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Beautiful tribute, Tom. Both sad and uplifting. Great vocal, playing and mix, as usual.
Regards,
Leon Thank you Leon. I’m always glad to hear your comments,Tom Sorry for your loss, Tom, but happy you concentrated on the gain. What a great friend he must've been, and his friendship shows eloquently in this terrific tribute. I can only imagine the song he is singing about you.  The wore "sad" originally meant filled with every emotion, and you bring them all out in this one, Tom. Thank Marty for your kindness,Tom
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Hi, Tom.
I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to get to this one.
What an extraordinary song. Your writing, arranging and performing are top shelf (and then some!).
The chorus is fantastic... memorable, singable and very catchy.
This is music at its best.
My sincere condolences on the loss of your friend.
I hope he's listening to this somewhere out there in the universe.
All the best,
--Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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" A shape shifting beagle in the sky."
That is an ace indicator of the humour and message of this excellent tune.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Beautiful, and very, very moving. So well written - and performed, of course - from every single point of view. Sounds like your friend was an amazing person ... really sorry for your loss. A worthy tribute song, for him. One of your best.
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Journeyman
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First of all, sorry for the loss of your friend to cancer; never easy!
Secondly, great production and mix! I am unsure how you get such power in this but it's awesome.
Dewey
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Tommy...I too am sorry for your loss...as usual you have produced with your writing skills and incredible musical talents a radio ready, stellar piece of music...the guitar work is amazing! Dan, thank you for the kind comments, Tom "Since Jesus left Chicago" ... what a cool phrase.
I love everything about this song.
Great work.
Sorry for your friend, but at least he left in style. I grew up hearing that expression. Thanks for the great review, Tom Gosh Tom, you consistently put out such good sounding music! Sorry this one came at such a personal cost, but it's a good tribute to a good friend. Glad you put your own steel on this, and I like the picture of it too. How many knee levers have you got? Good job, man. Brad, good to hear from you. The zum has 5 knee levers. That’s enough for me, Tom
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Tom
Wonderful tribute and some stunning playing throughout.
Great song.
Peter
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Tommy,
This is great.
Every time I listen to one of your songs I say to myself that voice reminds me of someone but I can't quite put my finger on who is it.
And it's been bugging me.
But I got it man.
Warren Zevon!!
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner!! Lawyers, Guns and Money! Werewolves of London!
Keep on getting it man cuz I love it.
🙂
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Hi Tom,
I think your friend would be smiling if he if he heard this. Sorry to hear he left you. But I'm sure the days he was here were pretty good ones. Always keep them close.
This is amazingly good. Everything was done right and put in its perfect place. A great listen. You did your friend good. I, too, lost an institution of my musical life about 6 or 7 years. I cried for a while and then went to work polishing a lyric he'd written and then put it to music. He was one of the best singers you've never heard. But our lives have to go on after their's doesn't. So, I keep him in thought as I continue with my music.
On a less somber note, this line put a smile on my face: "Tellin lies and drinking Thunderbird". When i was stationed at Fort Belvoir, VA in the 60s, I remember me and a few friends investing in some Thunderbird and Mad Dog 20-20. Our unhappy heads reminded us of our decision for several days thereafter. But that's another story for another time.
This song is amazingly good.
Alan[/quote
Alan, thanks for all that. It didn’t take long for our tastes to change after the Thunderbird days. Stay well, Tom
[quote=BlueAttitude]Hey Tom,
Great song, and a nice tribute to your friend. Love the Jesus left Chicago line! Reminds me of the Z.Z. Top tune.
Totally pro all the way as per usual, loved it. Dave, thanks for the nice comments. That line is an old saying I heard growing up. After I used it I read somewhere about the ZZ song. I don’t think I ever heard it. Tom
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Tom,
Sorry about your friend.
"laughed his way out of this world." - That's a very nice line right there.
Excellent & powerful tribute both lyrically and musically. Sweet pedal steel sound and ACE vocals.
Good one and thank you for sharing.
Misha.
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Tom,
So tough to lose the people we love in life . . . my heart goes out to you. The song is excellent, and just affirms in my eyes that you are one heck of a songwriter. Like those dialed back opening lines in the last chorus that let the vocals shine--nice production touch. Great stuff!
Deej
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Hi, Tom.
I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to get to this one.
What an extraordinary song. Your writing, arranging and performing are top shelf (and then some!).
The chorus is fantastic... memorable, singable and very catchy.
This is music at its best.
My sincere condolences on the loss of your friend.
I hope he's listening to this somewhere out there in the universe.
