NOTE: THIS TRACK HASN'T BEEN MASTERED YET, AND SO YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP A BIT.

I've been thinking for a while about testosterone poisoning in the US and how it affects voting patterns and, after reading a good article by Heather Cox Richardson on how the GOP exploits the American cowboy myth (since Reagan in 1980), I wrote this song.

I sent the lyrics to my friend Gary, who said "I like it, but it's not exactly 'hearts and minds' material." To which I responded "True, but at this point I think all a songwriter can do is use his lyrics like a scalpel to record truth in a time of lies." And right now in America, we're seeing what it means to have a government the people in Idaho, etc. are comfortable with.......

This track will come out on my next solo album, "Collapse, Cha Cha Cha," later this summer. This was the last song to be recorded for the project, and it goes off for digital mastering tonight.

Special thanks to Ron Van Dyke for the background vocals!

Only The Progress Those “Cowboys” Can Stand

(© 2025 Walter Ehresman)

You say you don’t need nothin’ from nobody in this life,

and your woman better know what you’re expectin’ from a wife;

And you think yourself a cowboy, ridin’ tall out on the range,

when—in truth—you’re stockin’ groceries at the local Pik-N-Save;

And you rage that government does nothin’ more than keep you down,

yet you want there to be sewers and electric in your town;

And—of course—you want good water, but no taxes for The Man;

So we can only have the progress that you “cowboys” can stand.

And your manhood is so fragile that all men must be like you;

And your faith so full of doubt that you can’t stand a different view;

And your deepest joy is cruelty from the safety of the herd;

And you’re diggin’ this new fascism (though can’t define the word);

And you’re just a struttin’ bully boy, too scared to stand alone,

as you troll across the internet, death threats by burner phone;

And your red hats are a pox upon the bedrock of this land;

So we can only have the progress that you “cowboys” can stand.

And rural people struggle with their new identity—

the only thing they’re certain of is hating you and me;

Generations voting only for the ones who drive them down…..

still they wonder why the rest cannot respect their little town;

Caught up in macho fantasies that never did ring true;

Wrapped up in tribal schisms of the cross and whiter hue……

while Taylor Sheridan shovels all the horseshit of Ayn Rand,

we can only have the progress that those “cowboys” can stand;

we can only have the progress that you “cowboys” can stand.

Walter Ehresman: lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, 5-string electric bass, keyboards & key percussion, electronic percussion pads, drum machine programming. Special Guest--Ron Van Dyke: background vocals.

For my official releases, please click here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/

p. 2025 Walter Ehresman. Snipe Bog Records. All rights reserved.

NOTE: THIS TRACK HASN'T BEEN MASTERED YET, AND SO YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP A BIT.

I wrote this one last Saturday after seeing the coverage from the wonderful (and numerous!) No Kings protests around the US. I'm retired and live in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico now, but I thought writing this song was something I could contribute to the cause.

No Kings Today (© 2025 Walter Ehresman)

They snatched a Rep in Jersey, just for tryin’ to do her job;

And they grabbed a judge in MKE, and it made their privates throb;

And they sent the troops to LA just to try to burn it down;

But on June 14, we told ‘em “No damn kings above our town!”

[chorus 1]

We see behind the curtain, and we see who pulls the strings;

And we know what you’ve got cookin’—you ain’t hidin’ one damn thing;

Your bad intent and bad faith are a stench we can’t abide,

so we don’t need no kings today, you’ve woke the wrong damn side.

The Secretary’s vomitus showed all just where she stood,

while her goons roughed up a senator, just to show they could;

And a Red Hat nut gunned four in Minnesota Saturday,

while some hooting ape in Utah flung his shit and had his day.

[chorus 2]

We see behind the curtain, and we see who pulls the strings;

And we know what you’ve got cookin’—you ain’t hidin’ one damn thing;

Your bad intent and bad faith are a stench we can’t abide,

so we don’t need no kings today, you’ve woke the wrong damn side;

We don’t need no kings today, you’ve woke the wrong damn side.

Walter Ehresman: lead vocals, acoustic mandolin, acoustic six-string guitar, acoustic six-string banjo, synth bass, shakers. Special guest: John Jessup--backging vocals.

