Second Time Through

The name 'Second Time Through' comes from the sport of baseball, which I played often 'back in the day' and enjoyed tremendously. Then, like a lot of people, along came the strikes and the free agency as we know it today and my love of the game was thrown out at home, literally. 'Second Time Through' refers to the batters in the line up facing the starting pitcher for their second 'at bat' of the game, hopefully gauging him better and with better results than in their first 'at bat'.

The collection of songs that I will place on this 'second' album of demo songs will be after seeing the process a 'second time through'. My new lyrics are better after having had the first lot run through the ringer with on-line peer groups, by producers, publishers, A&R reps, artists and even friends. I went from writing blindly from the heart to trying to satisfy critics and writing commercially with little feeling. I eventually began to think most of the online critics were twelve years old with no life skills. But truthfully my writing is a bit old fashioned and my songs quite a bit dated to the 60's and 70's. But that is me, that's who I am, though i did write a hip hop number while down in Miami South Beach called 'Oh well, What the Hell'. These critics would say 'You have to tell the whole story, paint it all in '.....but i kept saying 'Leave a little for the imagination '. Being a little bull headed, i still am back to writing from the heart but also I am 'painting more of it in' too, splitting the difference.

It's probably important to understand that I've learned that the chances of me being the next Irving Berlin with a 'White Christmas ' song is right on a par with winning the mega power ball lottery. So, I've grown up an inch and tossed the ego and am now trying to step everything up a notch. Becoming rich is probably not going to happen any time soon. But we keep telling ourselves it just takes one, don't we? Oh, what a life it would be!

An awful lot of good things have to happen to non-performing artists like myself to sign or sell and make one single cent on a song. As a non performing artist, I must rely on others at every level of the music industry to help me to get one of my songs 'out there'. I consider myself very, very fortunate to have become acquainted with some awesome, highly talented people the last couple of years while I have tried to make a go of songwriting. It's been baby steps, but I have learned so much from these people about songwriting and the fortitude, drive, and determination it takes for somebody to ever make it in this business. I have always considered myself to be a clever, decent writer of stories, poems and songs and i have always, at least for 40 years, enjoyed to write. I just two years ago pursued this dream of writing by having some lyrics produced into demo CD's and by writing a fictional book about a song I wrote that's about two songwriters. "I Ain't That Country" was published in January 2010 by Xlibris Publishing.

One of the lessons learned is that there are probably 10 million other people out there that are also good at writing, very good. This fact alone makes doors extremely hard to open. It's relatively easy to get a song produced, really hard to get one signed by a publisher, and nearly impossible to get a known artist or his a&r people interested. But I feel I've touched all the bases now and have a clue now at what it might take to write successful songs. I guess we'll find out.

Another valuable lesson, and this is real important to singer/songwriters that think they are good and think that they have a good song. The answer is 'yes ', it probably is a beautiful song. But you hear 'no ' 99.9999 percent of the time. Timing with a song is critical. Once a song is taken on by an artist or a record label it takes considerable time, effort, and energy to produce it. And when these guys get busy their world pretty much stops turning, but song demos keep flooding the desks of the Publisher or A&R guy. Needless to say the demos, if listened to at all, had better be on target for what ever the next project need is for them for it to stand a chance. So most demos don't make it very far. It takes a whole lot of perseverance and self promoting until you finally crack a door open here or there. Once opened I have found these guys to really be kind and wonderful people....they are just inundated with volume and very busy. Anyway, the lesson is that 'no' is not an answer, just an opinion.

Thirdly, staying true to myself. I found something in life i felt I'm meant to do. I started the ball rolling and started getting bites on my demos. I joined every music related website I could find and started getting advise from everywhere. After months of having fun and really enjoying what i was doing, even learning a little guitar along the way, I realized I wasn't writing my kind of songs anymore. I write love songs. I write longer than 'normal ' songs. I write from personal experience, inspired by wife, family, and friends. This is what I do, what I enjoy. I found myself listening to critiques that were trying to convince me that my style was not quite right, that songs need to be commercially acceptable, cookie cutter lyrics, right out of a box, like everybody else's. I went along with that for a few months and had to stop. Some advice started sinking in from a producer friend i really respect in New York who is always telling me to stay positive and to ride the rocket you're on, that is, do it my way,

Let’s Find a Place

Written by Ken Matthiesen 08/25/2009

Let’s find a beach where the sand’s soft and white

Let’s find a place to make love tonight

Let’s lie by a fire, let’s fall in love

While we stare at the stars above

Let’s find a place with lots of palm trees

Let’s find this place, a place by the sea

Where love songs are written, none left unsung

Where the sand’s still warm from the tropical sun

(Chorus)

Take me, take me away

Take me, take me away

Let’s find a place

Let’s find a place

Share some paradise with me

Some Caribbean isle, I don’t care which one

We’ll fall asleep after we make love

Just you and me on a shore somewhere

The breeze and the waves they won’t care

(Chorus)

Take me, take me away

Take me, take me away

Let’s find a place

Let’s find a place

Share some paradise with me

(Bridge)

Close your eyes and picture

The beauty and the peace

Can you imagine us there

Can you feel the release

Let’s find a place where we can be

Everything that we want to be

A place to leave some prints in the sand

A place with no worries, eirie man

(Chorus)

