You Want My Advice?
2021©John Schofield

Intro (chorus)
You want my advice, you say?
Well, here is my two cents
Some of it is Zen
And some just common sense

Verse 1
Don’t stand in your own shadow
And then wonder why it’s dark
Turn around and face the sun
Let go of who you are

Verse 2
It’s ok to move slowly
But beware of standing still
As long as you keep moving
You’ll get up any hill

Chorus
You want my advice, you say?
Well, here is my two cents
Some of it is Zen
And some just common sense

Verse 3
Don’t dwell on your yesterdays
Or fret about the future
Best live for today my friend
Tomorrow may not suit you

Chorus
You want my advice, you say?
Well, here is my two cents
Some of it is Zen
And some just common sense

Verse 4
Trim sails for the wind you have
Not the wind you wish you had
Make the best of what is here
Find the good in what is bad

Chorus
You want my advice, you say?
Well, here is my two cents
Some of it is Zen
And some just common sense

Rooftops by John Schofield
2021©JohnSchofield
Verse 1
Looking over rooftops
Of an ancient Spanish town
Barrel tiles and chimney pots
I’m up here looking down

Verse 2
This is where I loved her
And this is where she left me
Looking over rooftops and
Beyond them to the sea

Chorus:
Pretty sights and city lights
Sunny days and endless nights
Looking over rooftops
From my bedroom in the sky

Bridge:
I wonder if she thinks of me, every now and then
Those days and nights we spent together
All the way back when

Chorus:
Pretty sights and city lights
Sunny days and endless nights
Looking over rooftops
From my bedroom in the sky

I only have the memory
2021©John Schofield

Verse 1
I long to have the scent of you,
Feel your body next to mine
I still have the memory of
That night we lay entwined

Verse 2
When I hold you in my mind’s eye,
As I tumble into sleep
I wonder why our love was
A pact you couldn’t keep

Chorus
I’d give a thousand lifetimes to hold you
For a hundred heartbeats tonight
Yes, a thousand lifetimes to hold you
To hold you oh so tight,
But I only have the memory
The memory of that night

Verse 3
When the night becomes the morning,
I awake and wonder why
My heart feels so heavy and
There are tears in my eyes

Chorus
I’d give a thousand lifetimes to hold you
For a hundred heartbeats tonight
Yes, a thousand lifetimes to hold you
To hold you oh so tight,
But I only have the memory
The memory of that night

Chesapeake Bay in the Fall
2020© by John Schofield

Verse 1
I step on deck and watch the dawn
Not a ripple shows on the bay
When the morning mist has gone
It’ll be another fine day

Verse 2
The forest has put on its mantel
Of gold and yellow and red
Summer’s about to unmantle
And give us autumn instead

Chorus:
There are few finer places to sail
From Norfolk right up to Rock Hall
Than on Chesapeake Bay in the fall

Verse 3
Delta-flights of Canada geese
Come back to their winter home
On the Bay, a steady breeze
And sailboats are starting to roam

Verse 4
Soon I’ll up anchor and wander
Down to the islands and keys
But next year again I’ll be moored
In this bay with its golden trees

Chorus:
There are few finer places to sail
From Norfolk right up to Rock Hall
Than on Chesapeake Bay in the fall

Parallel Lives
©2021 John Schofield

Verse 1
It was midnight on Main Street
And I could still feel the heat
She was standing on the boardwalk
And my heart missed a beat

Chorus:
Is there an after-life, do the lost come back?
Do we travel together and sometimes cross their track?
Would it be a surprise to find
We’re living parallel lives?
Parallel lives.

Verse 2
We had said our last goodbyes
On a windswept beach in Maine
She’d left a final farewell note
And a world of grief and pain

Chorus:
Is there an after-life, do the lost come back?
Do we travel together and sometimes cross their track?
Would it be a surprise to find
We’re living parallel lives?
Parallel lives.

Bridge:
Have you had a coincidental meeting with someone you once knew,
Who couldn’t be in this lifetime, but who’s looking straight at you?

Verse 3
She lifts her arm, waves at me
Then I watch her fade away
On the ground, a yellow silk scarf
Like the one she wore that day

Chorus:
Is there an after-life, do the lost come back?
Do we travel together and sometimes cross their track?
Would it be a surprise to find,
We’re living parallel lives?
Parallel lives….

Children of the Sun
2021©John Schofield
Verse 1
An old song playin’ on the radio
Reminded me of all those years ago
When summer came and school was done
We’d be runnin’ around and havin’ fun

Verse 2
We’d be splashing down at the swimmin’ hole
Or by the river with a fishin’ pole
Climbing trees and stealing apples
In the backyard building castles

Chorus:
On those long bright days when summer’d come
And school was out, the learnin’ done
We were free to run and just have fun
We were children of the sun
Yeh, children of the sun

Verse 3
I remember that day at the county fair
The sunlight playing in her long blond hair
That’s when a boy became a man
You can’t go back but your memory can

Chorus:
On those long bright days when summer’d come
And school was out, the learnin’ done
We were free to run and just have fun
We were children of the sun
Yeh, children of the sun

Verse 4
On the morning she left she said to me
You gotta grow up, you’re no longer free
To run around just like you did
You’re a grown-up now, you’re not a kid

Chorus:
On those long bright days when summer’d come
And school was out, the learnin’ done
We were free to run and just have fun
We were children of the sun
Yeh, children of the sun

Outro:
So now my life meanders on
I’ve got a new wife and I’ve got a son
Come the day when school is done
I tell my boy, go and have some fun

UKSC2021 5 star, semi-finalist.

Magic Place
2021©JohnSchofield

Verse 1
There’s a magic place I go
A small secluded bay
It’s where I watch the sunset
As the daylight slips away

Chorus:
This is a place where dreams come true
Where the sky is always blue
This is my favourite secret space
This amazing magic place

Verse 2
I saw a naked goddess
Step dripping from the sea
Where had this beauty come from
There was no one here but me?

Chorus:
This is a place where dreams come true
Where the sky is always blue
This is my favourite secret space
This amazing magic place

Verse 3
She beckoned me towards her
And I could not resist
I took her in my arms and
She disappeared like mist

Chorus:
This is the land where dreams come true
Where the sky is always blue
This is my favourite secret space
This amazing magic place

Bridge:
This island has a secret that’s only known to some
They say you’ll find that secret when you’ve had a tot of rum

Chorus:
This is the land where dreams come true
Where the sky is always blue
This is my favourite secret space
This amazing magic place

Circle of Life
2021©John Schofield
Verse 1
The sun beats down on the African plain
Where the long rains are late again
The waterholes are cracked and dry
And there’s not a raincloud in the sky

Chorus
A new child cries, an old man dies
The circle of life goes on
A new child cries as the planet dies
The circle of life is undone

Verse 2
The Amazon rain forests burn and smoke
The lungs of our planet are choked
East and West are racing to space
When they should be repairing this place

Chorus
A new child cries, an old man dies
The circle of life goes on
A new child cries as the planet dies
And the circle of life is undone

Verse 3
Wild fires and floods and oceans depleted
Cause and effect still debated
Governments fiddle as mother earth burns
Actions would speak much louder than words

Chorus
A new child cries, an old man dies
The circle of life goes on
A new child cries as the planet dies
And the circle of life is undone

Bridge:
C’mon everybody, it isn’t too late
As long as we don’t procrastinate
Let’s give Mother Nature a helping hand
And she’ll repair our wonderland

Chorus
A new child cries, an old man dies
The circle of life goes on
A new child cries as the planet dies
And the circle of life is undone

UKSC2021 5 star, finalist