Songwriters From The United States

"Comin' in on a wing and a pray'r Comin' in on a wing and a pray'r Tho' there's one motor gone, We can still carry on, Comin' in on a wing and a pray'r. What a show what a fight Yes, we really hit our target for tonight How we sing as we limp thru the air Look below, there's our field over there With our full crew aboard And our trust in the Lord We're comin' in on a wing and a pray'r."

"Come, little leaves," said the wind one day,— "Come o'er the meadows with me, and play; Put on your dresses of red and gold: Summer is gone, and the days grow cold."

"October gave a party; The leaves by hundreds came— The Ashes, Oaks and Maples, And leaves of every name. The Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand, Miss Weather led the dancing; Professor Wind, the band"

"After the shower, the tranquil sun; After the snow, the emerald leaves; Silver stars when the day is done; After the harvest, golden grain."

"For the dear old Flag I die, Mother, dry your weeping eye; For the honor of our land And the dear old Flag I die."

"Brave the storm with firm endevor, Let your vain repinings go! Hopeful hearts will find forever— Roses underneath the snow."

"To do Thy holy will; To bear Thy cross; To trust Thy mercy still, In pain or loss; Poor gifts are these to bring, Dear Lord, to Thee, Who hast done everything For me!"

"O, Genevieve, sweet Genevieve, The days may bring me joy or woe, But still the hands of Memory weave The blissful dreams of long ago, Sweet Genevieve!"

"Three cheers for the red, white, and blue."

"O, Columbia, the gem of the ocean, The home of the brave and the free, The shrine of each patriot's devotion, A world offers homage to thee."

"That Shakesperian rag,— Most intelligent, very elegant, That old classical drag, Has the proper stuff, the line, "Lay on MacDuff," Desdemona was the colored pet, Romeo loved his Juliet— And they were some lovers, you can bet, and yet, I know if they were here today, They'd Grizzly Bear in a diff'rent way, And you'd hear old Hamlet say, "To be or not to be," That Shakesperian rag."

"I like the old-fashioned flowers, Violets are for me — Have them made in diamonds by the man at Tiffany."

"I'd like a plain simple car, A cerise Cadillac — Long enough to have a bowling alley in the back."

"I like Chopin and Bizet And the songs of yesterday, String quartets and Polynesian carols. But the music that excels Is the sound of oil wells As they slurp, slurp, slurp into the barrels."

"In our cottage there will be A soundproof nursery, Not to wake the baby while I'm counting."

"I'm just an old-fashioned girl With an old-fashioned mind, Not sophisticated, I'm the plain and simple kind. I want an old-fashioned house With an old-fashioned fence And an old-fashioned millionaire."

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine You make me happy when skies are gray You'll never know, dear, how much I love you Please don't take my sunshine away."

"I am a man of constant sorrow, I've seen trouble all of my days I'll bid farewell to old Kentucky, the place where I was born and raised. Oh, six long years, I've been blind, friends, my pleasures here on earth are done In this world I have to ramble, for I have no parents to help me now."

"A song is the most intangible thing in the world. It's not what I like, it's what people like. Songs should be inspirational and have meaning."

"Yes, a monkey was the President, though maybe not the first And there was peace and harmony throughout the universe."

"Whiskey's too rough Champagne costs too much Vodka puts my mouth in gear This little refrain Should help me explain As a matter of fact I like beer (He likes beer)."

"It's faster horses Younger women Older whiskey More money."

"Ain't but three things in this world that's worth a solitary dime, But old dogs and children and watermelon wine."

"I love coffee in a cup, Little fuzzy pups, Bourbon in a glass, And grass."

"I love winners when they cry, Losers when they try."

"O, England's full of Englishmen And France is full of French, And Italy has sons enough To fill up ev'ry trench; But what are we across the sea Who come from all the earth To the land that gives us freedom,— Though it did not give us birth? O, we are all Americans, And when we come away From England, France and Italy, We swore we came to stay."

"And we will lift our country's flag And float its Stripes and Stars In place of those we used to wave For Kaisers, Kings and Czars."

"Yet we will cross the seas again To Europe's tortured sod, With those who, though not brothers born, Are brothers under God. Since we have sworn our manhood's oath, We stand to make it good Against the mightiest foes of earth, Whatever be their blood. For we are all Americans, And we shall fight our way To victory and back again, And then come home to stay."

"Sweetest li'l' feller, Ev'ry-body knows; Dun-no what to call 'im, But he mighty lak' a rose!"

"You may tempt the upper classes With your villainous demi-tasses, But — Heaven will protect a working girl!"

"She's up there—Old Glory—where lightnings are sped; She dazzles the nations with ripples of red; And she'll wave for us living, or droop o'er us dead— The flag of our country forever!"

""" as quoted by Annie Zaleski of ' (May 17, 2017)"

"Though art be on vacation, The studio remains; The well of inspiration Is backing out of drains. Come, let us daub, my crazys, Surrealize the thrill Of soapsuds on the daisies And skylarks in the swill. Ours not to reason whether Surprise surpasseth wonder, When man hath joined together What God hath rent asunder."

"It is hard to believe that he chops nearly as much wood as he pretends to, or that cows, hens, and barnyards are his chief loves. He has been known to enjoy the tea life of social England and is at present a professor of poetry in a college."

