For A Moment (The Subway Busker Song) S. Peters ©2012
The subway tunnels beneath Canada’s biggest city are among the unlikely places where music can bring comfort and connection.
Is that the weight of the world on your shoulders
Has someone let you down
If I can make you smile for a moment, then
I know my work here is done
Sometimes the road we travel is rocky
And the sadness lingers too long
But for a moment all can be forgotten In the comfort of a song
In the chill of the Winter
Or the stifling Summer heat
Somewhere beneath the city, we’ll meet
There are days when I fade into the background
And I just can't catch your eye
But for a moment when you need the music
We'll share a smile as you walk by
If I made you smile for just one moment, then I know my work here is done
Suddenly Invisible S. Peters ©2010
Women often report feeling “invisible” once they reach a certain age, a sad commentary on society’s obsession with youth and beauty.
Struck down by the hit and run years
A beauty queen faces the worst of her fears
All she was she could see in the mirror
Can anyone tell her where she goes from here?
Suddenly invisible
She had love but she pushed it away
There’d be some other lover on some other day
The years flew by, he found somebody new
Can anyone tell her what she’s supposed to do?
Suddenly invisible
A life built on beauty, a house built on sand can never survive through the years
One day you wake up and everything’s gone, all that is left are the tears
Alone again at the end of the night
Another bottle is empty she turns out the light
But here in her dreams she’s a beauty again
Happy and carefree, desired and then...
Suddenly the morning comes
Too Little Too Late S. Peters ©2012
Inspired by a news report of a candlelight vigil for a gay teen who had been bullied to death and wishing he’d had that kind of support before his life came to a tragic end. As a society we miss many opportunities to step in and offer emotional, physical, or financial support before it’s too late.
Everyone cried when they heard that he died
But where were they when he needed a friend
We all felt so sad when she lost all she had
Why couldn’t we see she was just like you and me
Too little too late, too little too late,
Too little too late, why do we wait?
We all just stood by when they told a big lie
We didn’t want to see how bad things could be
We all shook our heads when the news reports said
They ran for their lives in the middle of the night
It’s easy to stand with our heads in the sand
When the world’s going crazy
But when one of us falls it’s a chance for us all to make things right
Tommy Douglas D. Peters ©2013
A tribute to the heroes of Canada’s national healthcare system, including the often overlooked Woodrow Lloyd.
Canadians love our health care, an icon far and wide
Unites our humble nation, a source of national pride
It started in Saskatchewan and made a national stand
The vision of a hearty few rolled across this great land
Emmet Hall is father of our beloved Medicare
Monique Begin’s the mother, of all things just and fair
And old Wallace McCutcheon, is a name we will avoid
As we remember Tommy Douglas and forget about Woodrow Lloyd
The Saskatoon Agreement, was not first well received
Big business bucked, the doctors struck, the days reached 23
And then old McCutcheon’s Tories cried, those reds won’t have their way
If you want to have a baby you’re just going to have to pay
Well you can keep Obama Care, now the National Health is fine
But nothing’s better than Medicare, if you don’t mind a wait in line
Tommy Douglas got it started, Lester Pearson made it stick
But it’s poor old Woodrow Lloyd, we need to thank when we are sick
From rural Webb to Biggar, Woodrow Lloyd did come to be
Became premier of Saskatchewan, when Tommy left for the NDP
Passed the first universal legislation, stood up to doctors for days
Then got voted out for Ross Thatcher’s Grits
His memory now but a haze
We all know Tommy Douglas, now we know Woodrow Lloyd
We all love Tommy Douglas, now we love Woodrow Lloyd
I Wonder S. Peters ©2008
Initially inspired by some women we met in northern Uganda who endured great trauma this song is universally applicable to anyone who has had to put a difficult past behind them and keep going.
In this ordinary world
She’s an extraordinary girl
She’s picked up all the pieces from her past
On this very ordinary day In her extraordinary way
She lives each one like it might be the last
I wonder what she’s dreaming tonight
I wonder if everything will turn out all right
Safe in sleep her demons rest
Tomorrow she’ll rise and do her best to go on
Such a strong little girl
The world keeps on spinning
As it has since the beginning
And each day a new sun breaks at dawn
On this very ordinary day in her extraordinary way
She somehow finds the strength to carry on
I wonder what she’s dreaming tonight
And I hope that all her happy dreams come true
Sweet Ida D. Peters ©2013
This song started as the name of an apple jotted down in a notebook and finished as the love story of two real life friends, Sid and Ida.
