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My Released Songs.

1 - Dream on Fire

(Released 8/25/2021)

The first iteration of this song began back in the early 1990's when I was farming for a living.  I was at the end of a back-breaking season and my energy level was close to nil.  I was playing around with some chords that sounded nice together and the line "Someday soon I'm gonna quit this job, walk right out of here not knowing where it is I'm going to" was right there waiting to accompany the melody.  The rest of the song flowed from there.

Dream on Fire - Registered Copyright 2009

2 - We'll Laugh and We'll Dance

(Released 9/23/2021

Inspired by a lucid dream, I wrote this song in the fall of 2006.  In the dream, a couple was reuniting after a long time apart.  They were slow dancing in what seemed to be an old seaside cottage, in an open, airy room, the floors and walls a warm, luminous pine that can only be found in wooden homes seasoned by decades of salty air.  Long, flowing curtains, worn and threadbare, blew in a steady breeze.  They were both very happy, smiling and laughing as they danced, and the love they felt for each other was powerfully clear to me and made my soul hum for days.  There's a lot more I could say about this experience, but I'd rather let the song provide the message. 

We'll Laugh and We'll Dance - Registered Copyright 2021

3 - Isn't it Funny

(Released 7/18/2022)

This song was inspired by my good buddy Rudy, an English Yellow Labrador Retriever, who had recently moved on from this Earth.  He had been struggling physically, and it was time to help him along.  Our wonderful Veterinarian came to the house.  It was a beautiful New England Fall day, and we hung out in the backyard with Rudolph, feeding him all of his favorite foods.  His final meal was a huge bowl of ice cream, and he slipped away peacefully with his muzzle in the bowl covered in creamy sweetness.  Weeks after his passing, he visited me in a dream--running up to me on a beach, his eyes smiling and tail wagging, and free of the physical discomfort that had plagued him for months.  When I held him in my arms, I knew he was alive--somewhere.  This song speaks to loss, but, more importantly, the faith that there are ineffable forces at work that provide peace and comfort and greater understanding.  Isn't it Funny is a song of hope and gratitude!

Isn't it Funny - Registered Copyright 2022

4 - Fishermen

(Released 9/09/2022)

I have spent a lot of my life on or near the oceans, both as a commercial and recreational fisherman.  I can't imagine a life where I am unable to fish.  I wrote this song in the late 1990's as an ode to all who are bound to the fishing life, to those who did not come back from their "Final Trips", and to the frailty and resilience of humanities place upon Earth. 

Fishermen - Registered Copyright 2022

5 - Where the Ocean Meets the Sky

(Released 2/23/2023)

I am always pleasantly mystified at how the lyrics to my songs develop.  The melody, a pleasing (to me) arrangement of guitar chords and licks, usually develops first and then I lay down the lyrics with minimal intent as to theme and direction.  This may sound trite, but I do feel the song flows through me, and I am adding my own experience and perceptions to this trickle of creative energy flowing from a greater source.  I know, I know, "Oh boy, it's just a simple song.  Get over yourself!"--but this is how it feels to me.  Anyway, I was playing around with an open D tuning and got into a groovy melody, and the phrase "you carved the hull out of a giant oak burl" popped into my head.  The rest of the song developed from there and came together in a matter of weeks.  The meaning of the song is open to interpretation, but my own take is that it is about embracing change and the transformative experiences that ensue.  Overall, it's a fun song to play and sing and the rhyming schemes make me smile.

Where the Ocean Meets the Sky - Registered Copyright 2023

6 - Old Growth

(Released 9/5/2023)

Earth is taking a hammering and anyone who doesn't feel this in the core of their being, I believe, is profoundly out of tune.  In relation to our affect on the planet, a friend who is an Environmental Scientist said to me--"Humans are going to be OK, we will adapt--but the future is going to be very, very, very different.  And the future is coming soon!"  I do have faith in humanity, but I can't ignore the burden we all bear of all that we have lost.  Old Growth is both an idealistic escape up North and a spiritual refuge within.  Let's resolve to evolve; evolution is the solution.  Peace!