For all my releases, please click here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/

p. 2025 Walter Ehresman. Snipe Bog Records.

This track features powerful lead vocals from Spain's Esther Asulito, with Ehresman providing the growl vocals in a beauty-and-the-beast metal exchange. The dynamic shifts are really effective in this song, and Ehresman pulls off some cool Jimmy Page-type licks amidst all the guitar overdubs. The two adjacent guitar solos nicely contrast the dark energy of the cruel male in the song versus the now more self-realized woman.

Ehresman remembers "This new piece was my first attempt at writing a song from scratch in Spanish (albeit with a couple of translator programs online)......I dreamed the story of the song, along with the general feel, then spent a couple of hours the next morning getting the lyrics together.......I knew it was going to be in the 'beauty and the beast' style of metal.....with beautiful, strong female vocals in the lead, with some male 'growl' vocals in there as well in a sort of conversation.....The lead female vocals here are from the wonderfully talented Spanish singer Esther Asulito, now living here where I do in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico."

"This song is about a woman who, in her youth, loved the bad boys and spurned the nice ones, only to find herself years later still in a relationship with a man she now knows as simply cruel.........This song has her find her self-respect, the will to speak out, and the strength to get out......Special thanks my friend Edgar for reality-checking my Spanish in the lyrics.....turns out he only had to change two words, which was a nice surprise"

Tu Amor de Espinas (Your Love of Thorns) (© 2024 Walter Ehresman)

[voz de mujer/woman’s voice]

Lo que parecía fuerte de niña, ahora

(What seemed strong as a girl, now)

se desenmascara como crueldad;

(is unmasked as cruelty)

Envié a los chicos buenos lejos cada vez

(I sent the nice boys away every time)

y sonreí para mis adentros, a sabiendas

(and smiled to myself, knowingly)

Pero nadie diría que merezco esto—

(but no one would say I deserve this)

frutos oscuros de mi locura juvenil;

(dark fruits of my youthful folly)

Como mujer, reclamo mi propio respeto,

(As a woman, I reclaim my own respect)

y camino orgullosa hacia una luz femenil.

(and walk proudly toward a feminine light).

[voz de hombre/man’s voice]

Hiciste un juramento, y eres mía!

(You took an oath; you are mine!)

No hay nada más que discutir.

(There is nothing else to discuss)

[voz de mujer]

Tus propias palabras demuestran la verdad;

(Your own words prove the truth)

y ahora, seguramente debo volar;

(and now, I must surely fly)

[las dos voces juntas/both voices together]

Las cosas no pueden seguir así.

(Things cannot continue this way)

[las dos voces juntas]

Qué son estas cadenas que nos encierran

(What are these chains that lock us)

durante generaciones en estos ciclos?

(for generations in these cycles?)

¿No hay forma de salir de verdad?

(Is there no way to truly step outside?)

[voz de mujer]

Con un velo cubriendo nuestros ojos,

(With a veil covering our eyes)

Caemos en el furioso torrente de la vida,

(we fall into the raging life torrent)

y desperdiciar años finitos, todo se ha ido;

(and waste finite years, all gone)

Debemos reclamar los años que nos quedan.

(We must reclaim the years that remain)

[voz de mujer]

¡Me corta con tu amor de espinas!

(You cut me with your love of thorns!)

Walter Ehresman--vocals; guitars; 5-string electric bass; keyboards & key percussion; drum machine programming; sequencing. Special guest: Esther Asulito--vocals.

Purchase download/unlimited streaming of the track here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/track/tu-amor-de-espinas-your-love-of-thorns

For Ehresman's other group and solo releases, please click here: walterehresman.bandcamp.com

p. 2025 Walter Ehresman. All rights reserved. Snipe Bog Records

NOTE: THIS TRACK HASN'T BEEN MASTERED YET, AND SO YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP A BIT.

Since my upcoming album will be called "Collapse, Cha Cha Cha," it seemed appropriate that I write an actual cha cha for it. And since I've never done one before, I thought it would be a fun experiment.....and this little ditty is the result. I was trying to sing in a French accent like Maurice Chevalier, but may have just ended up like Pepe the King Prawn.......

