Fretting the Small Stuff

by Ukulele Jim

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1.	Go Along to Get Along 02:41	lyrics	buy track
When you're holding someone And their arms are cold When you try your hardest But it's getting old And the feeling's gone You gotta go along to get along When you feel like leaving But you just can't go When you're missing something And you just don't know Why the feeling's gone You gotta go along to get along Take a look around At this thing you've built Before you knock it down You just might find It's worth your time To get along When you feel you're losing The will to fight It just might take time To set things right When they're going wrong You gotta go along to get along Take a look around At this thing you've built Before you knock it down You just might find It's worth your time When you're holding someone And their arms are cold When you're missing something And you just don't know Why the feeling's gone You gotta go along to get along Keep hanging on You gotta go along to get along
2.	This Love Thing 03:11	lyrics	buy track
I'd like to get to know you well One look at you and I can tell That you might be the one If you'd come out of your shell Maybe we'd get along real swell And we could have some fun If you follow me back home I'll show you paradise In a Berber carpeted condominium I'll be yours if you'll be mine Maybe over time we'll feel this thing They call love I've got a yearning in my soul I need someone to fill the hole Inside this lonely life If you'd only take control Maybe you could fill the role Of a trophy wife If you want to share a home We'll live in wedded bliss In a Berber carpeted condominium I'll be yours if you'll be mine Maybe over time we'll feel this thing They call love So if you're going my way I'd like to ride with you I've got a love machine With bucket seats for two We're getting older every day Together we could find a way To feel young again If you'd only say you'll stay I'll stick beside you come what may Until the bitter end If you want a family home We'll raise a couple of kids In a Berber carpeted condominium I'll be yours if you'll be mine Maybe over time we'll feel this thing They call love I'll be yours, please be mine Maybe over time we'll feel this thing They call love
3.	Hearts in Harmony 04:45	lyrics	buy track
Loving you shouldn't always have to be So hard to do, take it easier on me 'Cause it's true that I'm just not built that way Not like you, so I say I'm coming to you with my hat in my hand And my heart on my sleeve And I'm hoping you'll understand when I say That all of the things you're putting me through Have a cause and effect They'll all come back to you someday Let's run away, forget today and try to replay hearts in harmony Remember when we were young, sentimental fools Way back then, didn't care about the rules Now we pretend that we just don't feel the same Once again, it's a shame I'm coming to you with my hat in my hand And my heart on my sleeve And I'm hoping you'll understand when I say That all of the things you're putting me through Have a cause and effect They'll all come back to you someday Let's run away, forget today And try to replay hearts in harmony You were the one who hurt me But that was so long ago I'm still standing here Holding on just to let you know I wonder why you would run from my embrace As I try to get back in your good grace You reply that you just don't feel that way So I sigh as I say I'm coming to you with my hat in my hand And my heart on my sleeve And I'm hoping you'll understand when I say That all of the things you're putting me through Have a cause and effect They'll all come back to you someday Let's run away, forget today And try to replay hearts in harmony
4.	Home 02:48	lyrics	buy track
I've been away from my home for so long I forgot what it's like to not be alone I left behind me all the things that were good Now I gotta get back before they're all gone I'm going home Back where I know I belong I want to tell you I was wrong to roam Now I'm going home I look around me at the places I've been And the people I meet, they all seem the same Spirits wander in and out of my life Always knowing my face but never my name I'm going home Back where I know I belong I want to tell you I was wrong to roam Now I'm going home When I'm at home with you The rest of the world falls away by the side I know all the things you do Will keep me satisfied I really hope that you Would still have a place for me Because I'm on my way to you You are where I want to be Home That's where I know I belong I finally know I was wrong to roam Now I'm going home I'm going home Where you are waiting for me I know I never will be alone When I get back home So I'm going home
5.	Mountain River Blues (Down to the River) 02:11	lyrics	buy track
Oh Lord, going down to the river Oh Lord, where the water runs free Oh Lord, going down to the river On that shore they will bury me Lisa Mae was a wild-eyed gal I laid her down in the chapparal She went home and her daddy said I'm gonna find that boy, I'm gonna kill him dead Oh Lord, going down to the river Oh Lord, where the water runs free Oh Lord, going down to the river On that shore they will bury me He came around with a Bowie knife And intention to take my life I met him down at Miller's Square He called my name and I shot him there Oh Lord, going down to the river Oh Lord, where the water runs free Oh Lord, going down to the river On that shore they will bury me The Sheriff came and took me in I prayed the Lord to forgive my sin Purify this wretched soul I've got a date with the gallow's pole Oh Lord, going down to the river Oh Lord, where the water runs free Oh Lord, going down to the river On that shore they will bury me
6.	(If I Could Only) Keep Your Love 02:46	lyrics	buy track
Indubitably I wish I could see what you saw in me I wish I could be Somebody more like the memory That you have of me I wish I knew how to keep your love I wish I knew what you're dreaming of I wish I could rise above Those things I said today I'd wish them away If I could only keep your love I wish I knew What in the world's going on with you But I haven't a clue Why you would do those things you do And say we're through I wish I knew how to keep your love I wish I knew what you're dreaming of I wish I could rise above Those things I said today I'd wish them away If I could only keep your love If I could keep your love I'd lock it away Hold it somewhere special In case of another lonely day, well Why keep hanging on If you're just moving on again And taking all your love I'd like to see I wish I could see what you saw in me I wish I could be Somebody more like the memory That you have of me I wish I knew how to keep your love I wish I knew what you're dreaming of I wish I could rise above Those things I said today I'd wish them away If I could only keep your love If I could keep your love I'd lock it away Hold it warm and dry In case of another rainy day, well Why keep hanging on If you're just moving on again And taking all your love
7.	You and Me on the Run 02:19	lyrics	buy track
