Listen to .mp3 sample of Lost in Paradise.

Sung by Mark S. Meritt.

Lyrics

If their life were good
Most people would
Be happy with their fate

Still, down deep inside
It’s not denied
They want a life that’s great

Spite of what they have, they want it all
Lucky me, I’ve got it wall to wall

I’m lost in a wonderful paradise
I’m lost in a glorious dream

Strangers envy me
How happily
They think I live my days

Not one ounce of strife
The perfect life
Wherever I may gaze

Perfect things galore and then some more
But I wonder, who’s it perfect for

I’m lost in a marvelous paradise
I’m lost in a something-else dream
But if this was my kind of paradise
Well, then why do I find myself always wanting to scream?

When I look around me I can
See so many things
That so many people would desire

But nothing makes me feel
Like fireworks exploding
‘Stead of setting me alight,
I only want to set it all on fire

Strangers envy me
How happily
They think I live my days

They don’t know how I’m
So dissatisfied
And it’s more than a phase

All these things around me tease and taunt
None of it is what I really want

I’m lost in someone else’s paradise
Trapped on someone else’s cloud nine
And I can’t help but think that perhaps someone else may be lost in mine
Lost in mine

© & 2007, 2001 Mark S. Meritt

The music for this song was originally written for You Could’ve Been Something Special (Love Theme from Gratuitous Violence). Mark felt the music worth reusing for a piece with a greater likelihood for longevity. Other than the title being a nod, the lyrics are essentially unrelated to the original.

Listen to .mp3 sample of Gratuitous Silence.

Sung by Mark S. Meritt.

Lyrics

We used to be so together
Two shining diamonds in the rough
And for a while just each other seemed enough
But we wanted something better
You sought your fortune in the sky
For me, a far more grounded future caught the eye

But as your star ascended by degrees
We didn’t know we’d turn to enemies
And now you only give the deepest freeze
Gratuitous silence

Tried to help so many others
It’s the hardest row to hoe
When someone else is who they rather would know
If everybody had their druthers
It’s you whose life they’d want to live
They all refuse to see just how much I can give

It kills me knowing that they’re all so blind
But they can’t leave all your false hopes behind
And now from you all that I’ve come to find…

I had the strength to say what I believe
And you thought I was mad
But it turns out that I was self-deceived
If being true should make me glad
Then tell me, why’s it feel so bad?

I did not want you to leave me
Didn’t mean to go away
But sometimes losing what you care for’s a price you pay
Still we follow in our footsteps
Build our castles in the sand
And though we may have been divided, still we stand

Can we be harmonized? I have no clue
What’s good for just one leaves no room for two
And so for now all I’ll expect from you’s
Gratuitous silence
Gratuitous silence
Gratuitous silence

© & 2007, 2001 Mark S. Meritt

This song was written as a submission for Wendy’s Search for Sizzlin’ Sounds Contest, in which Wendy’s sought to judge the best song about hamburgers. Learn more about Potluck’s custom songwriting service which uses Appreciative Inquiry to draw out your needs and desires as the basis for an original song.

Listen to .mp3 sample of Three Times a Burger.

Sung by Mark S. Meritt.

2007, 2000 Mark S. Meritt

Watch a video of a solo piano version right here by just pressing Play immediately below. Or, visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

Learn about Potluck’s piano/keyboard performance services.

Lyrics

In the morning when I’m wakin’
I’m craving to get on a course that’s right
But I don’t want no eggs and bacon
They might be fine for some, but they don’t whet my own appetite

My buddy Chuck knows there’s no fakin’
The only thing on Earth to fill my need
Though the day’s just begun
He hops inside of a bun
And makes the one thing on which I feed

For every meal I have a burger
So nice and round, three squares a day
Broil or grill it
Fry it up in a skillet
Long as I get my fill it’ll all be OK

‘Cause everyday’s three times a burger
The finest choice, U.S.D.A.
Twice won’t suffice
Entice with me thrice
Paradise, any price I would pay

My good friend Patty, she’s a luscious hotty
And with me, she’s got a hunch
That the only way to please such a man of taste
Is takin’ a break with a burger for lunch

