There’s no such thing as time when I’m with my pony.
A short visit can last all day and all night.
Sometimes we ride. Sometimes we just walk together.
Sometimes we do nothing particular, just graze and daze, California daydreaming on such an Autumn day...
And sometimes, as is true only of the closest friends, we enjoy being alone together.
There’s a spot on the hill over-looking the pastures, where I sometimes just sit and be.
And my pony will go about his day, pausing every once in a while to look my way.
See if I’m all right.
Sometimes he’ll amble over. Making a special trip just to munch a little grass by me.
Might stay for a while, then wander away again.
Today he came and stood by me.
Stood there a long time.
I scooted over to sit closer to him, and he bent down and nuzzled my cheek, twitching his nose like Samantha on Bewitched.
Then we gazed out over the rest of the herd together.
Watching over them, the wind running its soft fingers through his silken mane.
sj
Rainbow Pony
Rainbow Pony
She’s my one and only
A better friend than anyone else could be
When I’m astride her
I’m a rainbow rider
And she makes me feel like I’m free.
And we go – where nobody else can go
See things that nobody else can see
And we fly – like a shooting star across the sky
My Rainbow Pony and me.
When I get weary –
The world can make you weary –
With all the greed and hate and lies.
I don’t let it blind me.
I put it all behind me.
When I look into my Rainbow Pony’s eyes.
And we go – where nobody else can go
See things that nobody else can see
And we fly – like a shooting star across the sky
My Rainbow Pony and me.
Sometimes I wonder
If the sound of thunder
Is my Rainbow Pony’s herd.
One day, I reckon
That herd will beckon
And we’ll join-up without a word
And we’ll go – where nobody else can go
See things that nobody else can see
And we’ll fly – like a shooting star across the sky
My Rainbow Pony and me.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
The Story Behind the Song: Shyla
Back in the day, I visited a “hippie” commune or two. What I remember is how hard some of them were trying to find a better way to live. A way with more joy, more love, more connectedness. Put aside jealousy, fear, anger.
No more crime.
No more war.
Tall order.
Of course, most of them didn’t have a clue how to go about it, either.
They were just kids.
Some thought the answer was marijuana – a magic potion that would enable you see something you’d miss otherwise. I disagreed, but they had a point. Sometimes you do need something outside yourself to bite you on the butt and force you to wake up and smell the coffee.
Some thought the answer was sex.
That’s a much better choice, in my opinion. But there was a whole lot more “using” than “sharing” going on as far as I could tell.
Not my thing.
That was a long time ago.
Yesterday’s “revolutionaries” all seem to have mellowed out, burned out, sold out or gotten out.
Not me.
Me, I’m still looking for the road Shangri-la.
Now, where’d I put that map…..?
sj
PS: Can't tell you who or what or where "Shyla" is; it's a secret. But if you guess right, I'll tell you privately.
Shyla
When the madness of the modern world surrounds you
When it closes in and you feel like you’re gonna drown
There’s a place where you can be free
Where the world is the way it should be
And you know that’s right here with me
And Shyla.
The way the earth’s been ravaged is a crime
We can heal her up one acre at a time
And what better thing can we do
Than to live what we know is true
So I want to be there with you
And Shyla
I know we both desire to save the suff’ring land
This is where we start to live our dreams and plans….
I’ve seen a lot of places, been around
Right here’s as good as any that I’ve found
So if you’d rather dance than fight
And lock all your doors at night
There’s a place where the livin’s right
As can be
What’s in the past is past; let it go
This is your home now I hope you know
Darlin’ I’m just tryin’ to show you,
You see
You belong right here with Shyla and me.
No more crime.
No more war.
Tall order.
Of course, most of them didn’t have a clue how to go about it, either.
They were just kids.
Some thought the answer was marijuana – a magic potion that would enable you see something you’d miss otherwise. I disagreed, but they had a point. Sometimes you do need something outside yourself to bite you on the butt and force you to wake up and smell the coffee.