Be mine sometime Someday like today Take my life line And we can be far away Throw away your worries and woes As we lie on the beach and we curl our toes And let the cool of the water feel good with the heat of the sun Pack up your material things And we will pick a new direction and see what it brings It's you and me on the run Let's go, start slow Don't wait, it's not too late You know as well as I know That we could be far away Say goodbye to all of your bills And your rent and your job and your run of the mills And the burden on your back that feels like it's weighing a ton Give up your material things And we will pick a new direction and see what it brings It's you and me on the run I don't want to stay here playing the game Day after day, it's all the same How 'bout you and me get away For one more day Come on, get real gone We'll take my Chevrolet on the interstate We'll drive until the dawn So won't you come along And we will be far away Give up all the struggle and strife And the troublesome things that always tangle your life Or it'll all be over and you won't even have any fun Throw away your worries and woes As we pick a new direction and see where it goes It's you and me on the run
8.	Song of the Sky 04:43	lyrics	buy track
I am here, I fill the space As I wait to see your face I stand my ground, I wonder why Will you hear me if I let out a cry To the sky The summer days turn into fall And still I wait to hear your call I hold on for your lovely voice When I hear it, I shall rejoice To the sky Open your eyes And see that I am alive Like a breath becomes a wind One will end, another one begins You feel familiar in everything When all is quiet, it's your name I sing To the sky Open your eyes And see that I am alive
9.	The World Still Turns 03:59	lyrics	buy track
You gave me your heart, I tore it apart Left you wondering why the world is so cruel You're working so hard to let down your guard In the end you just feel like a fool The world still turns Something inside you still burns You're living those lessons of life you have learned Look around you, the world still turns You hope and you pray that maybe someday You might feel something new that won't involve crying You swallow your pride and dig deep inside Just to find out you don't feel a thing The world still turns Something inside you still burns You're living those lessons of life you have learned Look around you, the world still turns If you're willing to try, let me back in again I promise you now, I'm not who I was way back then I'm making amends In all of the trials you've seen through the miles As you traveled alone and held your head higher You stumbled along and it made you strong But you always succumb to the fire The world still turns Something inside you still burns You're living those lessons of life you have learned Look around you, the world still turns You're living those lessons of life you have learned Look around you, the world still turns
10.	All I Need 04:54	lyrics	buy track
You don't impress me with the way you do your hair I'm not concerned with the clothes you choose to wear I only like you for the way you carry yourself Just be natural, let the world take care of itself It'll be all right You feel the pressure, it's always on your mind All this pressure to follow close behind Don't you listen, break out from the pack Be your own self, give the costume back It'll be all right You're all I need, and I need a lot You don't gotta be something you're not You're all I need, I say yes, indeed You're all I need and all that I want You're all that I want and just what I needed All around you, in everything you see Endless pictures of who you're supposed to be Close your eyes now, let the pictures fade Take my hand, there's no need to be afraid It'll be all right You're all I need, and I need a lot You don't gotta be something you're not You're all I need, I say yes, indeed You're all I need and all that I want You're all that I want and just what I needed Every time you run away from all The things you thought would make you fall Into a place where you were on your own Turn to me and I will help you see You don't need to hide your love And hold it all alone You're all I need, and I need a lot You don't gotta be something you're not You're all I need, I say yes, indeed You're all I need and all that I want You're all that I want You're all I want and just what I needed
11.	That's What I Was 02:51	lyrics	buy track
I went searching for you all around the town I found you with him and I felt just like a clown That's what I was, yes, that's what I was When I saw you I tried to play it cool But when he kissed you I felt just like the fool That's what I was, yes, that's what I was You made me feel just like a fool because That's what I was I should have seen it coming long, long ago I had suspicion but I didn't want to know Now I found the reason why you're out all night It's 'cause you're doing me wrong And you ain't got the right My friends, they tried to warn me 'bout your wicked ways But I just turned away like I was in a daze Because I was, yes, that's what I was I let you treat me like a fool because That's what I was I should have seen it coming long, long ago I had suspicion but I didn't want to know Now I found the reason why you're out all night It's 'cause you're doing me wrong And you ain't got the right When you cheated I tried to play it cool But when you left me I felt just like the fool I knew I was, yes, that's what I was You made me look just like a fool because That's what I was You left me for another fool because That's what I was
12.	Crawlin' Away 05:39	lyrics	buy track
Give me something to hold on to I need a reason to stay with you I'm trying to leave here, but it just don't show I've been doing it real slow I've been crawlin' away I've been crawlin' away I've been crawlin' away I've been crawlin' away I let a woman get the best of me Still, I'm hanging around so helplessly I lack the courage to just cut and run Even after all you've done I've been crawlin' away I've been crawlin' away I've been crawlin' away I've been crawlin' away The road is long, it's been calling me It brings me down onto my knees, yeah The road is long, it's been calling me It brings me down onto my knees Oh yeah I've been trying to stand up on my own But being held down here is all I've ever known I wish that I had a way to make you see I just want to be free I've been crawlin' away I've been crawlin' away, yeah, yeah I've been crawlin' away I've been crawlin' away, yeah, yeah The road is long (the road is long) It's been calling me (been callin' me) It brings me down onto my knees Lord, I've been crawlin' away (I've been crawlin' away) I've been crawlin' away (I've been crawlin' away) I want to leave today (I've been crawlin' away) I've been crawlin' away (I've been crawlin' away) Oh lord I've been crawlin' away I've been crawlin' away I've been crawlin' away (I've been crawlin' away)
13.	Love Song #47 03:09	lyrics	buy track
In the time it will take to write this song I will have fallen in love with you I promise it won't take me long Maybe just about a minute or two When I start singing 'bout All the things that make you "you" Then I start thinking 'bout All the wonderful things that you do And you do In the time it will take to write this song I will have fallen in love with you If you listen and follow along Maybe you will feel it too This is the part where I sing About all the time you've been my friend So just keep on listening The payoff will be there in the end Just for you In the time it will take to write this song I will have fallen in love with you My predilection for affection prolongs Accumulation of ovation for you I write all these fancy words To appear as if I'm witty and smart The truth is I'm really a fool Who is wishing you would give me your heart And you do In the time it will take to sing this song I hope you've fallen in love with me Together we'll never go wrong You'll be astounded by how happy we'll be This is the part of the song Where I repeat the things I told you before I tell you how great you are And I end it all with you wanting more And you do In the time that it took to sing this song I think I've fallen in love with you

