If you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?
II I were forced to wear one outfit everyday it’d be a gray t-shirt and black jeans. It’s my go to on most days and helps me get up, and belong to the day. I also like that it helps people see me for who I am, and what I do, instead of what I look like.
How important is spirituality in your life?
In a dark and troubled world there’s a need for comfort, for light, and for hope. Sharing a spirit of love for one another can, and will, bring a renewed confidence to those who feel marginalized. Anyway that we can do that is a blessing. Our actions preach… what’s you message to the world? Let the goodness that’s in you shine for all the world to see!
‘Za is the fourth single release from December’s Trio album. A sparse reimagining of the tradition trio setting.
This song has a metaphorically smiling lyric that should challenge the listener a bit. The title was actually from a magazine article that I had stumbled upon. I immediately recognized what I wanted to say, or maybe play with is a better explanation. I’m always looking for a way to stir up a listener’s imagination, and hopefully conjure up some emotional response from them. In this case, maybe even some abstract thinking.
Lyrics:
Early in the morning, any time of day
Any time’s a good time, any kind of way
I can take it cold, any time at all
It goes down easy, in the local church hall
So tell me?
Tell me, please?
Won’t you tell me?
How well do you know ‘Za?
If I had my way, I’d always have more
More than may be normal, a note of folklore
Some cry, ‘oh no!, you can’t do that!’
Preaching to the misfit, like some green-eyed cat
So tell me?
Tell me, please?
Oh won’t you tell me?
How well do you know ‘Za?
Don’t give me substitutes, don’t give me theories
No hypothetical miniseries
Just give me a slice, a verse or two
Yeah, I’m a greek guy, but any version will do
I go traditional, I go New York
I go with fold it, or a knife and fork
I don’t go judging, so don’t judge me
Just offer me a bite, and let my manna be
So tell me?
Tell me, please?
Won’t you tell me?
How well do you know ‘Za?
© 2022 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP
Album: Trio
Video Credits: EM | Pizza by Alfredo (Dafont.com)
YouTube Link
Website
A combination of things brought this song to life rather quickly. It was a year ago February (Black History Month), when I was inspired by the poem, ‘As I Grew Older‘ by Langston Hughes. The softening of time touched a nerve within me and I felt the need to comment on it, and so I did.
Musically as 2022 arrived I had been taking a deep dive into the organ trio Blicher, Hemmer, Gadd and their album, ‘Omara.’ Recalling a season quite a way back where I played 300 some dates in an organ trio, this arrangement became an outcome of the many smoke filled nights from that different world. I truly believe that when we write, perform, and listen to music it seeps deep into our soul and often needs some time to brew down there before creatively rising up in a new form.
The studio process was seamless, it really was uneventful other than my rather large grin that continued to grow through the sessions. There’s no excess on the whole Trio project, just the essentials.
I should add as a clarification that I included the DR in the title, ‘The DReam’ to honor Dr. Martin Luther King.
Lyrics:
A long, long time ago
So long ago I’ve forgotten
A notion filled my mind
A dream divinely begotten
But suddenly a distance appeared
Vanquished, the dream disappeared
A long, long shadow
Grew ever longer every day
In the darkness I struggled
Contentious in my way
But nothing by chance impressed
The dream dimmed and was suppressed
My credence, my steadfast credence
Strengthened my enchanted moonbeam
My journey will not be abandoned
Providence will shelter the dream
A long, long tomorrow
As long as the aim can see
Good fortune will indwell me
I’ve been reassured lovingly
That in the cards works a love supreme
A love that’ll ascertain the dream
© 2022 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP
Album: Trio
Video Credit: E.M. | 愚木混株 Cdd20
YouTube Link
Available at http://www.eddymann.com
We are by nature creative beings. We’re wired to be imaginative, to be innovative, and to be resourceful. Regardless of what we do for a living, we’ll do it better if we’re thinking as a visionary.
The title of this song was inspired by a random magazine article entitled For the Love of Vinyl, It grabbed my attention immediately and I found the lyric to be an easier than usual creation.
I had just read an inspiring Rich Kirkpatrick blog on our need be creative so I found myself within the creative flow very quickly.
We are created in the image of our Creator… so dare to be a dreamer.
Lyrics:
Life is a bohemial existence
With a disregarding tenet or two
With non-conventional thoughts and reason
And behavior that some might misconstrue
Life is a juvenescent sandbox
Where building roams beyond confines
Where boundless minds can wander
Coloring where there are no lines
Welcome to the splintered aggregation
Where odd resolve to get even
Curious for the love of art
And the courage to brave the unbelievin’
Life is a poetic string of ramblings
Written in the margins of the day
Multicolored snap-shots in couplets
A work of acrobatic wordplay
Life is a whimsical pallet
Daring you to conjure the extreme
Releasing your inherent rhapsody
For the love of art must venture to dream
For the love of art; write the unspoken
For the love of art; paint the unseen
For the love of art; voice the unheard
For the love of art
© 2022 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP
Album: Trio
Video Credit: E.M.
