Ken Dow: Music and Songwriting

Fri, 28 Feb 2003 15:01:22 GMT

Heading down to TO for my sister's retirement shindig, so not much action here today. Great news though - looks like one of my songs may be covered by two very talented local performers, which would be a total thrill.

Wed, 19 Feb 2003 18:05:43 GMT

Straw Man (Bonita's Song)

She's working late
Got bills to pay
She wants to put it all behind her
Everything he did
Everything he never said
But he keeps on calling to remind her
About the good old days
Before they parted ways
Baby what do you say (to a)
 
Straw man, straw man
Stone heart rattling in a can
Talk tough, play rough
Tell me when will enough be enough?
 
She's making her own
Living close to the bone
It ain't easy but it's in her name
Sees friends again
Gets out now and then
Maybe one day it'll be the same
Like it was before
He showed up at her door
But the phone is ringing for more (and it's a)
 
Straw man, straw man
Stone heart rattling in a can
Talk tough, play rough
Can't see that it's not enough (to be a)
Straw man, straw man
Too small to understand (so he)
Talk tough, play rough
Tell me when will enough be enough?
 
She's working late
Deadline to make
A little luck and she can get home by nine
But he comes by
For one more try
Going to make her understand this time
Did she say no?
Tell him where to blow?
When the steel came to the show
 
Straw man, straw man
Stone heart rattling in a can
Talk tough, play rough
Can't see that it's not enough (to be a)
Straw man, straw man
Too small to understand (so he)
Talk tough, play rough
Tell me when will enough be enough?
 
Page three 
Murder mystery
Woman found dead on the third storey
Basement somewhere
In the TV glare
His overdosed eyes and empty stare
The coward hates
And desecrates
Twisting the fates
 
Straw man, straw man
What a nasty little plan (he gonna)
Talk tough, play rough
Take his own life but that ain't enough (for a)
Straw man, straw man
Needs a little more blood on his hands (not just)
Talk tough, play rough
Tell me when will enough be enough
Tell me when will enough be enough
Tell me when will enough be enough
 
© 2002 Love Pants Music
Words and music by Ken Dow
Genre: Alt-Rock

Wed, 11 Dec 2002 15:52:36 GMT

Straw Man (Bonita's Song)
 
She's working late
Got bills to pay
She wants to put it all behind her
Everything he did
Everything he never said
But he keeps on calling to remind her
About the good old days
Before they parted ways
Baby, what do you say? (to a)
 
Straw man
Straw man
Stone heart rattling in a can
Talk tough
Play rough
Tell me when will enough be enough?
 
She's making her own
Living close to the bone
It ain't easy but it's in her name
Sees friends again
Gets out now and then
Maybe one day it'll be the same
Like it was before
He showed up at her door
But the phone is ringing for more (it's a)
 
Straw man
Straw man
Stone heart rattling in a can
Talk tough
Play rough
Can't see that it's not enough (to be a)
Straw man
Straw man
Too small to understand (you don't)
Talk tough
Play rough
Tell me when will enough be enough?
 
She's working late
Deadline to make
A little luck and she'll be home by nine
But he stops by
For one more try
Going to make her understand this time
She says no
Tells him where to go
When the steel begins to show (from a)
 
Straw man
Straw man
Stone heart rattling in a can
Talk tough
Play rough
Can't see that it's not enough (to be a)
Straw man
Straw man
Too small to understand (you don't)
Talk tough
Play rough
Tell me when will enough be enough?
 
Page three
Murder mystery
Woman found dead on the third story
Basement somewhere
In the TV glare
His overdosed eyes and empty stare
The coward hates
And desecrates
Twisting the fates (just a)
 
Straw man
Straw man
What a nasty little plan
Talk tough
Play rough
Take his own life but that ain't enough (for a)
Straw man
Straw man
Needs a little more blood on his hands
Talk tough
Play rough
Tell me when will enough be enough?
Tell me when will enough be enough?
Tell me when will enough be enough?
 
