A little resolution, this is the first composition I’ve done entirely on the road with no studio besides my recorder, DAW, and a pair of earbuds. Dedicated appreciatively to Kara, Speck, and the occasional collusion of oil and water.

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The Other Side
Lyrics (cc)BY D A Ayer 2017-12-22

Well I try to keep myself on the sunny side of the street.
But sometimes my emotional state gets a hold of my feet
and then I stumble into the dark…
and follow it to places where you don’t want to park…
where life and death choices are especially stark…
where the wild wolves howl and the mad dogs bark.
Life’s not especially sweet
on the other side of the street.

Now I try to keep myself optimistic about mankind.
But these days to do that I think I got to be out of my mind.
I take a newspaper once or twice a week
and by the time I reach the fold you know I’m ready to shriek.
The business section scares me ‘til I want to freak.
The politics could make a stone statue weep.
The news reporter’s regular beat
is on the ugly side of the street.

If I’m going to be honest I think I’m just a little depressed.
There are days I don’t bother to get up, or even get dressed.
And yet my life is pretty great for all that:
I’ve got a warm coat and a practical hat.
I sleep on a bed in a comfortable flat
and from the front room window I can see where it’s at:
the light’s looking awfully sweet [over there]
on the morning side of the street.

So I hope you keep yourself off the cold, mean side of the street
where the “Things That are Bad for You” menu is all-you-can-eat.
Try to stick to the shade, not the dark…
Drive past all the places where you don’t want to park…
where life and death choices are especially stark…
where the wild wolves howl and the mad dogs bark.
Like the man says: “Direct your feet
to the sunny side of the street.”
…
Just like the man says: “…direct your feet
to the sunny side of the street.”