reverse threading

the path back is the path forward


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peace. as it is. [k.s. friday]

peace song box

i distinctly remember recording this.  i was at yamaha artist services in nyc and it was winter.  the word “peace” was on a list of words i wanted to use as titles for pieces.  “peace” is a big word for me….i’ve talked about how there are peace signs and the word peace all over our home and it was no different when i wrote this.  the trouble with writing and using a big word is that you feel an imperative to make it count.  there is a kind of heavy emphasis on this choice to use THIS word as a title – that you write well enough to support such a big word, that you do it justice, that it FEELS what the word feels like.  it’s super-charged with self-induced pressure.

but the moments i spent composing this were extraordinarily special and i was wrapped in a cloak of peacefulness and love.  it is not a complex piece of music; it has a repeating theme and, like a song with lyrics, returns to that theme again and again.  like statement-question-answer-lift-statement-question-answer-lift structure.

“it’s fine” ken, in his infinite wisdom, orchestrated this so my heart weeps with gratitude each time i listen.  cello lines and strings and french horn pull the simple melody out of the place of simplicity and reach, for me, a depth of being.

every artist has compositions that are their favorites, the ones that really express who they are. maybe it’s because i can so distinctly remember initially recording this.  maybe it’s because i remember being back in the studio in chicago with ken as he tracked the other instrumentation.  maybe it’s because it’s THAT word, the piece with THAT title.    regardless of the reason, THIS is one of mine.

download PEACE track 5 on AS IT IS on iTunes or on CDBaby

read DAVID’S thoughts on this KS FRIDAY

K.S. FRIDAY (KERRI SHERWOOD FRIDAY) – ON OUR SITE

PEACE from AS IT IS ©️ 2004 kerri sherwood


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angel you are. [k.s. friday]

angel you are with photo song box copy

“…you’re an angel in my life, and i’m still ridin’ on the back of your bike.”

“…you’re my big brother till the end of all time.  angel you are.”

when i was little, my brother wayne used to ride me around on his bike…pretty much anywhere and everywhere.  and so my adoration of him started early.  he was nine years older than me; he had wisdom and know-how i didn’t…i was years behind him.  even when i was small, i cherished all the moments he spent with me.  and i didn’t know.

i didn’t know that time would be cut short and that this person who i relied on for advice and wisdom and fixing-stuff-know-how and just general big-brother stuff wouldn’t be around forever.

i remember being in the hospital with him during one of his chemo sessions.  i asked him if i had been an annoyance when i was young, always wanting to go with him, always wanting his attention.  there was this moment i will always remember – forever.  he said, “no!  you were my little sister and i was proud of you.  i always wanted you with me.”

time stood still when he said that.  i knew it was important to memorize that moment.   i am still holding on to it.

angel you are, bro.

download ANGEL YOU ARE on iTUNES or on CDBaby

purchase the physical CD AS SURE AS THE SUN

read DAVID’S thoughts on this K.S. FRIDAY (KERRI SHERWOOD FRIDAY)

KS FRIDAY – ON OUR SITE

ANGEL YOU ARE from AS SURE AS THE SUN ©️ 2002 kerri sherwood

 


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in a split second. [k.s. friday]

inasplitsecond SONG BOX

over and over and over we are reminded.  every second counts.  it even gets trite sometimes.  but then, once again, something makes time come crashing to a halt, where everything moves in slow motion and we are crushed with the inevitability of a change we didn’t anticipate, plan for, dream of or, even, want.

i wrote this song when heidi told me about waiting for the results of her mammogram, ultrasound, biopsy.  she spoke of the moment her doctor called; she asked him to hold on and she walked to the mirror to look at herself before her whole life changed.  THOSE WORDS impacted me enormously.  i couldn’t get the vision out of my mind and wrote this for her.  we went on to use this song when we performed (heidi – breast cancer survivor and inspirational speaker, me – writing songs and music to wrap through and around the events) as part of cancer survivor celebrations, walks, runs, hospital and pharmaceutical recognitions, susan g komen foundation, y-me breast cancer organization, american cancer society, gilda radner’s gilda club, young survival coalition, the san antonio breast cancer symposium, bristol-myers squibb tour of hope, living beyond breast cancer…

but this song goes beyond cancer survivorship.  time can change and our lives can turn in more ways than we care to think about.  there are many challenges, in many categories.  the older i get, the more i see it.

