It’s been a long time, been a long time, been a long …to quote Robert Plant.

What precipitated my return was a renewed interest in writing, a bit of free time with vacation this week and the realization that Tumblr is much more robust than it was a year ago when I first tried it.

What the blog will be is a hodgepodge, a venue to focus songwriting efforts but also to indulge hyperlocal journalism interests. Links to my YouTube and Facebook pages are in the right-hand margin.

If you’re a Tumblr blogger I should be following, please do say the word. I want to be following some Oklahoma tumblrs. And if you have any tips for how to use Tumblr, I am all ears and by no means an expert.

Novice city, folks.

BREAKFAST CLUB PURSE SCENE

This scene always cracks me up because it encompasses what most men think at any given moment when seeing the contents of a woman’s purse.

NEGATIVE PEOPLE
c. 2009 Ryan Welton

Verse 1:
Tread a little lighter
Take it slow
Move like a snail in the grip of high-heeled shoes

Listen for an echo
stammering feet
Keep an ear to the ground and your eyes on my baby blues

CHORUS:
I’m at war with negative people
I know them by their negative sounds
I can’t live with negative people
I never let ‘em bring me down

Verse 2:
We got a Deborah downer
A malcontent
There’s a guy in the back beaten down by the ugly truth

There’s a suffering Sally
A worry wart
And there’s the d-head you dread every word is down on you

BACK TO FACTS
c. 2009 Ryan Welton

VERSE 1:
We been through some wars together
And we survived them all unscathed
We made it past the worst fights ever
and here’s to never, ever, never fightin’ again

CHORUS:
Let’s go back to facts
No. 1, I love you girl
I can’t really explain what it feels like ‘cept that I love you
Let’s go back to facts
No. 2, You set me free
Except for the moments I’m captured by this spell that you put on me

VERSE 2:
How is not the question
What we need to ask is why
Why are we regressing?
When there ain’t no doubt in the world our affair is a blessing

CHORUS

SLOPPY IMPROV

CHORUS

OLD TIMEY
c. 2009 Ryan Welton

VERSE 1:
You chuckled at me when I brought you flowers
You didn’t even own a vase
On our first date, we talked for hours
I prefer a slower pace

CHORUS:
I’m old timey
I was taught a different way
I’m old fashioned
Livin’ in a different age

I’m old school, yo
I’m a throwback to the day
I’m old timey
At least that’s what they say

VERSE 2:
You’d better believe I’m big on romance
But what happens between us stays with me
I believe that trust is sacred
Go ahead and sing if you agree

 TONIGHT
c. 2009 Ryan Welton

VERSE 1:
I want a perfect afternoon
To complement a perfect evening
I’ve got a billion things to do
I’m sick and tired of all this cleaning

PRE-HOOK:
Oh, the city lights
beckon me
the spirit of the glass and cement prosper
off I go

CHORUS:
Cause tonight
Temporary fool’s delight
Playing out in black and white
Hedonism at its height
I’m fallin’
Lights are callin’
I’m gonna get it all in tonight
Tonight
I’m gonna get it all in tonight


VERSE 2:
I want to chill out at the bar
To conversate with perfect strangers
I need to feel the jazz guitar
Oh, the music is my savior


PRE-HOOK:
Oh, the city lights
beckon me
the sidewalk reaches out to meet forever
carry on

OCEANSIDE CABARET
c. 2009 Ryan Welton

VERSE 1:
I’ll worry ‘bout tomorrow
When I see tomorrow
Lest I borrow trouble today

I’m up for an adventure
Perhaps a risky venture
If only you’ll convince me to play

PRE-HOOK:
Then you break out my credit card
In a moment of disregard
For anything I have to say
And you tersely admonish me
Give me your guarantee
That everything gonna be OK

CHORUS
And, then a whoops, a wha-oh
We’re gettin’ swarmed by police
Whoops, a wha-oh
My skinny ass in the street
Whoops, a wha-oh
A felony’s on my sheet
Just another night
At Oceanside Cabaret

VERSE 2:
I’m meeting with a lawyer
A judge and my employer
Recalling all the facts that suit me

I didn’t know her real age
That she was in the 10th grade
I don’t expect you guys to believe

PRE-HOOK:
That I was there to save souls
To get dancers to heaven
It’s mission work I do on the side
We were enjoying a talk
about the book of Romans
I tell you, brothers, really I tried

CHORUS
But, then a whoops, a wha-oh
We’re gettin’ swarmed by police
Whoops, a wha-oh
My skinny ass in the street
Whoops, a wha-oh
A felony’s on my sheet
Just another night
At Oceanside Cabaret

VERSE 3:
I’m broke and unemployed
I’m practically destroyed
I hope I learned a lesson somehow (NOPE!)

CHORUS
But, then a whoops, a wha-oh
We’re gettin’ swarmed by police
Whoops, a wha-oh
My skinny ass in the street
Whoops, a wha-oh
A felony’s on my sheet
Just another night
At Oceanside Cabaret

I’ve heard about writers in country music taking weekend trips together where they just write, write and write. Creative retreats.

Well, I’m having one of those myself this weekend.

It’s a three-day weekend, and I’m just chilling at the crib, writing as much as possible. TV off. No outside music to color what I’m doing. Just write, write, write.

Glen Campbell singing the classic “Wichita Lineman,” written by Oklahoman Jimmy Webb. This is one of the 20 greatest songs of the 20th Century. Maybe one of the 10 greatest — a masterpiece.

This is a tune I wrote almost three years ago. Boy, how time flies.

Song up top, with lyrics below. Like usual.

Lonely People
c 2006 Ryan Welton

Verse 1:
—————
i should’ve known
that the best of my years were behind me
i should’ve grown
up instead of bein’ a baby
i should’ve thrown
in the towel to signal surrender
Maybe I should
but i won’t …

chorus:
—————-
i’ve been wonderin’
whatever happens to the lonely people
with lonely hearts like mine?
do they hover undercover looking for another?
or do they just quit trying?

i’ve been thinkin’
whatever happens to the lonely people
i hope they find their peace
‘cause whatever happens to them
could happen to me

Verse 2:
—————
we shouldn’t grieve
look at all of the art it inspires
we can believe
that our passions are all we require
should I be relieved
that I haven’t experienced heartache?
maybe I should
but I’m not …

Bridge:
—————
Is there something I can do or buy
That could give me the natural high
Of two people who are deep in love
There’s nothin’ I can think of …