When I told you how I felt about it
you said,"Honey, I gotta be free!".
Well, if that's the way you're gonna act my Dear,
see ya later and cest le vie.

(repeat chorus)

          100% of half-a-mind

100%of half-a-mind
Copyright(C)2002 by Sherin Hartley

(chorus)
I've got a hundred percent of half-a-mind
to keep my mind on you.
You know I can't stop lovin' you Baby,
no matter what you do.

Sometimes you make me happy.
There're times that you make me blue.
I've got a hundred percent of half-a-mind
to keep my mind on you.

(1st verse)
Well, I bought you wine and roses
and gave you a diamond ring.
I gave you everything that a good man could,
but Honey, that don't mean a thing.

If I can't get you to lovin' me Baby,
I don't know what I'll do.
I've got a hundred percent of half-a-mind
to keep on lovin' you.

(2nd verse)
Your love is a revealation.
You're the only one for me.
I don't need an explanation
to know what love can be.

Our love could be the greatest love
that this world ever knew.
I've got a hundred percent of half-a-mind
to keep on lovin' you.

(repeat chorus)

(3rd verse)
Well, I don't know where that other half went
and I guess I'll never know.
I hope someday you can show me, Baby
when we turn those lights down low,

Someday I'll find that half-a-mind,
but Baby 'till I do,
I've got a hundred percent of half-a-mind
to keep on lovin' you.

(repeat chorus)

(tag)
I've got a hundred percent of half-a-mind
to keep on lovin' you.

          This old guitar

This old guitar
Copyright(C)2002 by Sherin Hartley

Vs1
"I'm goin' away!" I told my dad
and I began to pack,
then I realized all I owned
was hangin' on my back.

"You have no skill or trade, my son,
You ain't got no car."
"Have no fear." I told him then,
"I've got this old guitar."

Chorus
"Well, I'll show you someday, Daddy,
and I know that it's true.
I'll make a million dollars
and bring it home to you."

"Someday I'll make the mark you made,
but in a different way.
One day you'll be so proud of me,
and I'll be home to stay."

Bridge
"It's a long road to travel, son
though one or two get by,
but I guess it's no good talkin'
if it's in your heart to try."

Vs2
So, I went out to try my luck,
but I was never told
how hard it was to make it
in a business, oh so cold.

I came home and hung my head,
with dollars, just a few.
He never said "I told you so."
Only "I love you."

coda
It's not the skill or trade you know
That just might get you through.
It's the wisdom you learn on the road
That brings it home to you.

Repeat vs1

          Ode to Grandpa

Ode to Grandpa
Copyright(C)2002 by Sherin Hartley

Vs1
The scent of honeysuckle
was drifting on the breeze.
We'd sit on Grandpa’s front porch,
gathered 'round his knees.

He'd tell us all the stories,
his life in times of old,
the times of red-hot summers,
of winters icy cold.

chorus
Now, Grandpa told his tales,
some were tall and some were true
and if you listened closely
they were happening to you.

Vs2
He'd tell us all the things
that we all longed to do.
Like the time he fought a bear
and swore that he won, too.

Or the time he thought he'd killed a man
while fightin' in a bar,
when all he did was knock him out
then steal the poor man’s car.

repeat chorus:

Vs3
He talked of foreign lands,
of people dark and strange.
The friends he made while over there
that caused his life to change.

He'd tell us all about them,
these people in his life.
Adventures they had far and wide,
their tributes and their strife.

(repeat chorus)

Vs4
Now, Grandma says he's tired
we can no longer stay,
but he'll save a few more yarns for us
to tell another day.

Then we all lay down in bed
with visions wide and deep
and Grandpas' tall, tall tales
embedded in our sleep.

repeat chorus:

Vs5
Now Grandpa’s passed away,
there's no more tales to tell.
The best ones that he told us
we can all remember well.

So, now I tell my own child,
"Let's turn off that T.V.
I'll tell you some old stories,
come and sit upon my knee."

coda:
I'll tell you some old tales,
some are tall, some are true
and if you listen closely
(softly) they'll be happening to you.
Repeat & fade:

          Let it grow

Let it grow
Copyright(C)2002 by Sherin Hartley

chorus
Let it grow, let it grow
let peaceful coexistence start at home.
Let it grow, let it grow
we all need to live together not alone.

1st verse:
When I wake up in the morning
I watch the early news,
it always seems
to make me want to cry.

It's the Christians against the Muslims
and the Muslims against the Jews.
It seems these days
no one wants to try.

chorus
to let it grow, let it grow.
let peaceful coexistance start at home.
Let it grow, let it grow.
We all need to live together, not alone.

Sitting in my easy chair
I watch the evening news
and wonder when
this world will slip away.

If we look out for each other
instead of for ourselves
the Good Lord
might give us another day.

repeat chorus

3rd verse
Before I go to bed at night
I get down on my knees
and pray this world
will wake up 'fore I do.

I pray that there's no hunger.
I pray that there's no war.
I guess it's all just
up to me and you.

repeat chorus and fade

          Open your heart

Open your heart
Copyright(C)2002 by Sherin Hartley

chorus:
Open your heart to me
and say you'll be mine,
that's the way it was meant to be
in life before time.

Open your soul to me.
You'll never be sad.
I'll give you a better life
than you've ever had.

1st verse:
There's never a passing day
I don't think of you.
I know we can find a way
our love can be true.

So, open your heart to me
and say you'll be mine,
that's the way it was meant to be
in life before time.

2nd verse:
There's only one way we can
fall in love once again,
just look ahead of us
and not where we've been.

Though the pages of time are torn,
that lead up to today,
If we open our hearts, my love,
they can be swept away.

chorus
So, open your heart to me
and say you'll be mine,
that's the way it was meant to be
in life before time.

Open your soul to me.
You'll never be sad.
I'll give you a better life
than you've ever had------.