crammin’ crepes with cathi
at the cock-a-doodle café
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
me and cathi, we like to eat, or shall i say dine?
and across the bay, we know fine cuisine abounds
but when we’re hungry, there’s just one thing we both have in mind
and only here in oakland, can this rare treat be found
let me tell ya’ ‘bout it . . .
there’s a place we like to meet
it’s not far, just down the street
an oaktown classic to be sure
with a menu that will certainly begin to stir
up an appetite the moment you step in
and get a whiff of their waffles and chicken
but cathi knows what she likes the best
she says their crepes put all else to the test
so that’s what we always get
hasn’t disappointed us yet
on sunday mornings we don’t go to church
we devour some crepes at our favorite perch
the cock-a-doodle café, the cock-a-doodle café
i'm crammin’ crepes with cathi at the cock-a-doodle café
the cock-a-doodle café, the cock-a-doodle café
i'm crammin’ crepes with cathi at the cock-a-doodle café
i'm crammin’ crepes with my friend cathi at the cock-a-doodle
right here in oaktown
the cock-a-doodle
it’ll up-side-down your frown
the cock-a-doodle
the cock-a-doodle café
© 2016 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
This song is a tribute to my friend Cathi Walkup. Cathi was an extraordinarily skillful and prolific songwriter who was eoncouraging of my composing and songwriting endeavors long before I ever felt I had talent in this arena. She was a beautiful inspiration to me in so many ways. And she was a great friend.
The Cock-a-Doodle Café was a place Cathi and I frequently met for brunch. It was our place. When Cathi left planet earth in February of 2018 (far too young, far too soon), it occurred to me that "Cock-a-Doddle Café" has the kind of alliteration Cathi loved, and I wondered why she had never written a song about it. In that very moment, the title of this song popped into my head, and the song itself came shortly after.
It was a fun ride, the writing of this song, and I could swear that Cathi was right there beside me as I wove harmony, melody and lyrics together, and "Crammin' Crepes with Cathi at the Cock-a-Doodle Café" emerged.
go in peace
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
there are three kinds of business, only one’s for me to mind
and that would be my very own, so although you robbed me blind
it’s not mine to judge your ways as evil, wrong or bad
i must find forgiveness in heart and remember that you’ve had
a journey you have walked alone, i haven’t shared your path
your moccasins don’t fit my feet so I’ll spare you my wrath
go in peace
i wish you well
and rest assured
forgiveness has no tales to tell
there are three kinds of business, only one’s for me to tend to
so hurt me, baby, hurt me bad, still it’s only love i'll send you
resentment doesn’t feel real good, so conclusions are forgone
that i'll perceive you with my heart ‘cause i know that you’ve been on
a journey that you’ve walked alone, so although you did betray
my trust, i'll turn the othe cheek and simply walk away
go in peace
i wish you well
and rest assured
forgiveness has no tales to tell
when you let your heart become the lens through which you view
you will rise above your pain, and transformation will ensue
an alchemy that lets your seeming woundedness unfold
not just a silver lining, but a blessing of pure gold
there are three kinds of business, only one’s for me to tend to
so hurt me, baby, hurt me bad, still it’s only love i'll send you
resentment doesn’t feel real good, so conclusions are forgone
that i'll perceive you as we part
through eyes of love and with my heart
i'll wish you well and from the start
i will walk in peace
© 2014 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
I heard a little minor chord vamp on a cool Brazilian pop tune that was really groovin’, and decided I’d try to write a song that began with a similar kind of vamp. Of course, when I got into it, it morphed into something entirely different that bears no resemblance whatsoever to the original musical inspiration. But that was how the musical side of this song began.
The lyrical content was the result of a yucky circumstance in my life. A circumstance in which . . . well . . . . someone done me wrong! I was filled with rage and self-righteous anger – the kind of anger that’s like eating rat poison and hoping the other person will die. It was doing me no good. Nor was it teaching the object of my rage a lesson. I knew, intellectually, that my business was only to manage my own response. But it was very hard to get there on an emotional level. Writing the lyric for this song was part of my healing process.
