Blue Sky Days is a collection of songs for the people dearest to us. It's one of four collections to be available on this website. Each collection will begin with recordings of my original songs. Then I'll add my favorite songs by other writers when I can acquire the rights.
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Blue Sky Days

This is the first of three songs in my "A chuisle geal mo chroi" Suite. This Irish Gaelic phrase, referring to a daughter, literally means "O bright beat of my heart". These three songs came out of raising the bright beat of my own heart.

A Bud Thus Grows

This is the second song in my "A chuisle geal mo chroi" Suite...the story continues. It started out as a single verse prompted by my sister Chrissy. She wanted a verse comparing a daughter to a rose to fill a panel of a special afghan she was making for my daughter. I wrote the first verse in an Elizabethan style and left it for a while thinking that the rhyme scheme: AABBCDDC would be too complex to use for more than one stanza. Then I saw Sting on television playing an antique lute. It seemed like a fun idea to write a song that would work with that (Elizabethan) instrument and the rest of the song was born. In future the afghan, now an heirloom, will have its own page on this site.

A Hundred Miles Before Breakfast

The third song of my "A chuisle geal mo chroi" Suite. It describes a very important occasion for a parent. Who knows? There may be more songs to come in this suite.

Rhyme Among the Reasons

A song I wrote to the very special lady in my life.

He Told Us

I wrote this as an experiment. There is no accompaniment (a cappela) and it is in Dorian rather than Major or Minor mode.

Words Across the Ages

This is a true story about a rhyme written to me by my Grandfather in 1955. My sister Chrissy found it and sent it me in December 2005. It is my first song written for a DADGAD-tuned guitar.

I Never Got To Say

I wrote this song after the sudden loss of Greg Taylor: a songwriter, friend and great inspiration to me and many others. It was way too soon for him to leave.

Evenings Such As This

This is just a love song.

Cherished Pictures

Imagine a group of neighbors who have grown to be close friends. Several of the families are now moving away. This song was for a final gathering of these friends before parting. I sometimes use this song to close a set.