Life is a Song

Welcome to the album that almost wasn’t!

When I was trying to decide if I wanted to record one more album, I went through all the songs I had written back in the 70’s and 80’s to see if anything was still there that was worthwhile dusting off and bringing out into the light. I found 6 or 7 tracks that I thought deserved to be heard, but that was not enough for an album, so I was going to shelve the whole project. 

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I started to get inspirations and melodies running through my head just like what used to happen in the old days and I wrote 7 brand new songs; the first six and the very last one on the album. 

Let me explain a little further, you see I never sat down with my guitar and tried to compose a tune, all my songs just came to me. I always got the chorus and the words and a verse or two. All I did was just add some more lyrics and rhymes to polish and finish it off. I always thought they were a gift from God, after all how could I come up with such great melodies simply by accident. I could be driving, walking outside, or just lying in bed and a tune would come to me, with words! It hasn’t happened in quite some time, so I was taken aback when tunes started popping into my head once again. I guess the good Lord wanted me to do one more album and gave me the songs to do it.

So welcome to my third album! It is a compilation of old and new songs that I wanted to share with you.

The oldest song here is “Only Because” which is the first vocal song I wrote, well actually it is the second but the first, “She’s the Girl I Love” is really not that good. The first song I ever wrote was an instrumental titled, “Beatnik Drag” which can be found on my second album, “Second Bite.”

“Western Hero” was originally titled, “Six-Gun Shooter” but that brings up a bad connotation these days, so I changed it. It is a tribute to the old westerns that were all over the TV in the 50’s and 60’s. I watched and loved them all. I added a rap to the end of the song and tried to name most of the shows and the characters that I could remember. 

“Love’s Lost Medley” is a compilation of 4 songs that I penned back in the 70’s/80’s which I thought would blend together in a kind of Side 2 of Abbey Road, but on a much smaller scale. I even added a “Last Lines” to it to make it more Abbeyesque.

“Dreamer” was just a guitar song that I wrote, but for this album I changed it to be more of an Eleanor Rigby sound with mostly strings.

Among the new songs are a tribute to those brave girls who cut their hair short and wind up looking so sexy, like Halle Berry, Amber Rose, Rhianna and Lisa Cimorelli to name just four; but there are so many others whose names I just do not know. There is also a reggae number, a waltz, a country song and a rousing Gospel/Rock number to round out the variety of sounds and styles. Hope you enjoy the album and all the hard work and long hours that went into making it.

Check out the complete lyrics and Stories Behind the Songs sections.  

Also, give a listen to the song that almost was, “Two of a Kind.” It would have been a duet but, I could not seem to find anyone to sing it with me, either they could not sing, could not harmonize with me or were not available at the time I was recording vocals. It remains an unreleased gem with only my vocals on the track. Check out the lyrics, sing along with the demo and see if you could have completed the song with me.

Why did I choose a drive-on movie picture? Well, the first drive-in movie theater was opened on June 6, 1933, in Pennsauken, New Jersey. It was created by Richard Hollingshead as a solution for people who wanted to watch movies from the comfort of their cars. The theater was located on Admiral Wilson Boulevard and New Jersey is my home state. My other albums all had NJ references, check them out!

Love ya all,

John

Buy Life is a Song on Amazon with "Life is a Song" CD cover and back cover

Where to Buy Life is a Song

Available to listen and download songs on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, CD Baby, Jango, Shazam, Radio Airplay, etc., or purchase your own copy by messaging me and paying through PayPal.

Two of a Kind

The song that almost was! Two of a Kind is a semi-completed duet with my vocals only. Ladies, check out the lyrics and see if you could have harmonized with me and completed the song. Maybe we could have been the next Sonny and Cher or Tony Bennett and Lady Ga Ga. Perhaps the song could have been a smash!

Two of a Kind

by John J. Schaffer

View Lyrics

Lyric Key: Black – Me, Red – You, Blue – Us Harmonizing

Producer Eric Castille and I in the studio

Producer Eric Castille and I in the studio

Track List/Song Lyrics

  1. Head Held High  
  2. Short Haired Girls  
  3. Two Lane Blacktop  
  4. Bring-a Me Back my Heart  
  5. Dance With Me  
  6. I Must Have Died and Gone to Heaven  
  7. Western Hero/Wrangler Rap  
  8. Life is a Song  
  9. Only Because  
  10. It’s After 3  
  11. Dreamer  
  12. Love’s Lost Medley: (Where are You Now, Sometimes I see You in my Dreams, Since She Went Away, Without Your Love, Last Lines)  
  13. Spirit in Me
  14. Two of a Kind (song not included on CD) 
Only known picture of my band. (left to right) Me, Fern Llorens on drums and Joe Garcia on guitar at our first gig, at the Woodpecker Inn in Secaucus. Must have been taken by bassist, Don K.

