Songs
Every song, with its lyrics.
Every one of these started with somebody typing a paragraph. The lyrics are underneath each song, so you can check that the specifics actually made it in.
One More Lap
made for a friend who started running again
[Intro] (cuatro puertorriqueño alone, no drums, close mic, spoken) One more lap. Una vuelta má'... y ya. That's what I told myself. And I believed it. (dembow enters) [Hook] (HIM, relaxed, behind the beat) One more lap (HER, playful, right on top of him) Una vuelta má' (HIM) I'm not the same, but I'm the same (HER) Entonce' muévete (BOTH, layered) Otra vuelta, otra vida, same heart One more lap, one more life, same heart [Verse 1 — HIM] (conversational, unhurried, ad-libs in the gaps) I was an athlete. That ain't a story, that's real. (eh) Just folded it up like a jacket and left it on a shelf. Told myself eso ya pasó — that part of me is done, Said it so many times I stopped checkin' if it was true. (uh) Then somethin' kicked in. No sé qué fue. It just turned on. Couldn't shut it off. Didn't want to. Ahí quedó. Poquito a poquito. Little by little. No rush, no show. They ain't just invite me, man... me retaron. They challenged me. And you don't challenge a man like that unless you already know. [Hook] (HIM) One more lap (HER) Una vuelta má' (HIM) I'm not the same, but I'm the same (HER) Entonce' muévete [Verse 2 — HER] (smooth, confident, teasing, sits differently in the pocket than he does) I'm running for two and I'm still gonna finish. (ja) No me hable' de la edad — that excuse don't fly here, papi. Twenty-nine years de amistad, that's not a small thing, And Sunday is Sunday. Ponte los tenis. Put 'em on. My excuse breathes inside me, y aún así estoy aquí — and I'm still showing up. So what's yours? Dime. (laughing) I'll wait. I got time. I'm slow right now. (spoken, warm, joke dropped) Nobody's timing you. Solamente te queremo' en la línea. We just want you on the line. [Breakdown — 6/8, plena feel] (drums switch to panderetas, half-time feel, hand percussion and cuatro only, clapping) (BOTH, chanted) Una vueltita, one more little lap Otra vez la primera vez Back for the first time Una vueltita, one more little lap Otra vez la primera vez Back for the first time [Final Hook] (back to 4/4 dembow, full arrangement, crowd) (HIM) One more lap (¡una vuelta má'!) (HER) Una vuelta má' (HIM) I'm not the same — and that's exactly why I'm the same (BOTH) Otra vuelta, otra vida, same heart One more lap, one more life, same heart [Outro] (cuatro alone again, spoken, close mic) One more lap. Y otra. Y otra. And another one.
Grounds
made for a friend who grew up in Long Beach and now plays for the Galaxy
[Intro — spoken, dry, no beat] Grounds. Say it twice and it means two different things. Where you from... and what's in the cup. Same word. Same story. [Verse 1] Kick of the caffeine at a quarter to five, kick of the ball 'fore the sun even arrive. Kickoff, kickback, kick it 'til it's yours, kick a hole in the ceiling, then you kick down the door. Pull a shot, take a shot — one word, two ways, one'll wake you for the mornin', one'll change all your days. He took the second kind at sixteen years old. So the first kind's on me. And the story get told. [Hook] Grounds where I'm from, grounds where he play, same word, two lives, and he ran 'em both ways. Double shot, double meanin', keep it strong, keep it black — Long Beach in the bean and the city on his back. (Kickin'... kickin'...) No decaf dreams. Extra shot, extra time. [Verse 2] They call it Galaxy — now that's a double too: one's a crest on the chest, one's the sky he came through. Academy of stars, so he studied constellations, kid went into orbit, kept the block his gravitation. Roots and routes sound the same and that ain't random, one'll hold you where you started, one'll carry you further from it. Board, ball, and a bean — that's the whole trinity. Pawn walked the whole board and came back royalty. [Bridge — beat drops out, close] Where you from don't make you. You make where you from. And when you finally make it, you don't leave it. You bring it. And it comes. Press — and not the kind that ask you questions. The kind where you win it back the second you lose possession. [Hook] Grounds where I'm from, grounds where he play, same word, two lives, and he ran 'em both ways. Double shot, double meanin', keep it strong, keep it black — Long Beach in the bean and the city on his back. [Outro — spoken over the tail] They call him Mono. Mono mean one. But he ain't never came alone. The whole 562 came with him. Remember the name. [End]
Boofapalooza 2026
made for a family camping trip at Lake Cuyamaca