© 2002 Love Pants Music
Words and music by Ken Dow
Genre: Alt-Rock

Mon, 28 Oct 2002 13:06:08 GMT

Diamond boy

I could be your diamond boy
I could build you a house of stone
And I would never let the fire go out
I would kiss the dew from your mouth
 
Diamond boy
Diamond boy
 
You could be my ruby girl
And you could lay beside me in the night
And you would mend the cracks in my soul
You would bend but never let go
 
Ruby girl
Ruby girl
 
We would be an ocean of love
We would feel the motion of life
And we, we could travel so far
We could, we could drink from the stars
 
Diamond boy
Ruby girl
Diamond boy
Ruby girl
 
If only I could
If only you would
If only I could
If only
If only you would
 
Then I wouuld be your diamond boy
I would build you a house of stone
And I would never let the fire go out
I would kiss the dew from your mouth
 
Diamond boy
Diamond boy
Diamond boy
Diamond boy
Diamond boy
Diamond boy
 
© 1999 Love Pants Music
Words and music by Ken Dow
Genre: Alt-Pop

Sun, 06 Oct 2002 16:16:35 GMT

Never Meant to Cry

I could tell you how it was
But I doubt that you'd believe
Believe the storied truth
All of those tears without reprieve
 
Cause I've seen you sip that drink
With a careless hungry eye
And I've felt those tender shivers
But I was never meant to cry
I was never meant to cry
 
It's such a very crooked line
Here among the jungle boys
A little twist, a heavy spin
Combat nympho smile so coy
 
Cause I've seen you sip that drink
With a careless hungry eye
And I've felt those tender shivers
But I was never meant to cry
I was never meant to cry
 
I have heard the whispered truth
Lain awake Calcutta nights
While the liars sip vermouth
Long day's journey, is that right?
 
Cause I've seen you sip that drink
With a careless hungry eye
And I've felt those tender shivers
But I was never meant to cry
I was never meant to cry
 
I was never meant, never meant
Never meant to cry
I was never meant, never meant
Never meant to cry
I was never meant, never meant
Never meant to cry
Never meant to cry
Nevery meant to cry
 
© 1999 Love Pants Music
Words and music by Ken Dow
Genre: Alt-Rock

Sun, 29 Sep 2002 06:57:37 GMT

Don't Look Up

Don't look up
Keep your eyes straight ahead
One bright day we will count our blessings
Today we count the dead
 
I learned to pray today
On my knees in my living room
When the world turned to fire
In the heart of desire
And love faded into the gloom
 
Don't look up
Keep your eyes straight ahead
One bright day we will count our blessings
Today we count the dead
 
Brothers they fell from above
Sisters they took off their shoes
The brave ones ran in
Never came out again
Now we are torn and confused
 
Don't look up
Keep your eyes straight ahead
One bright day we will count our blessings
Today we count the dead
 
Is there no end to the pain
Born in the souls of men?
Can no love redeem
Is there no holy stream
Where our spirits can be cleansed?
 
Don't look up
Keep your eyes straight ahead
One bright day we will count our blessings
Today we count the dead
 
I learned to pray today
On my knees in my living room
When the sky turned to fire
In the heart of desire
And love faded into the gloom
 
Love faded into the gloom
Love faded into the gloom
 
© 2001 Love Pants Music
Words and music by Ken Dow
Genre: Gospel

Wed, 25 Sep 2002 03:21:00 GMT

Lilah

Lilah sits in a diner in Kenora
Holds a sweet cigar in her fingertips
Says the food's been hell ever since Toronto
Man what a trip
  
Me I'm hauling it all back from Vancouver
Never learned to live the way they do out there
Fell into this truck stop and started talking to her
Cause she needed a map and I needed a chair
 
She says there's someone in Alberta
Where she'll keep painting and cutting hair
She draws a line on the map with her finger
But it doesn't go there
 
Funny how sometimes the world just opens up
A road to a place you've never seen
It's not where you're headed
And it's not where you've been
 
We toss dreams and stories to each other
Shake our heads and laugh until we cry
The coffee flows and the time it goes by quickly
No map or sign to tell us why
 
Funny how sometimes the world just opens up
A road to a place you've never seen
It's not where you're headed
And it's not where you've been
 
Lilah points to her car used to be a taxi
Faded yellow in the fresh night air
As she pulls out from a diner in Kenora
There's a map on her dashboard that I put there
 
Me I sit real quiet in my pickup
As her taillights flicker and fade away
An empty road, a yellow line
So many roads and just one way
 
