Rita © by Val Ockert

Rita, my senorita,

I’m so so pleased to meet ya

On this cool grey morning

as the leaves are falling

And the crows are cawing

She was staring out the window

Her reflection was all she could see

She was wanting, she was haunting,

Every tale and every scene

There came a tall dark stranger

in a two-tone jacket

With a smile showing all of his teeth

He could see right through her,

She could see he really knew her

Oh, what a relief!

He said: Rita, my senorita,

I’m so so pleased to meet ya

On this cool grey morning

as the leaves are falling

And the crows are cawing

There came a tall dark stranger

in a two-tone jacket

With a smile showing all of his teeth

He could see right through her

she could see he really knew her

Oh, what a relief!

He said: Rita, my senorita,

I’m so so pleased to meet ya

On this cool grey morning

as the leaves are falling

And the crows are cawing

Slice of Heaven © by Val Ockert

My hand on the wooden box,

these words I say to you

Sting of your memory,

the unfamiliar truth

I’m standing now here alone,

to say these words to you

Goodbye Ted, I bid you adieu

I don’t believe in magic, but I do believe in you

Sometimes seems so tragic

that a life has just passed through

You stand behind the tattered veil

that finally wore through

Goodbye Ted, I bid you adieu

I come from Prairie, Alberta,

Where the winds howl drifts in the snow

Been drawn to it all of my lifetime

But not somewhere that I need to go

Rolling in the grass beside the highway on my own

Surest way to make a man,

really feel at home

Saturated in the sap of springtime

makes me really feel at home

A little slice of heaven, only for you

Will it last forever or ‘til the year is through

Heaven’s not forever, it’s only in your mind

But while you’re in heaven there can be no other time.

New Main Sail Coorabell © Val Ockert

When you feel like something’s calling

But you’re not really aware

Then walk around your old home town

And imagine that it’s anywhere

When you feel like something’s missing

That you really outta know

Then spend your time feeling fine

Everywhere you go

Let the grief fall

Let the past just fade away

The horizon grows beyond your view

So hoist up your new main sail

When you feel like somewhere’s calling

Somewhere, over there

Then walk around that same old town

Thinking it could be anywhere

When you feel like something’s missing

That you really outta know

Then spend your time feeling sublime

Everywhere you go

Let the grief fall

Let the past just fade away

The horizon grows beyond your view

So hoist up your new main sail

Speed Of The Honey © Val Ockert

This is inspired by a Tai Chi exercise

where you imagine that you are in a vat of honey.

It's an exercise in humility

What would you do, standing alone

In a cool vat of honey

Fight for your freedom or leave it alone

and move with the speed of the honey

No I won't entertain that thought any more

I won't even entertain the discussion

I'll try to be good, try to be more

and move with a fluid percussion

What would you do, standing alone

In a warm vat of honey

Fight for your freedom or leave it alone

and cruise with the speed of the honey

and cruise with the speed of the honey

The Olds, © Val Ockert

This song inspired the album title, Lane Hog Mind With A Timid Heart.

It’s nice to know

what’s going on

down the road

And it’s good to know

I’ll be driving the Olds.

A long way from madness,

so little away from sadness

Still out riding on my own

Living with plenty,

I never leave anywhere empty

Got to somehow find some fuel for the Olds.

It’s big enough to lie to me

and big enough to glide with me

Through troubled times with ease

Lane-hog mind with a timid heart

You sure do tease

Open the window,

leaving the snow

Idle for too long,

It’s you I’ve got to know.

It’s nice to know

what’s going on

down the road

And it’s good to know

I’ll be driving the Olds.

A long way from madness,

so little away from sadness

Still out riding on my own

Living with plenty,

I never leave anywhere empty

Got to somehow find some fuel for the Olds.

It’s big enough to lie to me and big enough to glide with me

Through troubled times with ease

Lane-hog mind with a timid heart

You sure do please

So Easy © Val Ockert

Val was strolling along the beach at Broken Head one day in 2012, when he saw these words written in the sand. They inspired this poetic song, written in 3/4 time.

