Hi. My name is Mandy, and by the time this year o’ 100 songs is over, I’m hoping to have earned the right to call myself a songwriter.

I’ve posted songs on my blog for a while now… Putting them out there for *scrutiny* was hardscaryrisky at first… Now, I welcome the feedback. I thrive on it, actually. It fills my creative lungs with oxygen. Some of you say “Great song!” Some of you say “I don’t get it.” Some of you say “You put into words what I’ve been feeling.” Some of you say “Leave it the way it is!” And some of you say “Change this, this, this, get rid of that, and add a touch of this.” (Those are my favorite, actually.) (*AHEM*HINT*HINT*) Your input has had an immediate impact on my craft. I… I don’t even have the words to explain how beneficial this process has been for me. How can I say it???

You make me a better songwriter.

(everybody say “awww”)

Now, enough of that.

Here’s the part I don’t tell you:

Thoughts? Suggestions? Feedback? If I could record this again, I’d sing it harder… the vocals are too whispery. It needs some edge. That’s my suggestion to myself! What’s yours?

Come up close and you will see
these words – these sounds – these notes are me.
They pour onto the page like tears
That I won’t wipe away.

And with my pen I write it all
from soaring heights to plunging falls.
A rush of words that flow
into a river I must wade…

I WEAR MY HEART ON A PAGE
I WRITE  & SING & PUT IT ON DISPLAY
Some cry. Some hide. Some never feel a thing.
I WEAR MY HEART ON A PAGE

You flip from song to song with ease
Each entry of my diary.
The secret stories of my life
I tell, but you don’t know.

These hidden layers of my heart
Are buried deep within the art
lyric laden music
when emotions barely show.

CHORUS

When you hear exactly what I ‘m sayin
you’ll never know just what it means to me.

CHORUS

Some songs take me hours, days, weeks, months, years to write.

Others take minutes. They seem to write themselves.

This one? Less than 20. As soon as I put my head on the pillow Sunday night, I heard “Daisy Grow.” I could feel it. And I knew it was one of “those” songs – the easy ones – the effortless ones.

I also knew exactly what it was about. In the 20 minutes that followed, I felt like I was being introduced to the song. As if it came to visit me.

If I had a daughter, this is what I’d say to her:

So I need some help on the bridge. The husband has given some feedback that makes me wanna rethink it. Is it a trouble spot? Is it ok? Bridge, y’all… What do you think?

Sunshine is fallin’ on your face -
a smile that will chase
away tears that fall in disgrace.
Sometimes the warmth and the embrace
are all that it takes
for a soul to find it’s place

Daisy GROW
Daisy DREAM
Daisy LIVE
Daisy BE
Daisy

There’s a fine line between hearts that are shattered
by wrongs that don’t matter
and mends that won’t bend & shake & scatter

It’s ok to want a brighter day.
It’s ok to want to hide until it goes away.
But in the end, it’s what we do with our  beginning
that will make us who we’re made to be…

When I was in Oregon, we took a quick lunch break at a sandwich shoppe that served the best ham and cheese sandwiches with sprouts and cheese and tomatoes and… mmm… I’m hungry.

So, coming back from the bathroom I overheard two older ladies talking… One said “well, it’s better than nothing at all.”

When I sat back down at the table, I grabbed a loose receipt out of my purse and immediately penned the phrase while Tam was trying to tell me something. Trying. Then had to explain to Tam & Brent what I’d just heard.

Tell me what you think.

Think Indigo Girls. Think Joan Baez. Think that, in an effort to write 100 this year, the song is better than… well… nothing at all:

I was fallin asleep to the sound of southern rain on my window pane.
I was hopin’ to dream of things that never change – or rearrange.
I like steady. // I like predictable.
I like things they way they’ve always been – when they’ve been better than nothing at all.

In my dream I lived a life I knew would never face the new.
It prattled on & on in humdrum turns of hapless avenues,
My world was empty, // void of any sign of life.
It tasted dull and listless. But tasted better than nothing at all.

When waking up to colors and to perfect shades of day
I saw the truth of life, that it will never stay the same.
This is freedom // this purpose, divine
To see the world in color – It looks better than nothing at all.

It’s not the every day – that life will be this way.
It’s not the every day – we see ten shades of gray.
But to be living to be breathing to be singing every song.
This life we live in color, is better. Better than nothing at all.
(This life flies by in color – it’s better. Better than nothing at all.)