≫ GAELYNN LEA: Hello everyone, I
am Gaelynn Lea, welcome to my 
weekly YouTube show.
I'm very excited to introduce a 
special guest for today
, songwriter and singer, Michel 
RJ Roth.  Do you want to tell 
people what you are about?
Spee3 I have been working on
that for many years and I think 
that is why I write songs.
There is a song I have called a 
bat flying in the night
so I am like a bat flying in the
night singing songs to find out 
where I am
.  ≫ GAELYNN LEA: That is a 
really good way of putting it.  
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: I think that is what you 
are about is a lifelong process.
But songwriting is something 
that has always appealed to me
from my youth.
I use to live up in Santa Fe, 
New Mexico
, and it was
something where I was involved 
in both poetry and literacy.
I was involved in the Santa Fe 
poets and was into that for a 
while and was playing music.
I used to play with Harry Wolf.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: What an apron 
artist.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: Yes, we 
still do things together.
And think I had like a billion 
children and got into the 
regular job thing.
I thought you are signaling me.
Whatever that is, but the thing 
where you can actually pay the 
rent and feed the kids.
I did that for a while and 
eventually ended up in the 
foreign service.
People don't know what that is, 
but it is like the diplomatic 
form for the State Department.
For 14 years, I was
traveling around to different 
countries working in embassies 
and all kinds of roles.
I did political work and
was a labor officer in El 
Salvador
.  Did a lot of human rights 
stuff down there.
I recommend anyone who wants an 
adventure, that was a place to 
go for a job.
I was in Egypt, I was in a rack
.  I came back
and have been working a few 
years
in the mothership NDC, which you
know well
because I started working with 
the disability rights team
, international disability 
rights and you had
one the NPR.
I was working with Judy, who is 
the rockstar of disability 
rights because she is a 
wonderful person.  Of course, 
you know her.
She has a book out that is a 
good read.  
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Yes, I have it.  
I need to read it.  I bought it 
right away and thought I still 
have not read it.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: I am a very slow reader 
and I'm reading like 20 books.  
Bits and pieces and things like 
that.
I said to her we have to get 
this lady
at the State Department.
I reached out and we were able 
to connect and you graciously 
accepted the request.
We had to set it up so that all 
of our embassies in the world 
could see you.
They loved it so much and
I got a what more credit for 
doing something that you did.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: You thought of 
it.
Never in a million years would I
have picture doing anything 
connected with the State 
Department.  It was very cool 
for us.
We have done things since then.
It is funny because no matter 
where you fall in the politico 
him
political spectrum, foreign 
service workers,
they really are doing good work 
all over the world.
The more I learn about it, the 
more respect I have for that 
branch for that part of the 
government.  
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: That is one thing that I 
confirmed is we are working and 
all of those countries and seen 
what we do.
We are the greatest force for 
good in the world
.  It pains me when I hear 
people.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: It is a rough 
time.
I did anything recently in June 
with the central department
and that is cool because 
disability rights are not really
widespread all over the world.
It is not a new concept to
such be able to find a way in, 
there is no way unless I had the
relationship with the State 
Department.  It is really cool.
Paul and I have talked about 
maybe someday we would apply to 
be foreign service agents 
together.
Right now we have COVID and I 
went to see what happens with 
the music first.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: If you can 
do the music route, I would 
recommend that.
I think foreign service work is 
great, but
you are doing what someone else 
wants you to do.  
≫ GAELYNN LEA: That is true.
Now, you are back at it because 
you are retired from there, 
right?
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: I retired 
three years ago.
My e-mail is beeping and I don't
know if you can hear it.
I retired three years ago and
I was faced with the opportunity
to do what I was doing back in 
my 20s
.  If I don't do this, it is 
crazy.
It doesn't matter if I am able 
to be any good at it or not
, but I have the opportunity to 
do it.  
I actually had not written 
anything for about eight years
and then I started again
and that couple years time, I 
managed to get a bunch of
songwriting and one some contest
awards.
It made me warm and fuzzy
.  It is a little bit of a 
resume thing.