In to each life there comes a love
That lasts both strong and true
And though it’s been long 50 years I’m still in love with you
Ida, Sweet Ida, your lips as red
As the apple of your name
Ida sweet Ida, dance with me once again
I stole you from your parents’ arms
They cried as we left town
We made our way from Winnipeg
To start a life of our own
Oh Ida dear, my Ida dear
You are the apple of my eye
And I will ever hold you near
Until the day I die
Sadness In Your Eyes D. Peters ©1984
Written as a nod to the Stones’ ‘As Tears Go By’ in 1984. Thirty years and a tempo change later, Sue was singing it in the subway when a passerby told her “Keith plays it better but you sing it better than Mick”. CFMA award winning guitarist, Wendell Ferguson channels Keef on this track!
Looking around me I can see, all that you meant to me
But when you can’t understand what I want from a man
I realize I should set you free
All the times that we had, never seemed so bad
I guess I was in daze but now I see all the ways
That you tried to make it right
In my mind, I just feel like I could cry
And I wish that I could tell you, the reasons why
Well I know that you would stay if only you could find a way
I still can see the sadness in your eyes
Down this old road I will go, heartbroke but even so
Now that you’re gone I’ll have to carry on
No matter what the future brings
Yea the good times and the bad, the happy and the sad
When I think of the past and moments we shared I will always have a smile for you
Big Sky D. Peters ©2005
An Odysseus-esque coming-of-age tale in a Canadian context that accordingly leads back to the always welcoming small prairie town.
Left my home in Big River, headed for the city lights
Make my fame & fortune, find a better life
Past the Rocky Mountains, to the ocean shore
But the strip nearly ate me alive
Won’t stick around for more
Out under a big sky where the bright stars never end
Out under a big sky feels like a long lost friend
I’m through with the city, tired of being alone
Out under a big sky, you will always find your way back home
Caught a Greyhound eastward, take my chances there
Though I met some friendly folks, no one seemed to care
And I just can’t walk by, someone out on the street
Time to get myself back home before it happens to me
Now I’m back in Big River, think it’s where I’ll settle down
There ain’t nothing for your soul like a prairie town
I’ll be rich as a king though I won’t have a dime
Start myself a family and all I got is time
When The Music Stirs Her Soul S. Peters ©2009
Many women put their own dreams on the back burner to make sure everyone else is taken care of first. If/when they finally get the chance to follow them, it can be a beautiful thing.
She lived each day like one who knew that every time a dream came true
For someone, there’s another who is, waiting in the wings
All her life she stood in line, patiently biding time
Til one day she decided she must make it on her own
Tired of being sad, she’s risking everything she has
She’s not afraid to take a chance because she knows now she can dance
When the music stirs her soul
She put her dreams aside one day, they’d only end up in the way
Everyone was busy and there’d never be the time
In the background all her life, devoted mother, loyal wife
No one ever knew there was a gypsy in her soul
Tired of being sad, she gave up everything she had
And now she’s reaching for the sky,
And she is dancing with a smile
When the music stirs her soul
Uncle Joe D. Peters ©2004
The prototypical immigrant story, this one from Poland to western Canada in the 1920’s, and a timely and always important reminder that most of us have come from somewhere else with dreams of making a good life here.
I came here from far away, left my family why I won’t say
Came on a boat to this new land, I won’t go back, here I’ll take my stand
I travelled west to find a job, instead got hit by Bennett’s mob
Found a farm for room and board, kiss the soil, thank the Lord
I stook the wheat, work the soil, get room and board for all my toil
Now I work hard and did you know, I’m the strongest hand my name is Joe
My friend Stan found a way to make some money keep our pay
So we head off to work the Shield, go underground leave the fields
Black flies bite, wake to the bell, the bunkhouse puts out quite a smell
Play the cards into the night, call us bohunks by jimbo we fight
I drill the rock, blast the ore, we muck the muck go back for more
From Winnipeg to Pickle Crow, I’m the King Miner my name is Joe
He sits with us on Saturday night, watch the hockey and start to fight
Calls us cats when we are bad, winks at us and never gets mad
We sit on the steps, he rolls his own, gives us a puff ‘fore our folks get home
Promise him that we won’t tell, then brag to Dad and Joe gets hell
I dig the garden, plant the seeds, cut the lawn pull the weeds
Go to the market clear the snow, I’m Mary’s husband my name is Joe
Now Joe got older, settled down used a cane to help get around
Shop the bargains at the Safeway store, unpack the bags go back for more
He’d come out to watch us play, stay with our dog when we’d go away
Kid’s best uncle, dog’s best friend, we couldn’t wait to see him again
We laugh with him and watch the sport, cut the rye bread he pours a snort
I think of him through high and low, I’ll always love him, he’s my Uncle Joe
Long Road S. Peters ©2009
Even when we think we have our lives planned out for us, detours can happen but as long as we’re moving forward, we’re eventually going to get where we’re supposed to be.
