Eric  Ramsey

New tune, and a demo version for you today. Please stay well, safe and strong....

Time And Water 

I need a double shot of whiskey to jump start my day 
A bottle of burgundy about half way 
Through my morning 
Which is shaping up to be 
Quite like yesterday’s and 
What tomorrow will bring we shall see 
Probably more of the same 

Life’s double aught buckshot done tore a hole 
Clean through the roof of the place my soul 
Used to live 
Rain and pain and angry 
Pouring in and 
Guess what tomorrow will bring 
More of the…

Yep. We had just a hint, the merest whiff of rain here at the House Of Strays last week. Usually by this time of year our monsoon season is in full swing, with temps down in the low 100s and humidity up from 8% to 25% or so. Like everything else in 2020, however, the weather seems to be at odds with "normal" too. Oh well. There's still nothing like the scent of the desert just before a rain - the combination of Mesquite, Brittle Bush and Creosote and dust. At least we had that evening last week.

Living in…

Sometimes amidst the chaos and clutter things of beauty rear their heads. So this has. Believe it if you need it, if you don't just pass it on, in the words of two much wiser than myself. 

The Sound Of A Heart 

I finally found a heart that beats in time 
I finally found a heart that beats like mine 
I finally found a heart that fairly sings         
I finally found a heart 

I finally found a heart I can believe 
I finally found a heart not on a sleeve 
I finally found a heart with silver strings 
I finally…

  Yep. Gonna stay right here and think my unhappy things. Don't want to be no butterfly. Here's the studio version for comparison. Stay well and safe. Wear a mask. 

Pray with your eyes open as if there's something there to see
Don't pretend to be nothin that you don't really want to be
Don't rue your empty pockets or the holes in both your shoes
And never say die before you do

Sing! If you don't know the words you can always hum along
Dance! If you've got two left feet no matter what the song
Keep sitting at the table until they come for you
And never say die before you do

It's easy to love puppies and children
Not so easy to love your fellow Pilgrim

Keep fighting for the…

...from the next thing. Here's another line from my song:

We can't be trusted to our own device.

Obviously true when you look at how we (societally) have dealt with the very real and very deadly threat of COVID-19. Some ignore, some disavow, some repudiate, some die. Some shame and mewl and stamp their little boots over regulation meant to protect  - you! me! your aging parent. 

We can't be trusted. 

We here at the House Of Strays wish for your safety and health, and implore you to stay well and be…

Yep. As uncomfortable as it may be to some, wearing a mask isn't all about you. It's about me. It's about the service provider at the grocery store. It's about the kids down the street. It's about your neighbor's parents in the assisted living facility. It's about everyone BUT you.

It's about protecting others - those others with which you share this life. 

We here at the House Of Strays wish you a good week. We're wearing our masks. Please do the same.

Here's a demo version of my new song "Angels"…

How many? How often? How sad. How Systemic.

When is enough, enough?

When YOU say it is.

Pull in the latch string and double-bar the door. Can't see no sin that way, son. Can't see no truth that way.

How Long You Gonna Stand (For This)?

It's tough to feel relevant these days. Speaking for myself, of course, not for you. I laud all my fellow artists and creators who are marshaling on through this Pandemic. Many friends and colleagues are live-streaming music, painting (sometimes at the same time!) and otherwise producing content via the WWW, and I am impressed beyond measure and proud of them. I have been playing the banjo.

In the garage.

By familial ... ah ... request. 

One does what one must. Hang in there. It'll get better. It must…

It's a daily morning conundrum for me these days. And more and more I'm tempted to roll back over and sleep until this mess is all over. Which mess? You pick one - there are plenty to go around.

This is, of course, the absolute wrong response to our current situation. The crises that currently threaten our democracy, our country, our humanity and our personal health won't go away on their own, no matter how much we sleep. There are as many questions now as there are purported solutions - most of which are…