Song # 10: Joanna & The Grace of God

Goodness Gracious! I started 'J' a few times before I wrote this one... I wrote all the way up to 'M' before I finished this one... This is # 10 in my alphabet of names series. It was a hard one to write... but I like how it turned out... there are lots of little twists in there. It always amazes me when people lose everything but are still not bitter... This is the third song I've written where someone dies so far... hmmm.

Interesting facts:
-Joanna means - "God is gracious" and is derived from the hebrew word for 'Grace'

-"The Joanna" or "the old Joanna" are nicknames given to the piano.

Listen/Download Here: Joanna & The Grace of God
(Donate or Buy Merch HERE)

Joanna & The Grace of God

Joanna, gracious and polite
Says, “The stars are the angels of the night.”
Grandmother's house is her home
The only family she'd really known
Her mother grew up on this farm
Her father grew up down the road
They saw the same stars and the same moon
It was the grace of God that saved you

CHORUS:
Joanna looks up towards the stars
She said a prayer for her mother and her father
Joanna looked up towards the stars
Fireflies rise from the horizon

Out of tune piano, play those old songs
Joanna and her grandmother sing along
Just like her mother used to do
She thanks God everyday for sparing you
Joanna's faith never fades
She is her grandmother's saving grace
They sang the same songs to the same tunes
It was the grace of god the saved you

The fire burned hot and the fire burned bright
But the angels were watching Joanna that night
Her parents never made it through
But the angels protected you
From the fire that consumed...
Your parent's lives... you were two
....It was the grace of God that saved you

They saw the same stars and the same moon
It was the grace of God that saved you

(c) & (p) Daniel L. Vaillancourt (ASCAP)

Song # 9: Isadora & The Never Ending Wait

Song #9 in the alphabet of songs series... A little 2 chord rock song... This might be the most rock that my voice has ever sounded... and the simplest song I have ever written.

This is a sad song with a sad ending... Sometimes things don't work out. Sometimes it is hard to understand why... I think about this when I see bad car accidents... what about the people waiting for them to come home.

I sort of wrote this song thinking about the way my friend Thomas Boles would write a song... and luckily for me... he is visiting me from CA and I went down in my basement and told him I need him to do a little rock and roll backing vox... and he did... I think it helps to make the song.

Listen/Download Here: Isadora & The Never Ending Wait
(Donate or Buy Merch HERE)

Isadora & The Never Ending Wait

Isadora... Just can't ignore what's going on.
Cigarettes... smoked the whole day long
Fretting... over what might be going wrong
Fretting... His guitar and played that song...
That he taught her, played it the whole night long

CHORUS:
Nothing turned into something.
And as quick as it began, it was over once again
No one turned into someone
And just as it began, it was over once again

Isadora... broken up and on the floor
Closed... all the windows... all the doors.
Wood... stained with ashes and tears
Would... you believe she waited all these years
and like a bad sitcom, it replays all night long

Isadora... curses, fist clenched in the air
Accident... on I-95
Never... ending wait to see him again
Never... Did she think it'd end this way
Alone in her bed all night long


(c) & (p) Daniel L. Vaillancourt (ASCAP)

Song # 8: Hannah & Her Sketchbook

Hannah is the 8th song in my alphabet of fictitious stories series... Hannah reminds me a few people I have know through my life... I think that people are drawn to artists (and musicians for that matter...) because in their art, they see a little glimpse of the way that they see the world.

I recorded this song very late at night, with the window open, playing softly...

Listen/Download Here: Hannah & Her Sketchbook
(Donate or Buy Merch HERE)

Hannah & Her Sketchbook

Hannah signed her name on the page...
On which she drew a picture of you
Charcoal on paper never looked better
Than when she handed that picture right to you
Hannah always carried that pencil
Was quick to capture what she'd see
And he Said, “ I must admit I kinda like...
What Hannah sees in me.”
He Said, “ I must admit I kinda like...
What Hannah sees in me.”

Oh sweet Hannah. She gets that look right in her eye
Oh sweet Hannah... It's like she is still surprises...
At what the pencil will do.
Her eyes sparkle as she draws pictures of you.
Her eyes sparkle as she draws pictures of you.

Hannah was always kind of shy
Never quite knowing what to say
She let her pictures do most of the talking
And you know was hard to complain
Because everything she draws is beautiful
Makes you envy the world that she sees
He Said, “ I must admit I kinda like...
What Hannah sees in me.”
He Said, “ I must admit I kinda like...
The way Hannah sees me.”

Hannah seems to see the world
In shades of black & white
Coffee, cream and her sketchbook
Makes for a wonderful night
Sometimes she will let me join her
Oh how I love those nights
I must admit I like the light...
in which Hannah sees me.
He Said, “ I must admit I kinda like...
The way Hannah sees me.”


(c) & (p) Daniel L. Vaillancourt (ASCAP)

Song #7: Gladys & Gambler's Mentality

I picked up the Mandolin for this one... Or should I say Person-dolin as my friend Nathan says. :) This is a play on Gladys Knight and the Pips... and political correctness. haha.

Interesting fact:

Pip = A dot indicating a unit of numerical value on dice or dominoes.

Listen/Download Here: Gladys & Gambler's Mentality
(Donate or Buy Merch HERE)

Gladys & Gambler's Mentality

Gladys was a gambler. She'd only come out at night.
She'll roll the dice when the stakes are high. You can bet your life.
She'll never give up, never say die
Never knows when it is time...
To quit while she's ahead
Just go ahead and quit while your ahead

CHORUS:
She's got a gambler's mentality
Or should I say “female-ity.
It's a sickness, a malady
I think that you'll agree with me
She's like a melody to the rhythm of the dice

Vegas was her second home. Reno was the first.
Atlantic City was like a summer cottage, but wait it gets worse...
She stop at every reservation, every riverboat...
From Nevada to the Jersey shoreline

From MGM to Excalibur, everybody had heard of her
Gladys is like royalty, the gambling queen
She'd win as much as she'd lose, then lose what she would win
As soon as one game ends, another would begin

And I say, “Gladys... Why don't you quit while your ahead!?”

Song # 6: Frances & The Summer of 1953

Often I hear people asking about details of situations after their parent's die... Sometimes they never find the answers... but wouldn't it be awesome if we found a diary detailing part of their life. It is an interesting to think back generations and what they were like as teenagers...

My friend Thomas Boles helped me out on backing vocals.

Listen/Download Here: Frances & The Summer of 1953
(Donate or Buy Merch HERE)

Frances & The Summer of 1953

Frances was my Mother's Mother
When we cleaned out the attic we found her diary
Grandma never told many stories
I hadn't heard half as many as Grandpa would tell in a day
I opened the cover. Light filtered through the dust.
My grandma was a teenager again

CHORUS:
Oh the Fish are biting and the living is easy, Why don't we stay outside...
All summer long... I got got my bike to ride and we ain't got no need for pools
We got the swimming hole and everybody knows, It's the coolest place you can be
We all agree we had the best summer, it was 1953

The next page... Enter Grandpa.
She talked about the first time they met
She was with her friends at the swimming hole
He was coming back with a mess of fish
He went up to her and introduced himself as Freddy
And invited her over for a fish fry

And every page was filled with adventures
That Frances and Freddy had
All summer they stayed side by side
And stayed that way for the next 50 years.
September Twenty One was the last entry
“I'll never forget the summer we met in 1953”