Get all 17 Jason Didner releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Digital Carnival, Digital Carnival (Single), Better Self (Acoustic), Virtual Troubadour (Acoustic), Side Effects, When the Time Came, Another Plot Twist, Molasses Blues, and 9 more.
1. |
Salt and Sand
03:42
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Verse 1:
Windshield wipers are frozen and it's hard to see
If there's dangerous obstacles in front of me
It's a slippery turnpike and the left lane's out
These times can test your grip on what your life's about
In my engine the gremlins knock my self esteem
As they try to drive down the value of my dreams
As I struggle for traction up this icy hill
They make me think dark thoughts but they can't break my will
Chorus:
Let's move on forward, here's to making our way
To the dreams we work for coming into reach
Salt and sand on this icy highway
Will be salt and sand on a summer beach
Salt and sand on this icy highway
Will be salt and sand on a summer beach
Verse 2:
I can feel your frustration as you spin your wheels
I'm identifying big-time with the way you feel
You set your plan and watch it get pushed back
It takes a steady hand to get you back on track
Yeah the heat of anger may move us along
But it ain't no substitute for staying strong
Today we won't be quickly satisfied
But we've got dreams of a lifetime that won't be denied
Chorus
Bridge:
We can fade
Or we can shine
The way we choose to walk the line
Chorus
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2. |
Distorted
03:40
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Verse 1
Dark thoughts come a-rising
From the bottom of my mind
They say they’re being helpful
They say they’re being kind
They’re spinning me a story
To explain the way I feel
But all they do is hurt me
And they're barely even real
Pre-chorus
Cruel deceptions - in my brain
Multiply my pain
Chorus 1
I’m being punished by God - I’m never rewarded
(These thoughts are distorted)
I’m left to suffer alone - I’m never supported
(These thoughts are distorted)
I know these are lies
But I ain't seeing' through 'em
Can't wish 'em away
I can't undo 'em
These thoughts are distorted
(These thoughts are distorted)
Verse 2
Dark thoughts still a-rising
From the bottom of my my mind
They've never once been helpful
And they've never once been kind
When the lies get hold of me
I get locked behind their wall
I can see a key to freedom
If I watch them rise and fall
Pre-chorus
I'm getting mindful - of my brain
Just being with the pain
Chorus 2
I’m being punished by God - I’m never rewarded
(These thoughts are distorted)
I’m left to suffer alone - I’m never supported
(These thoughts are distorted)
I'm aware of the way
I'm reacting to 'em
Can't wish 'em away
But I will get through 'em
These thoughts are distorted
(These thoughts are distorted)
Solo
Chorus 3 (like chorus 2)
Oh Papancha!
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3. |
Battle
02:51
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Verse 1:
I thought this was a battle
The kind that’s won or lost
Where raging at the rival
Brings a victory worth all costs
But the prize is alienation
Now that seems a hollow win
Standing lonely in the ruins
Of the war I fought within
Verse 2:
I thought this was a battle
With troops on high alert
Couldn’t trace the friendly fire
From the part of me that hurt
Oh, the rage destroys your allies
In the same flames as your foes
Your own weapon takes you over
No matter how it goes
Verse 3:
I thought this was a battle
I could win and earn my peace
Then I saw myself in terror
As hostilities increased
And the anger gave an order
Show no mercy in this fight
I asked myself the question
Could this order not be right
Bridge:
It can take all that you got
To disobey an order that’s all wrong
To take the heat for seeming weak
That’s a different kind of strong
When the rage calls loved ones enemies
And declares we’re at code red
And orders me to take them down
I’ll lift them up instead
Verse 4:
I thought this was a battle
Now I’m learning it’s much more
It’s a mission to compassion
For the pain down in my core
It’s a journey toward forgiveness
When the rage has had its say
And the wisdom we discover
We can’t fight these things away
But we can live to love another day
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4. |
Run With My Troubles
04:17
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Verse 1:
In this echo chamber of anxiety
Thoughts take on a life all of their own
Ruminating on what could become of me
