Song – The Lisle Family

August 9, 2014

Have a Disneyland Day!

Yesterday I had a Disneyland day.

I grew up in Los Angeles. Disneyland was only a 45 minute drive away, so we tended to go quite often; maybe several times a year. So I guess I’ve probably been there about two or three dozen times. The joy of going to Disneyland is permanently etched into my brain. And it evokes very good feelings.

I have very fond memories of entering through the gates, seeing the old fashioned steam train rolling by on a hill covered in flowers spelling out the word Disneyland in bright colors. Then walking up main street USA. The excitement of all the interesting shops and things happening. Old fashioned jalopies and horse drawn wagons drive by. Musicians and Disney characters wander about. Just thinking about it puts me in a great mood.

I was thinking about that while riding my motorcycle into work yesterday. The weather was beautiful. We’ve had a lot of rain, so things are unseasonably green around here. It was a beautiful drive on a beautiful day in a beautiful city. I had to stop while the train went by. The question occurred to me: “Why don’t I feel the same way right now?”

Austin is full of interesting things. I work a block off of Congress, in view of the Capitol building. There are lots of interesting shops all over downtown. People in bicycle rickshaws, amphibious buses, horse drawn carriages,Â human powered mobile bars, and wandering bands of tourist on seques routinely drive by. And in the evening there is music everywhere.

It occurred to me that there really wasn’t much of a reason to feel less excited about my ride to work than I felt walking through the gates of Disneyland. It was really just a matter of perspective; the result of letting myself fall into a numb routine where I stopped seeing all the beautiful and interesting things in my day to day life. “Going to Disneyland” was like hitting the reset button, and helps me to see things fresh, even those things that I’d seen dozens of times before.

I resolved right then and there to try to see everyday like I was going to Disneyland.

I hope you have yourself a Disneyland day, too!

December 22, 2009February 1, 2010

Next To You, Next To Me

By Shenendoah, this is Shelley and my song.

Verse 1

Ridin’ down the road in my pick-up

truck

better get ready ’cause I’m pickin’ you

with a

full moon a shinin? and a little bit a

luck

we’ll

run out outta gas and maybe

get

stuck

we could get lost baby

I don’t care

I ain’t worried as

long as you?re there

there ain’t no place that I’d rather

next to sittin’

next to

there ain’t no place that I’d rather

next to you,

next to me

Verse 2

Barbecue chicken in aluminum foil

just enough money for my gas and oil

who needs your shrimp and your caviar?

I’d sooner have you just the way you are

Rich people got their money to hold

mansion on the hill ‘n diamonds and gold

well, it can’t compare as far as I can see

next to sittin’ next to me

there ain’t no place that I’d rather be

next to you, next to me

Verse 3

Radio playin’ our favorite song

I’ll change the station if the news comes on

when the signal ain’t comin’ in too strong

we’ll make our music honey all night long

if the Good Lord’s willin’ when we’re old and gray

the kids are grown up and moved away

well, it can’t compare as far as I can see

next to sittin’ next to me

there ain’t no place that I’d rather be

next to you, next to me

June 18, 2008December 2, 2010

Should’ve Gone to Nineveh

1st piano take

Intro

(Play just a couple bars from Gilligan’s Island to hint at it, but not give it away?)
G F G F or Eb F G Eb F G
(then) G G/F C/E D/F# G G/F C/E D/F# G G/F C/E Ab/Eb C7 C7/C# D

Verse 1

God spoke to

G/F

Jonah and He

C/E

asked him to

D/F#

off to

G/F

Nine

C/E

veh for

D/F#

Him.

We’re not really

G/F

sure what made

C/E

Jonah

fuse

and

sail off on a

C7/Db

long, sea

cruise.

Sunning on the

G/F

lido deck,

C/E

munching

buf

D/F#

fet,

He was fleeing

G/F#

God, thought he’d

C/E

gotten

D/F#

way.

But

God rocked the

G/F#

boat, made the

C/E

seas get

rough

and said

Jonah

“E

G7/Db

nough is e

nough!”.