This lyric depicts a version of myself that I aspire to -- not one that I manage to embody in every moment. Now and ever more, I'm a work on progress.
home
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
jack the cat relaxes, his chin upon his paw
he watches me as i watch him
we sit real still as the light grows dim
and i dissolve into my happiness again
i'm home, i'm home
i wander to the window that looks out upon the yard
the morning glory winds its way
along the fence in grand disply
of love and life and beauty that to my heart does convey
i'm home, i'm home
tears of gladness till my eyes
the many years of sadness
taught me to be wise enough to realize
that i have found my heaven, i've found my paradise
right here is where i sing my song
right here is where my woes be gone
how truly blessed i am to have a place where i belong
i'm home, i'm home
© 2009 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
I wrote ththe full lyric for this song before any of the music came. It’s inspired by my house in Oakland – the first place I’ve ever felt truly settled and truly at home – and is an expression of my gratitude for this beautiful, magical place.
After writing numerous versions of the wrong music for this lyric over the course of about six months, I gave up and asked my friend Gerry Grosz, a wonderful and prolific songwriter, if he would give it a shot. As soon as I gave it to Gerry, the right music came through . . . to me, not him. So I had to call Gerry and say, “uh . . . never mind.”
Before recording it, I performed “Home” live for eight or nine years All the while, fans were asking for a recording of it. I'm so happy to finally have that to share with them now. Thank you for your patience!
dreams of a life
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
something inside tells me that you might
just be the one i have met
in my dreams of a life full of adventure
a life without any regret
come take my hand as we trip the light fantastic
then we’ll see just how fantastique such a light can be
we’ll play hide and seek with our own shadows
maybe we’ll ditch them at last
then we’ll look to the light, luminous moonglow high above
when it speaks of love
we’ll know our fate’s been cast
into our lovely psychedelic odyssey we tango
pretty pink flamingos take the side show
whirling like a dervish sipping pineapple and mango
shifting shapes and rainbows
come take my hand as we trip the light fantastic
then we’ll see just how fantastique such a light can be
we’ll play hide and seek with our own shadows
maybe we’ll ditch them at last
then we’ll look to the light, luminous moonglow high above
when it speaks of love
we’ll know our fate’s been cast
galaxies aglow with golden glittering agape
luscious love and ladybugs that fly gaze
upon a million fairies who illuminate the byways
such mystique, it’s fantastique, we’ll dream this life forever
yeah!
© 2015 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
I wrote the music for this song in 2010. At that point, I envisioned it as an instrumental. I was hearing a big band arrangement in my head. I had no intention of adding a lyric.
The song somehow got lost in the shuffle of my chaotic life, and I completely forgot about it until 2016, when I came across the chart I’d written with the working title of “new song”. I played it, was happy to discover that I kinda liked it, and decided that I’d try to give it a lyric after all.
I noodled around to see what words the melodic phrases might suggest. A lyric started to come, but it was a little wacky. I was tempted to question it. But I (mostly) know better. When the muse offers you a gift, you don’t ask questions. You take dictation. So I continued to let it flow, and it just got wackier and wackier.
I fingally recognized it as an acid trip. Then it all made sense. That realization allowed me to let go of my self-consciousness around the lyric and dive into it with abandon.
invitation
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
thoughts of this or that from the future or the past
off the leash, out of control, furious and fast
splintering my consciousness and racing through my mind
i thought that i was seeing, hearing, but i was deaf and blind
at last i've found the quiet that lives within my soul
transcending all the madness, i once again feel whole
now every blade of grass is calling out my name
and every buzzing bumble bee wants me to join their game
this life was never meant to be a fearful solo flight
we’re part of god and all that is, we’re carrying the light
and i say, “yes!”