The Place of Lost Things (© 2025 Walter Ehresman)

It’s just a room, there was no gloom,

but it’s stolen all my precious things away;

The keys, the phone, one sock alone

in conspiracy, the dryer ate today.

It drives you mad—the things you had,

out in the open just a short moment ago;

But as you’re prone—that phantom zone

transports your stuff right to the nearby unturned stone.

[chorus]

Democracy………human decency—

we take for granted in our pampered Western life;

Attentions roam, we should have known

that good things slip away today without a fight.

Like children spoiled, the tantrums roil,

and maturity seems nowhere to be found;

You want it now, can’t figure how

the thing you starved is simply no longer around.

Walter Ehresman: bad French vocals; keyboards; synth bass; acoustic archtop guitar; AirFx; drum machine programming.

For official releases from Walter Ehresman, please click here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/

p. 2025 Walter Ehresman. Snipe Bog Records. All rights reserved.

NOTE: THIS TRACK HASN'T BEEN MASTERED YET, AND SO YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP A BIT.

Two things caused me to write this song one Saturday in the middle of this March: 1) I saw the coverage of the shameful ambush by Trump/Vance of the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office; 2) immediately after than, I watched the new Dylan movie "A Complete Unknown." I don't think any songwriter could do those two things, and not immediately write something that tries to matter.

So this was what I wrote......I wanted it to have that immediacy of some of Dylan's mid-60s material, where evidently he would be burning with a song idea, grab the first musicians he could find and drag them into the studio and lay down the song in one take, rough or not.

Special thanks to my Canadian friend Ron Van Dyke for laying down some Zimmerman-like harmonica on this song!

Cut Through This Web (© 2025 Walter Ehresman)

We’ve sure hit our quota of shameful displays;

It’s more than a man can keep up with these days;

It’s like there’s a veil that confuses some eyes,

and squeezes their spleens ‘til the damn things run dry.

[chorus]

But we’ll stand up this time, ‘cause if not now—when?

To delay leaves us nothing to rebuild again;

Open the floodgates, let truth flood the zone;

You don’t have to cut through this web all alone.

My marrow is sick with these poisonous lies,

designed to dispirit and infantilize;

No “profiles in courage” as their reps go along—

just Rule By The Sword for a dream that’s gone wrong.

I’ve learned in this life there will always be those

who would sell their own mothers for a rich set of clothes;

They slot in like shark’s teeth if the front one should fall,

with an endless supply of no conscience at all.

We see many paths that let evil run free—

the grip of inertia, greed and bigotry;

The ignorance willful, the meanness laid bare;

And that selfish obsession that clings to the air.

Walter Ehresman: vocals; acoustic archtop guitar; synth bass. Special guest: Ron Van Dyke: harmonica.

For official Walter Ehresman releases, please click here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/

p. 2025 Walter Ehresman. Snipe Bog Records. All rights reserved.

NOTE: THIS TRACK HASN'T BEEN MASTERED YET, AND SO YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP A BIT.

This new song is for my upcoming album "Collapse, Cha Cha Cha", which is a bit of a concept album in that it's meant to provide a soundtrack (in the first half of the album) to your End of The World Party, then provide a soundtrack (in the second half of the album) to the next day hangover when civilization actually collapses into some right wing pre-Magna Carta feudal nightmare. The characters in this song are deeply in love, but had the bad luck to find each other as "the end was nigh," as they say. They fight the good fight, but stand together for one last slow dance as the Big Collapse comes anyway.

According to my drum machine, this song's rhythm is a "musette," which Wiki defines as "a French baroque dance style." Who knew? :-)

One Last Slow Dance (© 2025 Walter Ehresman)

All the love that we share cannot hold back this tide;

With our minds in the battle and our hearts side by side

and we fall…….oh, yes, we fall once again,

just to rise come the morning--take stock of lost friends.

[chorus]

One step goes forward, and two fall behind;

And I can’t get this futility off my mind;

Then I look in your eyes, and we feel what is true,

but my soul cries for just one last slow dance with you.

Our curse was to find, in these turbulent times,

that our hearts came together as the monsters did rise

and the rest…….oh, they just thought “it’s ok……..

all the thrashing they do won’t affect us that way.”

