FREE ALBUM FROM 2000 FOR MY FRIENDS  
at last.fm

DRUM SONG

when i look up at the sky at night
the stars are bright
are bright
and on the dark street William beat beat beats
a drum of dark and deep sleep

children dreaming in there deep sleep
monkey laughs, and clown is weeping
yellow bird
children singing      

when i'm walking on strange roads
i talk with children
and i'm not so lonely
bring me water and bring me fire
the stars will soon be bright
be bright

children dreaming in there deep sleep
monkey laughs, and clown is weeping
yellow bird
children singing     

oh children, what do you know
of the shark that bites
and the flowers that grow
oh William beat your drum tonight
i'll cry like a clown
and laugh like a child

children dreaming in there deep sleep
monkey laughs, and clown is weeping
yellow bird
children singing     

young Richard Prichard was on his way home
he looked in a shop window at the beautiful clothes
if only he could have them he could climb out of this hole
clothes make the man is what Richard Prichard knows

and we all will pray
for a beautiful day
and the the sun will shine
when we feel that way

old Mr. Cole was the high school music teacher
he once had hoped to be a big band leader
if only he could move to another town thats better
they might let him conduct the local Philharmonic

and we all will pray
for a beautiful day
and the the sun will shine
when we feel that way

Mr Walter Walter met Miss Ida Bean
at the church picnic in the town of Lincoln's Bay
he knew she was the right one, he got her number from a friend
he thought if he called her up enough she'd love him some day

and we all will pray
for a beautiful day
and the the sun will shine
when we feel that way

the moral of this story is difficult to say
don't get too disappointed if things don't go your way
the wisdom of the angles is not something, we always can hear
just, look at your situation without hope or fear

and we all will pray
for a beautiful day
and the the sun will shine
when we feel that way

this is a free download

a song from my one of my first attempts to make a multi-track recording. the songs were recorded and mixed on cassette tape, Winter-Spring 1997.
This Old City is a story about a young hustler lost in the city.
listen to the album here: edaskew.bandcamp.com/album/little-houses
This Old City from ED ASKEW on Vimeo.
 Joe Romeo was the street name of a young hustler i used to know in New Haven. He was very beautiful, and good natured. although we were not close he always treated me in a friendly way.
i had not seen him for some years when i encountered him on the New Haven green one sunny day. He had lost several teeth; his once handsome face was battered and sad, and he was drunk. we talked and he gave me a hug.
The last time i saw him he had stopped drinking, but shortly after i finished this song  
i heard that Joe Romeo was dead.
i wrote the words to this song on the old Christopher Street pear while listening to the music on a small tape recorder i used to carry around. i placed Joe Romeo in New York; a majestic setting for my story.

it was so late
the good people of the transit system
were putting out hoses, 
and flooding the platforms.
i could see it from my window,
going home on the train
after the show in Brooklyn.
more than once i had stumbled, so to speak, 
and messed up some lovely phrase that night.
but one tries learn from ones mistakes.
and anyway, it still wasn't a total disaster.
the people seemed to like it, i mean,
you could hear a pin drop.

 MY LIFE
i have put up an album from 2008 at last.fm. 
http://www.last.fm/music/Ed+Askew/MY+LIFE

you can listen to all the songs there and/ or buy it at WildCat Recording. http://www.wildcatrecording.com/askew/

HOW I BECAME A GREAT ARTIST

i always liked to make art and i always hated to ply baseball.
when i was a young school boy we would always play baseball,
and everyone i knew (except my brother) loved to play it.
and so we would go to gym class
and there would be no way to get out of it.

one day it was my turn at bat, and i had two strikes against me,
and everyone on my team did not like that.
and the pitch came and i hit the ball (witch i hardly ever did),
and i got so excited that i ran the wrong way.
well, everyone was quite annoyed, and i really felt stupid,
and they tagged me out, and i felt humiliated.
no one would have anything to do with me,
and i swore to myself that i would become a great artist,
and THAT would show them.

Ed   S. F. 1976

Ed

Ed with 1980 painting, NEW YORK MAN