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Keep These Little Lessons

from Songwriter, Volume 1 (15 songs) by Bill Naughton, Jr.

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about

This is one of the more folk style songs that I’ve written. I actually sang this song for a while with just the two verses and the chorus, but when I added the third verse I think it made a big difference, it brought the song full circle, into the present, and I think it makes much more sense. Of all the songs that I’ve written, this is one of my favorites. It’s another story song. I think I was once again writing under the influence of my songwriting idol, the great Bob McDill, trying to write something like "Good Ole Boys Like Me," which is one of my all-time favorite songs. I keep trying but I don't think I’ll ever write anything quite as good as that. But this is a nice little story song and I like what we did with it in the studio. It kind of reminds me of something John Denver might have done, or Peter, Paul and Mary. Terry Miggins and I played acoustic guitar together on this, and Jay Miggins came up with a perfect drum arrangement. They gave it a really nice feel and made the song move along really nicely, for a simple little folk song. It's got a nice message and it's got one of my favorite lines: "Don’t ever be afraid to ask your neighbors for help, if it looks like it's too heavy don't try lifting it yourself.” I don't know where that came from, it just popped into my head, maybe that's why I like it so much. It’s meaningful.

lyrics

Keep These Little Lessons
(Bill Naughton, Jr.)
c 2014 Biliolga Music (ASCAP)

I was raised on my Daddy’s farm,
Woke up at five o’clock and went to work in the barn,
Worked hard all day until my body hurt,
But Daddy taught me how to do an honest day’s work...

Mama stayed inside and kept the house in shape,
She taught my little sister how to sew and how to bake,
Every night we’d sit around the living room,
And between them they must have told us everything they knew...

-chorus-
They said “Keep these little lessons, don’t forget what we say,
If you ever need our strength, you’re gonna thank us someday,
There’s nothing more important we can do when we’re alive,
Then to teach you what we know, so that you can survive.”

That was back in eighty-nine if I can recall,
‘Cause Mama died next spring and Daddy followed her that fall,
All at once I knew what it was like to be alone,
“Cause my sister went away to school and didn’t live at home...

I worked double shifts just trying to deal with my pain,
Until I remembered what my Daddy used to say,
“Don’t ever feel too proud to ask your neighbors for help,
If it looks like it’s too heavy, don’t try lifting it yourself.”

-repeat chorus-

Now I've got a family, a wife and two kids,
We're bringing up a boy and girl just like my parents did,
And we do for them what my folks did for me so long ago,
Each night we sit them down and teach them everything we know...

-repeat chorus twice-

credits

from Songwriter, Volume 1 (15 songs), released September 19, 2014
Bill Naughton, Jr.: acoustic guitar, ukulele, vocals
Terry Miggins: acoustic guitar, bass
Jay Miggins: drums and percussion
Michael Arafeh: recording engineer and producer

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Bill Naughton, Jr. East Hampton, Connecticut

Songwriter Bill Naughton, Jr. is a former Nashville radio disc jockey - WSIX and WSM-FM - with two15 track albums of studio demos released to showcase his original material for recording artists, producers and label A&R reps in an effort to get his songs cut by other singers. All 30 tracks, produced by Michael Arafeh at the Coffeehouse in Middletown CT, can be downloaded FREE here on Bandcamp.com. ... more

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