about

"Fretting the Small Stuff plays out like a Greatest Hits album. From the very first song you feel you are meeting a familiar friend. As you settle down, getting comfortable in your favorite couch, sipping your favorite whiskey, the songs that follow just add to the mood. The breezy tunes combined with lyrics that range from humorous to personal keep you hanging on and waiting for the next song. Full credit to Jim for not letting the pace drop for the length of the album and you are just as happy at the last song as you were when the first one started up. Four stars." (Review by Radio Maverick)

"Jim's music sticks to the basics of good songwriting: nice melody around meaningful lyrics. Being a project put together via online collaborations, the results are impressive. A big thumbs-up." (Review by Ukulele Player Magazine)

"Catchy, sweet, and charming, Fretting the Small Stuff is James Clark’s third full album that conveys a sense of wisdom and wonder with the ukelele. In a sense, listening to Ukelele Jim is like falling in and out of love in Hawaii... A dynamic album, illustrating raw emotion and presenting it in a light-hearted, easy-listening fashion. A deep, romantic undertone is suggested throughout the entire album, but the playful ukelele pop creates a musical juxtaposition that keeps listeners from feeling burdened." (Review by The Band Lounge)

credits

released October 25, 2011

Cover photography by Christina Huh.

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Ukulele Jim California

Ukulele Jim's music blends soulful songwriting with uplifting pop sensibilities. Music lovers of all ages will enjoy these catchy, emotive, and family friendly songs that bridge the gaps between pop, rock, country and folk music.

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