Some thought the answer was sex.
That’s a much better choice, in my opinion. But there was a whole lot more “using” than “sharing” going on as far as I could tell.
Not my thing.
That was a long time ago.
Yesterday’s “revolutionaries” all seem to have mellowed out, burned out, sold out or gotten out.
Not me.
Me, I’m still looking for the road Shangri-la.
Now, where’d I put that map…..?
sj
PS: Can't tell you who or what or where "Shyla" is; it's a secret. But if you guess right, I'll tell you privately.
Shyla
When the madness of the modern world surrounds you
When it closes in and you feel like you’re gonna drown
There’s a place where you can be free
Where the world is the way it should be
And you know that’s right here with me
And Shyla.
The way the earth’s been ravaged is a crime
We can heal her up one acre at a time
And what better thing can we do
Than to live what we know is true
So I want to be there with you
And Shyla
I know we both desire to save the suff’ring land
This is where we start to live our dreams and plans….
I’ve seen a lot of places, been around
Right here’s as good as any that I’ve found
So if you’d rather dance than fight
And lock all your doors at night
There’s a place where the livin’s right
As can be
What’s in the past is past; let it go
This is your home now I hope you know
Darlin’ I’m just tryin’ to show you,
You see
You belong right here with Shyla and me.
Friday, August 22, 2008
The Story Behind the Song: My Guitar, My Caballo and Me
I respect folks who say what they mean, mean what they say, and do what they say they’re going to do, and I try like hell to be one of them. I’ve known a couple of people for whom their personal code of honor came first, before any other consideration, before love, before money. I think it’s important to be ready, willing and able to stand up for what’s right, even if you stand all alone.
ESPECIALLY if you stand all alone
I admire and am inspired by people who are.
We could use a few more of them.
sj
My Guitar, My Caballo and Me
Some men are born to be outlaws
Can’t seem to live by the rules
Some think that makes ‘em heroes
Some think it just makes ‘em fools
I never was much for thinkin’
But I think I like bein’ free
Here is my creed: I’ve got all that I need
My guitar, my caballo and me.
Too full of fun and tequila
I once had myself quite a spree
Woke up a guest of the jailer
Looked like the joke was on me.
That night a sweet senorita
Dropped by to lend me the key
No one was around so I slipped out of town
After thanking her first, properly.
Some men are born to be outlaws
Can’t seem to live by the rules
Some think that makes ‘em heroes
Some think it just makes ‘em fools
I never was much for thinkin’
But I think I like bein’ free
Here is my creed: I’ve got all that I need
My guitar, my caballo and me.
I never wanted to own something I couldn’t carry
I like to sleep on the ground and gaze up at the stars
Not much for settlin’ down and I’m not one to marry
My only friends are my horse and this old guitar.
I take a bite when I’m hungry
I take drink when I’m dry
I laugh when the time comes for laughin’
I cry when the time comes to cry
I say what I mean and do what I believe in.
I try to be more right than wrong.
I don’t give a damn who don’t like what I am
I’ve got to sing my own song.
Some men are born to be outlaws
Can’t seem to live by the rules
Some think that makes ‘em heroes
Some think it just makes ‘em fools
I never was much for thinkin’
But I think I like bein’ free
Here is my creed: I’ve got all that I need
My guitar, my caballo and me.
Listen to the song here.
ESPECIALLY if you stand all alone
I admire and am inspired by people who are.
We could use a few more of them.
sj
My Guitar, My Caballo and Me
Some men are born to be outlaws
Can’t seem to live by the rules
Some think that makes ‘em heroes
Some think it just makes ‘em fools
I never was much for thinkin’
But I think I like bein’ free
Here is my creed: I’ve got all that I need
My guitar, my caballo and me.
Too full of fun and tequila
I once had myself quite a spree
Woke up a guest of the jailer
Looked like the joke was on me.
