You can’t tell, you have to show and then let ’em learn on their own. A twentysomething son recalls and reflects on his father’s wisdom that he now appreciates. The metaphor is an overarching truism for the many twists and turns of becoming an adult. It’s often hard to accept when “shit happens” as well as hard to take in the good things we are blessed with. The father’s vision on raising children is golden.
Some You Win, Some You Lose Words and music by Lloyd Tosoff
Verse 1
Looking back, I still recall, My old man’s words said it all, It was the best advice I wish I’d heard, But the only way you can ever learn, Not to touch a stove, Is when your hand gets burned.
Chorus
Some you win, Some you lose, When Lady Luck Comes passing through, Now don’t you blame the dealer, son, When you’re down, (Your luck is down) (When you’re down and out) And the time has come, (Just cut your losses) To pay your dues, (And pay the house) Some you win, Some you lose.
Verse 2
He said don’t say much, Hold back a little, Don’t play both sides against the middle, Keep your cards to your chest, With your back against the wall, Learn when to fold, When to hold, And when to call.
Instrumental
Bridge
He said someday you’re gonna have yourself, A family of your own, Like seeds planted in the ground, You’re gonna watch your young ones grow, There’s nothing much you can ever say, To make ‘em change their mind, Just show ‘em that you love ‘em, And help them find their dreams, On whatever road they find.
Chorus Tag
©Lloyd Tosoff
This song paints the emotional impact of a common experience among young lovers. It is inspired by my own personal direct experience with an older women who stole my heart during my coming of age journey in my late twenties. She fit the description of a femme fatale provocateur in the essence of the definition as she used her sexual power to craft her relationships to fit into the attractor patterns of her unconscious needs. I in turn, was captivated by my own dysfunctional relationship needs that stemmed from an insecure attachment to my own mother as well as an unhealthy connection to my father. In fact my mother was my father and my father was my mother in terms of deeply engrained archetypes that drove my behavior in confused ways within the context of all of my early life relationships. Needless to say, the love affair burnt out quickly and left me with deep scars. Faithless lovers are not easy to forget.
Faithless Lovers (Aren’t Easy to Forget) Words and music by Lloyd Tosoff
Verse 1
Asus2
She was an undercover girl,
G/Asus2
A secret agent lover,
F#/D
A femme fatale provocateur,
Asus2
She’ll second guess your best moves,
G/Asus2
And hinder your intentions,
F#/D
In the end you’re destined to lose.
Pre-Chorus 1
C
She’s a heartbreaker,
G
The kind of memory maker,
D Emin
Pursued by future broken-hearted fools,
C
You can try to hold her,
G
But you’ll never unfold her,
D Bsus
She’s a mystery without a clue.
Chorus
E
You might as well be chasing,
A
Shadows in the dark,
E Bsus
Rather than believing she’ll ever be true,
E A
In the end she’ll hurt you, abandon and desert you,
C#min Bsus
Without a moment of regret,
A Bsus
Faithless lovers,
E
Aren’t easy to forget.
Verse 2 (A)
When you spend your time,
Looking back to find,
Some comfort in a memory or two
You’ll wake up from a dreamworld,
And the promise of forever,
And realize the joke is still on you.
Pre-Chorus 2 (G)
Nevertheless,
You’ll never confess,
That she still holds a claim on your heart,
So go ahead and wander,
Through the ruins of the best,
And the worst love that never really was.
©Lloyd Tosoff