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First Days of Summer

by Michael Simmons

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1.
I’m just a normal guy, sittin’ here I try To yank these ideas right out of my brain When it’s so much more easy To sit around and watch TV And let these melodies go down the drain, oh no But i’ll be damned if I don’t dare To whip up something we can share Gonna give it a try and see what happens You just never know, never know I’m gonna do my best to put it down Do your best to care Workin so hard to get the sound Do your best, do your best to care I try and catch your eye You got attention span of a fly What must I do to make you stop a while Lemme try instead To get inside your head And stop you skipping on to the next file See I gotta find a way To be the soundtrack of your day Just gimme a try and see what happens You just never know, never know I’m gonna do my best to lay it down Do your best to care Workin so hard to get the sound Do your best, do your best to care So won’t you come along with me There’s so much for us to see Just give it a try and see what happens On with the show - with the show I’m gonna do my best to lay it down Do your best to care Workin so hard to get the sound Do your best, do your best to care
2.
Staring at that screen all day Soaking up stuff that others made Playing games, you betray The beauty all around you Get up, get out, and see the sun Your liberation's just begun Don’t waste your time so selfishly Instead create for all to see cuz You only get back (you only get back) What you put in (what you put in) If you only take and don’t create It’s the greatest sin (you’ll never win) You only get back (you only get back) What you put in (what you put in) I can’t wait to see you create     Get back what you put in And remember kids, if you’re in doubt Garbage in equals garbage out So surround yourself with all things great And see the wonders you’ll create Put the gadget down, Stand right up Take a drink, but keep the cup It’s not what you collect, but what you give away That you’ll be remembered for one day You only get back (you only get back) What you put in (what you put in) If you only take and don’t create It’s the greatest sin (you’ll never win) You only get back (you only get back) What you put in (what you put in) I can’t wait to see you create     Get back what you put in
3.
Does it take two to mango, Or can I finish one by myself? There's another muse to mangle, Or should I leave it up on the shelf? I was needing inspiration in an awkward situation Then you spoke to me in my dream. You said "it's time to write a song and I will help it come along" The fuzzy hat you wore was green, uh huh Write away you said. Just let it flow. Write away you said Sounds silly I know but you know where it's at.” My illustrious friend in the fuzzy green hat. Then I called you on the Facebook cuz I could really use a second verse. "I can't seem to find a good hook. And my topic was a bit perverse." Then you said "I'm flattered to inspire, and my verbosity's for hire If only my laptop ran." I’m on tour as we speak, hit me up next week or I’ll get back to you when I can, yeah." "Write away" you said. "Just let it flow." "Write away" you said "Sounds silly I know, But you know where it's at." (That’s what he said) My illustrious friend in his fuzzy green hat. I guess I'll cross this bridge, Tired of waiting around, But promise me we'll have a drink When You're in town. "But I gotta run, I’m sure we’ll get it done Or call another friend and have some fun." (but in the meantime…) "Write away" you said. "Just let it flow." "Write away" you said "Sounds silly I know, but you know where it's at." He said you know where it’s at. My illustrious friend in your fuzzy green hat.
4.
I can’t sing about girls no more No more girls for me I can’t sing about girls no more No more girls for me Gone are the days of wide-eyed wonder Making plans and dreaming dreams Gone are the days of hearts-a-flutter They tell me it’s creepy, whatever that means But don’t you miss that teenage feeling? Head over heels with your senses reeling? Why can’t we feel it again? What is the prescription, then? I can’t sing about girls no more No more girls for me No more songs about girls for sure A woman’s more my speed And I I know what I can do I’m gonna sing about you When I think of you My heart is filled with songs About girls and summer, It’s kindof a bummer When I sing them now they sound so wrong So take no offense you pop song masters My blurry eyes can plainly see Songs about girls and other disasters Just might be the end of me Cuz we wanna feel that teenage feeling Buff out the parts where the pain was peeling Happy days are in sight Because We’ve learned how to do it right (my lady) I can’t sing about girls no more No more girls for me No more songs about girls for sure A woman’s more my speed And I I know what I will do I’m gonna sing about you
5.
Friends will look, heads get shook at pix we took but that’s okay instagram, holding hands, heavy PDA We seen some stuff, life’s been tough had enough, break this old cage no Tragedy, You and me, Time to turn the page Why don’t we do, don’t we do, don’t we do, don’t we do, don’t we do it Give in to, give in t, give in to, give in to, give in to it Our past it won’t define us We deserve what life has promised Live life to win it I say let’s go fall right in it Let go (wooooooooo!) Let’s fall in love. Kids are cool, Off to school There’s no rules in this new game forget the past, take it fast, time to fan the flame You’re so cute, We compute Let’s reboot, How we’re livin’ Second chance, at romance, We can start again Why don’t we do, don’t we do, don’t we do, don’t we do, don’t we do it Give in to, give in t, give in to, give in to, give in to it Oh darlin’ let’s not fight it, don’t fear it just requite it Let’s do it better, close your eyes and jump together Let go (wooooooooo!) let’s fall in love.
6.
Stop a moment when your day is done. Take some time out, watch the sinking sun. Just relax, you’re not wasting time Celebrate the time when days are long Make a drink and play a favorite song Celebrate that you’re alive First days of summer All I want is to feel that sun First days of summer All year long I wait for these days to come But it’s empty for me if I’m the only one. Nothing’s quite the same if you’re not here Come on down, I’m waiting, have no fear In the end I hope you’ll stay For another magic day First days of summer All I want is to feel that sun First days of summer All year long I wait for these days to come But it’s empty for me if I’m the only one. Share these moments with me Our summer’s just begun
7.