i invited myself to life
and finally accepted the invitation
i invited myself to life
and finally surrendered to the consecration of
every step i take, every move i make
‘cause every moment’s precious, so you gotta stay awake
i am not a victim, although once i thought i was
gradually i learned to listen to that inner buzz,
the voice that is my higher self, the voice of spirit calling
it reassures me that i’m safe, i’ll fly, instead of falling
i invited myself to life
and finally accepted the invitation
i invited myself to life
and finally surrendered to the consecration of
every step i take, every move i make
‘cause every moment’s precious, so you gotta stay awake
you are not a victim, although once i thought you were
the truth of this is plain to see, i’m sure that you’ll concur
the voice that is my higher self, the voice of spirit calling
it reassures me that you’re safe, you’ll fly, instead of falling
i invited myself to life
and finally accepted the invitation
i invited myself to life
and finally surrendered to the consecration of
every step i take, every move i make
‘cause every moment’s precious, so you gotta stay awake
© 2013 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
This lyric came together from the inside out. The first line I wrote for it ("I invited myself to life...") was borrowed from a poem/prayer I'd written in 2009 entitled "Perpetual Wonder" which is also the title of an art piece in which I incorporated the words of that poem/prayer:
I invited myself to life and finally accepted
with love and forgiveness, I release the past
I live fully and joyously in the present moment
conscious of my oneness with god and all that is
conscious of the beauty and abundance within me and surrounding me
conscious of the miraculous nature of this life
this one life – infinite and ever-expanding
I invited myself to life and finally accepted
now, I witness, with a perpetual sense of wonder, and I ask . . .
were we always this beautiful?
Of course, in those last two lines of that poem, I was quoting myself (from the "Inchworm Rap", recorded in 2003 as part of my album Jaywalkin’). And I used the first part of the poem in the chorus of the song "Invitation". I wrote that section of the song – both the music and the lyric – right after I wrote the poem. But it took years for the rest of the song to fall into place.
This is another example of how I use my songwriting to try to remind myself of who and how I want to be in the world.
a love that's real
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
a love that’s real is what i want to feel
and when you put your arms around me
i know for sure that this love of ours will endure
i’m oh so grateful that you found me
a love so sweet it knocks me off my feet
and you are always there to catch me
you hold me near, and i see a future bright and clear
a constellation oh so heavenly
our love is such an inspiration
it offers a thrilling invitation to transcend
all our fears and limitations and to be
all that we can be
a love divine is what i dreamt i'd find
at last i'm open to receiving
this precious gift that’s reflecting an internal shift
i finally find i'm believing
in love
© 2011 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
While many of my songs are about LOVE, very few are about romantic love.
This is a song inspired by my connection with my partner Carey Williams (whose gorgeous voice is featured on "Perfect Rendezvous" and "Song of Happy" from my album My Shining Hour). It’s an expression of the fact that I like who I show up as in his presence.
My relationship with Carey inspires me to be a better person. Much as I adore him for a million different reasons, for me the best part of our relationship is the fact that I like myself when I’m around him.
Rather than writing a love song about codependent romantic love, I wanted to write a love song about a love that’s real. That’s what this is for me. And it all started with two chords and an ascending bass line.
i'm the firefly
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
for so long
i felt like a firefly without any fire
inspiration so eluded me
every night i prayed to feel some burning desire
but there came no answer to my plea
deep within
i felt a spark of magic
something that had always been
and something that was meant to be
something unique to me
still my heart felt half asleep
and so i prayed harder
hoping to evoke my inner luminosity
all my efforts failed to move my cause any farther
although I prayed in earnest
and with great ferocity
then you appeared
reflecting my love back to me
and proving all i feared
was missing had been in me all along
now i sing this song
you appeared
reflecting my love back to me
and proving all i feared
was missing had been in me all along
now i am the firefly
glowing bright and flying high
lighting up the evening sky
i'm the firefly
i'm the firefly
i'm the firefly
the firefly, the firefly
© 2016 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
In 2016, I was asked to teach a guitar workshop to a group of adult beginners. I wanted to have something unique to teach them in addition to those simple introductory chords at the bottom of the guitar neck and a basic12-bar blues. But these were people who'd never picked up a guitar in their lives, so it had to be simple.
In addition to being simple, I wanted it to be something that didn't require a special tuning. So I noodled around til I found a single shape that sounded great in a viariety of positions with the strings in the traditional E-A-D-G-B-E tuning.
It never occurred to me, as I was preparing my curriculum for this class, that my single-chord-shape song would be worthy of recording. But once it had fully emerged, I decided that it was, in fact, a song that I'd like to put out in the world.