That night a sweet senorita
Dropped by to lend me the key
No one was around so I slipped out of town
After thanking her first, properly.
Some men are born to be outlaws
Can’t seem to live by the rules
Some think that makes ‘em heroes
Some think it just makes ‘em fools
I never was much for thinkin’
But I think I like bein’ free
Here is my creed: I’ve got all that I need
My guitar, my caballo and me.
I never wanted to own something I couldn’t carry
I like to sleep on the ground and gaze up at the stars
Not much for settlin’ down and I’m not one to marry
My only friends are my horse and this old guitar.
I take a bite when I’m hungry
I take drink when I’m dry
I laugh when the time comes for laughin’
I cry when the time comes to cry
I say what I mean and do what I believe in.
I try to be more right than wrong.
I don’t give a damn who don’t like what I am
I’ve got to sing my own song.
Some men are born to be outlaws
Can’t seem to live by the rules
Some think that makes ‘em heroes
Some think it just makes ‘em fools
I never was much for thinkin’
But I think I like bein’ free
Here is my creed: I’ve got all that I need
My guitar, my caballo and me.
Listen to the song here.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
MANY PONIES CD
You can hear some of the songs from the Many Ponies CD at the following address:
http://www.myspace.com/spartacusjonesmusic
Let me know what you think!
sj
http://www.myspace.com/spartacusjonesmusic
Let me know what you think!
sj
The Story Behind the Song: A Cowboy for You
In Greek mythology, when Odysseus was heading off for the Trojan War, he asked an old, wise friend to look after his son, Telemachus. The man’s name was Mentor, and he became counselor, teacher and a temporary surrogate father to the boy.
Being somebody’s mentor is a gift, both to you and to them.
If you’re really lucky, you meet a youth who displays all the raw materials of greatness -- strength, courage, integrity, intelligence, compassion --- and you get a chance to help this person fully become the person they are capable of being. You try to share what you’ve learned from what you’ve done, good, bad or ugly. Maybe they’ll make better choices as a result, avoid the worst mistakes.
But it’s up to them to do it, and you can’t take credit for their success if they do -- or blame yourself for their failure if they don’t. All you can do is tell them where the potholes are in the road; it’s up to them to do the driving.
Maybe someday, THEY’LL mentor someone and tell some stories about the mentor they had.
I think that’s as close to immortality as you get.
This idea works with horses and people, too.
An old, experienced “schoolmaster” horse mentors a green rider until he can ride well.
Then that rider mentors a new young pony to become a schoolmaster who mentors another green rider……
It’s the way things ought to be done, and too seldom are.
sj
A Cowboy for You
When the day is dark and long and stormy
And you feel like you might want to hide.
I tell you, darlin’, just you reach out for me
I’ll be the lion by your side.
And when you feel like singin’
So clear and strong
I’ll write you songs
I’ll even sing along
‘Cause you know there’s nothin’ I’d rather do
Than be a cowboy for you.
We’re the sun and the moon
We’re the old and the new
You’re young and brilliant
I’m tried and true
And there’s nothin’ I’d rather do
Than be a cowboy for you.
Parts of my life have not been pretty
Filled with anger, filled with pain.
But I escaped from the dyin’ city –
Now let me make this very plain:
To be with you,
My love, my friend
I’d crawl through hell
A time or ten
‘Cause there’s nothin’ I’d rather do
Than be a cowboy for you.
We’re the sun and the moon
We’re the old and the new
You’re young and brilliant
I’m tried and true
And there’s nothin’ I’d rather do
Than be a cowboy for you.
We’re the sun and the moon
We’re the old and the new
You’re young and brilliant
I’m tried and true
And there’s nothin’ I’d rather do
Than be a cowboy for you.I
And when it’s time for me to go
I don’t want you feelin’ lost and low
‘Cause the sweetest thing I ever knew
Was bein’ a cowboy for you.
The sweetest thing I ever knew
Was bein’ your cowboy….