Chorus 1

The

sea he was

C/E

C/F

came a

raging

G/B

storm

G/D

He’d heard God

C/E

calling

C/F

but he

didn’t

con

G/B

form.

(Oh-

G/D

no)

We don’t know

C/E

why he

C/F

went the

other

G/B

way, but

G/D

I’ll

bet if you could

C7/Db

ask him he’d

say

“Should’ve gone to

Nineveh”.

G/F

C/E

D/F#

Should’ve gone to

Nineveh.

G/F

C/E

D/F#

Should’ve gone to

Nineveh

G/F

C/E

Jonah,

C/Db

what were you

thinking?

(pause here, finger to cheek, head tilted, “Hmm”)

(If the song is running too long, this verse can be dropped)

Verse 2

Well the

crew wished to

G/F

live so Jonah

C/E

walked the

D/F#

plank

and

left him to

G/F

drown in that

C/E

big fish

D/F#

tank

but

God sent a

G/F

fish to gulp him

C/E

into his

D/F#

belly

How gross is

C7/Db

that? And

smelly?

Chorus 2

He was

caught at

C/E

sea in

C/F

wild

G/B

phoon

G/D

God had

C/E

spoken but

C/F

he said

”No” that

G/B

after

G/D

noon.

I don’t know

C/E

why he

C/F

acted

like a buf

G/B

foon but

G/D

I’ll

bet he’s singing

C7/Db

a brand new

tune:

(pause here: spoken “And it goes like this”)

“Should’ve gone to

Nineveh”.

G/F

C/E

D/F#

Should’ve gone to

Nineveh.

G/F

C/E

D/F#

Should’ve gone to

Nineveh

G/F

C/E

Jonah,

C/Db

had you been

drinking?

(pause, someone tilt the imaginary bottle up to their lips?)

Verse 3

When

God talks to

G/F

us do we

C/E

always

D/F#

hear?

are we too

G/F

busy to

C/E

lend Him our

D/F#

ear? Will we

end up like

G/F

Jonah on a

C/E

boat that’s

D/F#

leaking,

wishing we had

C7/Db

heard God’s

speaking?

Chorus 3

When the

seas of

C/E

life

C/F

come a

raging

G/B

tempest

G/D

We ig

nore Gods

C/E

nudging

C/F

other things

G/B

tempt us.

G/D

We just want

C/E

to be

C/F

left

lone to have

G/B

fun, but

G/D

might just wish be

C7/Db

fore things are

done

(pause here: spoken “How’s it go?”)

“Should’ve gone to

Nineveh”.

G/F

C/E

D/F#

Should’ve gone to

Nineveh.

G/F

C/E

D/F#

Should’ve gone to

Nineveh

G/F

C/E

God, can you send

C/Db

me a fish,

too?

Next time I’ll go to

Nineveh.

June 8, 2008

Conversing With Goats

Verse 1

Beyond the fence that runs across my back yard

lies a pasture full of llamas and goats.

Sometimes I’ll lean on the fence after work just

relaxing, watching them chewing on oats.

Well one of those goats looks up and asks me

“Have you noticed the high price of gas?”

June 7, 2008

Looking for the Similar Tune for "I Saw You at the Funeral"

The tune/chords from I Saw You at the Funeral” has been haunting me, and worrying me that I might have taken some existing TV theme, so I searched on iTunes for TV Themes, and I think it is the theme from Hill Street Blues that I’m remembering. Luckily it is quite different, although has a very similar feel. So I’m going to stop worrying now.

I think I’m close to finishing the basic chords and melody, and just need to finalize the lyrics now.

June 6, 2008

Conversing with Goats

Last Sunday we had a visiting pastor at our church, Brad Brittain. He gave a wonderful sermon and used an illustration about a conversation with a couple goats and a fox that sounded like a great idea for a song. I asked him where he got the idea for the story, and he told me that it “just came to him”. So I asked if he’d mind if I made it into a song, and he likes the idea. So now I’m waiting on the Lord to give me the song 😉

May 24, 2008April 17, 2018

Across 2000 Years

This song woke me at about 3:00 am. It was like someone or something was calling me. I think it was God, but maybe I’m just crazy :-).

