Listen To:  Winning Pretty

Now tell me of a citizen

Who cannot serve in infantry?

Somehow the celebrations

For our patriotic GLBT

Have left me feeling hollow

Since no matter what they swallow

They can kill and spill overturn

Crash and burn

I haven’t got a word now

For the feeling in between

You know I’m feelin’ so proud

As they march into the skein

We are free, now truly aren’t we?

We are proud and without lies

You can ask and I can tell you

What I enjoy between my thighs

You know we marched into the city

You know we camped out in the trees

But winning isn’t always pretty

They will cut you at your knees

And I can slaughter

I can translate

I can save you from the enemy

I can come home

Broken body

Disillusioned fighting PTSD

We are heightened

When we are equal

We are lowered

When we fight

Guess that’s why I’m feeling lonely

While I’m bursting with gay pride

How to harmonize

These feelings

I am in between the baffles

Alone, and keening

For the beautiful

The spacious skies

How are we choosing to spend our time this week?

Produced by Travis Dickerson, Written and Performed by Camille with Travis on who knows what all instruments…not sure if my piano part is still there or not?   Who knows, this was, as usual, very quick and dirty…

Yes, I want a tennis bracelet

Shiny certified

And yes I want a faux fur blanket

To keep me satisfied

And yes I want you to spoon feed me

I want a pillow pet

And yes darling you must believe me

Go diva chocolate

 

But don’t leave my side

On blackest Friday

Stay right here and tickle me

Don’t leave my side

On Blackest Friday

Stay right here with me my dear

I’ll keep you warm and fetch you beer

Ignore the things I whispered

That I wanted in your ear

 

Yes I want a teddy bear

Fair trade and Prêt a portiere

Yes I want the cashmere sweater

But you better check

No sweatshop fetters

And Yes I want the newest boots

And get some flack jacks for our troops

And stop to get my truffle soup

I want you to spoil me

 

But don’t you leave my side

On blackest Friday

Stay right here and tickle me

Don’t leave my side

On blackest Friday

Stay right here with me my dear

I’ll keep you warm and fetch you beer

Ignore the things I whispered

That I wanted in your ear

 

Yes I want a tennis bracelet

Yes I want a faux fur blanket

Yes I want a pillow pet

Yes I want you my kismet

Yes I think I’ll have that sweater

One in pink and one with feathers

Don’t stop and think things could be better

At home with you cuddling me

Written and performed by Camille Bright-Smith

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO:  Wilderness

copyright 2010 all rights reserved unless I give some to you!

I got two days
On the Roan Plateau
Poison Ivy cold waterfalls
Crazy friends
catching our breath
The canyon is epic

Two nights in a teepee
Buncha kids sleeping knee to knee
12 hours playin’ in the creek
water spiders big screams

We can never get enough wilderness
For quiet nights bright stars and good friends
We can never get enough wilderness
Clean air, clear water good love
Rock climbing getting dirty on the hunt
I can’t wait

We got 3 days in the San Juans
Staggered peaks and mushrooms
Lizard head kept his lizard eye
On happy faces
In the mountain wild

4 nights above Trappers Lake
Coyotes howling and an osprey with a snake
And one night in Vermillion Basin
Spirits of dreamtime
Speaking on the walls faces

Wilderness
For quiet nights bright stars and good friends
I can never get enough wilderness
Clean air, clear water new scars
Rock climbing getting dirty fallin’ stars
I can’t wait

Next summer gonna climb to the top
Of Blanca or Culebra
This winter gonna pack it in
On snow shoes with sloe gin and mandolins
We can never get enough wilderness
For crazy nights and wolf howls and good friends
I can never get enough wilderness
Rainbows and sage grouse and blue foxes
Blue birds and blue grouse and their offspring
Rattlesnakes and lost lakes and elks bugles
Bee stings and tall trees and changin’ leaves

Early morning late night and lots of cuddles

Its so pretty go and get the babies up

Torn pants, torn skin and stinging nettles
Falling in drying off and flower petals

Wilderness

Click here for the Denver B-Cycle Web Site
Join us tomorrow, Earth Day, April 22nd 2010 for the B-Cycle Launch at Civic Center Park at 9am. Kazoo’s, Flobot appearances, Brass Quintet, Bike Parade! See B-Cycle for more details!

copyright 2010 all rights reserved
by Camille Bright-Smith

Riding down to Swallow Hill
The breeze is fresh off Pikes Peak
Pedal up to Highland Bridge
Takes me to yummy things

I can ride from here to there
faster than you drive
I can ride my B Bike I can ride ride ride

