Songs
Track listings from Ron's albums
"Songwriter's Collection: Volume 1"
- Howard the Jamaican Gardener - lyrics
This song was written in Negril, Jamaica (November, 2006). Ron was on vacation there and met a gardener at the hotel where he was staying. This song is an attempt to describe that man's life.
- Southern Lawyer Blues - lyrics
This is the first song Ron ever wrote and performed live (circa 1991). He has never been in a jail - thankfully.
- Fishing Pole - lyrics
This song was written in Las Vegas (Spring, 2006). Ron was listening to some old time music and got inspired. Ironically, he doesn't know how to fish.
- Christmas in the Caribbean - lyrics
Ron finished writing this song while traveling through Guatemala (December, 2002). He flashed on the fact that Christmas has different connotations around the world, and that his were mostly related to Santa Claus.
- Gameboy - lyrics
Ron wrote this song while riding the Greyhound bus from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (2005). Some kid in front of him was playing on his gameboy, and Ron thought it was a cool concept.
- Open Highway - lyrics
This song was written in Los Angeles (January 2005). It attempts to capture his view of life at that time.
- Lady Tomorrow - lyrics
This song was written in August of 2006. Ron likes the way that the final version come out - adding drums changed the song entirely. It's about a person that exists somewhere...
- Red River Delta - lyrics
This song was written in Southeast Asia (Laos and Vietnam) in August of 2006. There is a very scenic part of northern Vietnam known as the Red River Delta.
- Purgatory Blues - lyrics
Ron wrote this song at a low point in his life. He wanted it to be general enough so that anybody experiencing problems could relate to it.
- Stagger Lee - lyrics
This song took a long time to write, but it was finished around December of 2003. Ron wanted to do his own version of this traditional story. For those who don't know, Stagger Lee
was a black outlaw of the Wild West.
- Gypsy Girl - lyrics
Ron doesn't know what inspired this song. It's not so much about a specific person as it is a personality type. He wrote this around December of 2006.
- The Ballad of Heartbreak Metro - lyrics
Ron can't remember what inspired this song, but it was finished around 1999. He had kept it around a while and finally decided to record it.
- Traveling Fool - lyrics
Ron's friend and travel partner, Mike Farr, wrote these lyrics around December of 2004. He gave them to Ron who quickly put some ukulele chords behind it.
"Still Traveling"
- Everyone Wanting Your Money - lyrics
This was written after a trip to Las Vegas in 2004 (before Ron moved there). It's pretty descriptive and the lyrics are rather direct. It's not what the casino wants to hear, though.
- Elizabeth Jane - lyrics
This song is based on a book entitled "The Mayor of Casterbridge"
by Thomas Hardy
- I'm Just Not Done - lyrics
Ron was listening to a lot of country music in 2004, and this song seemed to bleed through. He claims he doesn't really know how to play traditional country, so this is his closest version of something in that genre.
- American Freeway Blues (duet with Amy Penney) - lyrics
Ron wrote this song after he returned from a trip to Texas (fall 2003). He left Los Angeles to escape the traffic and ended up in a traffic jam in Austin, Texas. You just can't win!
- The Desert Jade - lyrics
This is one of the earliest songs Ron ever wrote (circa 1990). This is a song that convinced him that he could write well and gave him the confidence to continue. It is based on the California desert. It had more depth and structure than anything he had ever written before.
- The Hand of Invocation (arranged by André Marins) - lyrics
The arrangement for this song was written by Ron's good friend André Marins. Ron convinced him to record it on his CD "Still Traveling" and André was cool enough to say yes. Ron says, "I was trying to fool people into thinking I could play the guitar well! André Marins rocks!"
- El Corazón - lyrics
Ron wrote this song in a hotel room in Northern Nicaragua (summer 2004). It is to this today, his one and only song that he has written in Spanish. It is a traditional love ballad, essentially.
- The Perfect Song (featuring Amy Penney) - lyrics
The lyrics to this song were written by Ron's friend Amy Penney, and he set the chords to it. This is one of the few songs in his life that he has truly co-written with another person.
- Mississippi Blind Man Blues - lyrics
This song was written in 2003. It is an ode to the music of the South. Ron was listening to a lot of old time Blues and this song was his form of tribute.
- The Ballad of Pip and Estella - lyrics
This song was written around 2000.
It is based on the book "Great Expectations"by Charles Dickens
"Traveler"
- Rhythm and Blues - lyrics
This was one of the first songs Ron ever wrote. He used to play it with a band that he was in called Pilgrim Simpleton (roughly 1993). He stumbled on the chorus and wrote the rest quickly thereafter.
- Hitch a Ride - lyrics
This song was written after a trip Ron took to Europe (August 2000). The travel bug really hit him, and this song was his mantra at that time. Still is, actually.
- Pacific - lyrics
Another one of his earliest songs. He was playing this with a friend - Toby Gautschi - who also played bass in the band Pilgrim Simpleton with Ron (circa 1993). Toby liked it and suggested that Ron call it Pacific. So he did.
- Tennessee Train - lyrics
Ron wrote this one when he was on a train from Tuscaloosa, Alabama to New Orleans (July 1999). The train was traveling through rural Mississippi and Ron got inspired by the scenery.
- Wild Turkey - lyrics
This song was written in 2000. Ron was playing a gig when a fight broke out in the bar. One guy was carried out by the bouncers, and he yelled "Wild Turkey!" as they tossed him out the door. Ron wrote the song the next day.
- Ham-Fisted Woman - lyrics
This song was written in 1999. It is based on a book by Zora Neale Hurston
She describes one of the characters as "a ham-fisted woman". Ron thought that description was great, so he based a song around it.
- I Want to Go to New Orleans - lyrics
This one is simple enough. Ron visited New Orleans in July of 1999 and loved it. Once he got back, he wrote this a few months later.
- Crimson Fire - lyrics
The place and reason Ron wrote this song have escaped him. Ironically, it is one of his favorites. This is one of the few rock'n'roll songs that Ron has written.
- Monique - lyrics
Ron wrote this one in 1999. It's not based on an actual person... but maybe it is. Who knows? Love works in mysterious ways. There was an actress named Monique that he used for the title.
- Lighthouse Lantern - lyrics
The chords and chorus for this song were written in 1993 with the band Pilgrim Simpleton. However, Ron changed the verses after a trip he took to Santiago, Chile (circa 2003). The ocean theme came back around.
- Halcyon Girl - lyrics
This song was written sometime during the mid 1990s. There is a town along the California coast called Halcyon, and Ron used to always pass it on his way to college in Northern California. It is also something of a tribute to the band The Mother Hips
- Settle Into Me - lyrics
This is another song whose origin Ron can't place. Similar to Crimson Fire, it is also one of his favorite. He loves playing it with a full band to accompany.
"The Peace Butlers"
- Hello Engineer - lyrics
- The Little Things - lyrics
- Midnight Walk - lyrics
- Exile Blues - lyrics
- Pennywings - lyrics
- The Desert Jade - lyrics
- Medicine Hat - lyrics
- Three-Legged Dog - lyrics
- Kentucky Banjo - lyrics
- Rock of Stone - lyrics
Other Songs...
- Airplane Seabird - lyrics
All songs by Ron Schaffer