This song is like 3 songs put together. The opening intro is very soft and somewhat sad. Then the energy builds with what I’m calling a bridge. A strange thing is that I want to use an Eb in the melody, but I want the chord to be C major and not C minor. I wonder what this is called?

Then it shifts again into a very different rhythm and jazz feel in what I’m calling the Verse. This is fairly busy, compared to the previous 2 being somewhat sparse.

Somewhere later on, I’m not sure if this is an instrumental or what, all 3 become somewhat combined. The left hand plays the part from the chorus combined with the different rhythm right hand and chords from the verse. I’m amazed that it works.

Finally the closing goes back to the intro, very soft and gentle, ending on C major.

This is just a recording that I made to try to remember the ideas.
Across 2000 Years (initial ideas)

Across 2000 Years

Written by Ron Lisle

Intro

It was a gentle sound

calling out my name.

Like a gentle breeze

playing across my lawn.

I could almost hear it.

There, but then gone.

Lost in the steady din of a

life to busy to stop.

Chorus

Can you hear it? It’s calling.

Can you hear him? He’s

calling

Bb/D

out your

name.

Yes He’s calling you. A

Eb/C

cross two

Bb/C

thousand

Fmaj7

years. (straight into verse…)

Verse 1

Fmaj7

Can you hear that voice that …

Gm7

…

May 14, 2008

I Saw You at the Funeral

This song reminds me of Todd Rundgren. I hope I haven’t stolen any of his tunes or words.

This is another song that I woke up in the middle of the night hearing in my head. It was following a funeral that I attended. While at the funeral I ran into an old friend that I hadn’t seen for a long time. There had been rift in the church awhile back, and a bunch of dear friends left in what can only be described as a most bizarre set of circumstances. It was so good to see this friend, but it felt like the chasm was just too scary to approach. So I guess we both acted like nothing had happened.

This is a very rough, piano-only 1st take.
I Saw You at the Funeral

I saw you at the

G/C

Funer

al.

We smiled and

G/A

said

hel

C/A

lo.

Pretending things were

G/F

still the

C/F

same.

We were still

G/C

friends

…

I can

see that you were

C/A

hurt

G/A

C/A

me.

That was

never my

C/A

intent.

Maybe

some things just

C/A

can’t

G/A

C/A

fixed.

I wish

when (immediately back to…)Ã‚Â

I saw you at the

G/C

Funer

al.

We smiled and

G/C

said

hel

lo.

That things were

G/C

still the

same.

We were still

G/C

friends

May 10, 2008

Water

This is a rough, piano-only 1st take.
Water

The beginning is pretty much 2 bars from the beginning of the Beach Boys song “California”: “Water, water.”

[Then we shift gears into more modern jazzy chords. This is whereÃ‚Â
we’ll redo the lyrics each week to fit the sermon, etc]

Water

Written by Ron Lisle

(except the 2 bars from “California”)

”Jesus walked on it,

Abmaj7

Moses parted it.

Water,

water.

Abmaj7

Noah had quite enough of it, some might say too much 🙂

Water,

water.

…

Ã‚Â

May 7, 2008

I Don't Want To Sound Preachy

Piano-only rough recording.
preachy

I Don’t Want To Sound Preachy

Key:C

Tempo:85

Intro

Maybe Dm7 Em7 F6 Gmaj7

Verse 1

I don’t want to sound

preachy.

Don’t want to

C/A

tell you what to do.

Just want to sing God’s

praises

without sounding like I

F6/G

think I’m better than you. Ã‚Â ‘Cause

Chorus

Dm7

My life was a mess and I

Em7

didn’t know what to do.

Dm7

Jesus You found me and

Em7

You pulled me through.

Dm7

Now I just want to

Em7

sing my songs for

You.

Verse 2

I hope I don’t sound too

crazy

singing of

C/A

something we can’t see.

But I tell you its not

hidden

the changes

F6/G

you’re making in me.

Chorus

Ã‚Â