Makes me feel so helpless and alone
This catastrophic thinking washes over me
Til it's all that occupies my head
Using up the balance of my energy
These feelings pin me to my bed
Taking fire left and right and in between
I need to get out for a change of scene
Chorus:
I can't run from my troubles
These troubles follow me around
So I'm just gonna run with my troubles
Run 'til my worried mind can settle down
Verse 2:
I fall into a rhythm in my running shoes
Where there's just wind and sky and road
My brain and body doing what they're meant to do
Find a way to lay aside that load
I'm feeling much more human when I'm on the run
It's one stride at a time, no longer tense
Arms and legs and heart and mind at work as one
The universe just makes so much more sense
Feeling better left and right and in between
I get the grace and healing in this change of scene
Chorus
Solo
Chorus
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5. |
A Complicated Miracle
03:46
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Verse 1
We were in dire need of help
We couldn’t make it by ourselves
So we put our faith in the brightest
And we counted on the best
As we lay down on their tables
And trusted we’d be blessed
Then we awoke
Safe and sound and somehow changed
Chorus:
It's a complicated miracle
That has come true
A complicated miracle
We're living through
But miracles don't come easy
Miracles don't come free
This miracle’s been complicating you and me
Verse 2:
Some days we spin out of control
We lose connection with our souls
And we barely sense our bodies
And we're swimming in our heads
Let's remember why we're in this
What we hoped for when we wed
From then to now
Safe and sound and somehow changed
Chorus
Bridge:
We can take the complications
Of this ever twisting plot
Let this be our meditation
To rejoice in what we’ve got
We'll rejoice in what we’ve got
Chorus
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6. |
Asking for a Friend
02:55
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Verse 1:
You'd never talk to a friend this way
So why'd you say that to yourself?
I've seen you giving yourself hell all day
What do you think that's gonna help?
Chorus:
I'm asking for a friend
I'm asking for a friend
I'm asking for a friend
I'm asking for you
Verse 2:
You'd never beat up on a friend that way
So why are you beating yourself up?
I've seen you tearing yourself down all day
When will this torture be enough?
Chorus:
I'm asking for a friend
I'm asking for a friend
I'm asking for a friend
I'm asking for you
Bridge:
I've always had your back
Even when the odds were stacked
This time I need to count on you
To learn to have your back too
Verse 3:
You'd never give up on a friend this way
So why would you give up on yourself?
I'm in this with you baby come what may
What can I do to give you help?
Chorus:
I'm asking for a friend
I'm asking for a friend
I'm asking for a friend
I'm asking for you
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7. |
Back to Our Bliss
03:43
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Verse 1:
Welcome back my lover
It's so good to rediscover
What it feels like when we touch
We’ve been busy just surviving
Now it’s time to get to thriving
We've both been through so much
Pre-chorus:
Re-ignited, I'm feeling more like myself
Re-united, you seem so much more like yourself again
Chorus:
Now we’re back to our bliss
I am back to taste your kiss
And you’re back to really feel me in your arms
And we’re learning not to jump at false alarms in our minds
We’re back to our bliss
Back to our bliss
Verse 2:
Put away that box of tissues
We have ways to face these issues
There’s no need to feel alone
Lay your head upon my shoulder
I'll be here when nights get colder
Guaranteed and set in stone
Pre-chorus:
Re-ignited, I'm feeling more like myself
Re-united, you seem so much more like yourself again
Chorus
Bridge
We made it through the days of isolation
Now it’s time to say goodbye to alienation
And hello to the joy after the pain
Like Marley sang we don’t have to wait in vain no more
Chorus
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8. |
Because I'm Grateful
03:46
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Verse 1:
I’m grateful that I woke up this morning
At least that’s what that TED talk said I’m supposed to say
Still I’m sorry for myself and my brain’s all full of warnings
I’ll try this attitude of gratitude on some other day
But then, what if that day could come around this morning
What could it hurt to thank a loved one or two?