on our roadtrip through the i-can’t-get-enough-of-it rocky mountains and intensely beautiful southwest, we talked about one second moving into the next.  (don’t worry – lots of time we talk about things like twizzlers or our obsession with mission chips or we talk the scion into going up steep mountains.)  and we talked about how, no matter what happens in a moment, it would be in our very best interest to linger in each one and then move into the next moment without carrying the stuff of the previous one. “it’s all new,” we agreed.

each individual moment counts.  each one is different.  yes, each one…each moment…trite as it sounds…is a gift.

download IN A SPLIT SECOND – track 11 on AS SURE AS THE SUN on iTUNES and CDBaby

or purchase the physical CD AS SURE AS THE SUN on www.kerrisherwood.com

read DAVID’S thoughts on IN A SPLIT SECOND

IN A SPLIT SECOND from AS SURE AS THE SUN ©️ 2002 kerri sherwood

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holding on, letting go. [k.s. friday]

holdingonlettinggo song BOX.jpg

you just never know.  what the pluses or minuses of letting go might be.  what way you might limit yourself by holding on.  it’s all a mystery.

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KS FRIDAY (KERRI SHERWOOD FRIDAY) – ON OUR SITE

download HOLDING ON, LETTING GO track 7 RIGHT NOW on iTUNES

purchase the physical CD RIGHT NOW

read DAVID’S thoughts on this KS FRIDAY

HOLDING ON, LETTING GO from RIGHT NOW ©️ 2010 kerri sherwood


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in the night. [k.s. friday]

inthenight song BOX

i am writing this ahead of time…in anticipation of a so-much-looked-forward-to trip to the high mountains to spend time with The Girl and our new granddog lumi.  when you read this, we will be almost home.  and there are a few things i know for sure.

that i will -for sure- awake at night, as i often do, and i will relive the time we spent in those mountains.  i will relish the time i will now have in my memory bank, the visions in my mind’s eye.  i will cherish the bits and pieces i will have brought back for our special box.  i will hold dear the photographs i will have taken.

when the moon wakes me, i will be endlessly grateful for any and all moments in the little town she  calls home.  i will run conversations and laughter through the middle-of-the-night quiet.  i will catch a hint of the cool midnight colorado air on the breeze through the window.  i will feel what it feels like to, once again, hug my beautiful daughter.  and i will store it all away.  so that in the night – any night – i can recall all of it.

 

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download IN THE NIGHT track 5 THIS PART OF THE JOURNEY on iTUNES

purchase the physical CD THIS PART OF THE JOURNEY

KS FRIDAY (KERRI SHERWOOD FRIDAY) – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts about this KS FRIDAY

IN THE NIGHT from THIS PART OF THE JOURNEY ©️ 1997 & 2000 kerri sherwood

 


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the arnson-goodbye [k.s. friday]

hatetosaygoodbyeSONGBOX

the “arnson-goodbye” is infamous.  it is an endless loop that strays as far away from “goodbye” as possible.  on the phone, standing by the side of the car in the driveway, at the dorm room door, next to the apartment building in boston or a place in the high colorado mountains, the goodbye just goes on and on.  the conversation ebbs and swells, the tide of “the leave” determined by how long it will be till “the next time.”  i really can’t be blamed, so i hope my children are reading this.  it has been passed down through generations; we are all dna-driven to have this longgggg goodbye, this aversion to actually DO-ing it:  leaving.

yup.  i truly do hate to say goodbye.  i come by it honestly.  so, now you get my thready-ness, yes?

to download HATE TO SAY GOODBYE track 12 from BLUEPRINT FOR MY SOUL on iTunes, click here

K.S. FRIDAY (KERRI SHERWOOD FRIDAY) – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts on this K.S .FRIDAY

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HATE TO SAY GOODBYE from BLUEPRINT FOR MY SOUL ©️ 1996 kerri sherwood


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but i feel more. [k.s. friday]

song box copy

the choir, ukulele band and handbell players all came to our house last week.  it was the end of the year party.  it’s a tradition to gather here several times a year to celebrate all the music we make together; everyone brings food (amazing dishes and treats) and drinks (wine and delicious frozen drinks or other concoctions ala dan) to pass.  conversation is loud and laughter punctuates everything.  dogdog runs out to greet people and revels in the fact that babycat is locked away for the party.  we crowd foods onto our dining room table and a variety of other flat surfaces.  when we are lucky it is nice out and people can spill out onto the deck and the patio.  it is joyous!

many moments during the evening i will find myself just looking around at these dear people…a community…my community…our community…and i will have a rush of wonder and gratitude and great fondness;  d and i both love them.  they are these faces in our life and it is the love with which they surround us, just like the devoted love in this song, that makes me feel more.