Listen to the song here.
Being somebody’s mentor is a gift, both to you and to them.
If you’re really lucky, you meet a youth who displays all the raw materials of greatness -- strength, courage, integrity, intelligence, compassion --- and you get a chance to help this person fully become the person they are capable of being. You try to share what you’ve learned from what you’ve done, good, bad or ugly. Maybe they’ll make better choices as a result, avoid the worst mistakes.
But it’s up to them to do it, and you can’t take credit for their success if they do -- or blame yourself for their failure if they don’t. All you can do is tell them where the potholes are in the road; it’s up to them to do the driving.
Maybe someday, THEY’LL mentor someone and tell some stories about the mentor they had.
I think that’s as close to immortality as you get.
This idea works with horses and people, too.
An old, experienced “schoolmaster” horse mentors a green rider until he can ride well.
Then that rider mentors a new young pony to become a schoolmaster who mentors another green rider……
It’s the way things ought to be done, and too seldom are.
sj
A Cowboy for You
When the day is dark and long and stormy
And you feel like you might want to hide.
I tell you, darlin’, just you reach out for me
I’ll be the lion by your side.
And when you feel like singin’
So clear and strong
I’ll write you songs
I’ll even sing along
‘Cause you know there’s nothin’ I’d rather do
Than be a cowboy for you.
We’re the sun and the moon
We’re the old and the new
You’re young and brilliant
I’m tried and true
And there’s nothin’ I’d rather do
Than be a cowboy for you.
Parts of my life have not been pretty
Filled with anger, filled with pain.
But I escaped from the dyin’ city –
Now let me make this very plain:
To be with you,
My love, my friend
I’d crawl through hell
A time or ten
‘Cause there’s nothin’ I’d rather do
Than be a cowboy for you.
We’re the sun and the moon
We’re the old and the new
You’re young and brilliant
I’m tried and true
And there’s nothin’ I’d rather do
Than be a cowboy for you.
We’re the sun and the moon
We’re the old and the new
You’re young and brilliant
I’m tried and true
And there’s nothin’ I’d rather do
Than be a cowboy for you.I
And when it’s time for me to go
I don’t want you feelin’ lost and low
‘Cause the sweetest thing I ever knew
Was bein’ a cowboy for you.
The sweetest thing I ever knew
Was bein’ your cowboy….
Listen to the song here.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The Story Behind the Song: A Hundred and One Times
If there’s one quality a horseman absolutely MUST have, it’s patience.
If horses don’t teach you anything else, they’ll teach you that.
Whether you like it or not.
Horses don’t know what a clock is.
They don’t give a damn about your schedule.
Or your big plans.
They live in the right now.
Horses do what it’s time to do when it’s time to do it, and it takes whatever time it takes for it to get done.
Everything that’s important to do has to be done when it’s time to do it.
Not sooner.
Not later.
That’s a good thing to know.
You can’t plant your garden in the middle of January because that’s when you have spare time, or wait until August then fertilize the hell out of it, water it incessantly and expect a harvest a couple weeks later.
It isn’t going to happen.
No matter how much you beg, plead, yell, swear, shout or pout.
You have to plant when it’s time to plant.
That’s all there is to it.
Everything that’s important takes whatever time it takes.
If it takes a woman nine months to have a baby, can you put nine women on the job and do it in one month?
Life takes the time it takes.
Not one moment more or one moment less.
You might as well get used to the idea.
sj
A Hundred and One Times
A hundred times I told her that I loved her.
Each and every time my love declined.
You might think I might disdain repeating
She’s always in my heart and on my mind
But today if once again I tell her
All of her resistance may be outdone
And so today if I should chance to see her
I’m going to make it one hundred and one.
A hundred and one times “I love you”
To tell her I still care
A hundred and one times “I love you”
And I’ll always be there.
A hundred and one times “I love you”
What else can I do?
A hundred and one times “I love you.”
