JD Hinton

Pieces of April

JDH — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:51:03 +0000

Maybe this all began when I read the record labels on Elvis or Coasters records. I kept seeing Lieber and Stoller’s names under the title of the song. I saw Chuck Berry’s name was on the label as the singer, and it was there a second time under the title of the song. No one was around to explain it to me, but I figured out they wrote the songs I played over and over. My older cousin had all these records and a record player in his room. That’s where I camped out every visit. I had launched my music journey. Somebody say: Wop-Bop-a-Loo-Bop

Then came albums and album covers. The pictures helped get you “backstage” where you could hope to see what it was like to be around the artists. The printing continued identifying the songwriter. I was an immediate fan of Simon & Garfunkel. Paul Simon’s songs/music inspired (instigated?) my beginnings as a songwriter. I loved what was in Paul Simon’s songs and saw a way for my imagination to take shape. To this day, when I see – hear the name April, I start to hum Paul Simon’s song “April, Come She Will.”

Good songs will take you to good songwriters. That’s how I found another “April” song. The other is “Pieces of April” by Dave Loggins. In music, great things happen and then head for the sidelines in the ebb and flow of popularity. “Pieces of April” is a tune I first heard on a Dave Loggins album (Vanguard) that never hit the charts. THREE DOG NIGHT had a hit with it in the early 70s. If you can find either version online, give it a listen.

HAPPY APRIL
jdh

I Have to Dream

JDH — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 06:44:23 +0000

What lies before me – What stands between
No one can tell me what I have seen
Some see the tarnish I see the gleam
I have to wonder I have to dream

One dream can change you – One dream can make
All the difference one heart can take
I dream of flying I’m in mid-air
I have to wonder what’s out there

The sky’s the limit today’s the day
Heavens are still there when skies are gray
Some days are better than they seem
Some days are better because you dream

On rainbows to rainbows On starlight to star
To Dream isn’t that what tomorrow’s for
Only a dreamer knows what I know
What it’s like to wonder and then let go

On rainbows to rainbows I know what I seem
I have to wonder I have to dream

I Have To Dream

JDH — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 06:28:30 +0000

It took a lifetime to write this song one afternoon. As August was becoming September, I looked out the back of my house. The hillside was in full summer bloom. I thought about all the times I’d been at this window. And I wondered about tomorrow. I made some notes on a yellow pad, and then it was time to find the music.

“I Have to Dream” was originally conceived around a piano in a Baptist church in Glendale, California. I am sure that has a lot to do with its feel and the sound of it. Rick Solem understood immediately what the song needed and worked with me on the music. Ross Vannelli weaved the theme through the score of Children On Their Birthdays.

It almost didn’t happen. The scene in Children On Their Birthdays where this song appears was not in the original script. After seeing early edits of the film, director Mark Medoff got the cast and crew back together to shoot a new scene. He called me in because he needed a song for this new moment in the film. I will always thank him for that.

One by One (Day by Day)

JDH — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 07:56:33 +0000

Day by Day Sun to Sun
Be with me One by One
Side by side In Unison
You and me One by One

You are the colors I see when I’m dreaming
You are the name on my lips when I’m cold
You are the island that keeps me from drowning
You are the only tomorrow I hold

Day by Day Sun to Sun
Be with me One by One
Let’s hide away when day is done
We’ve got to get away – steal away
We’ll only find our way One by One

You are the colors I see when I’m dreaming
You are the name on my lips when I’m cold
You are my rose in the snows of December
You are the only tomorrow I hold

Let ‘em talk and say
When it’s said and done
That Day by Day you were mine
And we were One by One

Long Way From Home

JDH — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:57:38 +0000

Some places airplanes don’t fly
Some places roads don’t go by
I needed you to remind me
Everything I want’s behind me

I’m a long way from home
I’m a long way from home
I’m a long way I’m on my way home

Up here the stars every night
Get lost in the shower of light
I let the big city blind me
What I came to find is behind me

I’m a long way from home
I’m a long way from home
I’m a long way I’m on my way home

I know a door that won’t lock
It’s open I don’t have to knock
And I know where you can find me
Standing with this all behind me

I’m a long way from home
I’m a long way from home
I’m a long way I’m on my way home