You may be standin’ in the clearest part of your room because you just flipped over this set of tunes and if you feel a little tempted to jam on my groove do what you gotta do and let the spirit move and I'll address the question foremost on your mind Why is this fat old white dude spittin’ out rhymes? It’s cuz I got some important words to say to all those young musicians out working today I commend you all for contributing to The community of artists and seeing things through It’s no small feat to get your record made All the writing and the mixing and the price you paid And I get that your audience demands it’s fix But it devalues your art when you just throw your mix On to Soundcloud or Bandcamp the moment you’re done Wait until there’s more than five songs, You hearin’ me son? So where your side two at? huh? EP’s are weak So where your side two at? huh? EP’s are weak Doin’ thirty-odd minutes ain’t no small feat  But you gotta do it grasshopper EP’s are weak. Yeah give the people what they want baby more more more So you scribble then you dribble what you doin’ that for? Gotta take it slow it’s time to hold your chi Nobody payin’ for it later when you makin’ it free And your merch table littered with all kinds of crap Messy table messy mind don’t fall into that trap Make a bigger statement, make it a feast Instead of chargin 10 dollars for 10 minutes of beats Cuz when you do that brutha I may not even stream I’ll click thru past you to someone else’s dream If I like the first track and it looks like you’re trying And the second ain’t bad, cha-china I’m buyin’ But when it’s just three tracks, we used to call that a demo I guess you horny punks never got the f'in memo So where your side two at? huh? EP’s are weak So where your side two at? huh? EP’s are weak Doin’ thirty-odd minutes ain’t no small feat  Give the people what they want, son EP’s are weak. So where your side two at? huh? EP’s are weak So where your side two at? huh? EP’s are weak Show us what you got kid, and make it unique I give it to you straight bro EP’s are weak
8.
You think I’d be happy, you’d think I’d feel great With nothing impending, a lift of the weight I step off the hamster wheel, I Try to exhale But I can’t stand to sit here and feel somehow I’ve failed What goes around it comes around, it never truly ends on the sofa of my lethargy the punishment begins Rudderless day, I feel it coming on this sickness I can't run away, it's been so freaking long since I knew how to play to sit here feels so wrong, feel like I'm dying with nothing to say, another rudderless day I can see the horizon, but where to begin Feeling so alien in my own skin Can anybody teach me how to enjoy A whole day of nothing doing like when I was a boy What goes around it comes around Like monkeys on our backs And I’ll be begging for a moment, a minute to relax What goes around it comes around This moment too shall pass A whole day off and still I can’t enjoy it while it lasts
9.
I made a nest I got it all tricked out It’s got everything and more there is no doubt Mortgage is cool I got a decent price I can walk to work and the neighbors sure are nice Red flags were everywhere but I didn’t see I was ignorant of the geology Son of a bitch you must be kidding me There’s a big bad mother right under my TV One of these days I’m gonna feel the rumble (It’s My Fault and I’m Livin’ on it) One of these days I’m gonna take a tumble Newport Inglewood is gonna kill me All my stuff is gonna burn you’ll see What am I gonna do When the big one’s rips my house in two? I hope I’m not at home on the big day Looks like I failed at real estate Feng Shui I feel bad about tornados but I won’t feel ya When I’m crushed to death by all my memorabilia Every night I toss and I turn and cry on my pillow After staying up till 4am just searching on Zillow I really enjoy my little culture bubble But someday soon it will reduce to rubble One of these days I’m gonna feel the rumble (It’s My Fault and I’m Livin’ on it) One of these days I’m gonna take a tumble (It’s My Fault and I’m Livin’ on it) While the rest of LA is rockin’ and rollin’ My stuff will fall over like the gods are bowling What am I gonna do When the big one rips my house in two? I’ve been taking my way of life for granted On top of the biggest crack on the planet What am I gonna do When the big one rips my house in two?
10.
Grab my bucket list, grab a pen Cross off the part that says “Fall in love again” Not cuz I don’t wanna, I find it kinda strange But ever since I met you girl my outlook’s changed Nothing on my list looks quite the same Cuz next to every item I’ve amended your name You're on my bucket list Tell me girl if you got the gist  Where it says "fall in love again" I'll replace it with your name And check off the other stuff I missed Cuz you're the only thing that matters On my bucket list. Well my friends all told me I was goin’ through a phase Thinkin‘ ‘bout this kinda stuff and acting my age I assumed that love forever passed me by Until a frisky little philly kinda caught my eye And look at the adventures we’re about to share Girl it’s all because of you that every item’s there You're on my bucket list Tell me girl if you got the gist  Where it says "fall in love again" I'll replace it with your name And check off the other stuff I missed Cuz you're the only thing that matters On my bucket list. (LET'S KICK IT!)
11.
Dirt Nap 03:27
One of these days it'll all go black You'll close your eyes babe, and you’ll never come back You better realize that your collection of crap won’t mean a damn thing when you takin your dirt nap Oh my God we’re all gonna die And you’ll be gone in the blink of an eye Serious as a heart attack, you’ll go nighty-night And you won’t come back Eat Drink and be merry, have a proper fiesta Cuz the clock is ticking honey, on your forever siesta Get right with Jesus before your final lap He’s the only alarm clock That can wake you from a dirt nap Princes, paupers, millionaires Every single one of ‘em is gonna get theirs Settle your debts, Put out your fires Put some memory foam on your funeral pyre You’ll be having a good day but it’s gonna get worse When you call and Uber and get a hearse And tell everybody that you love them back Cuz it’ll be too late when you’re taking your dirt nap I’m telling you people, tell everyone you love them Cuz it’s lights out eventually. Eat your broccoli, and drink your water Listen to the Beatles
12.
It seems we’ve reached the centre of the spiral Ups and downs but we had fun all the while Sunset’s coming, put the last log on the fire It seems we’ve reached the centre of the spiral At the point where things just aren’t as good Things don’t really work the way they should The waves keep hitting, lining up in single-file It seems we’ve reached the centre of the spiral We could make this trip together Not worry about the weather New things to explore, Things to treasure or ignore But we’ll always wind up playing out again. Sometimes I wish that we could start again Revisit all the places that we’ve been But we gotta turn this over to see what’s on the other side Once we’ve reached the centre of the spiral You could turn it over, or put me back into my cover And pick out something new, It’s really up to you But you know that you can always find me here A few more laps and our journey’s at an end It’s a one-way trip there’s no use to pretend You decide what’s next, there’s no time for denial But I feel that I must prove So I’m locking in this groove For we have reached the centre of the spiral