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/RZZURiRreqs
Available at http://www.eddymann.com
The question is… Your will, my will, or His?
~ E.M.
Album: Stars Under My Feet
Video Credit: Yaroslav Shuraev | E.M.
Available at http://www.eddymann.com
© 2017 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP
Lyrics:
I’d like to believe it’s just you and me
And the tiny little world we’ve carved out
But I can’t deceive what my eyes perceive
That there’s always a speckle of doubt
In your playful dreams it’s just you and me
In a 5 Below novella
But in my prayerful mind I sense a plan that’s divine
And there’s no prince or Cinderella
What if this?
What if that?
What you gonna rhyme if I drop my hat?
I can’t promise you more than the hippest cat
What if it comes down to that?
Will you be mine?
Will you be my sunshine?
Whose will provides the fizz
Will I be yours?
Will there be tempting doors?
Your will, my will, or His?
In the beginning we swore against sinning
And said we’d be pure until ashes
But words won’t protect us from life’s unexpected
Only perfect love’s cancels out crashes
©️ 2017 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP
The future is a very fragile and unpredictable thing. We have no way of assuring how each day, let alone our week, or year, will turn out with any certainty. I was reflecting on this and the use of the word someday when I wrote this song. I was thinking about how we often refer to someday in describing our future dreams and endeavors. My parents always spoke of someday as in my future, down the road, and spiritually God also does, but life has an uncanny way of sneaking up on us when we least expect it.
Someday was oh so later
Someday was down the road
But someday just happened to me now ~ E.M.
Album: Stars Under My Feet
(Release Date 5/20/22)
Video Credit: E.M.
Available at http://www.eddymann.com
© 2017 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP
Lyrics:
I went to bed a child
and woke a lifetime later
A silhouette of who I used to be
A scattered rush of moments
Missed or worse forgotten
An epitaph of frittered diggity
I sense my mother’s worry
I hear my father’s words
I see my back walking away
You can cry, stormy Monday
You can thank God for Friday
But blink and it’ll be someday
Walking the beach when the surf’s out
Pining your mountain away
Sleeping til noon on a weekday
Someday could happen today
I wandered without purpose
And tuned a stone deaf ear
I figured someday, somehow
Someday was oh so later
Someday was down the road
But someday just happened to me now
©️ 2017 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP
The quest to live a loving and compassionate life can be challenging at times. Each day’s ups and downs are different, but the power of love is unmatched, and therein lies our journey.
It’s so gray when I look out my window
Silhouettes upon the hill
I’ve come to expect a winter’s night
Even her kiss brings a chill
There in my mind rests a sight serene
Misty green eyes that say yes
The wind in her hair and the scent of spring
Flowing down her dress
Dree, the sameness overtakes me
Dree, the world’s a tired gray
Dree, I long for something different
I long for yesterday
I can recall when the faces were glowing
Smiles that beckoned us near
The expressions excited with all the unknown
Before there was ever a tear
© 2016 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP
Album: The Consequence
#Wordprompt #Green #April
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven ~ Matthew 5:16
During the month of February, while we recognize a dream, a groundhog, and a valentine, let us do so while shining a light of love in our world.
Let it be a light that brings about a notion of peace, a moment of happiness, and a vision of hope.
You can do that! God’s provision is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9), he has provided you with all that you need to make a difference in someone’s day, or better yet, in their life. So there it is, shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Let it shine!
Let it shine!
Let it Shine!
Call me, text me, tweet me, message me, email me, write me… we were brought together by God for a reason.
Love you all,
Pray on,
Eddy
February Schedule –
Every Thursday evening at 8PM EDT
Evensong, Facebook Live Stream
Waking to a beautiful day just inspires me to no end. I can feel the energy rushing through my body as I rise to face the dawning light. It’s with great excitement that I prepare to begin the first steps in my continuing journey. I grab a large glass of water and my bible and dig in for some worship, praise and prayer. I savor that first cup of coffee as i check the morning emails (staying away from any social media traps) and then I prepare a light breakfast while carefully choosing my news source of the day. It’s a wonderful life’ someone once said, and after all we live to love so why wouldn’t it be? So you’re asking, ‘What’s with the but?’
Well let me explain. Up until this point I’m within the confines of my home, there’s no outside contact, but what waits for me outside my front door, or on our social media platforms are… other people. It’s not until someone cuts me off driving that my anger is tested. It’s not until someone hurls a less that complimentary opinion in my face that my confidence is tested. It’s not until I watch a loveless parent abuse a child on the sidewalk that my self-control is tested. It’s not until the clamor of the world surrounds me in such a way that my quiet peace is tested. You see it’s not until I interact with other human beings that my faith is truly tested, and a faith that doesn’t do anybody any good isn’t any good (thank you Andy Stanley).
So yes, we live to love, but don’t kid yourself, you’ve got to connect with the world and be apart of the answer by overcoming all the challenges. And it’s okay to be less than perfect from time to time. After all we’re all broken and only doing the best we can. But then God already knows that doesn’t he?
He is risen!
Pray on,
Eddy
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Pray on,
Eddy
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