Only known picture of my band. (Left to right) Me, Fern Llorens on drums and Joe Garcia on guitar at our first gig, at the Woodpecker Inn in Secaucus. Must have been taken by bassist, Don K.

Stories Behind the Songs

Head Held High, Dance with Me, Bring-A-Me Back My Heart, I Must Have Died and Gone to Heaven and Spirit in Me are all completely new songs and were inspired just for this album. Always wanted to write a waltz, a reggae tune, a country song and a Christian gospel rock tune and that is just what happened with the inspiration from above. I was given the chorus and melody and some verses. I just had to write the additional verses, which came very fast. I was amazed!
Head Held High begins the album with an up-tempo song to make you feel like you can succeed and accomplish anything you set your mind to, and no one can stop you or crush your dreams.
Spirit in Me is a Christian rock/Gospel-tinged exciting finale to the album, complete with an inspiring sermon and a rousing easy to sing along with chorus to lift your spirits and send you off shouting and singing.
Only Because is the oldest song on this collection and was my second vocal attempt at song writing. It is a catch melody with lots of chord changes. The lyrics are not my best, but it is just the way I wrote it back in the 60’s, all those years ago.
Love’s Lost Medley These are 4 titles that were each a complete song. They could have stood on their own as individual tunes, but I decided that because they all dealt with the same theme, losing a love, that I could combine them in a sort of Side 2 of Abbey Road Medley. The first tune, Where are You Now, concerns someone wondering where their former lover is now. This flows into, Sometimes I See You in My Dreams, Since She Went Away and Without Your Love, all dealing with a former love and not having gotten over them and found closure.  This segues into an uplifting final bit of advice, Last Lines. I wanted to end the song on an up note. Last Lines is a completely new piece of music.
Dance with Me is a great wedding song. The perfect first dance number. You can hold each other real close and whisper the words to each other as you dance together, for a love to last a lifetime.
Short Haired Girls was another song where I had the words but no melody. Again, the very catchy pop melody came to me and I revised the verses and chorus to fit the melody and Ta-Dah, a fitting tribute to all those ladies who took the dare and cut off their hair. Y’all look beautiful in short hair! To my knowledge, there has never been a song dedicated to short haired girls, most songs sing the praises of women with long straight hair; but some ladies look so much prettier with short hair. Older women look so much younger in short hair. Maybe the song can convince more girls to try a pixie or a buzz!
Western Hero was originally titled Six-Gun Shooter when it was written back in the 70’s, but today that title brings up a different meaning, so I changed it. It is an homage to all those old TV westerns which I loved and watched all the time. I always thought it had a kind of “Paperback Writer” feel to it. I also added a Western Rap to the end of it and tried to recall as many cowboys and TV shows as possible and rhyme them, no easy task. See if it brings back any memories to you. Rapping is not as easy as you may think, it is an art and one that I shouldn’t ever try again.

Special Note: in the lyrics there is a reference to “beware the dead man’s hand”. This refers to the poker hand Wild Bill Hickock was holding when he was shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall in a Deadwood saloon in the Dakota Territory on August 2, 1876. The hand was a pair of black aces and eights with an unknown hole card that was reportedly the queen; though there is a dispute as to whether it was hearts or clubs. Either way, it has become known as the Dead Man’s Hand!

Two Lane Blacktop was just words with 2 verses. The music just came to me and sounded so good that I added a third verse and changed each chorus slightly to make the song more interesting. It is a great driving song. Get out on the road, step on the gas (maybe a little harder than you should), open the windows, feel the wind in your face, put on the music, turn it up and feel the freedom surge through your body. What a rush!
Bring-a-Me-Back My Heart is the reggae tune I always wanted to write, complete with my best attempt at a Jamaican accent. Do you feel like you’re in the Islands? Chill mon!
I Must Have Died and Gone to Heaven is my Country tune. I think I could hear this tune being played in a Nashville bar sung by the house band while sipping on a cold glass of suds while in my boots and Stetson hat.
Dreamer was originally a guitar piece but channeling the Beatles for my medley I decided to give it more of an Eleanor Rigby feel and added strings. The song is a tribute to all you romantics out there who keep on dreaming and hope that they will come true.
It’s After 3 is a simple love song of never wanting a date to end and never wanting to say goodnight to your love. To borrow a famous line from Shakespeare, “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”
Life is a Song – Music inspires all of us and we live our lives based on the kind of music we like. Some days we rock, some jazz, some are blues, some waltz along, but whatever your day brings, take time to listen to the music in your soul and feel the beat in your feet. Enjoy every day, don’t let them pass you by.