![H-O-L-D: The Forgotten 4 Letter Word](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586382607839-YSKTW1TDGM4E6EEZF3PQ/Screen+Shot+2020-04-08+at+2.49.39+PM.png)
H-O-L-D: The Forgotten 4 Letter Word
Songs got put on and taken off of H-O-L-D all the time. No one was immune. No matter your status. Even if you won a Grammy. Soon it would just roll of your shoulder. You’d dust yourself off and write another song.
![Hey There Delilah (And MoZella)](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586382654407-JXQ6A1C8FS574MP9TJ6K/Screen+Shot+2020-04-08+at+2.50.23+PM.png)
Hey There Delilah (And MoZella)
Shortly after MoZella, Jude and I were pressured into removing a proper name from the title of a song we wrote for MoZella's record, Plain White T's had a GINORMOUS hit with "Hey There Delilah."
![Goodbye Again](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586382768165-1O1UPH7EMATPI7FES6O5/Screen+Shot+2020-04-08+at+2.52.07+PM.png)
Goodbye Again
Last year when I returned home to an empty nest, it was a very busy time for me. I was furiously crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s of Confessions of a Serial Songwriter. There was no time to think about 'Now What?'
![I Saw The Light](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586382867456-2S6Q2BAGUFGKJAZBEOKI/Screen+Shot+2020-04-08+at+2.54.05+PM.png)
I Saw The Light
My fantasy of a photo op with Todd didn't come to fruition but I DID get to hear "I Saw The Light" hard copy after all these years of listening through speakers.
![Broken Record](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586382970744-Q0LDY1G2J09C0KYI22N8/Screen+Shot+2020-04-08+at+2.54.41+PM.png)
Broken Record
The perception of free is a dangerous drug and the longer we believe it’s okay to use it the harder it will be to get sober.
![Mad World](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586465690508-EN8HTLB0X471S0O4FWKV/Screen+Shot+2020-04-09+at+1.54.26+PM.png)
![Elusive Butterflies](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586465771231-L480G7POF5C87EP0HPUR/Screen+Shot+2020-04-09+at+1.55.22+PM.png)
Elusive Butterflies
A creative mind never punches out. It’s always working. And that’s probably a good thing. As long as we're prepared to catch a butterfly.
![If I Fell](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586465883734-2RGN67PK10FPB13LU3CO/Screen+Shot+2020-04-09+at+1.57.29+PM.png)
![Write Anyway](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586465977897-UK88XN5CSIFRD3LZ3DAO/521718_d8d6_4.jpg)
Write Anyway
If writing is the way we discover ourselves then to stop would be the end of beautiful relationship.
![Where is the "Justice" in the DoJ?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586466045669-60AXVR9F9K3RYESVFV24/come_together___wallpaper_pack_by_chaosbrazer.jpg)
Where is the "Justice" in the DoJ?
“I can't help wondering if this may be the moment for the songwriting community to try to make a stand as a united front.”
![Greetings From Nashville](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586466101199-L5CM5V2D23KHMQ2EIW1T/Screen+Shot+2020-04-09+at+2.01.15+PM.png)
Greetings From Nashville
"Concept is everything…some writers write themselves into a circle and wait for the main idea. Sometimes they get lucky. But if you have the concept right from the start the songs write themselves.”
![#CarlySimon](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586466149686-Y6SDZWA6UIE7Q5KM0R7E/Screen+Shot+2020-04-09+at+2.01.51+PM.png)
#CarlySimon
Many artists sing about their incongruities, their longings, their insecurities. But what she said and how she said it resonated with the girl I was. She gave me my palette.
![Father's Day 2016—Since You've Been Gone](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586466205192-X4MQZ4SIV2RPZTJ94JBF/Screen+Shot+2020-04-09+at+2.03.01+PM.png)
Father's Day 2016—Since You've Been Gone
As much as I wish you were still here I take comfort in knowing you escaped some very painful times. At least that's what I tell myself when I want to feel better about missing you so much.
![Trading Places](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586466260326-YJ54A63KTICSZN6EOAQ5/Screen+Shot+2020-04-09+at+2.03.37+PM.png)
Trading Places
What if, just for a few songs, Topliners took the bottom and the Producers got on top—so we could better appreciate each others’ function?
![Suddenly...](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586466779091-7T79F8OJMLF47LZ51UC3/imgres.jpg)
Suddenly...
We get so caught up in our work and then suddenly something happens that makes us take stock.... "Suddenly" from my new memoir...
![A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Airport....](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586466384507-9XG4CXWIYN1FUA1HSMZL/Screen+Shot+2020-04-09+at+2.05.43+PM.png)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Airport....
The streaming revolution has been a gift to users. We can access as much music as we want, whenever and wherever we want it. For ten bucks. And, we can put our selection back on a shelf and opt for something else if for any reason we aren’t satisfied. That’s a pretty good deal. One would think that for an all-you-can-eat buffet, the value of music would have risen, not declined.
![Kum Ba Yah](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586466425469-SFII99X5LSSB8F33M89W/Screen+Shot+2020-04-09+at+2.06.35+PM.png)
![Songwriting Camps](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586466472128-TE47O02UIQN2JKFM4LTC/Screen+Shot+2020-04-09+at+2.07.15+PM.png)
Songwriting Camps
A few months ago, my esteemed colleague, producer/songwriter Greg Wells, who hosts a yearly event at a castle in Bordeaux, invited me to France.
![My Favorite Gift](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586466561989-FR9GOBN7HFQS053FQSHK/IMG_0100%2B%281%29.jpg)
My Favorite Gift
The best gifts are truly the ones that don’t come from the mall. Or cost money. Or arrive on a holiday.
![Life Is Perfect](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1586466638176-TD86NWFPMZFNQQ5RHKRD/Screen+Shot+2020-04-09+at+2.10.19+PM.png)
![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5deea915f87cb8636cb4e435/1575925899116-72F8QFBONP9W6H5M8C9Z/MEREDITH+KISS+600.jpeg)