Old Growth - Registered Copyright 2023

7 - Aliens Are Real

(Released 12/6/2023)

I was walking on the beach with my daughter, talking about some really cool stuff--how humans are kind of neat, but they really don't know enough. I thought, "I want to write a song about this day and this experience". I had been working with a playful arrangement of guitar chords, and the lyrics to "Aliens Are Real" began to fix themselves to the music. It's a fun, happy song and a good lesson in not taking myself too seriously. Peace!

Aliens Are Real - Registered Copyright 2023

8 - Chevy Impala

(Released 12/27/2023)

This song was inspired by memories of riding with my grandfather in his 1964 Chevy Impala.  He was a kind man, very involved with his family and community, and he had a strong work ethic.  I feel the car he chose to own was a lot like him--strong, reliable, practical.  To this day, the Chevy Impala has a place in my heart because of him.

Chevy Impala - Registered Copyright 2023

9 - Come on Over

(Released 2/15/2024)

This is my second release of this song, re-mixed and re-mastered, so that I achieved the sound that I really wanted.  I released a bunch of songs early on that I pulled back off of streaming services because they just weren't good enough, and it really bothered me that I was impatient and released them too early.  I'm very happy with this take, and it appears listeners are too.  I'm loving that it is being streamed most heavily in the Philippines and Brazil!  The lyrics to this song came to me during the early days of COVID 19.  I had been playing the chords and the licks for more than a year, and then I just felt like I wanted to sing something happy and carefree, about hanging out with a loved one and about the rhythm of the seasons, and the song grew from there.  Salamat and obrigado for listening to my songs!

Come on Over - Registered Copyright 2023

10 - Hose Water

(Released 5/3/2024)

I wrote the song 2 years ago, inspired by watching my dad's slow mental decline as he lost his memories and cognitive lucidity to dementia.  He passed away in February, maintaining his graciousness and sense of humor right up to his departure.  He left this world a good man who loved well and was loved by many.  You gotta live the Big Love because love is all you get to take with you!

Hose Water - Registered Copyright 2023

11 - It'll Be OK?

(Released 7/2/2024)

The narrator of this song reflects on the angst of losing a loved one to addiction.  He musters the strength needed to pursue a safer, healthier life path, embracing the Great Outdoors, and understanding the seeds of addiction are often planted early in a child's life.  A heavy topic, for sure, but the melody and chorus promise peace and light.

It'll Be OK? - Registered Copyright 2024

12 - I Was Just a Kid

(Released 9/26/2024)

​“I Was Just a Kid” uses six specific memories and images from my childhood, and weaves these images through a simple folk-americana melody.  The basic chorus—“I was I was I was I was, a kid a kid a kid a kid, oh, I was just a kid”— accompanied by Hooly J Chan’s sweet background vocals, a layering of acoustic guitars, and a simple piano arrangement creates a tapestry highlighting some carefree and magical moments of growing up in America in the 70’s.  I’m at an age where my song writing has been enriched by mining gold from past experiences.  I believe this is a song anyone can connect to, but especially by those who remember when “the telephone was tethered to the wall” and “didn’t know one day it would break free and rule us all"

I Was Just a Kid - Registered Copyright 2024

13 - Damn the Truth

(Released 12/7/2024)

​I had a hankering to write a doomed relationship song, and to do it using Harlan Howard's simple recipe: ..."3 chords and the truth".  Not exactly sure where the inspiration came from, other than it's been my experience that alcohol, in the wrong blood streams, will fuck up just about anything.

Damn the Truth - Registered Copyright 2024

14 - Forever and...

(Released 2/10/2025)

forever and... is a protest song (the listener can adapt it to whatever their protest needs are) that expresses my frustration with the pandemic of hate that is being perpetuated by our so-called leaders and the institutions--i.e. media--that should be trying to tame the virulence with truth, kindness, and a general sense of taking care of each other.  I guess when I try to plug myself into understanding the world at large, I am often confounded and discouraged.  When I rein things in, focus on family, friends, and community, life makes more sense, and I feel connected and the sense that love always wins.

forever and... - Registered Copyright 2025

15 - Weight of Me

Releasing February/March-ish 2025

16 - Maybe Mabel

Releasing April/May 2025

17 - Walking with You

Releasing June/July 2025

© 2021 by RF Kay.

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