It might bring a little good to take stock of my blessings
OK, let’s see what this gratitude thing can do
Pre-chorus:
I can feel my mood get a little bit lighter
As my outlook grows just a little brighter
Chorus:
I’m not afraid today to show what I’m made of
I’m grateful for my love, my child and my pets
I’m thankful for the support I have
And the strength I’ve found within
Because I’m grateful
Sadness isn’t all there is
Verse 2:
Depression can’t have the upper hand this morning
‘Cause I’ve got a new move that villain has never seen
When you see what it can do, you won’t call it corny or boring
See, I’m getting in touch with the grateful part of me
I’m gonna do it again tomorrow morning
‘Cause feeling better is feeling pretty sweet
I’m letting go of the rope - Depression, here’s your warning
I ain’t fighting today and that don’t feel like defeat
Pre-chorus:
I can feel my mood get a little bit lighter
As my outlook grows just a little brighter
Chorus:
I’m not afraid today to show what I’m made of
I’m grateful for my love, my child and my pets
I’m thankful for the support I have
And the strength I’ve got within
Because I’m grateful
Sadness isn’t all there is
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9. |
A Different Kind of Zen
03:32
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Verse 1:
To the high desert of New Mexico
We’ve traveled with our notebooks and our pens
The teacher sits cross-legged before us
Offering a different kind of Zen
Natalie urges us to be specific
Write “Cadillac” when thinking of a car
Authenticity hides in the details
Images take readers where you are
Give us every drop of that storm raging in you
Under all circumstances you must continue
Chorus:
Keep your hand moving
Keep your hand moving
One stroke ahead of the critic in your mind
Keep the pen going
Keep your truth flowing
Genuine connectedness you’ll find
Verse 2:
Let it loose, don’t think about the product
You’re free to write the worst junk in the land
Lose control, let writing do the writing
You’ll read it later, then you’ll understand
Give us every drop of that storm raging in you
Under all circumstances you must continue
Chorus:
Keep your hand moving
Keep your hand moving
One stroke ahead of the critic in your mind
Keep the pen going
Keep your truth flowing
Genuine connectedness you’ll find
Bridge:
Find your voice here in this sacred zone
While you’re writing down the bones
Chorus:
Keep your hand moving
Keep your hand moving
One stroke ahead of the critic in your mind
Keep the pen going
Keep your truth flowing
Genuine connectedness you’ll find
Genuine connectedness you’ll find
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10. |
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Verse 1:
I love riding on my bike
It brings me feelings that I like
My excellent escape machine
That helps me keep our planet clean.
I love the energy it brings
And clarity, – it gives me wings.
My bike's a pal I animate
We roll, I chill and concentrate.
We glide down city streets and country trails
Motion casts its spell and never fails
Chorus:
My super clean escape machine
My super clean escape machine
I’m off the grid and on the scene
On my super clean escape machine
Verse 2:
We can go from near to far
Rolling cleaner than a car
It cleans my arteries and mind
And lets me leave my cares behind.
We squeeze through narrow passage ways.
And windy paths, on sunny days.
We can ride by stunning sights
Or savor balmy moonlit nights
We glide down city streets and country trails
Motion casts its spell and never fails
Chorus:
My super clean escape machine
My super clean escape machine
I’m off the grid and on the scene
On my super clean escape machine
Bridge:
Pedaling fast or coasting slow
We’re flying low - flying low
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11. |
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Lyrics:
If the best way to learn a thing is to teach it
Then I'll try to guide you, and I may reach it
I may not get to enlightenment
But I can learn to lighten up yeah
And if it gets me practicing, I will preach it
So let's place a hand on our own hearts
And sing...
Chorus:
May I live with ease
May I be free from suffering
May I be a blessing for someone today
May I be safe
May I be peaceful deep within
May I walk with comfort along the middle way
May this be a moment of loving kindness
I give to myself
Verse 2:
If the best way to know a thing is to live it
Then I'll try to take it in and to give it
I may not get to the mountain top
But I'll start again every time I stop
And when I stumble, may I forgive it
So let's place a hand on our own hearts
And sing...
Chorus:
May you live with ease
May you be free from suffering
May you be a blessing for someone today
May you be safe
May you be peaceful deep within
May you walk with comfort along the middle way
May this be a moment of loving kindness
you can give yourself
Solo
So let's place a hand on our own hearts
And sing...
Chorus:
May we live with ease
May we be free from suffering
May we be a blessing for someone today
May we be safe
May we be peaceful deep within
May we walk with comfort along the middle way
May this be a moment of loving kindness
we can give ourselves
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Jason Didner Montclair, New Jersey
Jason's body of work as a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist has grown diverse, representing his nature and lived
experience. He's brought his sense of humor to bear in many of his signature tracks over the past 25+ years.
He's also turned to song to support the mental health of his listeners, his family and himself. They're mantras for waking up grateful and optimistic.
... more
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