about

With the release of First Days of Summer, power-pop veteran (sparkle*jets u.k., Yorktown Lads) Michael Simmons delivers his first album of original music released under his name in 20 years. With his demanding day-job in education, there are only a few days each year where the pressure is off. It's these first days of summer when, just maybe, some songs might pop out. The first three came in late June 2015, and two more in late June 2016. As June of 2017 rolled around, he was so enamored of the idea of putting out new music that seven more songs came in the space of a week, and suddenly he had an album!

credits

released March 15, 2018

Written, performed, engineered, designed, and produced by Michael Simmons during the first days of summer, 2015-2017 in the kitchen at Crab-Apple-On-Sea, Huntington Beach, California.

Thanks to family, friends, and all the people that support me professionally and personally. Special thanks to Susan West & Jamie Knight for their support on this project, John Borack for his friendship and advice, Jade Trazo for the photo shoot, Jeff Charroux who came down to HB and helped birth this thing, the MMET students and staff, my bands sparkle*jets u.k., Yorktown Lads, and Popdudes, and the magical talent of Anthony/Matt/Cameron/Addison/Tom/Robbie for lending their special magic. Also, a shout out to Jim Prell, Michael McCartney, Adam Waltemire, Mike Lidskin, and all the folks that play and support my music on the radio.

Say hi or find more music:
www.facebook.com/michael.simmons.9465
michaelsimmons.bandcamp.com

© 2017 Michael Simmons
Licensed to Crab Apple Records
1442 E. Lincoln Ave. Ste 261
Orange, CA 92865

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Michael Simmons Huntington Beach, California

Guitarist/songwriter/vocalist for venerable powerpop band sparkle*jets u.k., frequent voice behind Popdudes, and 1/3 of Yorktown Lads.

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