I’ll take the long road, if it’s the right road
It might be the only road
That takes me to where I want to be
And if I miss my exit, I’ll just take another
I’ll just keep on driving till I get where I’m going
I thought I was certain of where I was heading
I thought I knew just where I needed to be
But then I took a new road in another direction
So I’ll just keep on driving til I get where I’m going
And if I miss my exit, I’ll just take another
I’ll just keep on driving till I get where I’m going
World Made by Hand D. Peters / James Howard Kunstler ©2015
A gospelly warning about climate change and why we need to act now; with some lyrical assistance from James Howard Kunstler’s book of the same name and a breathtaking gospel chorus!
I dreamed I saw old Robert Earle standing in the dawn
One hand steady on the plow, one hand on his gun
And as each turn of soil, gave new hope to the land
This seemed to be a different place, a world made by hand
Now it’s a world made by hand, world made by hand
One stone, one hope, one soul at a time
Now it’s a world made by hand, world made by hand
We’ll build a new Jerusalem up the river
Horses back behind the wheel, water from the well
Rusting cars fed crumbling roads, as weary buildings fell
They said New York is finished, president’s gone away
In Union Grove said Robert Earle, we’re livin’ day by day
We didn’t heed the warning, of a long emergency
Now it’s a slow and dangerous world that’s left for you and me
We still believe in a future, for what’s left of humankind
But it won’t be like the world, the world we left behind
When I awoke and cleared my head, Robert Earle was gone
Left be-hind was his message, of how it all went wrong
The changes we bring to the earth, can be no mystery
The earth can’t take much more of us, seems so plain to see
Ancient glaciers melting, rising of the seas
Deserts creep on fertile soil from just two degrees
Too many in denial, it’s time to take a stand
Or all that will be left behind, is a world that’s made by hand
I dreamed I saw old Robert Earle standing in the dawn
The subway tunnels beneath Canada’s biggest city are among the unlikely places where music can bring comfort and connection.
Is that the weight of the world on your shoulders
Has someone let you down
If I can make you smile for a moment, then
I know my work here is done
Sometimes the road we travel is rocky
And the sadness lingers too long
But for a moment all can be forgotten In the comfort of a song
In the chill of the Winter
Or the stifling Summer heat
Somewhere beneath the city, we’ll meet
There are days when I fade into the background
And I just can't catch your eye
But for a moment when you need the music
We'll share a smile as you walk by
If I made you smile for just one moment, then I know my work here is done
Suddenly Invisible S. Peters ©2010
Women often report feeling “invisible” once they reach a certain age, a sad commentary on society’s obsession with youth and beauty.
Struck down by the hit and run years
A beauty queen faces the worst of her fears
All she was she could see in the mirror
Can anyone tell her where she goes from here?
Suddenly invisible
She had love but she pushed it away
There’d be some other lover on some other day
The years flew by, he found somebody new
Can anyone tell her what she’s supposed to do?
Suddenly invisible
A life built on beauty, a house built on sand can never survive through the years
One day you wake up and everything’s gone, all that is left are the tears
Alone again at the end of the night
Another bottle is empty she turns out the light
But here in her dreams she’s a beauty again
Happy and carefree, desired and then...
Suddenly the morning comes
Too Little Too Late S. Peters ©2012
Inspired by a news report of a candlelight vigil for a gay teen who had been bullied to death and wishing he’d had that kind of support before his life came to a tragic end. As a society we miss many opportunities to step in and offer emotional, physical, or financial support before it’s too late.
Everyone cried when they heard that he died
But where were they when he needed a friend
We all felt so sad when she lost all she had
Why couldn’t we see she was just like you and me
Too little too late, too little too late,
Too little too late, why do we wait?
We all just stood by when they told a big lie
We didn’t want to see how bad things could be
We all shook our heads when the news reports said
They ran for their lives in the middle of the night
It’s easy to stand with our heads in the sand
When the world’s going crazy
But when one of us falls it’s a chance for us all to make things right
Tommy Douglas D. Peters ©2013
A tribute to the heroes of Canada’s national healthcare system, including the often overlooked Woodrow Lloyd.
