Get all 19 Skye Zentz releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of I Don't Want to be an Island, The FAWM EP 2023, You Find the Way, The FAWM EP 2022, All Dressed Up and nowhere to go..., January Song a Day 2020, June Song-a-Day 2019, What Has Fallen ft. Jacki Paolella, and 11 more.
1. |
Grandfather Andre
01:34
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While you are here within this earthly plane
here's a few things to hold inside your brain
a few things to keep your head on straight
to make sure you stay humble and you dont tempt fate
Surround yourself with people who light up each time they see your face
Dont forget Sometimes the fastest way to get to where you want
is the slowest pace
And at the top of every mountain-is the bottom of another mountain
You've got to keep on climbing
You'll get to where you're going, and then soon-
you'll wanna get to somewhere new.
(Day 9)
This was a freestyle inspired by Andre De Shields’ Tony Acceptance Speech tonight.
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2. |
True You
02:25
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Talk to me
About the hard love
Talk to me
About the gone ones
Talk to me
About the things you can’t unsay
Talk to me
About the long nights
Talk to me
About the tough fights
Talk to me
About the wasted throwaway days
I want the whole picture...
I don’t want magazine stills...
I want the true you
Uncropped,
zero filter
All heart
Show me all the angles
Show me all of you
Talk to me
About the rough sides
Talk to me
About the unvibes
Talk to me
About the things you can’t take back
Talk to me
About the sad times
And Talk to me
About the sunshine
Talk to me about the things that did last
All of you every side
Every side of you
Even the parts that you hide
Every side shines thru
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3. |
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Verse- G Cm B7 Em x2
Quiet breeze, all the trees in bloom
morning greets the bouncing rabbits
Wings unfurl from wet cocoons
sparkling falls and green leaves dazzle
Chorus-Cm G B7 Cm/G
Cm G B7 C (Cm/G) x2
Afternoon, a forest aglow with life
golden sparks, warming all
the darting foxes
Curling leaves, a want for rain
but all the same a hot embrace
to fill the days
G Cm B7 Em x2
Evening twilight in the autumns cool
cicadas songs for the orange sunset
owls perched high above the field below
fresh and clean, glad the frost hasn't come yet
Cm G B7 Cm/G
Cm G B7 C (Cm/G) x2
Midnight falls a weightless snow drift
howling wind
louder than the wolf against the moon
A cold so thick it sinks into your limbs
a roaring fire, crackling dreams
of longer days
Cm G B7 Cm/G x2
When will seasons leave
When will we forget them
Will we let the seasons be
Will they take us if we let them
G Cm B7 Em
Quiet breeze, all the trees in bloom
morning greets the bouncing rabbits
(Day 7)
This is a collaboration with one of my Ukulele students who wrote the chord progression and an outline for the lyrics, but gave me creative license to write the lyrics themselves. I felt the chords gave a slight hint of foreboding or worry so I decided to slip in a rather global warming vibed Bridge just for some good ol fashioned crushing reality...
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4. |
Brand New Stray
03:01
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(Chord Progression is generally:
A7//D7//A7
D7//E7
A7//D7
A7//E7//A7
Give me one good reason
I should waste another minute on you
Yeah show me some hard fact
that doesn't sound like you've been stretching the truth
You been gone 13 days
and I've been doing alright
But damned if foolin around
don't sound good for the night
Just give me one reason
I shouldn't call it off and tell ya we're thru
Give me one good reason
I should let you get another word in
I know what you're getting at
but everybodys mama knows where you've been
You've made a name for yourself
With all your squirreling around
But damned if those lips
ain't the best in the south
Just give me one good reason
Not to send you back the way you rode in
Give me one good reason
Not to tame that dog and make him behave
Yeah he might be known for his bite
but I'll take his sweet side to my grave
You shine him up with a bath
You take him out for a walk
You teach him to sit,
How to shake, how to talk
But then before you know it
you'll wish you never got him to stay
And you'll go back out on the town
a'lookin for a brand new stray
(Day 3)
I generated some bluesy chords from this Ukulele Chord Generator I often use: https://ukulelego.com/ukulele-chord-progressions/
Once I started plucking around with them, and singing nonsense lines over the chords, this story just kind of told itself. I love a good blues song, and I like the twist to this story, that basically this narrator is always drawn to these stray dog-type good for nothing rascals, but basically once they're tamed and they've lost their rascal-ness, the narrator just wants a new one!
