By the Way...

It was late in the year of 1992, and I had been dating Scott for a few months when I wrote the words to "By the Way."  I remember that I gave him a copy of my love poem, and when I saw him again 2 days later he had turned my poem into a song.  I've been writing verse for as long as I can remember, often humming along with the tune in my head as I wrote.  It is an indescribable thrill to have someone hear the song in my words.  With his lovely finger picking and string harmonics, together we wrote a beautiful song, if I do say so myself!

He is performing at a wedding today, and the couple chose it as their recessional song.  The first time he performed "By the Way" at a wedding was for some friends and we were actually in the wedding party.  Tony and Shelly loved our song and had Scott play and sing it for their first dance.
That was in 1999.

Over the years, he has played more weddings than he can even remember. Many brides and grooms request "By the Way" because they've heard it on his CD or on the website, and sometimes he will suggest they listen to it if they are unsure about a song.  Many couples have recessed to it, many have danced their first dance to it, and a few brides have even walked the aisle to it.  Early on, I remember Scott telling me about a couple who requested it for their first dance; they sang along to each other and knew every single word.

It's strange to realize how many weddings have included my words, our song.  How many couples will know that song for the rest of their lives because it was part of their special day?  That is really so cool!  I have to admit that I am quite proud of our beautiful love song.

"...and then you reached out to me and you put your hand in mine,
and you said that life's a song, and we were the next line.
And by the way, I'm in love with you today."

Listen to "By the Way" on Spotify:
https://play.spotify.com/album/0ogKRgSR9weV5g2Wuq1WIl

Listen on Scott's website:
http://www.scottyoungberg.com/






Lyrics at:
http://suzisscribbles.blogspot.com/2009/07/by-way.html

The Way You Say My Name

She misses the way he looked at her
The way he said her name
The way his kisses caused her to shudder
His touch like igniting a flame

He misses the way she wanted him
Made him feel like a man
The way her kiss set his head to spinning
On fire from the touch of her hand

     Has the spark gone cold?
     I miss the heat of the flame
     Has this love grown old?
     I miss the way you say my name

     I miss the way, I miss the way 
     I miss the way you say my name
     I miss the way, I miss the way 
     I miss the way you say my name

She misses the way he looked at her
The way he said her name
He misses her kisses that caused him to shudder
Her touch like igniting a flame

     Has the spark gone cold?
     I miss the heat of the flame
     Has this love grown old?
     I miss the way you say my name

     I miss the way, I miss the way
     I miss the way you say my name
     I miss the way, I miss the way
     I miss the way you say my name

Blame It On Sunday

(I woke up in the middle of the night and wrote most of this, dictating it into my phone, tune and all.  Blame it on insomnia!)

Blame it on a day where 

   there’s nothing else to do

But sit here in my chair     

   and think about you

I might have a couple drinks     

   to calm my shaking hands

Then I’ll have a couple more     

   just to wash them down

Just to wash them down

Just to wash them down

I have memories of moments     

   they’re frozen in time

They play out like a movie     

   across my mind

I can keep it all inside     

   hold it all at bay

But the dam bursts open wide     

   every single Sunday

Every single Sunday

Every single Sunday

Blame it on a day where     

   whiskey takes control

Numbs me so I don’t care    

   breaks down the wall

I’ve cried rivers of regret     

   the tears of a clown

Drowning in a bottle     

   head spinning round and round

Head spinning round and round

Head spinning round and round

We said that we’d be okay     

   just you wait and see

Now I wallow in self-pity     

   this one day a week

Blame it on Sunday     

   don’t lay the blame on me

Blame it on Sunday     

   don’t lay the blame on me

Don’t lay the blame on me

Don’t lay the blame on me

Never Is Enough

The question you asked is hanging in the air

Just floating in between us there

Time around me seems to be stopped

The temperature in the room just dropped

As I realize that we aren’t getting anywhere

People always said that we were such a pair

When we went out they’d stop and stare

Things didn’t turn out like we’d hoped

Would’ve been different if we could’ve coped

Now it’s time to analyze how much we still care

You asked me when is enough?

When is enough, when is enough enough?

When two people are in love

Some are never asked to prove

Most will never force the move

Not until the pushing comes to the shove

Or their lover calls their bluff

Then they’re forced to choose or to lose

So, tell me, when is enough?

When is enough, when is enough enough?