My love’s still strong and true.
One day she may come to need and want me
Know that I’m the one she’s looking for
Chide herself for taking me for granted
Long to hear the words she spurned before
I will not abandon or forsake us
Whether out of pain or fear or pride
I want to be what only love can make us
And these words may one day turn the tide
A hundred and one times “I love you”
To tell her I still care
A hundred and one times “I love you”
I’ll always be there.
A hundred and one times “I love you”
What else can I do?
And if that won’t convince her
If that won’t convince her,
There’s only one thing left for me to do
I’m gonna make it
A hundred and two.
If horses don’t teach you anything else, they’ll teach you that.
Whether you like it or not.
Horses don’t know what a clock is.
They don’t give a damn about your schedule.
Or your big plans.
They live in the right now.
Horses do what it’s time to do when it’s time to do it, and it takes whatever time it takes for it to get done.
Everything that’s important to do has to be done when it’s time to do it.
Not sooner.
Not later.
That’s a good thing to know.
You can’t plant your garden in the middle of January because that’s when you have spare time, or wait until August then fertilize the hell out of it, water it incessantly and expect a harvest a couple weeks later.
It isn’t going to happen.
No matter how much you beg, plead, yell, swear, shout or pout.
You have to plant when it’s time to plant.
That’s all there is to it.
Everything that’s important takes whatever time it takes.
If it takes a woman nine months to have a baby, can you put nine women on the job and do it in one month?
Life takes the time it takes.
Not one moment more or one moment less.
You might as well get used to the idea.
sj
A Hundred and One Times
A hundred times I told her that I loved her.
Each and every time my love declined.
You might think I might disdain repeating
She’s always in my heart and on my mind
But today if once again I tell her
All of her resistance may be outdone
And so today if I should chance to see her
I’m going to make it one hundred and one.
A hundred and one times “I love you”
To tell her I still care
A hundred and one times “I love you”
And I’ll always be there.
A hundred and one times “I love you”
What else can I do?
A hundred and one times “I love you.”
My love’s still strong and true.
One day she may come to need and want me
Know that I’m the one she’s looking for
Chide herself for taking me for granted
Long to hear the words she spurned before
I will not abandon or forsake us
Whether out of pain or fear or pride
I want to be what only love can make us
And these words may one day turn the tide
A hundred and one times “I love you”
To tell her I still care
A hundred and one times “I love you”
I’ll always be there.
A hundred and one times “I love you”
What else can I do?
And if that won’t convince her
If that won’t convince her,
There’s only one thing left for me to do
I’m gonna make it
A hundred and two.
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Story Behind the Song: Everything That I Love Best
I guess my idea of "the perfect woman" is a little different from the officially approved version.
Back when guys had pin-ups of Marilyn Monroe-types, mine was Katherine Hepburn.
Integrity.
Strength.
Courage.
In my book, those are the things that make a woman attractive.
They're qualities I respect in anyone, and it's as rare to find them in a woman as in a man.
I don't care much for hand-wringing weaklings or air-headed estrogen blobs.
"Cute" is a dime-a-dozen and the trouble with "pretty" girls is that they seem to think that's all they have to do in the world.
That's their big contribution.
They think being "pretty" entitles them to whatever they happen to want, without actually DOING anything to deserve it, without having to earn it, without having to work and sweat for it like everybody else.
Just smile, show a little cleavage and bat your eyelashes.
And, sadly, a lot of the time they're right.
I've seen too often the "pretty" girl get fawned over for doing NOTHING, while the "plain" girl works her butt off and gets no appreciation at all.
Ticks me off in a big way. Maybe you can tell.
I'll take brains and heart over "tits & ass, " anytime.
sj
Everything That I Love Best
She don’t giggle when she talks; she don’t wiggle when she walks;
She’s got a grip like steel and the eye of a hawk.
She don’t wear mascara, spike heels or clothes too tight;
She’s a header, she’s a healer; she’s hell in a fight.