Canadians love our health care, an icon far and wide
Unites our humble nation, a source of national pride
It started in Saskatchewan and made a national stand
The vision of a hearty few rolled across this great land
Emmet Hall is father of our beloved Medicare
Monique Begin’s the mother, of all things just and fair
And old Wallace McCutcheon, is a name we will avoid
As we remember Tommy Douglas and forget about Woodrow Lloyd
The Saskatoon Agreement, was not first well received
Big business bucked, the doctors struck, the days reached 23
And then old McCutcheon’s Tories cried, those reds won’t have their way
If you want to have a baby you’re just going to have to pay
Well you can keep Obama Care, now the National Health is fine
But nothing’s better than Medicare, if you don’t mind a wait in line
Tommy Douglas got it started, Lester Pearson made it stick
But it’s poor old Woodrow Lloyd, we need to thank when we are sick
From rural Webb to Biggar, Woodrow Lloyd did come to be
Became premier of Saskatchewan, when Tommy left for the NDP
Passed the first universal legislation, stood up to doctors for days
Then got voted out for Ross Thatcher’s Grits
His memory now but a haze
We all know Tommy Douglas, now we know Woodrow Lloyd
We all love Tommy Douglas, now we love Woodrow Lloyd
I Wonder S. Peters ©2008
Initially inspired by some women we met in northern Uganda who endured great trauma this song is universally applicable to anyone who has had to put a difficult past behind them and keep going.
In this ordinary world
She’s an extraordinary girl
She’s picked up all the pieces from her past
On this very ordinary day In her extraordinary way
She lives each one like it might be the last
I wonder what she’s dreaming tonight
I wonder if everything will turn out all right
Safe in sleep her demons rest
Tomorrow she’ll rise and do her best to go on
Such a strong little girl
The world keeps on spinning
As it has since the beginning
And each day a new sun breaks at dawn
On this very ordinary day in her extraordinary way
She somehow finds the strength to carry on
I wonder what she’s dreaming tonight
And I hope that all her happy dreams come true
Sweet Ida D. Peters ©2013
This song started as the name of an apple jotted down in a notebook and finished as the love story of two real life friends, Sid and Ida.
In to each life there comes a love
That lasts both strong and true
And though it’s been long 50 years I’m still in love with you
Ida, Sweet Ida, your lips as red
As the apple of your name
Ida sweet Ida, dance with me once again
I stole you from your parents’ arms
They cried as we left town
We made our way from Winnipeg
To start a life of our own
Oh Ida dear, my Ida dear
You are the apple of my eye
And I will ever hold you near
Until the day I die
Sadness In Your Eyes D. Peters ©1984
Written as a nod to the Stones’ ‘As Tears Go By’ in 1984. Thirty years and a tempo change later, Sue was singing it in the subway when a passerby told her “Keith plays it better but you sing it better than Mick”. CFMA award winning guitarist, Wendell Ferguson channels Keef on this track!
Looking around me I can see, all that you meant to me
But when you can’t understand what I want from a man
I realize I should set you free
All the times that we had, never seemed so bad
I guess I was in daze but now I see all the ways
That you tried to make it right
In my mind, I just feel like I could cry
And I wish that I could tell you, the reasons why
Well I know that you would stay if only you could find a way
I still can see the sadness in your eyes
Down this old road I will go, heartbroke but even so
Now that you’re gone I’ll have to carry on
No matter what the future brings
Yea the good times and the bad, the happy and the sad
When I think of the past and moments we shared I will always have a smile for you
Big Sky D. Peters ©2005
An Odysseus-esque coming-of-age tale in a Canadian context that accordingly leads back to the always welcoming small prairie town.
Left my home in Big River, headed for the city lights
Make my fame & fortune, find a better life
Past the Rocky Mountains, to the ocean shore
But the strip nearly ate me alive
Won’t stick around for more
Out under a big sky where the bright stars never end
Out under a big sky feels like a long lost friend
I’m through with the city, tired of being alone
Out under a big sky, you will always find your way back home
Caught a Greyhound eastward, take my chances there
Though I met some friendly folks, no one seemed to care
And I just can’t walk by, someone out on the street
Time to get myself back home before it happens to me
Now I’m back in Big River, think it’s where I’ll settle down
There ain’t nothing for your soul like a prairie town
I’ll be rich as a king though I won’t have a dime
Start myself a family and all I got is time
When The Music Stirs Her Soul S. Peters ©2009
Many women put their own dreams on the back burner to make sure everyone else is taken care of first. If/when they finally get the chance to follow them, it can be a beautiful thing.