Most of my songs are far more harmonically complex. "Firefly" is in a whole other universe, harmonically and stylistically. But I found that the harmonic simplicity of it made this song the perfect canvas for an intricate tapestry of interweaving background vocals. Writing those vocal lines was a super fun project. So there may be more like this one coming. We'll see!
inchworm rap
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
inchworm, inchworm
sometimes i feel like a little inchworm
making my way through life
inch by inch
centimeter by centimeter
detail by dizzying, worrisome detail
there’s no love inside those details
they splinter my consciousness
causing anxiety to rise within me like a tidal wave of urgency
i tell my mind, “sit, stay!”
but it won’t be still because it doesn’t remember how to be
the quiet packed its bags and left long ago
one day when i wasn’t looking
but i’m looking now
and i can’t see the marigolds for the inches
i can’t see the forest for the trees
i climbed a tree once
on a beach in monterey
i looked out over the ocean, and it was quiet
i dissolved into that quiet like a hard, crystal cube of sugar
softens and dissolves in hot tea
there was no distinction between that big cup of tea and me
now that’s connection
but inches are separation,
isolation, division, exclusion!
how to tend to the inches without letting the oneness quietly slip away
that is the question
and so i tell my mind, if you will not be still, i will simply sit back
and act as a witness to your turbulence
and, as i witness, the inches become feet
the feet become yards
the yards become miles, and i can see the marigolds!
i can see the calalilies, i can see the sweet-peas and the sunflowers,
i can see the moon-flowers and the star-flowers,
and i can see the brave, irreverent, determined little wildflowers
i witness, with a perpetual sense of wonder, and i ask,
“were we always this beautiful?”
© 2003 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
I'd been performing my funkified version of Frank Loesser's "The Inchworm" for a number of years before Peter and I decided to record it. The vamp was so fun, such a great groove, it felt like the perfect floor for a spoken word piece to dance on.
Once the idea for a spoken word interlude came to me, the words themselves just flowed into my mind. I love that it gave me the opportunity to expand on the very simple premise that's set forth by Frank Loesser's sweet, whimsical lyric. A simple premise, but a profound teaching: Be Here Now!
music of your soul
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
you must suspect that you have got the goods before you can deny
the voice that tells you to stay small to indemnify your fragile heart
if you refuse to entertain the notion that you might go far
then your existence here upon this earth will always be on par
with the circumscribed
the walls you see are a mirage
a prison of your own creation
so look beyond the camouflage
there is light, there is love, you’ll experience a new sensation
the music of your soul
you’ve been hedgin’ bets your whole life through
come on down off that fence
when you choose to let your spirit sing
you’ll know true confidence
forget your false pride
and when you start to feel your wings, baby, you will fly
the well of radiance within your soul can not run dry
just let it shine
i’m not talkin’ ‘bout a big fat head
you know that hubris is a mask for fear
so put your arrogance to bed
feel your faith, see your light, know you’re love
and you will hear
the music of your soul has wings
so let your spirit fly
© 2008 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
A conversation with a fellow musician sparked the idea for this song . . .
note to my niece
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
the blue skies and the sunshine are inviting me to play
come out into the world and bask in nature’s sweet display
but the beauty is eluding me, my vision’s all askew
because, dear little angel, my heart is missing you
now they tell me
you have learned to wave goodbye
say hello, hello
now they tell me you are learning to play ball
you can’t catch, but you sure can throw
little darby, i'm missing it all
whenever i call
they tell me you’re taller
don’t grow so fast
now they tell me you
you are learning how to share
your favorite doll, your teddybear
oh, how i wish that i were there
please, don’t grow so fast
in my mailbox, photographs of you appear
your little face, so sweet and so dear
your first birthday, celebrated with a cake
and icing smeared from ear to ear
little darby, i'm missing it all
whenever i call
they tell me you’re taller
don’t grow so fast
now they tell me
you dressed up for halloween
an m-n-m, you were green
oh, how i wish that i had seen
please, don’t grow so fast
© 2005 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
My beautiful niece Darby was born in 2004. She was in San Diego, and I was living in the Bay Area, 500 miles away from her . . .
