Gerard O'Riley

I knew a girl once, went to school with her, same neighborhood, and she was typically miserable. 'Til she broke up with her man, then she became the strongest person around. I really think this song encapsulates the growth that a "nothing to lose" attitude can have on you, though it's also deeper than that - it touches on the dissonance of love and loss. We all know that feeling where you feel stronger on your own, but still like part of you is with that other person. You still cling onto the way that person made you feel at the best of times, and you live with that. Indefinitely. This one here, which I wrote just before winter '19, is in my top-10 list of personal favorites. Reading it bereft the melody, might take a few tries to figure out how the syllable emphasis works out in the chorus, but it works perfect once you find it.

Was hier als harmloses, plattdeutsches Liebeslied beginnt, entpuppt sich zuletzt als ein Lied für unseren Herrn. - Aber es bleibt immer ein Liebeslied!

Das ist eine plattdeutsche Coverversion von Udo Jürgens "Mit sechsundsechzig Jahren". - Aber, wer des Plattdeutschen mächtig ist, wird schnell feststellen, dass meine Version sehr böse und morbide ist.

I'm near 40, wrote this one in my early 20s, and it was my first contest placement. A buddy of mine named Leroy was a songwriter, and one day I brought him my stuff. He said he liked it, but my verses were too long, like pages - like Bob Dylan thought "Maybe these songs aren't long enough." And he said I should hone things down, so this is the first song I ever wrote in the typical accepted format. It's just about a busy couple who don't have time to spend together, so they decide to make the time.

The colloquial, catchy phrase people love to use is the "wrong foot," suggesting a bad first step into something that doesn't turn out well. Well, what if you got off on the right foot? Imagine how better things could be.