When two people are in love

Never is enough,

Never is enough, never is enough enough

When two people are in love

The question you asked is still hanging out there

Begging me to answer if I dare

Trust is a bubble that shouldn’t be popped

But love is a mountain that can’t be topped

Nobody ever promised you that life would be fair

They always said our kind of love was rare

Flying high on a wing and a prayer

If love is a power that can’t be stopped

A signal so strong it won’t be dropped

Then there’s nothing in this world that we can’t bear

You asked me when is enough?

When is enough, when is enough enough?

When two people are in love

Some are never asked to prove

Most will never force the move

Not until the pushing comes to the shove

Or their lover calls their bluff

Then they’re forced to choose or to lose

So, tell me, when is enough?

When is enough, when is enough enough?

When two people are in love

Never is enough,

Never is enough, never is enough enough
Never is enough,
Never is enough, never is enough enough

When two people are in love

__________

Word Dancing

About a year and a half ago, I wrote a song called "Word Dancing."  I posted the lyrics on here back in June 2013 as "My New Song."  Since I don't play an instrument, the music that accompanies my words can be heard only inside my own head.  Earlier this year, my brother Mark and I were discussing song writing and I had mentioned having a couple of fully written songs in my head that needed to come out.  He volunteered to take a stab at writing the music for me.  So, several months ago, I sent him the lyrics for "Word Dancing" along with 2 recordings of me singing it a capella (bless his heart!) and here is what he did with it.  I am so tickled with his interpretation.

So, give a listen to our first sibling collaboration song.  

Drowning My Sorrow Blues

With every glass of wine that I drink

These thoughts of you are all I think

With every shot of whiskey that I sip

Can’t help but dream of your sweet lips

And if I’m crying in my beer

It’s just because you’re not here

I’m just trying to ease the pain

Of missing you again

Every day I’m more confused

Feeling worried, scared and used

Wish you would call me on the phone

So I wouldn’t feel so all alone

Wearing my feelings up close to my skin

What used to be tough is wearing thin

Killing a bottle in an alcohol haze

Helps numb the pain of better days

I’ll lay here and wallow

Drowning my sorrow

Rum really makes me mellow

And Vodka makes me very slow

Wine used to make me sleepy

Now it seems to make me weepy

Brandy made me lazy

Then Tequila made me crazy

Gin just makes me want to fight

While Sambuca made me see the light

With Absinthe I think I can fly

But Bourbon...Bourbon makes me cry

I’ll lay here and wallow

Drowning my sorrow

So raise a glass to promises spoken

Swallow the poison of promises broken

For better or worse our choice is made

Some vows once taken can’t be unsaid

But I got a bottle to drown my sorrow

I’ll crawl inside at least 'til tomorrow

Might come out, might just stay

And drink my way to a better day

With every glass of wine that I drink

These thoughts of you are all I think

With every shot of whiskey that I sip

Can’t help but dream of your sweet lips

And if I’m crying in my beer

It’s just because you’re not here

I’m just trying to ease the pain

Of missing you again

__________

Fallen Angel

I heard a story ‘bout a girl

Who wanted to live in the world

Being an angel, you see

Just ain’t all it’s cracked up to be 

With legs that refuse to run

Lips that won’t carry a tune

Eyes that can’t seem to cry

And wings that forgot how to fly 

If heaven just ain’t enough

And you’d trade it all for love

Cut your wings down to a stump

And then you just have to jump 

Get a good running start

Jumping’s the easiest part

Let go and learn to forgive

The hard part is learning to live 

And she stands on the edge and says I have to try

Since you cut off my wings I’m not even sure I can fly

But if I jump on my own I might have a chance to survive

More than survive I might even end up alive 

More than survive, I might have a chance to end up alive

My halo fell from my head

It’s down around my feet instead

Shiny shackles are starting to rust

Tarnished metal will one day be dust


And she stands on the edge and says I have to try

Since you cut off my wings I’m not even sure I can fly

But if I jump on my own I might have a chance to survive

More than survive I might even end up alive 

More than survive, I might have a chance to end up alive

I heard a story ‘bout a girl

Who wanted to live in the world

Being an angel, you see

Just ain’t all it’s cracked up to be

My new song

Word Dancing

You hear what you want to hear

Filter my words with your own fear

You run when he comes near

I hear your silence loud and clear



We both live in our own mind

Looking for peace we never find

Life can be so unkind

I always feel one step behind

Can’t you just be happy for me?

I’m just trying to get my arms around me

Desperately trying to hold my breath

Living my life scared to death

If you happen to see a smile on my face

I’m sure there’s a line of a tear you can trace

But if you care so much about me

Can’t you just be happy for me?