But even that was just a teaser
When dinner rolls around with good Sir Loin
He helps me to bake
Well done Salisbury steak
And my ache turns into enjoyin’

‘Cause everyday’s three times a burger
Give me the bait, and I will bite
Don’t want fish or chicken
With burgers I’m stickin’
‘Round the clock as it’s tickin’, from morning to night

Yes, everyday’s three times a burger
And if it’s wrong, don’t wanna be right
When I get no meat
I feel incomplete
Triple treat’s my dining delight

‘Cause I’m a burger-eatin’ junkie
And if it was against the law
I’d still get my fixin’
To feed my addiction
It’s such an affliction, I’d swallow ‘em raw

And when I die and go to heaven
Buy the farm and greet Saint Pete
It won’t be so strange
I’ll be at home on the range
With one change: there’ll be all I can eat!

© 2007 Mark S. Meritt; © 2000 Mark S. Meritt and Richard Hack

Listen to .mp3 sample of Wonderful, Rotten World.

Sung by Mark S. Meritt.

2007, 2002 Mark S. Meritt

Lyrics

Sometimes I feel so hungry
Wanting what I have not
Sometimes I feel I don’t need
What I’ve already got

Sometimes I find I’m happy
Sometimes I find I’m sad
Sometimes I find I’m neither
I find that’s not so bad

Two sides to every penny
Sand can become a pearl
Crystal can shatter into glass
Wonderful, rotten world

No matter what the choice is
Always there’s one preferred
A silent wish can be granted
The loudest can go unheard

But knowing what you should wish for
Isn’t a simple task
You may want something different
Once it’s too late to ask

Two sides to every penny
Sand can become a pearl
Crystal can shatter into glass
Horrible, lovely world

One day it’s all smooth sailing
The next day you hit a squall
Each cloud has a silver lining
Yet into each life some rain must fall

All these opposing forces
Yet there are no deadlocks
Never a contradiction
Never a paradox

Wherever life may find us
We may be at extremes
First one and then the other
But most often, in between

Good can’t be good without bad
Goes for both boy and girl
Everything’s black and white and gray
Wonderful, rotten world

© 2007, 1998 Mark S. Meritt

Listen to .mp3 sample of Whenever You Expect the Least.

Sung by Mark S. Meritt.

Lyrics

You follow your heart
But it’s all in your head
You don’t know which part
By which your life should be led
You hope and you dream
Of the things that you need
You try and try but never do you seem
To succeed

Imaginary things you’ve always wanted and desired
Remain so far away
It’s no surprise you’re uninspired
But don’t give up because they aren’t here today
For soon they may

When you try to run ahead
You often end up left behind
You need a way to trade your famine for a feast
Take your time, don’t try so hard, and then
Sometimes you will find
You find most
Whenever you expect the least

Looking through tears
Everything is all blurred
You can’t see everything can be okay
Take my word
Accept that your dream
Never may become true
You’ll be alright if not, and if so
Lucky you

Imagine every thing you’ve ever wanted and desired
And know how they can be
Just tell yourself they’re not required
Take it easy and, though there’s no guarantee,
Still, that’s the key

Though try you may to run ahead
You often end up left behind
You need a way to trade your famine for a feast
Take your time don’t try so hard, and then
Sometimes you will find
You find the most
Whenever you expect the least

When you try to run ahead
You often end up left behind
You need a way to trade your famine for a feast
Take your time, don’t try so hard, and then
Sometimes you will find
You find most
And all your trying times will cease
You’ll find most
Whenever you expect the least!

© & 2007, 1998 Mark S. Meritt

Listen to .mp3 sample of Latinize.

Sung by Mark S. Meritt.