I am just the grungy Oaks finger
Dragon my songs through the dirt
and saying what I can pick up
.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: That is kind of 
what everyone is and I feel the 
same way, if it makes you feel 
any better.
It is interesting.
Let's have a song from you.  
What you want to start  with?
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: We will start with the 
latest one, which is I Must Ride
that is being out in New Mexico,
I belong to the Western music 
Association,
although I am not a cowboy and I
don't really write cowboy songs,
but this is the fill of that.  
I am playing at an open mic in 
New Mexico tomorrow night so we 
will see.  
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Will not be 
online anywhere?
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: I don't 
know.
They may have a video that they 
can share.
I don't really know.  
≫ GAELYNN LEA: I will leave the 
screen so that you can play and 
people will see you fully and I 
will be back when you are done.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH:
Some people say
That I am the enemy
Though I've committed no crime
If I don't pack my bags and 
leave town
It's the end of me
So I ride in the morning light
 When freedom calls
 I know that I must answer
 The cry of an eagle in open 
skies
 I don't know where I can go
 But I'll take my chances  And I
know
 I must ride
I know I'm no saint No, I'm not 
a holy man
Though I've been baptized in 
wine
But I won't leave my fate
In the hands of another man
Who tells me my soul isn't mine
When freedom calls
I know that I must answer
The cry of an eagle in open 
skies
I don't know where I can go
But I'll take my chances And I 
know
I must ride
I was born to be free
And not into slavery
Though I know freedom comes at a
price
I must speak what I believe It's
not cowardice or bravery
Only truth in the face of lies
When freedom calls I know that I
must answer
The cry of an eagle in open 
skies
I don't know where I can go
But I'll take my chances And I 
know
I must ride
And I know I must ride
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Awesome.  That is
an original song.   When did you
write it?
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: This year.
You can find it on the website. 
≫ GAELYNN LEA: And you are 
website is easy he wrote .com?
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: I had written a bunch of 
poems called easy
he rose and it is the idea
that it is easy to be a hero and
to do the right thing.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: I had been 
meaning to ask you that.  You 
put that song out on band camp,?
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: It is on my website and I 
don't think
you can download anymore from 
that so the website is the place
to get it if you want to 
download it.
You can listen to it on Amazon, 
iTunes, spotted by
.  
The website is the one stop shop
that you can download and 
listen.  
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Everyone says 
that was great, love that you do
the shows,
one said really cool and one 
said that was beautiful.
Good feedback from the audience.
It is really fun to have the 
same people kind of come in 
every week.
There are some new people, but 
we have gotten to know each 
other
even though some of these people
I have never seen and that is 
the fun part of the Internet.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: I have met people that way
as well well.
It is cool to do that.
You never know, you may 
eventually meet.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: With the 
Internet, there have been a lot 
of people that I have read about
because of touring or have 
talked to online where you meet 
them in person later and that is
pretty rad.
Someone else's hey, Mike,
I believe she is in Ireland.  
So are you playing, you are 
doing mostly virtual right now I
assume?
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: Yes, I have the open 
microphone tomorrow and then 
next
Saturday is the Dallas 
songwriters Association that is 
doing a showcase and I will be 
in on that.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: How do you write?
Do they just pop in to your 
brain, do you sit down
-- it is so interesting to see 
how others are inspired to write
because you probably write more 
songs than I do.
I just write when I have an idea
, I just write that idea down 
until I can come acted.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: I have a little notebook
and even if it is just one line 
or one word, no matter how 
stupid it is.
After a while, I go back and 
look over those things and think
that was kind of interesting.
Sometimes something will give me
an idea
our something will happen
or you notice something and it 
gets you started, gets you 
thinking.
I have a new song coming out
, not for a while, but it is 
called just to keep breathing.
I was driving down through New 
Mexico along the Rio Grande
and there was an office of 
probation and parole.
I had decided this long line 
came in my head
and then it started a whole 
song.