Voice so cold it breaks my heart

Wall so thick can’t tear it apart

Word dancing is an art

Words withheld when teardrops start

Broken down trying to be tough

And anchored down by too much stuff

Might drown if seas get rough

Maybe love just ain’t enough

Can’t you just be happy for me?

I’m just trying to get my arms around me

Desperately trying to catch my breath

Living my life scared to death

If you happen to see a smile on my face

I’m sure there’s a line of a tear you can trace

But if you care so much about me

Can’t you just be happy for me?

Word dancing

Spin me round and round the floor

Word dancing

Always leave me wanting more

Word dancing

Spin my head, spin me around

Word dancing

Send me spiraling down

Why can’t you just say what you mean?

Why can’t you be happy for me?

Why can’t you just say what you mean?

Why can’t you be happy for me?

If you care so much about me

Can't you just be happy for me?

She Gets It All

She made a plan
Tracked down the man
She made a call
And risked it all
Telling herself she wasn’t in the wrong
But knew what she was doing all along

Because she always gets her way
Always has the last word to say
Nobody saw that she was headed for a fall
Because she always gets it all

She played it cool
Played him a fool
Looked in his eyes
And told him lies
She thought she could keep him on a string
Thought he would never know a thing

Because she always gets her way
Always has the last word to say
Nobody saw that she was headed for a fall
Because she always gets it all

She blames whiskey
Pleads insanity                   (She had her fun)
Played the wrong card
Let down her guard            (What’s done is done)
She blames whiskey
Pleads insanity                   (She had her fun)
Played the wrong hand
Played the wrong man        (He was the one)

She’s on her knees
She begs and pleads
Now everyday
She’ll have to pay
Holding on to the fickle hand of fate
She won’t let go, too little or too late

Because she always gets her way
Always has the last word to say
Nobody saw that she was headed for a fall
Because she always gets it all

Lovesick

I close my eyes and see your face
Every line of you my mind can trace
My fingers ache to feel your skin
My body begs for the bed you're in

I need your eyes to look at me
Reflecting back all the love you see
I long to feel your lips on mine
Need to hold you tight until the end of time

I'm sick in love but there is a cure
That's one thing that I know for sure
These lovesick blues would blow away
If I could hold you in my arms today

I hear your voice and it makes me smile
I'll hold that sound in my head for a while
I want to bring you laughs and love
Give you everything you're dreaming of

I can feel your hands caress my skin
Don't know where I end and you begin
Our arms and legs so intertwined
Tangled up in sheets and love combined

I'm sick in love but there is a cure
That's one thing that I know for sure
These lovesick blues would blow away
If I could hold you in my arms today

More Scribbles

Mind, Body and Soul

So, I'm sitting here waiting on you to make up your mind

I'm sitting here waiting on you and running out of time

'Cause I won't settle for part of you, I want you whole

Gotta have you mind, body and soul

I got this crazy idea that you and me baby

We got what it takes

I got this crazy idea that you and me honey

We got what it takes

We've got what it takes to make a great life together

Lovers, soulmates, best friends forever

We've got the tools to show them all how it's done

We'll show them how two can be one

But I won't settle for part of you, I want you whole

Gotta have you mind, body and soul

It might not even be the same as it used to be

But I feel like part of you has been fused to me

Now one of us is never complete without the other

We vow to never retreat but never smother

We've got the tools to show them all how it's done

We'll show them how two can be one

I got this crazy idea that you and me baby

We got what it takes

I got this crazy idea that you and me honey

We got what it takes

We've got what it takes to make a great life together

Lovers, soulmates, best friends forever

We've got the tools to show them all how it's done

We'll show them how two can be one

But I won't settle for part of you, I want you whole

Gotta have you mind, body and soul

Gotta have you mind, body and soul

Gotta have you mind, body and soul

More Recent Scribbles

Broken Pieces

I reached for you last night in bed
The way you used to like me to
You turned away from me instead
Today I’m sad, alone and blue

Broken pieces lying on the floor
Broken hearts walking out the door
I don’t think you want me like you did before
Don’t think I put the need in you anymore

Last week we emptied the wine rack
And bashed a hole in your guitar
Wish we knew how to put it back
We never meant to start a war

Broken pieces lying on the floor
Broken hearts walking out the door
I don’t think you want me like you did before
Don’t think I put the need in you anymore

I have a heavy heart
I have a worried mind
I have a funny feeling that
You’re no longer mine
I have a heavy heart
I have a worried mind
I have a funny feeling that
I’ve really lost you this time

I reached for you last night in bed
The way you used to like me to
You turned away from me instead
Today I’m sad, alone and blue

Broken pieces lying on the floor
Broken hearts walking out the door
I don’t think you want me like you did before
Don’t think I put the need in you anymore

Just Scribbles

A while ago, I went back through some of my old writings, or scribbles as I call them. Just bits of poem or verse I've written over the years. A lot of them are sad or angst-y. Unfortunately, unhappiness has always been more of a muse to me than happiness. Which explains why I don't write as much these days. As my brother Mark so eloquently put it, it's a "blessing curse."