She lived each day like one who knew that every time a dream came true
For someone, there’s another who is, waiting in the wings
All her life she stood in line, patiently biding time
Til one day she decided she must make it on her own
Tired of being sad, she’s risking everything she has
She’s not afraid to take a chance because she knows now she can dance
When the music stirs her soul
She put her dreams aside one day, they’d only end up in the way
Everyone was busy and there’d never be the time
In the background all her life, devoted mother, loyal wife
No one ever knew there was a gypsy in her soul
Tired of being sad, she gave up everything she had
And now she’s reaching for the sky,
And she is dancing with a smile
When the music stirs her soul
Uncle Joe D. Peters ©2004
The prototypical immigrant story, this one from Poland to western Canada in the 1920’s, and a timely and always important reminder that most of us have come from somewhere else with dreams of making a good life here.
I came here from far away, left my family why I won’t say
Came on a boat to this new land, I won’t go back, here I’ll take my stand
I travelled west to find a job, instead got hit by Bennett’s mob
Found a farm for room and board, kiss the soil, thank the Lord
I stook the wheat, work the soil, get room and board for all my toil
Now I work hard and did you know, I’m the strongest hand my name is Joe
My friend Stan found a way to make some money keep our pay
So we head off to work the Shield, go underground leave the fields
Black flies bite, wake to the bell, the bunkhouse puts out quite a smell
Play the cards into the night, call us bohunks by jimbo we fight
I drill the rock, blast the ore, we muck the muck go back for more
From Winnipeg to Pickle Crow, I’m the King Miner my name is Joe
He sits with us on Saturday night, watch the hockey and start to fight
Calls us cats when we are bad, winks at us and never gets mad
We sit on the steps, he rolls his own, gives us a puff ‘fore our folks get home
Promise him that we won’t tell, then brag to Dad and Joe gets hell
I dig the garden, plant the seeds, cut the lawn pull the weeds
Go to the market clear the snow, I’m Mary’s husband my name is Joe
Now Joe got older, settled down used a cane to help get around
Shop the bargains at the Safeway store, unpack the bags go back for more
He’d come out to watch us play, stay with our dog when we’d go away
Kid’s best uncle, dog’s best friend, we couldn’t wait to see him again
We laugh with him and watch the sport, cut the rye bread he pours a snort
I think of him through high and low, I’ll always love him, he’s my Uncle Joe
Long Road S. Peters ©2009
Even when we think we have our lives planned out for us, detours can happen but as long as we’re moving forward, we’re eventually going to get where we’re supposed to be.
I’ll take the long road, if it’s the right road
It might be the only road
That takes me to where I want to be
And if I miss my exit, I’ll just take another
I’ll just keep on driving till I get where I’m going
I thought I was certain of where I was heading
I thought I knew just where I needed to be
But then I took a new road in another direction
So I’ll just keep on driving til I get where I’m going
And if I miss my exit, I’ll just take another
I’ll just keep on driving till I get where I’m going
World Made by Hand D. Peters / James Howard Kunstler ©2015
A gospelly warning about climate change and why we need to act now; with some lyrical assistance from James Howard Kunstler’s book of the same name and a breathtaking gospel chorus!
I dreamed I saw old Robert Earle standing in the dawn
One hand steady on the plow, one hand on his gun
And as each turn of soil, gave new hope to the land
This seemed to be a different place, a world made by hand
Now it’s a world made by hand, world made by hand
One stone, one hope, one soul at a time
Now it’s a world made by hand, world made by hand
We’ll build a new Jerusalem up the river
Horses back behind the wheel, water from the well
Rusting cars fed crumbling roads, as weary buildings fell
They said New York is finished, president’s gone away
In Union Grove said Robert Earle, we’re livin’ day by day
We didn’t heed the warning, of a long emergency
Now it’s a slow and dangerous world that’s left for you and me
We still believe in a future, for what’s left of humankind
But it won’t be like the world, the world we left behind
When I awoke and cleared my head, Robert Earle was gone
Left be-hind was his message, of how it all went wrong
The changes we bring to the earth, can be no mystery
The earth can’t take much more of us, seems so plain to see
Ancient glaciers melting, rising of the seas
Deserts creep on fertile soil from just two degrees
Too many in denial, it’s time to take a stand
Or all that will be left behind, is a world that’s made by hand
I dreamed I saw old Robert Earle standing in the dawn