You don't know where, but I
thought that seemed kind of cool
and interesting.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: You write it down
as soon as you can say you don't
lose it either.  That is kind of
what I do.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: It is like at night you 
are going to sleep and you get 
an idea and
you think you will remember it, 
but you never do.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: That is 
disappointed.
There are some songs that are 
lost to the ether for that 
little reason.
Can you hear me okay?
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: There is a 
little break I.
Be to someone asked who are your
influences?
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: I am barely experienced in
life, I will put it that way.
I grew up in the area of Leonard
Cohen
, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Brown
and there was a guy who is a 
Belgian
and he was very influential.
A lot of poets, great poets
, just about everybody who is
international, American who have
influenced me
.  You have to just look at 
things differently
.  You cannot look at something
that looks totally ordinary, but
someone else will see something 
else.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: The best advice 
that I got about writing was 
from a poet friend of mine
who said that
you can say something very 
commonplace, but you cannot use 
the same  arts.
He said to try to avoid cliché 
phrases
and you can elude to them, but 
you should think of a new way to
say thanks.  It does not mean 
the ideas have to be 
particularly complicated.
Just do not reuse the same 
phrases that you hear every day
.  It pricks people's ears
.  I had never heard it that 
way.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: Country music, the 
Nashville writers
are so good at that and turning 
a phrase around.   They are the 
best.
I have learned a lot from them, 
even though I cannot write a top
40 song, but you never know.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: We
all do, hopefully everyone will 
make it through and keep 
producing stuff and putting it 
out there.
I am grateful as I cannot 
believe how differently things 
would be happening without the 
Internet.
There is so much that you can do
from home.
I just released a live album 
from my shows here and I am 
planning to record.
I can do that from home and even
10,00010 years ago I do think I 
could have accomplish that.
This is a good way to use your 
creative time, for sure.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: I remember 
typewriters.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: I don't.
I am sure they existed and it
would be pretty slow going and 
hard to save stuff and come back
to it.
Chris Jones from Liverpool, do 
you write as
a poem and add music or do you 
have a tune and then add the 
words?
Is unlike you have the words 
first, right question my.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: When I first started 
writing words,
I was always writing from the 
tune and trying to come up with 
a tune and then
find the words to come up with 
that.
As time went on, at some point, 
he
turned around completely and now
I mainly write
lyrics first.
That actually helps me to be 
more creative with the music.
I tend to get really stuck and 
the framework of music.  
I try to mix things up.
I tend to write from the lyrics 
more
.  I start to hear the tune from
that and see what works.
That has been my stamina.
The last song that I wrote, I 
had the tune sitting
around for about 15 years and 
then just remembered it again.
that's got me writing.
I try to figure out what it is 
about.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: That is cool.
Do you want to new do another 
one for us?
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: The next is
called The Price of a Song.
If you want to know what 
inspired that's, it was a whole 
discussion
that all of us as musicians have
been facing facing.
As the music industry is 
collapsing.
The common idea that music is 
free for the consumer
, you want people to hear it, 
but at the same time
I don't know if you know what it
costs to write a song
.  
I came up with the lyric and
I
got it in the Nashville
songwriters contest, the mid 
Atlantic song contest.
I think that may be a truck a 
cord, at least the lyrics.
I got together with Eryn Michel
who is a Maryland songwriter and
is really good.
We came up with the music for 
this,
and I think she may actually 
come out with a new version
.  She is such a beautiful 
singer
, hopefully it will sound a lot 
better than what I did.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Whatever.