Take me, take me away

Take me, take me away

Let’s find a place

Let’s find a place

Share some paradise with me

Let’s find a place/Take me away

Let’s find a place/Take me away

Another Sunday Morning Written by Ken Matthiesen 11/15/2009

Another Sunday morning and it’s raining outside

It’s going be another day with you by my side

I’ll bet you find a lot of things for me to do

As a matter of fact I’m fine with that, as long as I’m with you

I’ll patch the walls or paint the door, fix a thing or two

I’ll help you with the laundry, give the rug a shampoo

I’ll do anything you want me to

Let’s find some time when we’re done for something fun to do

(Chorus)

Cause sharing time together is what I like to do

You are everything I need, the one that I turn to

All I ever wanted was to be your shining knight

Rescue you from yourself, make sure that you’re alright

Maybe we can catch a movie later in the day

Share a soda and popcorn; sit in the back and play

Or maybe we’ll just stay home, I’m good either way with you

I like spending time together the way we used to

When our rainy day is over and its dark outside

We’ll light a couple of candles and leave the day behind

We’ll shut the blinds and close the door, we’ll drink a little wine

If you’re in the mood I’m telling you I’m right here by your side

(Chorus)

Cause sharing time together is what I like to do

You are everything I need, the one that I turn to

All I ever wanted was to be your shining knight

Rescue you from yourself, make sure that you’re alright

Rainy Sunday mornings are my favorite days

I hope it rains tomorrow just like it did today

We can just stay home we’ll find things to do

As long as your with me

As long as I’m with you

(Chorus)

Sharing time together is what I like to do

You are everything I need, the one that I turn to

All I ever wanted was to be your shining knight

Rescue you from yourself, make sure that you’re alright

Another Sunday morning and it’s raining outside

Written by Ken Matthiesen 12/17/2009

When you touch me

Like you do

I fall completely

In love with you

When you hold me

The way you do

No one else’s

Arms will do

(Chorus)

So please hold and touch me

Like I need you to

I want to feel

I’m part of you

You make me feel love

Like no one before

You are the one

I always wait for or That I waited for

I don’t need a reason

To love you this way

I love being special

Like I make your day

(Bridge)

Will you whisper you love me as I lie by your side

And make me smile when my tears are all dried

(Chorus)

So please hold and touch me

Like I need you to

I want to feel like

I’m part of you

Written by Ken Matthiesen 03/18/2009

I think that you are beautiful

I do I do

I had to be with you

To hold you and love you

I think you know

Just what I saw in you

On the day I met you

I now know why

I fell in love with you

And love you like I do

It was the time

To satisfy the love

That I had just for you

Just for you, only you, just you, I do

It’s true so true

That’s why I married you

Now I can be with you

I think that you are beautiful

Amaury Sanchez-FIGUEREDO rewrite

I think that you are beautiful

I do i do i do

I had to be with you

to see how priceless are you

I think that you know

Just what i saw in you

To love you like I do

To fall in love with you

oh yeah oh yeah

I've been loved so many times

But I've come back on my own

You've given me your support

Encouragement and love

Oh I think that you know

Just what I saw in you

To love you like I do

To fall in love with you

oh yeah oh yeah

Don't know where you came from

Cause I was so alone

But now that you have come

My loneliness is gone

Oh yeah oh yeah yeah yeah

Oh I think that you know

Just what I saw in you

To love you like I do

To fall in love with you

Oh Yeah oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah

Written by Ken Matthiesen 07/20/2010 4/4 rock beat male lead

I don’t have to say it

Every time I see ya

You don’t have to hear it

Every time I call

But if I never told you

You’d think I loved another, had another lover

You’d get all kinds of crazy, I know you after all

How can I say I love you

When there you go again

An angel breathing fire

Calling me a liar

I don’t know how to answer

Unsure of things once said, (now) I don’t know what to say

Don’t get all kinds crazy, don’t let love get in the way

(Chorus)

What did I ever do

All I ever do is you

Don’t go and get all kinds of crazy

Don’t get all kinds of crazy

No need to go and get crazy

At least not the way you do

(guitar solo)

I don’t have to say it

Every time I see ya

You don’t have to hear it

Every time I call

But if I never told you

You’d think I loved another, had another lover

You’d get all kinds of crazy, I know you after all

(Bridge, rapped)

I can’t handle the emotion, Don’t want all this commotion,

Where did you get the notion, You can change the laws of motion,

You’re like the Artic ocean, Freeze me of your potion,

Give me a love demotion

(Chorus)

What did I ever do

All I ever do is you

Don’t go and get all kinds of crazy

Don’t get all kinds of crazy

No need to go and get crazy

At least not the way you do

Written by Ken Matthiesen 05/19/2010

Country dance and sing along/male lead/5 piece band

I need a smoke….cause I want a smoke

Why you can’t see, or at least just let me be?

I’ll gladly give to you your 20 feet

I don’t make fun of you

I don’t look down at you

For things you need to do, for things you want to do

I don’t want to fight…but it’s something about rights

But you’d know this of course

If you’d get down off your horse

You’re not one single bit better than me

(Chorus)

Who do you think you are?

Who died and made you king?

The boss of everything

Are you scared of good ol smoke?

I think that you’re the joke

You think some of this is going to rub off on you?

Someday they’ll come at you

For something you like do

And while your flat on your back right after their attack

You’ll be lying there wondering why you’re be looking up at me

Cause when you need a smoke…

And you will want a smoke

I’ll have one here waiting for you

Silly, worthless rules

Gives you something to do

(Chorus)

Who do you think you are?

Who died and made you king?

The boss of everything

Are you scared of good ol smoke?

I think that you’re the joke

You think some of this is going to rub off on you