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to purchase the album AS SURE AS THE SUN, please click here

to download the song BUT I FEEL MORE track 7 from AS SURE AS THE SUN on iTunes click here

to download the song BUT I FEEL MORE on CDBaby.com, click here

read DAVID’S thoughts on this K.S. FRIDAY

BUT I FEEL MORE from AS SURE AS THE SUN ©️ 2002 kerri sherwood


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the way you move me [k.s. friday]

thewayyoumoveme Primary IMage BOX

thewayyoumoveme product BAR

june 1 – the first day of pride month.  according to the library of congress:  “the commemorative month is meant to recognize the sweeping impact that LGBT individuals, advocates and allies have on history in the U.S. and around the globe.”

as we head into this month of celebrations and parades, symposia and concerts, i am achingly hopeful for our world and our attitudes and acceptance of each other as we are.

i want my children to be in a world that is limitless, that looks for the best in each other, that allows them, and everyone else, to be in a reciprocated relationship that speaks to them, to their soul, regardless of gender.  (or race or economic status or or or…)   so when you ask them why they are in the relationship, they would each respond, “it’s the way he/she moves me.”

THE WAY YOU MOVE ME – track 4 on AS SURE AS THE SUN

click here (or on the product bar above) for THE WAY YOU MOVE ME – RAW LYRICS products

K.S. FRIDAY (KERRI SHERWOOD FRIDAY) – ON OUR SITE  – links to purchase the album or download the song are on this site

read DAVID’S thoughts about this K.S.FRIDAY

THE WAY YOU MOVE ME (from AS SURE AS THE SUN) and THE WAY YOU MOVE ME products ©️ 2002 & 2018 kerri sherwood

 


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taking stock [ks friday]

ks friday primary image BOX copy

takestock PRODUCT BAR copy

there are those moments.  the overwhelmed ones.  when you feel like all is not going your way.  those are the moments that this piece of music is about.  as much as i’d like to think i always remember to 1. stop 2. take stock and 3. give thanks, i need a reminder from time to time.  TAKING STOCK (listen below) from the album RIGHT NOW is all about remembering to have gratitude, for where i am, any second of any hour of any day of any year of any time….

click here to download TAKING STOCK (track 1 on RIGHT NOW) on iTUNES

click here to download TAKING STOCK (track 1 on RIGHT NOW) on CDBaby.com

click here to purchase the physical CD RIGHT NOW

click here (or on product box above) for TAKE STOCK products

KS FRIDAY (KERRI SHERWOOD FRIDAY) – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts about TAKING STOCK

TAKING STOCK track 1 on RIGHT NOW & TAKE STOCK products ©️ 2010 & 2018 kerri sherwood


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let me take you back [ks friday]

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LET ME TAKE YOU BACK from the album AS IT IS

take me back product BAR copy

one of my treasured concert memories is a concert where The Boy played with me.  i loved all the laughter leading up to it as he wailed on his tenor in my studio.  we had so much fun.  this song LET ME TAKE YOU BACK (listen below) makes me think of him.  originally a solo piano piece and the title track for a pair of albums LET ME TAKE YOU BACK Volumes 1 & 2 (my solo piano arrangements of 60’s and 70’s songs), the infamous ken orchestrated it for the album AS IT IS with saxophone and thereafter, in live performance, it belonged to craig.  let me take you back totally takes me back to those days.

have a cup of coffee (or, if it is later in the day, a glass of wine) and sit back with me.  and, since the LET ME TAKE YOU BACK albums are no longer available, maybe dig out your old 45’s of john denver, dan fogelberg, pete seeger, gordon lightfoot, bread, bob dylan, loggins and messina, jim croce, carole king, joni mitchell, carly simon…well, you get the picture…and play them on a record player.

TAKE ME BACK products (click here or on product bar above)

click here to download LET ME TAKE YOU BACK from AS IT IS on iTunes

click here to download LET ME TAKE YOU BACK from AS IT IS on CDBaby.com

KS FRIDAY (KERRI SHERWOOD FRIDAY) – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts on this KS FRIDAY

LET ME TAKE YOU BACK from AS IT IS & TAKE ME BACK products ©️ 2004 & 2018 kerri sherwood