She’s my kind of woman – you can have the rest
Damn, that girl’s everything that I love best!
She don’t pluck her eyebrows or shave her legs,
She knows what she wants but she never begs.
She wears a beat-up Stetson, baggy cowboy jeans.
She means what she says and she says what she means.
Got a chip on her shoulder – tattoos on her chest
Damn, that girl’s everything that I love best!
I’d like to tell her all the things she makes me feel
I’ve dreamed her so long it’s hard to believe she’s really real…
She’s cool in the saddle, she’s a bareback fool.
You wanna play a little poker, she’ll take you right to school.
She takes her whiskey straight and her coffee black;
If she ever gives her word, she never takes it back.
She’s a little like me and by now you’ve guessed,
Damn, that girl’s everything that I love best!
The first time I saw her I knew, like me, she was one of a kind.
Couldn’t help but thinkin’ what a pair we’d make and wouldn’t that be fine?
Now I been jerked around, I been down on my luck;
I lost my job, my dog, my mind and my truck.
I been tossed by bulls and I been stomped by broncs,
I been kicked out of all the better honky tonks,
But I still consider myself truly blessed ‘cause
Damn, I seem to be the thing that she loves best!
(spoken) – That is, except for her pony.
But you know I wouldn’t have that any other way…
Listen to the song here.
Back when guys had pin-ups of Marilyn Monroe-types, mine was Katherine Hepburn.
Integrity.
Strength.
Courage.
In my book, those are the things that make a woman attractive.
They're qualities I respect in anyone, and it's as rare to find them in a woman as in a man.
I don't care much for hand-wringing weaklings or air-headed estrogen blobs.
"Cute" is a dime-a-dozen and the trouble with "pretty" girls is that they seem to think that's all they have to do in the world.
That's their big contribution.
They think being "pretty" entitles them to whatever they happen to want, without actually DOING anything to deserve it, without having to earn it, without having to work and sweat for it like everybody else.
Just smile, show a little cleavage and bat your eyelashes.
And, sadly, a lot of the time they're right.
I've seen too often the "pretty" girl get fawned over for doing NOTHING, while the "plain" girl works her butt off and gets no appreciation at all.
Ticks me off in a big way. Maybe you can tell.
I'll take brains and heart over "tits & ass, " anytime.
sj
Everything That I Love Best
She don’t giggle when she talks; she don’t wiggle when she walks;
She’s got a grip like steel and the eye of a hawk.
She don’t wear mascara, spike heels or clothes too tight;
She’s a header, she’s a healer; she’s hell in a fight.
She’s my kind of woman – you can have the rest
Damn, that girl’s everything that I love best!
She don’t pluck her eyebrows or shave her legs,
She knows what she wants but she never begs.
She wears a beat-up Stetson, baggy cowboy jeans.
She means what she says and she says what she means.
Got a chip on her shoulder – tattoos on her chest
Damn, that girl’s everything that I love best!
I’d like to tell her all the things she makes me feel
I’ve dreamed her so long it’s hard to believe she’s really real…
She’s cool in the saddle, she’s a bareback fool.
You wanna play a little poker, she’ll take you right to school.
She takes her whiskey straight and her coffee black;
If she ever gives her word, she never takes it back.
She’s a little like me and by now you’ve guessed,
Damn, that girl’s everything that I love best!
The first time I saw her I knew, like me, she was one of a kind.
Couldn’t help but thinkin’ what a pair we’d make and wouldn’t that be fine?
Now I been jerked around, I been down on my luck;
I lost my job, my dog, my mind and my truck.
I been tossed by bulls and I been stomped by broncs,
I been kicked out of all the better honky tonks,
But I still consider myself truly blessed ‘cause
Damn, I seem to be the thing that she loves best!
(spoken) – That is, except for her pony.
But you know I wouldn’t have that any other way…
Listen to the song here.
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