This is a song that musicians 
out there listening should 
relate to.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: I think so.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: I will be back.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH:  We all want a ticket to 
heaven
We want that last drop of wine
We wanna end the discussion
And stand where the spotlight 
will shine
We all want something for 
nothin'
Like nothing ever went wrong
We want it all, we want it all 
For the price of a song
But the price of a song
Is the last glimpse of beauty 
before you go blind
The wounds of a soldier cut down
under fire
The scar left behind
The tears of a mother with a 
child in her arms
The Judas kiss of a faithless 
lover who will rip out your 
heart
For the price of a song
There's a song in the thunder 
and lightning
On the bloodthirsty edge of a 
knife In a shot from a bottle of
whiskey
Pushing emptiness back in the 
night
There's a song on the highway 
before you
Between the prison bars of a 
cell
In a cry out to God in the midst
of misfortune
A glimmer of heaven while 
walking through hell
But the price of a song
Is the last glimpse of beauty 
before you go blind
The wounds of a soldier cut down
under fire
The scar left behind
The tears of a mother with a 
child in her arms
The Judas kiss of a faithless 
lover who will rip out your 
heart
For the price of a song
When I think of the times I've 
been
injured The ways I was maimed by
the things I
did wrong And the pain that 
inevitably lingers
Through the night and into the 
dawn
I know I'm not one of the chosen
I know that I'm not very strong
But I know every time I was 
broken
I broke into song
I broke into song
≫ GAELYNN LEA: That is awesome 
poetry and I really like that 
one.  Thank you for doing that 
when.  Was that recent?
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: A couple of
years.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: That is really 
applicable to today.
That is what is so great about 
music is that it cycles through 
the periods of the meaning.
I don't know if you agree with 
that, but that is
what it feels like to me is that
they take on new meaning 
depending on what is happening 
in the world.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: The context, an old song 
that meant one thing 30 years 
ago could mean something 
different now.
Things become significant that 
are not before.
A word can take on a new 
meaning.
I cannot think of a new example 
of that, but songs do come 
around.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Social justice 
songs for sure.
Even without one, the whole 
debate with Spotify
is coming around in a new way 
and it is being revealed
that music is not really the 
priority of that company 
anymore.
For anyone wants to know, do not
do Spotify
is the only way to consume 
music,
but support artists on band camp
and
on their websites and stuff or 
then Mo and PayPal because those
go to the artist.
Beyond discovery, I think 
artists are not getting the 
right compensation.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: I think it is something 
like you need 250
listens on Spotify to equal one 
CD
or it may be more like 5000.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: I think it was 
213 times you have to listen to 
it
, but each song.
If you want to pay the artist 
what
it paid on iTunes to download 
it, which was like $0.
67, you have to listen to it 213
times on Spotify
.  We will not complain all day,
although
we are educating the people.
Chris Jones says I used to read 
lyrics on an album before buying
it, that now I am led by music 
and performances and the
lyrics seem to match and 
sometimes surprise.
I am a lyrics person personally.
I like listening to music, but 
if I realize I hit the lyrics, 
it is over and I just cannot do 
it.  I think everyone approaches
it.
My bandmates, they never know 
what words I am singing.
One time one of my guitarist 
said judges say this line?  He 
said that is really good.
I said what did you think the 
words were?
They just are listening
to the music and it is so funny 
that we can take in music so 
differently
depending on how our brains 
work, I suppose is what it comes
down to.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: I guess.
I talked to people in my 
generation and
just now they are starting to 
hear the lyrics to some of the 
songs we listen to in the 60s.  
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Were they weird?
You are just more cognizant?
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: We just did not never know
what the words were or we had 
heard different things or 
something like that.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Maybe you will 
not remember, but the song 
freshman
that was popular when I was in 
high school.
It is not my favorite song, but 
there was a line in there that 
said
she a punk who rarely take 
advice and my best friend
in high school always saying Gia
punk a rally never take advice.
I thought that cannot be the 
words.
We had to go look it up one day 
and she said I just always heard
something different.
It made me laugh because I guess
I thought you could write that 
in a song, but why would you?
Any new things on the horizon 
for you do your last song?
I want to ask one last question 
before
we end, but I will let people 
where to find
you and what is new in your 
world and what you plan to do on
sabbatical
.  That is what I'm calling 
COVID now.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: It has just
been working for me.   I have 
been working more during this.
Writing, trying to get things 
done
.  I
haven't been performing all that
much, but when I
can I do some of these things
.  I did
-- a press
Professor down to New Mexico 
invited me to come and record.
He does a digital media class
.  I recorded for his class, 
which was on his resume.
I got some tracks lay down and 
hopefully I will be coming
up with a new recording.
