Collaborative Songwriting Project with Tony Harris of Tony's Lyrics. Tony developed the original song idea and lyrics and I just added a little seasoning to the Gumbo and stirred the stew with a bit of my musical meandering.

Old New Orleans ©

Tony’s Lyrics - Riff Beach

Original Music - 2025

Some call it a Place of Hope

Some call it a Place of Despair

Gospel Music, Jazz, and Blues

They’re all just floating in the air

New Orleans can steal your heart

Or simply tear you apart

It’s History is tarnished Gold

What’s New is often Old

Maybe having so much fun

Can sometimes take its toll

But it’s a place with a lot of Soul

Like Elvis and Rock n’ Roll

(Oh Yeah, just like Elvis and Rock n’ Roll)

New Orleans ain’t always pretty

Yet the songs about that City

Just never seem to go away

You could sing ‘em all night and day

Like ‘Ol Hank’s ‘Jambalaya’

Out on the Bayou having Fun

Or when The Blues catch fire

Like ‘The House of The Rising Sun’

It’s a Place of Broken Dreams

A Place of half-baked Schemes

But usually far from Tragic

It’s Voodoo and Black Magic