[Intro - spoken, hype man] DALE! Boofapalooza dos mil veintiséis! Lake Cuyamaca... campsite worldwide... Todo la familia... LET'S GOOOO! [Verse 1] Rolled up to the lake with the whole familia I got the RIBS and I got the RICE, mi vida (¡mmm!) Greg on the grill, smoke risin' to the cielo Jenna packed the cooler, Maddy runs the playlist Sloaney got the glow sticks glowin' like a spaceship Santi and Sophia kickin' dust up in a circle Audi doin' laps, Juju yellin' "¡qué bueno!" It's a hundred degrees, we sweatin' through the shirt But nobody's leavin' — dance floor made of dirt! [Chorus] A toda la familia le gusta la MARSHMALLOW-LINA (DALE!) S'mores on the fire, burnin' up like gasolina (¡WEPA!) Glow sticks in the air at Cuyamaca, mama BOO-FA-PA-LOO-ZA! (2026!) BOO-FA-PA-LOO-ZA! (¡Otra vez!) [Verse 2] Domino table SLAMMIN', capicú, no mercy Loser fetches ice 'cause everybody's thirsty Score it on the paper — you know the routine Every point we mark it: "CHRISTINE KEEPS THE HOUSE CLEAN!" (¡límpialo!) Pedro caught the beat, started dancin' so incredible He dropped it TOO low — went THROUGH the glass table! (¡AY DIOS!) He's okay, he's okay, dust him off, dale play Lauren went too hard on the hot dogs today Painted the dirt right outside the tent (oh no!) Wiped her mouth, grabbed a glow stick — BACK ON THE FLOOR, LET'S GO! [Chorus] A toda la familia le gusta la MARSHMALLOW-LINA (DALE!) S'mores on the fire, burnin' up like gasolina (¡WEPA!) Glow sticks in the air at Cuyamaca, mama BOO-FA-PA-LOO-ZA! (2026!) BOO-FA-PA-LOO-ZA! (¡Más duro!) [Bridge - half-time, spoken over beat] And Johnny... oh, Johnny... Talks to EVERYBODY at the lake The park ranger? Best friends now The family two campsites down? Invited to dinner A squirrel? Twenty-minute conversation Johnny es el alcalde de Cuyamaca, baby! (MAYOR OF THE LAKE!) [Verse 3] Midnight at the campsite, hear a rustle in the pines LOS MAPACHES on a mission, little bandits doin' crimes Tiny hands in the cooler, masked up like a movie You can have the trash, papi — but DON'T TOUCH THE RIBS! (¡oye!) Raccoon locked eyes with Greg, standoff at the picnic table He walked off with one marshmallow... respect, he was able [Breakdown - chant, stomps and claps] BOO-FA! (hey!) PA-LOO! (hey!) ZA-ZA! (hey hey!) BOO-FA! (hey!) PA-LOO! (hey!) ZA-ZA! (hey hey!) RIBS! (hey!) RICE! (hey!) DO-MI-NOES! (hey hey!) Sweaty! (sí!) Dusty! (sí!) Raccoons! (sí sí!) Who keeps the house clean? (CHRISTINE! CHRISTINE!) We don't quit, we don't stop — FAMILIA! [Final Chorus - biggest energy] A toda la familia le gusta la MARSHMALLOW-LINA (DALE!) Jenna, Pedro, Santi, Sophia — gasolina! (¡WEPA!) Johnny, Lauren, Audi, Juju — Cuyamaca, mama! Greg and Maddy, Sloaney — BOOFAPALOOZA! BOO-FA-PA-LOO-ZA! (2026!) BOO-FA-PA-LOO-ZA! (¡PARA SIEMPRE!) [Outro - spoken, fading] Boofapalooza 2026... The table didn't survive... Lauren didn't survive... well, she survived... See you next year, baby... DALE!
Ink & Brass
made for a father-in-law's 60th birthday
[Intro — fingerpicked guitar, distant flugelhorn] [Verse 1] There's ink on his hands from a lifetime of pages Every wedding, every flyer, every small-town news He made this whole world just a little more official One print run at a time, in his worn-out shoes [Verse 2] Eight names on the doorframe, penciled in and growing Now the grandkids climb the same old kitchen chair He never says it straight — the love, he keeps it hidden In a pun, in a wink, in that ridiculous hair [Chorus] Sixty years of showing up Coffee strong and jokes half-baked Like an EZ Bake Oven with a lightbulb heart — Not much power, but look what it made Pop, look what you made [Verse 3] The trumpet on the shelf still remembers every Sunday Kind of blue, kind of gold, kind of quietly proud And Valerie beside him, sixty summers patient The luckiest man playing his one horn out loud [Bridge — strings and flugelhorn swell, big vocal] And if he read this now, he'd roll his eyes and laugh it off Say "don't take advice from me"... But every single one of us Is who we are 'cause he showed up — That's the fine print, Pop. That's the guarantee. [Final Chorus — full band] Sixty years of showing up Coffee strong and jokes half-baked Like an EZ Bake Oven with a lightbulb heart — Not much power, but look what it made Pop... look what you made [Outro — flugelhorn plays the melody out, guitar fades]
Look At Us Now
made for three friends, four years into recovery together
[Verse 1] Remember when we couldn't sleep? Remember when we couldn't eat? Now we're driving to work on time With money for gas and groceries Remember when our hands would shake? Remember what was at stake? Now we're living that normal life The one we thought was fake [Chorus] Look at us now, look at us breathing Look at us now, still here believing Nothing fancy, nothing wild Just adults who reconciled With themselves, with the world Look at us now (Hey! Hey!) Look at us now (Hey! Hey!) [Verse 2] Somebody new walks in afraid We all know that shade of pain Pour the coffee, save a seat Another one comes in from the rain We don't preach, we just exist Proof that there's another side of this Wednesday nights add up to life Plot twist: we didn't die [Chorus] Look at us now, look at us breathing Look at us now, still here believing Nothing fancy, nothing wild Just adults who reconciled With themselves, with the world Look at us now (Hey! Hey!) Look at us now (Hey! Hey!) [Bridge] (Building) We're the people who survived ourselves We're the stories on the shelf That say "keep going, keep going" We're the boring success stories No headlines, no glory Just showing, just showing Up tomorrow morning [Final Chorus] Look at us now, making it boring Look at us now, thank God it's boring Nothing fancy, nothing wild Just adults who reconciled With the truth, with the work Look at us now (Hey! Hey!) Sing it out loud (Hey! Hey!) Look at us now [Outro] We showed up We stayed up We grew up Look at us now...