Broken Record

Words by Nick Ostdick

Music by With Help (Russell Savage and Nick Ostdick)

Hey slow down

Mind your back

Dress your heart up in bubble wrap

So it don’t crack

Don’t call me your broken record

One, two, three

The pages flip

Now you’re a sliver among toothpicks

You can’t win

Don’t call me your broken record

Don’t call me your broken record

Go see the sea

Share your soul

If you bleed

You’re not alone

Never on your own

You can call me your broken record

You can call me your broken record

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We’re back. It’s good to be back. We hope you’re happy to have us back. We’ve got a bunch of new songs in the hopper for you, just in time for the holidays. Thanks for listening, sharing, and continuing on this journey with us.

Not Every Bird (Picasso Had a Blue Period, and So Can You)

Words by Nick Ostdick

Words and music by With Help

Dogs in the yard have gathered

For pissing on spring flowers

The saying goes that it’s hard

Living life in the rafters

It’s time to hit the deck

‘Cause girl I’m a wreck

Falling asleep inside bottles

The nerves my neck are just rattles

I’m not going down

No, I’m not going down

I’m not going down for the count

If it’s the end of the world

With everything that you say

That’s a sure fire way

To have a shitty day

Now I’m just trying to be

Someone you can love

Not every bird can shine

Like a dove in the sun

I’m not going down

No, I’m not going down

I’m not going down for the count

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1song.substack.com

We’re back. We’re kicking things up a notch in terms of sonic landscapes and studio chicanery. The first line of this song (and every line that follows, it turns out) was inspired by the subtitle of a 2019 NPR article that read: Scientists are concerned about the future of the sun.

This one is called 2 Broken Legs and we hope you dig it. We’ll have at least one more for you this month, maybe two. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed or shared — we very much appreciate you.

PS: Do y’all enjoy reading the lyrics? Do they add anything? We’re not gonna post them for this one, but let us know if you miss them and maybe we’ll readopt that practice.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1song.substack.com

Most of the songs we’ve shared thus far have some age on them. This one, however, is not only a change of pace – how about something kind bright and peppy for a change? — but it’s also relatively fresh. Maybe three months old? A newborn in our bag of tricks. And I say ‘we’ because Russell returns on this one to help create a fun summer jammer. Enjoy!

PS: We should mention we take requests, so let us know if there’s a vibe/style/motif you’d like to hear us try on. Odds are we can give it a good shot. 

—

WKF (Wrong Kinda Friends)

Words by Nick Ostdick

Music by Nick Ostdick and Russell Savage

When the sugar is gone and we’ve got nothing to lose

We’ll carry on in our own kind of blues

Oh, don’t pretend

At the end of the end

We break, we don’t bend

We’re the wrong kinda friends

When the sugar is gone, I’ll hum a tune for you

Bury it down just like a bruise can do

Oh, don’t pretend

At the end of the end

We break, we don’t bend

We’re the wrong kinda friends

All this time we’ve been talking on the phone

I’m out here in the yard all alone

Oh the power of writing love into stone

When the sugar is gone and we’ve got nothing to lose

There’ll be no tears to cry, there’ll be no path to choose

Oh, don’t pretend

That this is the end

We break, we don’t bend

We’re the wrong kinda friends

Oh ho

This is the end

We break, we don’t bend

We’re the wrong kinda friends

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1song.substack.com

This is the first demo we’re sharing without Russell – just me this time, and there may be a few more of these solo tracks to come, FYI. Sometimes a song is able to stand and walk on its own without the need for additional adornment, and I think – I hope – this is one of those songs. 

Silly Goose was written earlier this year (maybe January or February?) in one or two short sittings. For the very few of you who are curious, most of the time songs take a couple weeks to flesh out. The music comes first: A chord progression that sounds interesting and then the lyrics follow in fits and starts. A couple words here until a more fully realized picture comes into view. In this case, the lyrics are pretty abstract — almost to the point of word association, really.

Then there are the small number of songs that just spill out in a furry. They seem to materialize and the real work resides in trying to stay out of the way and let them take shape. Don’t be too self-conscious, keep your ego at bay, let your silly goose reign.

PS: Thank you to all who have subscribed to this journey so far. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. If you don’t mind, please share this with others who may be interested. You’re the best.

Until time next time…

— 

Silly Goose

Words and music by Nick Ostdick

—

She goes dancing in the woods

With hula hoops and the roots

She is hollow, she’s the one

She broke my heart just for fun

Don’t color, don’t care

Leave your soul just to prove you were there

All this talk of crowns and kings

Her only truth is curiosity

She’s a silly goose

But I’m silly too

For following through

And rebuilding her ruins

She’s a silly goose

I’m lost too

In loops around the moon

No, I won’t be home soon

She is naked in the stream

Her voice cracks as she calls to me

I am hollow, I’m the one

Who left her there in the stunning sun

It’s a trial, it’s a test

Bruises blooming inside my chest

Purple as a plum

I’m reaching out for someone

She’s a silly goose

But I’m silly too

For following through

And rebuilding her ruins

She’s a silly goose

I’m lost too

In loops around the moon

No, I won’t be home soon

No, I won’t be home soon

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1song.substack.com

Here we are. Our maiden voyage. The first transmission from With Help. We really hope you like it. One thing we forgot to mention in our earlier post was that the songs we’re sharing here are not “professional” recordings. These are essentially field recordings. Just something to keep in mind. If there is interest, we’ll share more about how these songs are written and recorded at some point in the future.

But for now, here’s Caught Guessing.

Caught Guessing

Words by Nick Ostdick

Music by With Help (Nick Ostdick and Russell Savage)

I don’t sleep because I dream

See me scurry like a lost dog scared and mean

I’m dynamite, I’m breaking apart

Sparks in the sky over Riverside Park

If you’re driving on the wrong side of the road

There’s something about me you’ll never know

I guess you caught me guessing

You caught me guessing

Again

I guess you caught me guessing

Again…

A nurse once told me I’m the kind that bleeds

And that’s a kind of selfishness nobody needs 

In the canyons of our American home

I’m hiding out in a quiet you never outgrow

If you’re driving on the wrong side of the road

There’s something about me you’ll never know

I guess you caught me guessing

You caught me guessing

Again

I guess you caught me guessing

Again…

I don’t sleep because I dream

Of the ocean’s of country between you and me

I’m dynamite, I’m breaking apart

Sparks in the sky over Riverside Park

If you’re driving on the wrong side of the road

There’s something about me you’ll never know

I guess you caught me guessing

You caught me guessing

Again

I guess you caught me guessing

Again…

Thanks for reading One Song at a Time! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1song.substack.com