perfect rendezvous
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
hey, hey, miss j - what’s up, butter cup?
i can hear a song coming on - me too! i think it’s a blues
whatever you choose - i'm happy as a clam just as long
as we’re doing it together - we just can’t get it wrong
everyone who knows us thinks we’re an unlikely pair
she likes michael jackson and i like fred astaire
yeah, fred’s pretty hip, bug michael, he’s a trip
still none of that matters at all
‘cause when we play together, we just have a ball
(not that we don’t have our little moments, of course)
he wakes up each morning ‘bout half past dawn
i'm deep in meditation and he turns the tv on
but i don’t care, no i don’t care, because i dig him, yes i do
every time that we’re together it’s a perfect rendezvous
(so what do you have to say, carey?)
the bases are loaded, the catcher waves his mitt
she asks mes a question, and i miss the winning hit
but i don’t care, no i don’t care, because i dig her, yes i do
every time that we’re together it’s a perfect rendezvous
i like to lick my ice cream cone, but him, he likes to bit
when she’s about to flee the scene, i'm all pumped up to fight
i read eckhart tolle, he’d rather watch the news
but just because we’re different doesn’t mean we’ve got the blues
because i dig her - i dig him - s/he’s the one i choose
(we’re having a real good time)
i'm the yin to his yang, she’s the sweet to my tough
he’s the voice of caution when i'm about to give to much
we compliment each other, so although we’re not alike
we’re a fabulous team it’s true
every time that we’re together it’s a perfect rendezvous
hey, hey, miss j - what’s up, butter cup?
i think our song is coming to a close
we touched these folks with our sweet story - some tears of joy were shed
i swear that i heard someone blow their nose
we’re so good together - don’t let looks deceive
we’re truly birds of a feather - yes, indeed
every time that we’re together, it’s a perfect rendezvous, oh, yeah
every time that we’re together, it’s a perfect rendezvous
© 2012 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
I was with my friend Lory when her boyfriend called, and she answered her phone with the phrase “What’s up, Buttercup?” That sparked the idea for a song.
The original idea was a Dr. Seussian tribute to our (mine and Carey's) habit of making silly nonsense rhymes when we talk to one another in the privacy of our own home. But pretty quickly, as I started writing, it morphed into an ode to "opposites attract".
The formation of a lyric often feels to me like the current of a river. I have to flow with it, or it can turn into a real struggle. And when I let the idea lead, it always takes me to a better place than the one I’d originally conceived.
It’s been so much fun performing this song live with Carey and getting him back out into the spotlight. (He fronted bands in his teens and 20s, then spent 35 years behind the scenes on the road as a tour manager for Taj Mahal and Etta James.) He’s got a fabulous voice. I’m so happy that the world gets to hear it again.
[The voice of my partner Carey Williams is featured on two tracks from my album My Shining Hour -- "Perfect Rendezvous" and "Song of Happy".]
song of sandra
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
precious yet wise, gentle yet strong
graceful and gracious and good
that’s sandra
so softly she stood
lovely without, loving within
she brought him peace from the start
she tamed a wild man
exposed his tender heart
goddess carioca
sweet as the song
love was all they spoke of
how could things go so wrong?
we can’t know why they come and go
angels enchanting as she
from heaven, they can’t heed our call
still we all love sandra
but bootza loves her most of all
© 2016 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
My dear friend and musical colleague, the wonderful bass player Buca (pronounced Bootza) Necak, returned from Brazil in 2005 with an angel named Sandra Conde who soon became his wife.
This song is a tribute to Sandra and the beautiful love affair she and Buca shared prior to her tragic and premature death in 2009. Buca was shattered by the loss of Sandra. It was heartbreaking on so many levels.
I wrote the music for this song in the weeks after Sandra’s passing. I knew the song was about her, but the only solid lyric that came to me at that point was “Still we all love Sandra, but Buca loves her most of all.” The rest of the lyric came some years later.
It wasn’t until 2015 or 2016 that I finally played the song for Buca. Until then, it had felt somehow like a violation of something too precious and personal. Finally, it felt like the right time to share it with him, and now we’ve recorded it together.