Lyrics

The dance
Is something that most people limit to ballrooms
They jitterbug, foxtrot
So schmaltzy they waltz all around

They prance
In costumes they never would model in all rooms
Quenching libidos
They wear their tuxedos and gowns

Swing or Charleston, it
Always ends up so bland
What they’re missing is
What they don’t understand

Dance is life and life is a dance
You practice it whenever the chance may arise
Burlap, satin; Burma, Manhattan,
Doesn’t matter, long as you Latinize

You start
With rumba and cha-cha, then work up to tango
Formalwear needless
Entirely heedless of clothes

Your heart
Must leap when you hear any Latin fandango
Landlocked or virgin sea
Everywhere urgency grows

Cast a net to embrace
All possible places
You can hoof it in heaven
But bailar is better in blazes

Latinize your toe-tapping hobby
Turn the heat up and begin the beguine
Sample salsa, samba or mambo
If you drop, don’t stop, play the tambourine

When they dance
Boy and girl are entranced
And the world floats away
As they move
They have nothing to prove
They need nothing to say
Friends or lovers or whatever
It matters not to the dance
Long as latinization can find its way into their pants

So Latinize with foes and amigos
Feel it in your feet as the beat goes on
Now flamenco, later meringue
If you drop, don’t stop, bring the Ben Gay on

For dance is life and life is a dance
You practice it whenever the chance may arise
Burlap, satin; Burma, Manhattan,
Doesn’t matter, long as you Latinize

© & 2007, 1998 Mark S. Meritt

Listen to .mp3 sample of A Textbook Case of the Blues.

Sung by Mark S. Meritt.

Lyrics

My life don’t make no sense, so I’ve been searching around for clues
No, no, no, nothing’s making sense, so I’ve been searching everywhere for some clues
But no matter where I look
I’ve got a textbook case of the blues

I try to play the game, but every hand is one I lose
Yes, I try to stay in the game, but every hand is one that I lose
Someone’s marking all the decks
I’ve got a textbook case of the blues

Lonely, lonely me, while other people go in twos
Oh, lonely, lonely me, everyone else is going two-by-twos
I am severely undersexed
I’ve got a textbook case of the blues

No matter where I amble
It never is a gamble
I always end up in a wreck
It’s terribly frustrating
There’s always someone waiting
To slip a noose around my neck

People telling me that I should have a seat in the church pews
All those people telling me I should be seeking solace in pews
But all that hokey dreck
Can’t cure my textbook case of the blues

I’m a monkey in the middle of lots of don’ts & dos
I am a monkey in the middle and I don’t know how to choose
They’ve got me confused
Don’t know where to go to next
I’ve got a textbook case of the blues

No one to rely on
No shoulder I can cry on
I wallow here, a babblin’ brook
No answers for my questions
No hopes and no possessions
I don’t even know how to cook

A smile’s so hard to come by when there’s nothing to make you amused
I’m frowning everyday along this one-way displeasure cruise
All this sadness has me shook
Can’t shake this textbook case of the blues

I wear it up and down, from my head straight to my shoes
I wear it ’round the town, from aquariums to zoos
From the bottom to apex
Zero balance in my checks
Someone’s cursed me with a hex
And I am left completely vexed
Life’s a crook, it’s all been took
Except my textbook case of the blues

Listen to .mp3 sample of If the Shoe Fits.

Sung by Mark S. Meritt.

Lyrics

As you go walking
On down the street
You want to look your best, be so well dressed from head to feet
You feel your outfits
Can’t go without glitz
Search the store

But what you dream of
May not come true
Instead you find a less extravagent but comfortable shoe
It may cost two bits
But if the shoe fits
Buy one more

We all have wants, you know, and that’s alright
But wants alone can mislead
A chocolate bar quenches your appetite
But sometimes what you want’s not what you need

Some cotton candy
And then a pear
A lazy Saturday inside, then Sunday out in the air
Use all your talents
And strike a balance
It’s tried and true

Things unexpected
Thrown in the mix
And if those somethings aren’t broken then there’s nothing to fix
They may cost two bits
But if the shoe fits
Purchase two

Diamond studded loafers will not do you any good
If you’re scared to wear them ’round the neighborhood

Things unexpected
Thrown in the mix
And if those somethings aren’t broken then there’s nothing to fix
They may cost two bits
But if the shoe fits
Purchase two

And with a lover
You will discover
One will do

© & 2007, 1997 Mark S. Meritt