I was walking the beach this evening

Strollin' and thinking and dreamin'

When these words I saw written on the sand

In a hand that was almost prancing

They moved me to sing and start dancing

To a tune so romantic and grand

'And it's so easy, It's so easy

When the whole world fits in your arms

And it's so easy, it's so easy

When the whole world fits in your arms'

A song comes once in a blue moon

You can't help when it comes as a blues tune

With beautiful words written in the sand

In a hand that was almost prancing

They moved me to sing and start dancing

To a tune so romantic and grand

And it's so easy, It's so easy

When the whole world fits in your arms

And it's so easy, it's so easy

When the whole world fits in your arms

Here’s to the girl who wrote this evening

Before the high tide completely

Removed such beauty written in the sand

In a hand that was almost prancing

They moved me to sing and start dancing

To a tune so romantic and grand

And it's so easy, it's so easy

When the whole world fits in your arms

And it's so easy, it's so easy

When the whole world fits in your arms

Some Lascivious Lady © Val Ockert

I've lost my mojo don't know what to do

I've lost my mojo don't know what to do

But I’ve got a new kind of living and that's just what I'll do

She used to call me Honey but it didn’t really seem to ring true

She used to call me Honey but it really didn’t seem to ring true

But I’ve got a new kind of living and that's just what I'll do

I called her Sexy Sadie, she was some lascivious lady that I knew

I called her Sexy Sadie, she was some lascivious lady that I knew

So I hugged her and I kissed and I soothed and I wooed her too.

There's a shaking in the bedroom and a crying on the ward

a shaking in the bedroom and a crying on the ward

But I’ve got a new kind of loving and it’s one where I’m adored

Pacific Rim a quaking and the blues have climbed on board

Pacific Rim a quaking and the blues have climbed on board

But I’ve got a new kind of living and that's just what I'll do

Now you’re rubbing on my shoulder and whispering give me more

Rubbing on my shoulder, whispering give me more

Saying I know where you’re aching cause I’ve been there before

I've lost my mojo don't know what to do

I've lost my mojo don't know what to do

But I’ve got a new kind of living and that's just what I'll do

Where The Wild Things Go © Val Ockert

Well I think I've got this heart in overdrive

And I think I've got the blues on the run

And I think I've decided there's no overtime

no angels and no favourite son

Saw North Africa lit up from a satellite

Underneath a film of atmosphere

Where's the wilderness that satisfies my appetite

Conquered, consumed and engineered

Tewa, Hiawatha,

Sitting Bull and the Pitjantjatjara

They all know where the wild things go

We follow soon enough

Krishna, Vishnu, Christ

and those at the late night bar

Certain that they know what's going on

Bhagavad Gita, Bible, bottle and an old guitar

Keep the wild things at bay all night long

Extinction, a sacrifice in human terms

The strife that spins the wheel guards the crop

We eliminate another simple living thing

That struggles like us for the top

Just because we’ve always won at the numbers game

For as long as we recall or can retrace

Doesn’t mean we won’t bow out and leave it all

In the shadows with a hint of disgrace

Tewa, Hiawatha,

Sitting Bull and the Pitjantjatjara

They all know where the wild things go

We follow soon enough

Maybe the wilderness is only found inside the heart

In the cradle, inside this veil of tears

Where the dreamer and his dream go on wandering

Like these ghosts that pass through here

Tewa, Hiawatha,

Sitting Bull and the Pitjantjatjara

They all know where the wild things go

We follow soon enough

Tewa, Hiawatha,

Sitting Bull and the Pitjantjatjara

They all know where the wild things go

We follow soon enough

When The War Is Over © Val Ockert

Resolution always leads to hugs and tears, except when there can be no resolution. That is when you just need to walk away. No more thinking about it.

When the war is over

and the healing has begun

When the man and woman

lay down their guns

When the resolution's winning

you put the voodoo doll away

When the crime of passion

is left in yesterday

Hugs and tears

Hugs and tears

They'll go rolling down the years

Hugs and tears

When the war is over

and the righteous can't be found

The bully's under lock and key

With nothing sharp around

Not innocent, not guilty

no adversaries named

Not They nor Them, She nor Him

no one left to blame

Hugs and tears

Hugs and tears

They'll go rolling down the years

Hugs and tears

He said he kind of loved her

now he thinks he kind of lied

He knows he stopped believing

that she was cheering on his side

It's what he kind of wanted

to turn and walk away

When she didn't want to hold him

didn't want to say

Hugs and tears

Hugs and tears

They'll go rolling down the years

Hugs and tears

When the war is over

and the healing has begun

When the man and woman

lay down their guns

When the resolution's winning

you put the voodoo doll away

When the crime of passion

is left in yesterday

Hugs and tears

Hugs and tears

They'll go rolling down the years

Hugs and tears