Muita obrigada e um milhão de beijos para você, linda Sandra. Que saudades de você.
speak your love
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
speak your love to me in the wind that blows my heart wide open
yours is not a love that sheltered hearts can ever see
in the vast and empty landscape of my longing
prescient dreams were spoken and my spirit was set free
you speak your love through the silence that descends
in the absence of the radiator’s hiss
the stillness is your embrace
with my heart open once again, the love you speak is love that i can’t miss
you speak your love in fertile soil beneath my feet
from which unfurls the fresh new life of spring
opening to the light, at last a blossoming so sweet
the love you speak empowers me to sing
i sing our love
an anthem to its grace
a hallelujah to the fact that neither time nor space
can make me feel a world apart from you
now that i can hear the love you speak
and now i know it’s true
you speak your love as winter’s tiny twinkling lights
that reflect a heaven in my memory
i feel your presence now in stars obscured by city lights
though veiled from sight, they speak your love to me
I can’t see them, but i know that they
inspire me and guide my way
through passages both thick and thin
the gentle ride, the crazy spin
and now i hear their soulful hymn
though veiled from sight
they speak your love to me
speak your love to me
© 2015 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
This song is sacred to me. It came to me in a series of enchanted moments. These moments weren't enchanted because of any special location or activity . . .
summertime in october
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
a glowing disk, translucent white, illuminates the inky sky
and if i'm still, i feel that you’re near by
you come to me in the balmy nights
of summertime in october
i know you’re here ‘cause i can feel you near
you come to me, i don’t need to see you
i feel you within every breath i take
and the love you bring is gently summoning
my heart to reawaken
a dragonfly goes whizzing by each time that you enter my mind
and i'm afloat, no sense of space or time
you come to me in the dry, hot days
of summertime in october
i know you’re here ‘cause i can feel you near
you come to me, i don’t need to see you
you are in every beat of my grieving heart
and the strangest thing is i know you hear me sing
and the love that you impart
soothes my sad and aching heart
it’s summertime in october and you’re here with me again
i know that you’re here, i don’t care what they say
‘cause i feel your embrace on a warm autumn day
i know that you are here, it doesn’t matter what they say
‘cause i feel your presence whenever i pray
it’s summertime in october, and you’re here with me again
© 2015 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
This song began as an expression of my mystical experiences in the aftermath of my grandmother and my uncle’s passing. As I got further into the song, it also became an expression of my grief. A little further in, it became clear to me that it wasn’t my grief alone. I felt certain that it was the grief my uncle and aunt experienced when they lost one another, many years prior to his death.
The writing process with this song – the lyric and music coming simultaneously – was a beautiful, magical flow. I was alone in my studio with the window shade down, playing and singing in the dark. It all came together over the course of just a few hours.
Interestingly, when I debuted the song at the Sound Room in Oakland, my aunt – my aunt who lives in Florida and had never once been to Oakland to visit me – showed up at that concert to surprise me. I had told her nothing about the song.
Coincidence or synchronicity . . . ?
what you see is what you get
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
CHORUS:
choose a happy outlook for today, just today
and you will find that tomorrow
things will begin to go your way
for when you put a smile upon your face
you will open up a path to your heart
and love will begin to fill your life with grace
what you see is what you get
it’s more than just a phrase
when you choose to see the best
you’re good fortune will amaze you
know that your perspective is the key
to an ever-lasting love that can’t really be forsaken
all you have to do is awaken to the love that you are
and that love will set you free
VOCALESE:
i find that when i count my many blessings each and every day
they’re magnified by a thousand, or a million
but then, who’s counting?
sure ain’t me ‘cause i already feel like a rich man
you’ll find me walkin’ on the sunny side of the street today
and tomorrow won’t be any different, no sirree!
‘cept for the fact that you’ll walk beside me, baby
i really hope you won’t say maybe
i hold a joyful vision of a life where you and me
know that we’re meant to be deep in love
there i go, there i go, there i go, oh, there i go again
dreaming dreams that put a big, fat, happy grin upon this face of mine
oh, don’t you see? it really doesn’t matter if they never come true
i simply choose to think of things that make me feel real good
and often i am chooing to think about you
[CHORUS]
…awaken to the love that you are
yeah, love is what you are
love is what you really are, you’re just like a shining star
love’s what you are and that love will set you . . . . free!