My Time Has Come

JDH — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:52:13 +0000

The rumors in the street
Are taking aim at me
Whispers of defeat are out there humming
Night will hide its face
The sun will take its place
In a moment’s grace my morning’s coming

My Time Has Come My Time is Here
This is the hour I hoped would appear
No running from No time for fear
This is My Time My Time Has Come

The city doesn’t give
This town never did
They hit you where you live like drummers drumming
The waters never part
But this is from the heart
This is where I start and keep on coming

My Time Has Come My Time is Here
This is the hour I hoped would appear
No running from No time for fear
This is My Time My Time Has Come

I just believed a little more
Than all the ones who always swore I’d fall
I just believed a little more
Than all the ones who always swore I’d fall
I can’t control what people think
But those who blink Always miss it all

My Time Has Come My Time is Here
This is the hour I hoped would appear
No running from No time for fear
This is My Time My Time Has Come

Beautiful Joe

JDH — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:37:59 +0000

THrow me a lifeline Throw me a smile
Call me to just say hello
My one in a million everyday hero
You are my Beautiful Joe

One cup of water One extra mile
For those days when kindness is slow
My once in a lifetime everyday hero
You are my Beautiful Joe

When I needed yes You told me yes
When I needed no You didn’t go

Well…

Here’s to the teardrops in the champagne
You’re the one I came to know
My once and for always everyday hero
You are my Beautiful Joe

If There Was a Next Time

JDH — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:19:09 +0000

Carousel was turning Dreams began to spread
Music was for dancing and nights that lay ahead
I remember yearning things I left unsaid
Take a look around Take a Good Look Around

Drove down San Vicente to the ocean bluffs again
You know where to find me I know where we’ve been
Ocean waves are breaking Tide is rolling in
Take a look around Take a Good Look Around

If there was a NEXT TIME If it could be spring –
My Eyes would tell you everything
If what really matters Is waiting to be found
I promise you NEXT TIME The real time Around

Every sunset’s different Every kiss is too
I don’t need a witness No one else is you
I stared across the water A hundred shades of blue
Take a look around Take a Good Look Around

If there was a NEXT TIME If it could be spring –
My Eyes would tell you everything
If what really matters Is waiting to be found
I promise you NEXT TIME The real time Around

Mulholland Drive

JDH — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:12:13 +0000

You should have been here The fog burned away
And left me most of the day
I stopped for lunch and Stayed for dessert
It’s June and this is LA

What I was waiting for wouldn’t arrive
But I like to hope for the best
Wish we could head Up to Mulholland Drive
Put down the top and go west
Wish we could head Up to Mulholland Drive
And let the road do the rest

Red bougainvillea covers the hill
Beauty leaves nothing until
Winters are warm and Summers are blonde
Out here where time can stand still

I thought if you Would just somehow arrive
But I like to hope for the best
Wish we could head Up to Mulholland Drive
Put down the top and go west
Wish we could head Up to Mulholland Drive
And let the road do the rest

Little by little the shadows arrive
And I’m still alive with the best
I guess I’ll head up to Mulholland Drive
Put down the top and go west
Wish we could head up to Mulholland Drive
And let the moon do the rest

Nobody Knows But Me

JDH — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:03:39 +0000

I was busy when the future came
Looking darkly through a glass
We were introduced I loved your name
And the future came to pass

Nobody knows but me Nobody knows but me
Nobody knows what you open and close
Nobody knows but me

You’re a shadow in the south of France
I’m a painter seeking light
We are passengers of circumstance
We are travelers tonight

Nobody knows but me Nobody knows but me
Nobody knows what you open and close
Nobody knows but me

Hold me Let me go No Hold Me Hold me Let me go No Hold Me
You turn me around and back around
Kiss me Let me go No kiss Me Kiss me NO NO NO No Kiss Me
Am I lost or found – Is up the ground

In the alleys where the truth is told
Where the liars never sleep
You were really only mine to hold
You were never mine to keep

I surrendered for a hotel kiss
Gladly traded all my dreams
I’m a prisoner no one will miss
For the sounds a lover screams

Nobody knows but me Nobody knows but me
Nobody knows what you open and close
Nobody knows but me