I am not a songwriter because I don’t write the songs down on a piece of paper. They are in my head, a half-century of lyrics wandering around in my space.

I play the guitar and put the lyrics to use. But I am a better writer than guitar player, so I prefer new lyrics to new melodies. I often forget the words, since I don’t write them down, resulting in even more new songs. And given that I’ve been playing one of maybe three tunes for over 50 years, I play with my eyes closed and this, perhaps, makes my music trance-like, at least for me.

I keep telling myself that one day–and it’s always “very soon”–I will write everything down, decide on the best arrangement and be done with it.  Yet, old habits die hard. If I become a songwriter, I’ll be giving up a part of me that must stand for something, perhaps, the practice of unfinished business? Or, is it something deeper? And I’ve got the lyrics for it: “She asked me to say something about myself/ So I took this tattered book off the shelf/Pages and pages from the Dark Ages.” Oops.