Serene along the river
Roll into to Cherry Creek
I check her in on Columbine
Shop for fancy things

I can ride to a Rockies Game
To see the Av’s or March with Pride
I can ride to the Peoples Fair
I can ride, ride, ride

I can ride from here to there
faster than you drive
I can ride my B Bike I can ride ride ride

I can ride to the Orange and Blue
I can ride baby two by two
I can ride like a Nuggets Dancer
Meet me at the Double Daughter

I can ride on a first date
I can ride on my last
I can ride to the MCA

To see the Flobots or catch the Fray

I can ride from here to there

faster than you drive
I can ride my B Bike I can ride ride ride

Thank heavens for Travis Dickerson, Lindy Dickerson and John Bright.  Travis produced the song and played various instruments, John produced the vocals and Lindy played guitar!

Click Here to LISTEN To Money Honey

Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved
Words and Music by Camille Bright-Smith

You’re in good hands with Saxby Chambliss
George Bushs’ bill goes to the King of Beers
Snap, crackle pop, for old Bill Clinton
Diamonds are forever
Just like swift boat smears

Are you raising your children to stand up or accede
To the power of our nations
Love for corporate greed?
Buy a pack of Marlboros
And you better believe
That the choices when you get to vote
Are going to be
About the money

Money, Honey

Please don’t squeeze the Arnold
Is it live or is it Pelosi?
Nothin’ says lovin’ like something from Palin
Here’s a campaign message
Sponsored by the OC

How do you spell relief
When it keeps going and going?
Do you Yahoo or reach out to touch
The real thing?
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz
You are not in control
And might be finger lickin’ good
Or it might just clean your toilet bowl

Money, Honey

This is Al Gore
Sponsored by Greenpeace
This is Darth Vader
Sponsored by Lockheed
Hi, I’m Rob Blagojevich
Trojan’s my brand
Vote for Angelique
Get a free wedding band!

Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved
Words and Music by Camille Bright-Smith
Smokin’ Piano performed by David Wohl

Lilly was workin’ hard
Hitting the plant floor every day
She learned every single job
It was Goodyear all the way
Everyone in Gadsden Alabama
Knew her very well
The lady Manager
The sweetest gal
The hardest worker

Then one day
She got a letter from a stranger
Exposing that her pay
Was waaaaaay less than what the guys were makin’
Means Lilly spent
Round 20 years
Getting less
Doing the same
Wasn’t there a law about that
Back in the day?

And Miss Lilly says
Might don’t make right
Whats good is good
I’m gonna fight, I’m gonna fight
And you can thank her
For your right to equal pay
Miss Lilly Ledbetter
Your Miss American Way!

Shake downs for sex
Back room cigarettes
Lilly never wanted
Any part of this
They backed the wrong gal
Up against a wall
And it took an act of Congress
But the wall came tumblin’ down

Hey Lilly Hey
Ginsberg had her back
Lilly had her faith
Y’all better get right with that
And pay attention
Don’t take one penny less
Might need to mention
Lilly Ledbetter Act

And Miss Lilly says
Might don’t make right
Whats good is good
I’m gonna fight, I’m gonna fight
And you can thank her
For your right to equal pay
Miss Lilly Ledbetter
Your Miss American Way!

Do you need more information on Pay Equity?

http://www.9to5.org/
Change the Workplace, Change the World

Hey friends, we may get a visit from Miss Lilly Ledbetter.  Please, write her a message and thank her for fighting the fight for all of us that want pay equity!

Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved
By Camille Bright-Smith

Disaster, is the burden of women
Disaster, perhaps a bit more than men
Disaster, the girls are exposed
Slavery, trafficking
Disaster, always harder for those
Already on the fringe

Disaster, and this child she is fading
Disaster, and this girl still has her life
Disaster, for the father who is trying to free
His wife and his babies
Disaster, he will dig for the boy before he digs for his girls and his wife

Dig a grave for these small bodies
Three handfuls of dirt
Voodoo song of farewell
A holy cross and some alcohol
Gather together
Its time to sleep
Rest your head little baby
On this hot hard street

Burden, it isn’t to judge
But know what the truth is
Burden, the lost and the lonely
Land on women’s backs
Burden, it isn’t to say one bad word
About beautiful men
Burden, but only to see
So easy to fall when your already down in the cracks

Dig a grave for these small bodies
Three handfuls of dirt
Voodoo song of farewell
A holy cross and some alcohol
Gather together
Its time to sleep
Rest your head little baby
On this hot hard street

With gratitude to Emmanuel David of University of Colorado Boulder, Gillian Silverman and Elissa Auther of Feminism and Co. (Select “Feminism & Co. 2009″ from the pull down menu) plus Adam Lerner of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver who introduced me to the study of the Sociology of Disaster.