He actually did one last year 
that became the CP and we will 
see if that shows that.
It is I have been dragging these
old songs away.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: It is a blue 
cover with red and black 
underneath with a sunset?
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: Sensei with
a truck driving into it.
It has The Price of a Song on 
it.
It is just a guitar vocal.
Hopefully, sometime in the next 
couple
of months they will be coming 
out with another recording based
on those.
It was like you just do one
song and then you do another 
song and it is not like being in
a studio
making a formal production album
where you go and fix things up.
It is basically just live 
recordings, but he does a great 
job of getting that sound out.
There is that.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Before we end on 
your last song, I do have a 
question.
I have been thinking about this 
a lot lately,
knowing how far in advance we 
book this,
but I was wondering if you had 
any thoughts to share because 
people are not traveling right 
now, obviously abroad 
especially.
What do you think are some of 
the best ways
to really keep an open mind or 
learn about other cultures that 
may or may not involve actually 
going there?
People are never going to be 
able to afford or
they want to base foreign 
service agents, but what has 
been the way
in?  Is it talking to people, 
reading certain things?  What 
has helped you?
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: We have a very 
multicultural society so I would
say to go down and get to know 
people.
Sometimes there are centers or 
places in town where you tend to
have one culture or another.
Dislike of Italian food.
I think the best way is to learn
a language.  
≫ GAELYNN LEA: I did not think 
of that.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: I think learning the 
language helps you to understand
how they think and that culture.
Every language has its own 
perspective
.  You use different muscles and
things and it is just a 
different attitude.
I feel like a different person 
when I speak one language versus
another.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Have any 
languages do you speak?
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: I don't know if I speak 
any, but I have several that I 
have studied
French, Japanese,
Arabic, Russian, Spanish, a 
little of this and a little 
about.
If you don't keep them up, it is
kind of useless.
Progress ≫ GAELYNN LEA: You have
gotten exposed to them and just 
more than a beginner way.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: There was a time when I 
was functional in one language 
or another.
Not great, some languages you 
need 10 years to get it.  
And F2 -- for instance, in 
Japanese
it is a lot of things about 
Japanese that is very simple.
They only have two tenses and it
is
pretty easy to pronounce, but it
is hard to
have a conversation if you do 
not with
know what your social statuses 
with the person you're speaking 
to or about.   The politeness is
such an important part of that 
language.
You can really insult somebody 
just by using the wrong verb 
form.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: I would 
definitely accidentally do that 
all of the time.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: I am sure Americans do 
that all of the time and that is
why they think we are 
barbarians.  That was an 
example.
So language, Paul and I just
signed up for a full year of 
great courses that
is the online classes you can 
take that is all online now.
There are some language courses 
on their and I have thought 
about taking some.  That is good
advice.
Take a language when you are 
bored during the coronavirus and
you can immerse yourself.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: Especially if you can find
someone to talk to as a native 
speaker, they may even enjoy 
doing it.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: That is cool.
Someone said Spanish and 
Portuguese are similar to 
Japanese and that respect.
I suppose there are different 
cultures.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: Not to the 
degrees that Japanese is.
That is why they have to 
exchange business cards when
they first meet because they 
have to know which one is the 
superior.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: That is so 
interesting.
Have you ever lived in Japan?
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: I have 
visited, but never lived there.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Very interesting.
Let's have your last song and 
then we will hang out for a few 
more moments.  I am so glad that
you could join me today.  Thank 
you for doing this.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: Thank you.
This last song is called 
Homeless Sky
and it is listed as one of the 
top 100 songs for homelessness
by a group called hope for 
restoration, which is a lot
of work that is done with 
homelessness down and 
California.
This song is about Seattle, but 
he is doing something
and you may want to check the 
longest day or the
longest night as there is an 
event and they will be doing 
some stuff.  I will get in touch
with you about that.
Hope for Restoration
is the shortest day of the year,
December 21, but for the 
homeless, it is the longest 
night.
Anyway, it is a good 
organization.