Walter Ehresman--vocals; keyboards & key percussion; synth bass; electric guitars; drum machine programming.

For my official releases, please click here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/

p. 2025 Walter Ehresman. Snipe Bog Records. All rights reserved.

NOTE: THIS TRACK HASN'T BEEN MASTERED YET AND SO YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP A BIT.

I just wrote this one in Feb. of 2025 as the US dashes madly into chaos and dictatorship while the Red Hat yahoos cheer for their own demise....But hey, we can still dance, right? ;-)

Strongman Party (c. 2025 Walter Ehresman)

We get so giddy.....watching all your deepest fears;

It's just so damn exciting.....we've been planning this for years!

So many million babies.....jangle keys above the crib;

The back room's really hoppin'.....and our excuses all are glib.

It's a strongman party--everybody better get down on the floor;

If you wonder what we're takin'--you better know it's only more;

Stick your finger in the socket while we lie and pick your pocket and we joke about the things you let us do;

The joke's on you!

The theme for this party is the oldest story in the world;

The oligarchs are dancin' on the futures of you boys and you girls.

You know you're all invited.....and we require you to go;

We know that all you Red Hats.....thought you would never have to show;

The action so exclusive.....the velvet rope is all you'll see;

There's no use to aspire.....you'll never be a VIP.

Walter Ehresman--vocals; electric guitar; 5-string electric bass; keyboards & key percussion; key drum loop triggering; car keys.

For Walter Ehresman's official releases, please click here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/

p. 2025 Walter Ehresman. Snipe Bog Records. All rights reserved.

NOTE: THIS TRACK HASN'T BEEN MASTERED YET, AND SO YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR COMPUTER SPEAKERS UP A BIT.

This is the first song I've written and recorded here in the new year. It comes from a place of trying to figure out how to live in a world that is heading in such dark, apocalyptic directions (eg. the new fascist regime in the US, the rise of Musk-supported fascism in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, and the climate change collapse of ecosystems). I didn't realize when I wrote it that it would turn into a 9+ minute opus, but that's what ended up happening. Maybe it expresses an aspirational goal for me....that would be nice.

Those of you who are familiar with my past material will notice that this song has a little more "daylight" in it than most of my "serious" lyrics. I attribute that to the influence of my good friend Edy here in San Miguel, who is such a positive person that I think some of it rubbed off on me. Thanks, Edy :-)

Musically, I was thinking about taking a Todd Rundgren mid-70s approach to an older genre--like R&B or gospel--by adding little psychedelic touches throughout. This song will appear on my next "regular" solo album that will come out in the 2nd half of this year (first I need to get out the "heavy music" album in the first half of the year).

Just Think (© 2025 Walter Ehresman)

I was thinking of human potential;

All the wonders that could be achieved;

All the kindness that could unlock those people

so afraid to wear hearts on their sleeves;

How we don’t have to be what we’re programmed;

And we don’t have to sink to the herd;

And we don’t have to soak in instinctual fear,

or believe fairy tales that we’ve heard.

--we could be so much more.

But I read all the news every morning,

and my soul just can’t help but breakdown;

And I can’t just unlearn a life’s lessons;

And I can’t pull my ear from the ground;

So elusive, this question of balance;

Finding joy while not closing my eyes;

Stay engaged while not losing the laughter;

Work for change, but not speak from on high.

[chorus]

Just think of a world of our making;

Just ignoring the puppeteer cries from above;

Never dancing to the call of deceivers;

Just our common sense, tempered with love;

We could fly to the stars, but never lose sight

of the Earth that evolved us so long;

Just think, when you look in the mirror tonight;

Just think as we write this new song.

Walter Ehresman: vocals & vocoder vocals; keyboards & key percussion; synth bass; vocoder; guitar; drum machine programming; sequencing.

For my official releases, please click here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/

p. 2025 Walter Ehresman. All rights reserved. Snipe Bog Records.

NOTE: THIS TRACK HASN'T BEEN MASTERED YET, AND SO YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP A BIT.