"The only thing worse than him on the radio is all static."

"The other day it was reported in the newspaper that a Maine hen had won a prize for having hatched nearly 200 pullets in the course of a single year. Now what ought the faithful youngster to remark on hearing that? He ought to remark that the hen deserved the Pulletser Prize."

"As good a pun as was ever spoken, to my memory, was made by a young English Jesuit now teaching at Wimbledon College. He met in a railway train a young man who said he was constructing a philosophy of his own. The young man declared that he set the foundation of his private philosophical system in the following epistemological principle: "I am, therefore I think!" "Oh," replied the young Jesuit, "isn't that putting Descartes before the horse?""

"Motherhood is never honored by excessive talk about the heroics of pregnancy."

"Do you know a good way to convince ladies who adore he-men that you are a he-man and not a sissy? Raise a challenging mustache, write a humorless book full of unabridged hells and damns and kindred phrases in the field of sex, and then come out blatantly in favor of the Loyalists' cause in Spain."

"It would have been tragic if Leonard Feeney, the great apostle of salvation within the church, had died an excommunicate. ... There are certain texts from the Bible that I can never read without hearing, in my imagination, the voice and intonations of Leonard Feeney."

"People who believe in little laugh at little."

"They put a hood upon his head And bound it with a thong. Then—England lost a ball of lead And Ireland lost a song."

"Dave Brubeck was incredibly well known for most of his career. His early success with college audiences – the Brubeck Quartet virtually invented the campus circuit – catapulted him on to the cover of Time magazine in 1954. In 1960 his star status increased with the album Time Out. Brubeck’s mixture of asymmetrical rhythms and catchy tunes won international renown, though the disc’s biggest hit, the sinuous ‘Take Five’, was written by the quartet’s alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, with some structural advice from his boss. But, as all too often in jazz, popular celebrity inspired critical condescension. He was slated for his ‘academic’ approach – he had studied with Darius Milhaud, classical composer and member of the French collective Les Six – his use of such classical devices as counterpoint and polytonality, his sometimes thunderous keyboard attack and disinclination to swing in a conventional manner. Critics damned his lyricism with faint praise and dismissed him from the jazz tradition. However, over the years, as the idea of a monolithic tradition has become suspect, Brubeck has come to be seen as a remarkable, original talent. Far from being some kind of uptight academic, he had trouble reading music and was one of the most purely intuitive pianists jazz has produced. His style was founded completely on a commitment to musical expression, fuelled by a belief that, as he once put it, ‘jazz should have the right to take big chances’ – even going beyond what has been considered jazz."

"The master of the six-string bass, Thundercat, whose father Ronald Bruner played drums for The Temptations and The Supremes, first left his mark with thrash/punk favorites Suicidal Tendencies. However, he's also worked with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, with whom he won a Grammy Award, Erykah Badu, and the late Mac Miller. In addition, Thundercat has released four widely-acclaimed solo albums as of 2023. He won his second Grammy for Best Progressive R&B Album for his 2020 release It Is What It Is."

"For those of a certain age and spanning older generations, Dunn might be most recognizable for his appearance in the beloved comedy The Blues Brothers. However, Dunn's contributions as a bass player and to the music industry are much more expansive and celebrated. Dunn was long considered one of the great session musicians of all time. From his days at Stax Records until his death in 2012 at 70, Dunn was one of the most sought-after bassists around the globe."

"Tina Weymouth can hold her own among the best bass players in the world. That's been the case for quite a long time. Weymouth’s punk-tinged, funk-infused bass lines have influenced countless women to pick up a bass and follow a path that is not foreign in the modern day. Whether we're talking about her work with Talking Heads or her own band Tom Tom Club (with husband and fellow Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz), Weymouth has always delivered the goods. She plays with confidence and continues to innovate."

"A multi-Grammy Award winner, Wooten has long been the backbone of the jazz-infused Bela Fleck and the Flecktones but worked with Clarke in the supergroup SMV. One of the most sought-after bassists in the world, Wooten also showcased his harder, edgier side while working with the metal group Nitro. Ridiculously talented on both the fretted and fretless bass, Wooten has also excelled while playing the double bass and even the cello. Truly one of the most gifted and appreciated musicians that should receive more mainstream recognition."

"Another member of the "A-Team," Hank Garland ranks right up there in the list of prolific Nashville studio players. Tragically, Garland was in a horrific car accident in 1961 and sustained injuries that robbed him of most of his playing skill. While the incident effectively ended his recording career at the age of 31, his influence on countless players since continues to this day."

"While Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke were major innovators in the electric bass, Victor Wooten has been a vital pace-setter on the instrument with his virtuosic playing and his two-handed approach. From his work with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones in the early '90s to his solo releases over the last seventeen years, Wooten has shown he's clearly huge force in the electric bass. His outstanding 1996 debut, A Show of Hands, is just one document of just how far Wooten can take the bass."

"One of the special characters in music history. Collins got his first real shot at stardom while a member of James Brown’s famous backing band. He contributed to such Brown classics as "Sex Machine" and "Super Bad." From there, Collins took that soul background and his "space bass" with a funk vibe over to George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic. In addition to playing with those two juggernauts of sound, the Hall of Famer has collaborated with the likes of Talking Heads and Keith Richards. Collins has also taught the bass and has been featured in music videos and on television sitcoms."