Hope number four restoration.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: If someone wants 
to put this
into the comments, we can see 
that after the show is over.
This is a song you wrote for 
that?
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: I had just 
written it.
He had gotten in touch with me 
about it and it just happened.  
It was cool.  
≫ GAELYNN LEA: I will leave 
again and listen to you play.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH:  I'm really not a drinkin'
man
I come here for the atmosphere
A stone's throw from the 
Goodwill store
Where the wounded drag in from 
the battle
On the invisible front of the 
new civil war
While I'm nursing a beer in 
Seattle
And the morning fog will steal 
your dreams
Like a wallet from your shabby 
coat
Before your very eyes
Life never measures up, it seems
To that poetry you like to quote
Beneath the homeless sky
The homeless sky
Body shops on boomtown streets 
It's not the town it meant to be
It always wants a little more
And who am I to begrudge them
The evergreen air is perfect and
pure
But it carries the odor of 
judgment
And the morning fog will steal 
your dreams Like a wallet from 
your shabby coat
Before your very eyes
Life never measures up, it seems
To that poetry you like to quote
Beneath the homeless sky
The homeless sky
I'll sleep beneath a highway 
bridge
When the weather gets too drunk 
again Every day's a poker hand
My luck ran out at the age of 
seven
I feel like a sailor lost out at
sea
Searching for signs in the 
heavens
And the morning fog will steal 
your dreams
Like a wallet from your shabby 
coat
Before your very eyes
Life never measures up, it seems
To that poetry you like to quote
Beneath the homeless sky
The homeless sky
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Sorry, I could 
not find the button to come back
on.  Very beautiful.
I was looking up that link to 
the homeless guy or to the 
longest night
.  I put it in the chat
so people can look it up if they
want.
I think it is good to know what 
is out there, especially with 
homelessness.  Someone said 
fabulous.  I can hear Leonard 
Cohen.  Another said amazing.
You are a really gifted 
songwriter and I hope that you 
keep putting stuff out there.   
It is really, really cool.
It is a way with words and holds
your attention.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: That is 
what I try to do.  
≫ GAELYNN LEA: It is so nice to 
see you again.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: Yes, it is.
I hope we will cross paths again
sometime.  You never know.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: Maybe
soon as I will be doing 
accessibility and disability
stuff soon in January or 
February.
≫ MICHAEL R.J.
ROTH: If there is anything down 
here I can hook you up with.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: gave me and my.
I am trying to take some time 
off and I
will talk about that after our 
interview, but I'm taking time 
off for the winter.
In the spring I went to come up 
with some more thanks.
I need to write and it is hard 
to do when you are busy all of 
the time.
I figure as long as I'm not 
going anywhere,
I might as well really not go 
anywhere.
≫ MICHAEL R.J. ROTH: The 
discipline is necessary.
≫ GAELYNN LEA: I will write you 
later for tips on that.
Thank you for coming Michel.  It
is so nice to see you.   Take 
care.
Hello everyone.
I am going to get set up here 
for a couple of tunes for you.
Thank you for sticking around 
and listening to Michael's 
beautiful socks.
I know I have heard him a little
bit, but I
did not know I had gone to hear 
that many in a row one on one.  
He is a really great songwriter.
I'm going to back up just a 
little bit and Paul
is going to hand me my violin 
and then we can chat.
One moment as I get set up.  How
is everyone doing?
Does anyone want to give me a 
life update while we are here?
Today I am only going to do two 
songs for a couple of reasons.
First of all, Paul is sick
, not like COVID symptoms, that 
he is not well.  He has a 
doctors appointment coming up 
online so we need the computer 
for that.
Also, I don't want to make it 
harder on him.
Plus, it has been a very 
interesting week.
A few updates to share with you 
and then a couple of tunes
and I will be back next week 
with a different guest.
You may have heard of them named
Bob Boylan
who is the host at
the tiny desk concerts, but he 
is a musician himself that has 
made four albums this year 
alone.
He will perform some of his 
music, but I will give you a few
updates before I play.
First of all, I have made the 
official decision,
I am going to take a sabbatical 
from November to March, but not 
from the shows as I really 
enjoyed them.