So these scribbles are posted here to be read or not, but hopefully not to be judged too harshly. Writing has always been my therapy, so it's primarily just for me. Some of it, Scott has seen worthy of putting to music, which is an indescribable thrill. With luck, we'll hit upon something else that will suit itself to song, but as I said, it's just my scribbles. Maybe you will like them.

The first one here, "Morning" is one of the songs Scott and I have written together. It can be heard on Scott's website: http://www.scottyoungberg.com/.

MORNING

This morning as the sunlight fell on your sleeping head
You looked just like an angel as you lay there in my bed
The rays of morning sun they filled your golden hair with light
I sighed and breathed you in and wrapped my arms around you tight

I remembered how you looked the night before had drove me wild
Now that peaceful smile it made you look just like a child
I didn't want to move or speak or somehow break the spell
But your warm body brought that feeling of desire I know so well

I pulled you even closer and put feather kisses on your cheek
The feel of your smooth skin it was enough to make me weak
And then your eyes were open and they were smiling into mine
I said good morning to you and then I lost all track of time

OBSESSION

The lady sees your face in her dreams;
She's obsessed with you it seems.
Maybe you have changed your mind
Since you went off and left her behind.

Do you ever miss her when you lay down with your baby at night?
She wonders if you still think you were right.
Or is her name still on the tip of your tongue
Just like all those songs you have sung?
How could you not feel?
Her love should have made even your heart reel.

She's starting to worry about her sanity.
Her heart says you're coming back,
But her mind says it's just her vanity.
She can't accept that you haven't missed her yet.
How could she have been so easy to forget?

Do you ever wonder how it might have been,
If you had stayed with her through thick and thin?
Do you ever wish you could have told her why
You weren't even man enough to tell her goodbye.

THE DREAM

I had a dream last night that I was back on the beach.
The moon hung low and bright just above the waves
And the wind blew my hair and my clothes all around me.
I could smell the salt in the air and taste it on my tongue.
And I felt your arms wrapped tight around me.
The crash of the waves was the only sound
And I could feel the soft, cool sand beneath my feet.
My skin was tingling from the spray as the waves broke against the sand,
And I felt the beauty of it all around me.
I felt your lips and felt your breath on my face.
Felt the strength of your hands on the small of my back.
The wind blew our words and our sighs away
And I could feel the glow of moonlight all around me.
I was caught up again in the spell of the ocean
And lost in the magic of a kiss,
As I walked on the beach in my dream last night.

INVISIBLE GIRL

She keeps a mirror by the door.
It's her defense against the world.
She checks the glass to make sure
She hasn't faded any more.

Her lover doesn't see her fear,
Or see her wipe away a tear.
He doesn't notice, doesn't hear,
But she's begun to disappear.

She has a problem she can't show.
He doesn't even want to know.
If only she didn't love him so;
Someday she knows she'll have to go.

Because she's begun to fade away,
A little more with each new day.

Her lover doesn't see her fear,
Or see her wipe away a tear.
He doesn't notice, doesn't hear,
But she's begun to disappear.

WITH THIS RING (or WHITE GOLD WIELDER)

With this ring I gave you my heart
And swore to love till death do us part
I promised to honor to cherish and love
In front of the world and God up above
And now you're telling me that wasn't enough

Can you feel the fire inside me?
Look in my eyes and you will see
The flames of your love dying in me
My mind is in darkness of endless night
And anger clouds my sense of what's right
This ring on my finger fills all my sight

With this ring I swore to be true
To be faithful and kind and love only you
Everyone says that true love can be blind
But you stood up there and said you were mine
And now you're telling me you've changed your mind

Can you feel the pain in my soul?
My eyes reflect a gaping hole
Tearing out my heart has taken its toll
But it's more than pain that fills my head
And God forgive me I wish both of us dead
This ring on my finger fills me with dread

With this ring I made you my wife
And gave you the power to destroy my life
I once thought my life would end without you
And if I lost you I didn't know what I would do
And now look what your leaving has led me to

Can you feel the power of my dreams?
I wake up screaming and I know what it means
The anger I'm feeling wants blood it seems
This violence inside me must find a release
Before these dreams can finally cease
This ring on my finger feels like a disease

