Toast to our health
Spinning Islands
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
I am going down to the Florida Keys,
Where hurricanes abound,
Spinning islands like a string of pearls,
Wind sweeping waves into the sound.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Mangroves and hardwood hammocks,
Encircling the reef periphery,
Moonshine turning turquoise tides,
A wind quartet in lunar synchrony.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
I am not searching for sunken treasure,
In the deep blue depths, divers plumb.
I am looking for seashells that sparkle,
Along the shifting beaches, I comb,
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
We could share a pail of whelks and cowries,
That drift in with the evening tide,
Gaze into conches and mother of pearl mollusks,
Discovering the sea, side by side.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Lyrics and music – Sandy Ross Bender, June 14, 2026
My lawnmower stopped working
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
My lawnmower stopped working,
So, I let the grass grow high.
My neighbors are complaining,
That it would soon touch the sky.
I always wanted a forest,
And the birds that it would bring.
The minstrels will follow,
The troubadours will sing.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
The lawnmower was the pushing kind.
Like the mower that my father had.
He liked the clinking of the blades,
Without the fumes and noise that was so bad.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Never had I thought of ghosts before.
But now I am in belief.
My father appeared to mow the lawn,
And now, I can sigh in relief.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Lyrics and music by Sanford Ross Bender
Slow walk home
Slip out through the window
Slip out through the window,
Shift your unsettled mind,
Lift up your aching limbs,
Leave what holds you down behind.
Fragrant woods are beckoning,
Singing their soulful sound,
Dance beneath the gables,
As planet moons spin around.
SRB 033026
Start of the year
Fairytale
Crime story
Our gallant ship
*Oh, the stormy winds do blow
With the landlubbers down below,
And the sailor-men a-climbing to the top
To haul in the riggin’-o.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Twas Sunday night, our sails were set,
We hardly cleared the land-o,
When we spied a mermaid-a-swimmin’ by,
A comb and a glass in her hand-o.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The captain plumbed with a lead and a line,
He plumbed for to reach the sand-o,
While the wind and the waves did toss and roar,
We knew we’d never see land-o.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Then three times ’round went our gallant ship.
And three times more went she,
And the mate and the cabin boy said goodbye
As we sank in the salt, salt sea,
As we sank in the salt, salt sea.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
*Traditional ballad called “The Mermaid” was ccollected and compiled as No. 62 B by John Jacob Niles. Original musical arangement was composed for voice, concertina, clarinet, and guitar and performed by Sanford Ross Bender.
Tiny Drops of Rain
The Green Grave, or The Restless Dead*
The wind across the graveyard blew
With tiny drops of rain,
“I never had but one true love,
And she in the grave, one year hath lain,
And she in the grave hath lain.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He sat and grieved upon her grave
As many lovers may,
He sat and grieved and made a moan
A twelvemonth and a day,
A twelvemonth and a day.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
And when the grieving time was past,
The maiden’s ghost did say,
“Who sits a-weeping on my grave
A twelvemonth and a day,
A twelvemonth and a day?”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“My lips are cold as coldest clay,
My breath is earthy strong,
Now you have kissed me once again,
Your days will not be long,
Your days will not be long.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
*Traditional ballad compiled by John Jacob Niles (Niles No. 32 C).