I wrote this song in October of 2024 as I started to feel like there was no way to avoid a disastrous election in November in the US. "Low information voters" were voting their grievances, animus and bigotries in what looked to me like a kamikaze play.....voting against their own interest as long as they thought that vote would lead to the groups they hate getting wiped out, too. What an ugly, ignorant, unevolved way to participate in a democracy. Pure spiteful nihilism. And now we're all going to pay the price.......

This is the 2nd-to-the-last song I'm recording for my new album of "heavy music" that will come out in the first half of 2025 under the name The Last Chingon. The album title will be "Heat Death Coda." It's been fun to explore these kinds of guitar tones and dark chord progressions, and needless to say that kind of music gives me a certain latitude in terms of the lyrics I write to match. I look forward to getting it out into the world (seems appropriate music for the times we're living in......).

That Kamikaze Play (© 2024 Walter Ehresman)

Seething, gnashing, clinching; Eyes roll ‘round your head;

Feeling small and useless; Cobwebs in your bed;

Crave that unearned deference—circa 1965;

And you’ll burn all things to cinders, if it keeps that hope alive.

Trade white hood now for brown shirt, and a hat blood-drenched in red;

And lovingly vote for the men who promise such bloodshed;

And if that tide should come to wash yourself away with those

you blame for all your ills, then you’ll still smile in last repose.

You vote against your interest (like your daddy did before),

unless this roiling bigotry is something you love more;

Those men will drive a stake into your town’s heart on that day;

But will your mind accept that spoil of your kamikaze play……?

You’re gone, and you ain’t comin’ back.

There’s way too many of you, and no way to pare it down;

And the country can’t survive it as your rot infests the ground;

And the nobles can’t believe you’ll really fall for this again;

But when your bullets fly, they may lay out both foe and friend.

Walter Ehresman: vocals & GuitarTalker vocals; electric lead, rhythm & eBow guitars; 5-string electric bass; keyboards & key percussion; electronic percussion pads; drum machine programming.

For official Walter Ehresman releases, please click here:

https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/

p. 2024 Walter Ehresman. All rights reserved. Snipe Bog Records.

NOTE: THIS TRACK HASN'T BEEN MASTERED YET, AND SO YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR SPEAKERS UP A BIT.

I wrote this one a couple of days after the grotesque US election at the beginning of November of this year. Beyond upsetting (I've been down sick for almost 2 weeks now).

The song features a couple who are heartbroken over so many millions of US citizens turning to fascism. The man promises to shield her from what's coming, no matter what, but by the end of the song, he's in the park, muttering alone. Did she leave him? did the Brown Shirts haul her away? did she die of a broken heart over the immense sadness of the whole thing? was she even ever there at all?

I leave it to the listener to fill in the blanks.

This is the "full" mix, which will come out on my pending album "ColIapse, Cha Cha Cha," which will be released in late 2025. I also created a vocals/strings-only special mix of this song as a single (click here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/track/love-in-occupation-single-mix-charity-single), with all proceeds from the sale of the single going to the Feed the Hungry charity here in San Miguel Allende, where I live.

Love in Occupation (© 2024 Walter Ehresman)

My love, hold me tighter and turn off the news;

My heart is too heavy for these Brown-Shirted blues;

All this sad confirmation of our animal side

leaves a room with no corners for our hope to hide.

But I’ll stay with you, darling, to the bitter end;

You’re the one thing tonight on which I can depend;

And if you’ll stay with me, I swear on my life

I will stand as your shield through the darkness and strife;

I will stand as your shield through the darkness tonight.

We allowed ourselves once more to believe in some light

in a world with so many full of hatred and spite;

Now the bootheels are marching and the crosses, they burn,

as the worst of us all take their barbarous turn.

We wonder why that man just talks all alone

in the park every day, in his clothes old and worn;

If he’s not careful, they’ll take him away……

These aren’t days for drawing attention that way.

credits

released November 15, 2024

Walter Ehresman: vocals, keyboards.

Produced and engineered by Walter Ehresman at Snipe Bog Studios, San MIguel de Allende, Mexico.

For Walter Ehresman official releases, please click here: https://walterehresman.bandcamp.com/

p. 2024 Walter Ehresman. Snipe Bog Records. All rights reserved.

, with the full mix coming on my next album, "Collapse Cha Cha Cha," to be released in 2025.