I want to keep doing them.
I will do a sabbatical for five 
straight months
to write new music and work on a
book that I want to do that is 
really important to me that I 
want to actually get done before
we start touring again.  At 
least the first draft.
I want to get that underway so I
will not do many
shows during that time.
In order to prepare, I ended up
sending out about 1000 e-mails 
and working superlight into the 
night all weekend.
My eye is twitching from looking
at the computer
too much and having some heart 
palpitations because I did not 
get enough sleep.
I will take it easy and be 
refreshed for next week just 
because I got a lot done this 
week.
The other piece is really
exciting to me as I decided
I wanted to have more special 
guests on the shows.
I really enjoy having people to
talk to and exposing you to new 
music and people that I like, 
respect and enjoy listening to.
Just to make each show a little 
different.
I decided yesterday to make a 
calendar of
where people can book slots.
Are will be one of the guest 
artist eventually so that is 
pretty cool.
There are a 10 of different 
artists so I e-mailed pretty 
much
everyone that I know who has
some kind of artistic skill.
It is not all music and 
sometimes it is painting
, dancing or writing, but it is 
often music.  I ended
up sending out a little request 
for people to book their own 
show and I am booked all
the way through January now, 
which is like ridiculous.  I 
never imagined it would get that
fast.
I will have a different guest 
with me every single week
starting next week well darting 
today
as Michel was part of that text 
message chain
.  Next week will be Bob Boylan 
and I will start to try to list
the artist where you can look 
ahead to see who is joining me.
I will play more than two songs 
on the other weeks, but this 
week I'm just taking it easy.
I will start with the newest 
song I have written called Trent
for
This Hunger Won't Leave and I 
will end on an improvisation 
piece.
Let us begin with This Hunger 
Won't Leave
.  
This is the five string violin 
that I rarely use
.  That is something else I want
to work on more during the 
sabbatical
.  I think it is so fun, but I 
don't play it enough.
This is a very beautiful
handmade instrument from Siemens
violins in Chicago.  Here we go.
I am going to perform This 
Hunger Won't Leave.
Hello to the new people saying 
hello
.  Bury and Tina and F course 
Bartek and Chris.  Thank you for
hanging out.
Here we go.
That was not in tune enough.  
Hold on.
This little guy is a little 
trickier to tune then my other 
violin.
That is better.  I will start 
over.  Here we go.
Each brand new day, it begins 
just the same
Filled with hope for the future 
and dreams of restraint
But stumbling blocks seem to 
litter the way And by nightfall 
I'm broken and swallowed again.
I want to reach higher than 
familiar planes
But my habits are shackles, they
drag me away
Isn't there more to this world 
than my pain
The horizon, it glitters, but 
it's too hard to say
Can't you travel on up your 
mountain?
Can't you travel on up your 
mountain?
Can't you travel on up your 
mountain?
No, this lesson won't leave
All I desire is spiritual weight
To better the world and to alter
my fate
But all I'm consuming my ego 
rejects
And I'm trapped in a maze Just 
retracing my steps
Can't you get it out of your 
system?
Can't you get it out of your 
system?
Can't you get it out of your 
system?
No, this hunger won't leave
Everybody's comin' at it tense, 
it's plain to see Has it always 
been so hard to be a human?
Everybody's sitting on the 
fence, including me Do we run 
away or turn to face our demons?
Can't you just admit that it's 
over?
Can't you just admit that it's 
over?
Can't you just admit that it's 
over?
No, this vision won't leave
The surface doesn't seem to make
much sense, a clouded mess
But beneath it all I know there 
is some order
Sifting through my fears, my 
hate, my love, my emptiness
I will someday hit upon that 
boundless border Won't you put 
your lips to this water?
Won't you put your lips to this 
water?
Won't you put your lips to this 
water?
And quench your thirst to be 
free
Won't you grab ahold of this 
hammer?
Won't you grab ahold of this 
hammer?
Won't you grab ahold of this 
hammer?
And build a new day with me
There you go.