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5. |
Terrible Day
03:14
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one more slow
terrible day
one more time
hearing ourselves say
when will we learn
when will we see
when will we handle
this abnormal regularity
one more night
fighting to sleep
one more dream
waking up weeping
where does it end
where does it stop
where will we throw up our hands
and let the arms fall
there is no course in this
only a maze
of terrifying truth
we never thought we'd need to accept
there is no easy way
only a guess
a stab in the dark
and once is has stopped,
who will be left
one more face
like someone i knew
one more name
familiar and hazy
how do we heal
how do we grieve
how do we live with
this reality
there is no course in this
only a maze
of terrifying truth
we never thought we'd need to accept
there is no easy way
only a guess
a stab in the dark
can it be stopped,
when these wounds will never mend?
where does it end
where do we go
how do we grow
(Day 1)
Wow, talk about starting on a low note. This song fell out quickly after a lot of time thinking about the terrible mass shooting in VB, trying to make sense of madness, wondering how we find healing and growth thru such unimaginable pain. I had to go teach a songwriting workshop and host a Ukulele Open Mic the next night and this song helped me get some of the sad energy out so that I can bring some light to people later...
Writing songs with this level emotional weight of subject are typically very hard for me, so considering that, I am pretty happy with how it turned out.
P.S. Before one of you gets cheeky and tells me my uke is out of tune I KNOW, and frankly in this instance I don't give a crud and I'm sorry if it bothers you but I needed to get these feelings out quickly and am trying to share these songs as un-edited and raw as possible THANKS. <3 <3
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6. |
Womlettes
01:44
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We got womlettes for your birthday
Talked about the move
We drank coffee looking at
The toppings we would choose
I am your daughter
Every fiber of my being
Wise and somber
Searching for Humor and meaning
We stopped at the thrift store
You found an atlas of the world
I found a dinosaur necklace
The Bones of a brachiosaur
I am your daughter
I’ve got your ears I’ve got your smile
Love for old stories
Always At home by the seaside
Called my brother on speaker phone
Went to the comic store
Bought some stuff had a laugh
Dropped ya back off at your door
(Day 18)
Pretty sure this one is quite Self explanatory!
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7. |
June
03:37
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8. |
Storage
01:09
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I'm Running out of Memory
out of memory on my phone (x 2)
What am I gonna delete now?
What am I gonna delete now...
Do I have to plug it in, plug it in...
in to my computer and back it up?
What am I gonna delete now?
What am I gonna delete now...
am I gonna plug it in to my computer and back it up...
What am I gonna do?
(Day 10)
Update: Since this song was written, I have updated my phone which now has twice the storage! YAY
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9. |
Vultures
02:46
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We lived fast
When we were young
We danced hard
We sang songs to the sunrise
it was almost like
We knew from the start
We were destined for
A terrible fall
Well we lived big
And we fought loud
Thought we could have anything we wanted
Well look at us now
It was almost like
Our love burned too hot
We should have walked away early
But we were fools from the start
The vultures are
Coming for us
To pick us clean
To chew up the traces
Of you and me
we weren’t wise
To ignite it
But we’d be wise not to fight it
The vultures are coming
To set us free
We were better
Off alone
We got it twisted
When we made a home
Together
we both built this
Funeral pyre
Used each other’s hearts
For kindling
And set the house on fire
The vultures are
Coming for us
To pick us clean
To chew up the traces
Of you and me
we weren’t wise
To ignite it
But we’d be wise not to fight it
The vultures are coming
To set us free
Sometimes ya gotta
Let it all burn up
If you ever wanna let go
Sometimes ya gotta get the soil hot
For anything else to grow
(Day 28)
NOTE: I saw two big vultures eating something (I'm assuming roadkill) off the street in my neighborhood this morning on my way home from the laundromat. It was insane, and I don't think I've ever seen vultures up that close. I was a mix of scared and in awe, and as soon as I realized what they were, a car came from another direction and honked their horn at the vultures and they flew away...giant wings, like a 4 foot wing span. CRAZY. Anyhow, I came home and wrote this song about a dead relationship where the people are just kind of waiting for the vultures to come and pick them apart.
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10. |
My Cat is a Vampire Now
01:40
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My cat is a vampire now
He doesn’t care if there’s tuna around
He waits in the hallway all night long
And he’s on the hunt for blood
My cat is a vampire now
He used to be the sweetest kitten in town
He used to curl up and sleep in your lap
Now he’s on the hunt for blood
My cat is a vampire now
He just regards us with sinister meows
He won't eat the treats that we toss on the ground
He's just on the hunt for blood
This little kitty don't purr
This little kitty don't shake
This little kitty don't really do much
but sleep and lick the blood out of your veins
My cat is a vampire now
He doesn't care much for kitty chow
He's watching you sleep, and he's plotting your death
He's on the hunt for blood
(Day 30)
My cat bit me the other day and upon telling my husband about this he mentioned that maybe he's a vampire now, and so I had this song pretty much write itself. I'm quite pleased with the vibe of it and will happily be adding this to my Halloween set. I'm considering adding a chorus or B section to the song, but am not sure it needs it.
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Skye Zentz Norfolk, Virginia
Songwriter for the Emmy Award Winning "GreenBeats" series on WHRO, Educator at The Muse Writers Center and vanquisher of cheese plates.
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