Funny how sometimes the world just opens up
A road to a place you've never seen
It's not where you're headed
And it's not where you've been
 
Lilah oh Lilah
Lilah you
Lilah oh Lilah
Lilah you
 
© 2000 Love Pants Music
Words and music by Ken Dow
Genre: Folk
Mp3 (demo)

Sun, 15 Sep 2002 17:10:08 GMT

Living in a Prison

They say the truth will make you free
But that's not the way it happened to me
Cause the day I heard you tell
The truth I recall too well
Was the day I walked into this cell
 
I'm living in a prison love built for me
Locked away from you without a key
I'm living in a prison where my heart used to be
Can't say the truth has made me free
Cause the truth is you've stopped loving me
 
Everybody knows sometimes love dies
Everybody knows but they don't know why
Does it wash away like the rain?
Is it burned away by the pain?
Does it just move on like a restless train?
 
I'm living in a prison love built for me
Locked away from you without a key
I'm living in a prison where my heart used to be
Can't say the truth has made me free
Cause the truth is you've stopped loving me
 
There's no stopping a change of heart
Nothing to do but fall apart
When it comes to love
One out of two ain't nearly enough
And I'm the one that you're not dreaming of
 
I'm living in a prison love built for me
Locked away from you without a key
I'm living in a prison where my heart used to be
Can't say the truth has made me free
Cause the truth is you've stopped loving me
 
I'm living in a prison love built for me
Locked away from you without a key
I'm living in a prison where my heart used to be
Can't say the truth has made me free
Cause the truth is you've stopped loving me
Yeah the truth is you've stopped loving me
The truth is, you don't love me
 
© 2002 Love Pants Music
Words and music by Ken Dow

Thu, 12 Sep 2002 21:48:34 GMT

Wild English Rose
 
I met a wild English rose
She said Listen, this is how it goes
I know you, you will never know me
I paint with colours you cannot see
 
Some people wear the same shoes
Day after day, never care to choose
Some people love that runway style
An English rose is a barefoot child
 
Wild, wild English rose
Life is a colour
Wild, wild English rose
I never dreamed that you would let go
 
She said, Nothing blows a man like success
A woman is more than the cut of her dress
Paint by numbers and you will find
It's only a rose when you draw your own line
 
A curve is a place to hide the truth
A lie is a call from a telephone booth
The past is a race that no one wins
You can't commit an original sin
 
Wild, wild English rose
Life is a colour
Wild, wild English rose
I never dreamed that you would
I never thought that you would let go
 
I met a wild English rose
She said, Listen everybody knows
I came here to dance with you
Love is a deed you never undo
 
Wild, wild English rose
Life is a colour
Wild, wild English rose
I never dreamed that you would
I never thought that you could
I never dreamed that you would  let go
 
I met a wild English rose
Life is a colour
Wild, wild English rose
Life is a colour
I met a wild English rose
Life is a colour
Life is a colour
Life is a colour
 
© 2002 Love Pants Music
Words and music by Ken Dow

Wed, 11 Sep 2002 13:42:04 GMT

Days of You

Days of you
Let me have endless days
Days of you
Let me have endless days
Never ending days of you
 
Is it true
These are the best of times?
Is it true
What's yours is really mine?
Or is it true
We're dying from the day we're born
And could it be
We'll never hear Gabriel's horn
 
Is it true
Tomorrow's another day?
Is it true
Love will find a way?
Or is it true
We'll never know each other
And could it be
It's not the cold that makes
Not just the cold that makes me shudder
 
Days of you
Let me have endless days
Days of you
Let me have endless days
Never ending days of you
 
I want to be pure like Joan or Arc
I've gathered the wood and begged for a spark
I'm standing alone half-stoned in the dawn
Unravelling memories carefully drawn
Dust in my eye from the deserts I've scanned
Burned my feet on the sand
Days of you spill and fill my soul
What will I find when I lose control?
What will I find when I lose control?
 
Is it true
It's all in the timing?
Is it true
Clouds have silver linings?
Or is it true
Sometimes angels fear to tread
And could it be
We'll find no grace among
When we take our place among
Will there be grace among the dead
 
Days of you
Let me have endless days
Days of you
Let me have endless days
Never ending days of you
These days of you
These days of you
 
Words & music by Ken Dow

© 2002 Love Pants Music