This & That. Those are their names. For now.
Cayuga Duckling babies, the youngest residents here at the ranch. This is the bigger one. #TheBarefootRanch #ducks #MRducks
*No AI was used in the production of this video. These are actual ducks. In my actual living room.
Category: #JamieGrayOfficial
Creativity and Moody Muses
A lot of creative people I know seem to create constantly. Some people claim you have to force yourself to write daily.
Me, I don’t think you should force yourself to do anything, and my muses would only get angry at me for abusing their good nature. I’ve come to appreciate the long periods of nothing as rest between the motherlode dumps. It’s almost seasonal, except the seasons are random and droughts frequent. But I’m NOT complaining.
True Creativity is a gift. It comes from inside, but also from someplace else. Muses. Belligerent as they are generous, if you try and steal their gifts for gain. For Profit. For me, anyway.
I don’t think it’s wrong to make a career of music. But for ME, the career part doesn’t make sense. I don’t want to sell you something. I just want you to listen, if it makes you feel something. Anything. Otherwise, fuck off. Seriously.
Because having a great beat and fun lyrics isn’t a bad. I’ve had many great nights that were just plain fucking good FUN. But I also think there has to be more to the music (or at least a lot of xstasy). Listening to music without feeling something besides the driving bass, leaves a whole realm of emotions unfelt. Buried. Seems empty. Noisy.
There are millions of artists streaming their work, and some of them really grab your attention, for diverse and spectacular reasons. Then there is a lot of noise. A LOT. Amongst all the noise, I try to offer back the gifts I’ve received.
If you are chosen by fate to find my music, and it actually reaches you…makes you feel something, then we are probably kindred spirits. Touched by the same demons and dragons. Dazed by the beauty, hope and sadness of it all, and frustrated by humanity’s stagnation on the road to evolved existence. There’s a lot of those themes in my songs, even if you don’t hear them the first time.
But I mean…How fucking hard is it to love each other, learn to feed everyone, and stop fighting over real estate, money, and power? Why is it so difficult rein in the entitlement of the elite overlords who use division to bend history for their own benefit, while depriving much of mankind of the benefits of unity and the resources of a bountiful planet?
Anyway, thanks for reading. Thanks for listening. In peace and hope. ~j
On A Sunny Day – Unreleased Edition
This is a previously unreleased track, recorded originally for my Anywhere EP, but not included in the initial release.
If (Revisited for the 2020s, with no apologies to Kipling and Dr Seuss)
If you can keep your head
when you’re surrounded by idiots
who blindly believe
If you dream of a future
where no one goes hungry,
no one in need
If your head spins from lies,
corruption and greed,
from sources empowered,
trusted to read. us the news.
If you care about kindness
and feel pain when others,
are hurt due to ignorance
of assholes unkind.
If you respect all creation,
and don’t understand,
why people and creatures
suffer at the hands
of inhumane humans
who don’t have a plan
to make anything better
if they can’t make a buck,
I know they all mock us,
think we’re all dumb as fuck
keep telling us it’s just
a run of bad luck
while they reap giant profits
Did i say reap? I meant SUCK
till there’s nothing to suck
because they’ve sucked it all up
If you believe in equality
and justice for all,
while living in horror
or hiding or fear
at the hateful who profit
by war and division
and shameless abuse
of the poor and the meek
If everything around you
seems way too insane,
a fucked up new normal,
a pain in the brain,
each new profanity
a breath of insanity,
making the last one
seem comfortable, fuzzy and warm.
If this is a world
that ain’t one you prefer,
and the people in power
seem doomed to make things worse
If you keep falling and getting back up
when the world seems dead set
on knocking your ass
right back to the pavement
as soon as you do.
If making things better
still seems important,
even after all
we’ve all been through
Then remember one thing,
my friend most of all.
The bigger the asshole,
the louder they fall
For so many have eyes
but refuse to be able
to see through the lies
to the truth on the table
in Freedom’s last light
We fade into denial
with barely a fight,
Staring into the Void
of our future destroyed
Pretending the darkness
Is too fucking bright
time to wake up now
the nightmare won’t end until we do
If…
New Year 2025
My video message to all, complete with song fragment.
so here we are
the end of ’24
I made it thru.
so did you.
so here we are.
I have no optimism to share
no words of hope
nor any advice
except this:
(Song fragment: wake up)
don’t let them win
without a fight
don’t ever give up
gotta make it all right
no time for hate
no time for revenge
we gotta fucking wake up
for this nightmare to end
Peace and Kindness on Earth and good will to All
As Winter begins and this year ends, I just want to thank everyone for your friendship and support. You guys mean the world to me, and if you’re reading this, now you know. I care about you.
Stay safe and be kind in the coming shitstorm. Remember, there are others who can’t avoid getting hit in the face with it.
~jamie
Twas the Weekend Before Christmas
Twas the weekend before Christmas
We were broke as could be
We were freezing our asses
By the fire and TV
When what did our half-frozen
eyeballs then spy
Was a snowstorm to bury
All our firewood in ice
It got colder and colder
We shivered and shook
As the wind howled and sliced
Out the window we looked
More snow was falling
I can’t wait till it melts
The basement gets flooded
mud up to our belts
May your Christmas be white
May your driveway stay plowed
May we all make it through
All this hate, fear and doubt.
May the season bring joy
May you somehow find peace
In the dark years ahead
Love and light will not cease.
~