© 2012 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
In 2012 I was asked to teach a jazz workshop to a group of fellow piano teachers, most of whom had little or no experience with jazz. It was my job to give them a gentle introduction to a topic that, for many of them, was a bit intimidating.
At some point I used the term “intuitive changes” and was asked to define that expression. Using the example of “A Train” or “Nearness of You” wasn’t going to cut it in this crowd, since they weren’t familiar with what jazz players consider standard repertoire.
In this particular circle, it isn’t acceptable to e-mail a lead sheet for such a song because copyright law is upheld as a sanctity not to be breached in even the most benign way for educational purposes. (It’s a long story.) So I told them I’d write a song for them that would illustrate what I think of as “intuitive changes” and email it to them the next day.
I figured that this would be some little throwaway tune. But once I got into it, it started to grow into a song I liked a little bit. Then a little bit more. Then it started asking for a lyric. Then a lyric started filtering in. So I ended up sending the workshop attendees a full-on song – harmony, melody, lyrics – the whole nine yards.
I began performing “What You See Is What You Get”, and sang it live for a few years before Peter and I worked on an arrangement of it for recording. It was Peter’s idea for me to write a vocalese for it, and I’m so glad he nudged me in that direction. Writing that vocalese was a super fun ride, and I’m really happy with the result.
We based our arrangement’s instrumentation on Kurt Elling’s recording of “I Feel So Smoochie” from his album This Time It’s Love (highly recommended!).
you knew
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
every once in a while
i take a walk down memory lane
where i find you are waiting for me
at the peet’s on piedmont avenue
i can’t recall your name
but i know you just the same
and i know that you know me
and we both know you can see
there’s a song inside of me that cannot escape
i used to hope that you would help me set it free
now i'm waiting for you
to come and hear me sing that song
each day i go to peet’s
but you’re not there
i still can’t recall your name
but i love you just the same
‘cause you knew that i had a song
to let out of my heart
© 2008 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
This song was inspired by Tuck and Patti's "One for All" . . .
watch out for g-man
words and music by jennifer lee sevison
g-man can kick like nobody's business
even though he's still only six
he's kung-fu fighting with all of the bad guys
he knows every one of their tricks
and he's stolen my heart
you'd better watch out because when you meet him
he's gonna steal yours too
"hey auntie jenn, will ya' sing me the fruit song?
will you sit next to me in the car?
when we get to granma's i'll show you my back flip
i can throw this ball really far"
yeah, he's stolen my heart
you'd better watch out because when you meet him
he's gonna steal yours too
watch out for mister g-man
wild man's on the loose
watch out fo mister g-man
you'd better all vamoose
'cause he's gonna steal your heart
he's stolen mine, he'll get yours in good time
g's got a smile that's brighter than sunshine
and a heart that's big as the sky
his joyful spirit can lighten the darkest
mood i've got, and i'll tell you why
this kid's stolen my heart
you'd better watch out because when you meet him
he's gonna steal yours too
g-man can kick like nobody's business
even though he's still only six
he's kung-fu fighting with all of the bad guys
he knows every one of their tricks
and he's stolen my heart
you'd better watch out because when you meet him
he's gonna steal yours too
watch out for mister g-man
wild man's on the loose
watch out fo mister g-man
you'd better all vamoose
'cause he's gonna steal your heart
he's stolen mine, he'll get yours in good time, yeah
when you meet mr. g-man
i know that you'll concur
charming as any he-man
he owns my heart for sure
so you'd better watch out
'cause i know he's gonna steal yours too
you'd better watch out because when you meet him
he's gonna steal yours too
yeah, you'd better watch out because when you meet him
he's gonna steal your heart too
© 2008 muitapaz music ~ all rights reserved
• • • • •
My nephew Garrett, now practically a grown man, was the most adorable, funny, fun, inspiring little guy when he was six. Actually, he was all of those things at all ages, and still is . . .