All the best,
--Noel Thank you for your compassionate words, Tom " A shape shifting beagle in the sky."
That is an ace indicator of the humour and message of this excellent tune. Ray, as I went back and listened, it does sound like beagle. Somewhere my friend is laughing. You have a great ear, Tom Beautiful, and very, very moving. So well written - and performed, of course - from every single point of view. Sounds like your friend was an amazing person ... really sorry for your loss. A worthy tribute song, for him. One of your best. Thanks for your comments. I appreciate it,Tom
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What a fine tribute this is to your friend’s philosophy. These true life blues bring us sorrow for the family and friends left but such joy for the person who accepted the end with peace.
This is so good:
“he said Now I’ve got to move on there’s no more tomorrow
I’d hate to make this short story long
I’ve been stuck here in this hell since Jesus left Chicago
When the sun comes up I’ll be as good as gone”
We’re glad your friend made the days count instead of counting the days.
No need to parse things out, your performances, the write and the production are all top tier … by any measure.
J&B
PS Cool shoutout to ZZ T also.
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Condolences Tom, and what a great tribute to your buddy, never lose those memories.
I love your guitar work and your vocals are top shelf.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
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So sorry for your loss Tom. What an awesome tribute to your friend. Loved the lyric and awesome vocal. Guitar work was excellent. Well done
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Great song.
It's always tough when you lose someone close to you. I've not lost my childhood friends but I've lost so many of the great musicians I've played with and known. It's never easy. To be able to turn that loss and hurt into such a good song is a rare talent.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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First of all, sorry for the loss of your friend to cancer; never easy!
Secondly, great production and mix! I am unsure how you get such power in this but it's awesome.
Dewey Thanks Dewey, Tom Tom
Wonderful tribute and some stunning playing throughout.
Great song.
Peter I appreciate your comments, Tom Tommy,
This is great.
Every time I listen to one of your songs I say to myself that voice reminds me of someone but I can't quite put my finger on who is it.
And it's been bugging me.
But I got it man.
Warren Zevon!!
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner!! Lawyers, Guns and Money! Werewolves of London!
Keep on getting it man cuz I love it.
🙂 Thanks David. I haven’t listened to very much Zevon. I’ll have to go back and check him out, Tom Tom,
Sorry about your friend.
"laughed his way out of this world." - That's a very nice line right there.
Excellent & powerful tribute both lyrically and musically. Sweet pedal steel sound and ACE vocals.
Good one and thank you for sharing.
Misha. Misha, thank you for the very kind review, Tom
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Tom,
So tough to lose the people we love in life . . . my heart goes out to you. The song is excellent, and just affirms in my eyes that you are one heck of a songwriter. Like those dialed back opening lines in the last chorus that let the vocals shine--nice production touch. Great stuff!
Deej Deej, thanks for the wonderful review, Tom What a fine tribute this is to your friend’s philosophy. These true life blues bring us sorrow for the family and friends left but such joy for the person who accepted the end with peace.
This is so good:
“he said Now I’ve got to move on there’s no more tomorrow
I’d hate to make this short story long
I’ve been stuck here in this hell since Jesus left Chicago
When the sun comes up I’ll be as good as gone”
We’re glad your friend made the days count instead of counting the days.
No need to parse things out, your performances, the write and the production are all top tier … by any measure.
J&B
PS Cool shoutout to ZZ T also. Make the days count. There’s a song in there somewhere. As I mentioned to Dave , I heard that phrase growing up and didn’t think about ZZ until I read something after I wrote it. I don’t think I ever heard that song. Thanks for more of your positive thoughts, Tom
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Condolences Tom, and what a great tribute to your buddy, never lose those memories.
I love your guitar work and your vocals are top shelf. Thanks a lot, Tom So sorry for your loss Tom. What an awesome tribute to your friend. Loved the lyric and awesome vocal. Guitar work was excellent. Well done Scott, thanks for checking in, Tom Great song.
It's always tough when you lose someone close to you. I've not lost my childhood friends but I've lost so many of the great musicians I've played with and known. It's never easy. To be able to turn that loss and hurt into such a good song is a rare talent. Glad you liked it, Tom
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Hi Tom,
It must have been very difficult making this beatiful song about your friend.
Losing him is difficult, and singing those nice lyrics was a challenge. How many times did it take before you could sing that this way?
But, like others wrote too, if he could hear you, he would be sitting there also with tears in his eyes, but also with a big smile;
His friend made this beautiful song. For him.
Great song, Tom,
Hans
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