Please donate. The big international organizations are doing work that is important and necessary. But there are other equally safe and essential ways to give. I have chosen this organization: MADRE

Please read more below or visit their site.

From MADRE’s site: “All Haitians are suffering right now. But, women are often hardest hit when disaster strikes because they were at a deficit even before the catastrophe. In Haiti, and in every country, women are the poorest of the poor and often have no safety net, leaving them most exposed to violence, homelessness and hunger in the wake of disasters. Women are also overwhelmingly responsible for other vulnerable people, including infants, children, the elderly, and people who are ill or disabled.

In the wake of disasters like the catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti, it is often comforting to see big international agencies taking charge of relief and reconstruction efforts. No doubt international agencies—with their resources, know-how, heavy machinery, and access to government—have a critical role to play. But large-scale relief operations are not always best suited to meet the needs of those who are made most vulnerable by disaster, namely, women and their children.

Because of their role as care-takers and because of the discrimination they face, women have a disproportionate need for assistance. Yet, they are often overlooked in large-scale aid operations. In the chaos that follows disasters, aid too often reaches those who yell the loudest or push their way to the front of the line. When aid is distributed through the “head of household” approach, women-headed families may not be recognized, and women within male-headed families may be marginalized when aid is controlled by male relatives.

It is not enough to ensure that women receive aid. Women in communities must also be integral to designing and carrying out relief efforts. That is MADRE’s model. We know from experience that when relief is distributed by women, it has the best chance of reaching those most in need. That’s not because women are morally superior. Rather, it is because their roles as caretakers in the community means that they know where every family lives, which households have new babies or disabled elders, and how to reach remote communities even in disaster conditions.”

Listen To Venom for You

Don’t pity me now
Don’t think you’ve won out
You think your tearin’ me down
You hear that rattlin’ sound?

I got extra Venom for ya
I got extra Venom for ya
Got extra Venom for ya
I got the Venom for you

You got pearly white ankles
You got sandals for shoes
I got my fangs tucked in
My smile is genuine

I got extra Venom for ya
I got extra Venom for ya
I been suckin’ the poison
I been kissin’ the boys and
I’ve got extra Venom
I got the Venom for you

Your playin’ two for the middle
Playin’ the devil’s fiddle
I thought I’d give you a warnin’
Ain’t gonna make it til mornin’

I got extra Venom for ya
I got extra Venom for ya
I been suckin’ the poison
I been kissin’ the boys and
I’ve got extra Venom
The Venom’s for you

LISTEN TO WON’T BE BROKEN

With VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Travis Dickerson for all the tasty instrumentals.  Visit Travis HERE.

I’ve already faced the demons

From the playground to the am dial

Been fencing with the crooked laws

Finding work arounds

I’ve had to sneak my kisses

Try to pass

Keep on building bridges

I won’t be broken

Won’t be half a citizen

I won’t be broken

Won’t be half a citizen

I wear the colors

Speak the coded language of my tribe

I’ve got a few tattoos that indicate

My disdain for hate

There’s a liberation for every generation

and steady, mark, I’m taking mine

I won’t be broken

Won’t be half a citizen

I won’t be broken

Won’t be half a citizen

Serve with honor

March with pride

Pay your taxes

Find a lover

Find a Bride

Now step aside?

I won’t be broken

Won’t be half a citizen

This song is inspired by the beautiful people and stories that touched me as a participant in the National Equality March.  Get educated, get involved.  GLBTQ Rights NOW! Please Visit Online With Zoe to get a realistic perspective of what this movement involves.  And check out my Flickr page for lots of fun march photos.

LISTEN TO:  Balloon Boy

Will he fall will he fall

From a great blue height

Will he laugh will he laugh

Will he die will he die

Will he suffocate

Will he immolate

Tiny boy of our dreams

Floating silver air streams

What do you want from me

The foolish you

Wish you could see what I see

The foolish you

What do you want from me

Can we see his tiny blue face

In the eye of the mind

Can we feel his mother’s embrace

He is broken

The wind was unkind

Take us away from the war

Take us away

Give us blood or give life

What do you want from me

The foolish you

You are so far beneath me

The foolish you

What do you want from me

What do you want from me?

The foolish you

Is there blood?

Is there blood?

Fear and love….