SUNRISE AFTER THE TRIP

It's morning
The sun is just a glow on the horizon
Out on the waters edge
I glide down to the beach and dig my toes into the sand
I hear the crash of surf and watch the waves caress the land
And I smile and…

I think about you fast asleep in the bed I was just in
Still feel your warm soft arms around me
And your smell is on my skin
I had to slip away, down to the beach
To watch the day begin
But when the sun is up I'll slip back to our room
Into your arms again

The sun shines
A ball of red hanging on a string
On the edge of the world
But I start to feel its warmth as the ocean turns to gold
I think I should return to bed
Before the morning gets too old
And I smile and…

I think about you fast asleep in the bed I was just in
Still feel your warm soft arms around me
And your smell is on my skin
I had to slip away, down to the beach
To watch the day begin
But when the sun is up I'll slip back to our room
Into your arms again

THE CLINIC

Mama, please say you're not mad
Mama, they didn't tell me it would hurt so bad
Mama, this is the only choice I had
Mama, please say you won't tell Dad

bright lights
cold air from the air conditioning
smell of disinfectant
with a faint tinge of something else
the smell of death
cold unfeeling faces
cold hands
clinical words
the world goes dark
cold table
disorientation covers the emptiness
little white pills
make the pain go away
block the memory out
and then it's over

Mama, please say you're not mad
Mama, they didn't tell me it would hurt so bad
Mama, this is the only choice I had
Mama, please say you won't tell Dad

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN LOVE
~On watching "Husbands and Wives" by Woody Allen~

Can you tell me what it means to be in love?
Or why it seems like everyone
is trying so hard to be happy?
Why are we conditioned with dreams
that have no hope of coming true?
Why do we expect the happy endings
and cry for the ones that never do?

Is it right that we should settle
for comfort and companionship and
sacrifice passion and fire?
Is that what love and marriage come down to?
The unsatisfied part of your soul that you
sweep under the rug because it's
not worth losing all the rest.
Is that love?

But how can two people expect to be
the answer to every dream, every fantasy?
Is it better to be alone?
Or spend your life searching for the one
that meets every requirement.
The one that will never come.
Or do you settle and take the good
and ignore the rest?
Is that what it means to be in love?

TALK ABOUT LOVE

I don't want to talk about love
any more tonight
I don't want to think about love
any more tonight
I just want to close my eyes
Squeeze them tight
Block out sound
Block out light
I don't want to talk about love
any more tonight

We think we're in love
But what does that mean
It's just words they print
In Women's magazines

Don't ask what I want
In bed or for breakfast
Don't bother asking
How long this will last

What makes us think
That we can do more
Than millions of others
Who've tried it before

I don't want to talk about love
any more tonight
I don't want to think about love
any more tonight
I just want to close my eyes
Squeeze them tight
Block out sound
Block out light
I don't want to talk about love
any more tonight

They prove it in movies
Time after time
After the kisses
The flowers and the wine

The music stops playing
The shouting begins
They say it's forever
But forever ends

What makes us think
That we can do more
Than millions of others
Who've tried it before

By The Way

"By The Way" was the first song that Scott and I ever wrote together. We had only been dating a few months when I gave him a love poem I had written. When I saw him a few days later, he had made my poem into a song. And a good song! It is requested by many brides for weddings that he plays. Some walk down the aisle to it, and many use it as the first dance. Scott played a wedding recently where the bride and groom not only danced to it as their first dance, but also sang every word to each other. That is very cool! You can hear the song on Scott's website:
www.scottyoungberg.com.



BY THE WAY
~copyright November 1992~

There's something about you
That makes me smile even if I'm blue.
You have a way of knowing what to say
And by the way, I'm in love with you today.

There's something about you
That makes me think your love is true.
You have a way, You make me want to stay
And by the way, I'm in love with you today.
(I'm in love with you today.)

When I first saw your face all I noticed was your smile
And I thought how nice it was to watch it for a while.
And when your eyes looked into mine I knew that I was lost
But I also knew a face like that could well be worth the cost
And by the way, I'm in love with you today.

Will you take me in your arms and say you love me too?
Can you say you know just what I mean, and know just what to do?
And if I had a wish, I'd wish to always feel this way
To feel the way I feel for you today, but , anyway
I'm in love with you today.

And then I heard your voice, and the sweet way that you sang
And your words were a soft caress that fell on me like rain.
And then you reached out to me and you put your hand in mine
And you said that life's a song and we were the next line
And by the way, I'm in love with you today.
By the way...