That is my newest song that is 
out on the new
EP, a live version from one of 
these songs
that I was able to mix and edit 
down
, that this is on the five 
string and it is pretty fun
.  When I record a studio 
version, I
think I will definitely use the 
five string for that because of 
the low tones.
I think I will end this show 
with one improvisation
.  I was thinking maybe lullaby
.  I usually take requests so if
someone has a request, please 
let me know what it is.  Thank 
you so much as I'm glad that you
enjoyed that song.
I am very grateful that you are 
here.
This makes my day to have some 
connection with people
all over the world and to be 
able to come especially
now that I will have guests 
every single week.  I cannot 
wait to start that path.
Some of them are people I know 
from my
hometown of Duluth and some of 
the artist I have met on the 
road
.  Seminar people you would have
hoard of such as Bob Boylan.
It will be a pretty fun way to 
do this.
They are booked all the way out 
through September 2021.
I think the next time we will 
plan a full
tour will not be until October 
2021 as it takes about six 
months to book.
Unless things look really really
great before
March, we probably will not 
start planning until March after
my sabbatical.
October we will be back on the 
road,
2021, that is the goal so I will
do the
shows through September and 
hopefully build them up so I can
do them from the road.
There is no reason we could not 
do it even when we are onto our.
I will do one improvisation and 
I have not seen any request yet
so maybe I will do a pathway.
Someone asked what path led me 
here and I think I will do a 
winding path improvisation.
It will be a lullaby theme, if 
that is okay if you.
Thank you so much for listening 
as I will be
back next week with Bob Boylan 
and every week after, different 
guest will appear.
I just want to say thank you so 
much to
Michel, RJ Roth for taking the 
time for joining us
and sharing his melodies with 
us.  I am glad that you got to 
hear him.  
Here is a winding path.
I saw that Chris said he has 
done with chemotherapy and he is
celebrating.  Congratulations.
I'm sorry to hear that was going
on, but I am glad to see that 
things are looking at.
All of us are dealing with 
regular life in
addition to COVID and some with 
regular lives have other 
difficulties
or situations going on so my 
heart goes out to you.  I also 
am glad to hear that it went 
well.
Good job and keep up the 
fighting.
Enjoy the wind.  That is a good 
way to celebrate.
I am a beer/whiskey girl myself.
Mostly beer because you can't 
have too much whiskey.
Does anyone want to share 
anything with me while you are 
watching me tune
?
I am not used to this
because my violin, the one I 
have been playing
since eighth grade and the one I
play on all of the time, it 
never goes out of tune.  I 
dropped it on the floor won time
and it did not go out of 10.
This one is a little touchier, 
but I think that is normal.
I am going to do a winding path 
for you and then I will say 
goodbye and we will see you next
Sunday.
(Instrumental Music).
≫ GAELYNN LEA: There you go.  
Thank you.  That was a winding 
path.
I was picturing
the bow as the road and the 
plucking as the footsteps if 
that makes sense.
I just wanted to say thank you 
so much
for coming to this show.
Thank you to Michel for being 
here and for being a guest with 
me.
I will be back on Sunday,
the 13th of September with 
special guests, Bob Boylan
.  He will have
his own music that he creates 
and we will be talking
about his creation process and 
listening to that music.
Thank you for being my friend 
and by music supporters.
If you leave any tips  today,
I was going to
split those with Michel
Roth, but I want to support 
other artists through these 
shows as well
.   I also, if you
want to support my work, 
including the captions
that are happening alive each 
week,
please consider joining my 
Patreon team
Patreon .com/Gaelynn Lea.
I hope that you all have a great
week and congratulations to 
Chris for a healthy rebound and 
recovery.
I hope that you continue along 
the path of health and peace
and to all of you, stay healthy 
and safe.  Please keep in touch.
Bartek, I am glad that you like 
the five string.  I like it to. 
See you next week everybody.
I will try to get Paul to come 
help me shut everything off.
Thank you to Erica for the 
captions and thank you to 
Michael for performing.
Goodbye.   See later.
