Custom Songs

Our Whole Lives

Monday, April 16th, 2007

This song was written as a submission for American Idol’s first songwriter contest. Howard and Mark used Appreciative Inquiry to tailor the song for the program — the first time either of them had created a song fully through the use of AI. Learn more about Potluck’s custom songwriting service which uses Appreciative Inquiry to draw out your needs and desires as the basis for an original song.

Music and lyrics: By Mark S. Meritt and Howard Ditkoff

Listen to Our Whole Lives.

Sung by Lisa Glick.

You can listen to the whole song via this YouTube video by just pressing the Play button immediately below. Or, you can visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

Lyrics

I was afraid I was forgotten in the shadows
Too weak to hope the sun would shine on me again
But you lit me up and helped me to remember
How alive I used to be, deep in every part of me back then

You were the faith that moved me forward when I faltered
You were the trust that made it safe to risk it all
To bet my life and all that I’ve believed in
To stand alone and vow to reveal the joy I now recall

We feared our dreams would fade away
But now we know they’re here to stay

I’m strong, I’m free
I’m where I’m meant to be
No longer trapped so deep inside
Afraid of all that I’d denied
You saw in me
What I would come to see
And freed it so there’s nothing left to hide
I’ll lift you up, we’ll fly as one for our whole lives

When I look back on every step along the journey
I see how you unlocked each door through which I’ve grown
Though you may feel your sense of wonder is divided
You showed me how to give, now I know we’ll never live alone

My sun will shine to see us through
I’ll light the way that lives in you

We are the rock each other stands on
The reflections that set each other free
Our whole lives, we’re always more together
For you, for me, for we can be

Free and strong
We’re right where we belong
No longer trapped so deep inside
There’s nothing left for us to hide
We finally see
What we were meant to be
We’re free and now we’ve crossed the Great Divide
I’ll lift you up, you’ll carry me, we’ll fly as one for our whole lives

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Come Out

Sunday, November 26th, 2006

This song was written for a compilation album of songs inspired by the work of Daniel Quinn. Mark wanted to throw things for a loop with this song about being true to who you are. The appreciative approach he took led him to create an homage to some of the great disco anthems, both lyrically and especially musically, using that style and the notion of coming out of the closet in a similar way to how the gay movement has at times used disco songs for its own anthems. Learn more about Potluck’s custom songwriting service which uses Appreciative Inquiry to draw out your needs and desires as the basis for an original song.

Music and Lyrics by Mark S. Meritt

Listen to Come Out.

Sung by Steph Campbell.

You can listen to the whole song via this YouTube video by just pressing the Play button immediately below. Or, you can visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

Lyrics

Empty
That’s how I’d always feel
My life
Didn’t even seem real
I just couldn’t get all the things I needed
I thought I was defeated

Prison
That’s what I felt inside
Afraid
Part of me might have died
But then someone brought me a brand new story
Here’s what that someone told me

Come out!
Come out of your shell
Or all you get and all you give, you’ll be living in hell
Come out!
Come out of your hole
Or any tale you might be telling, you’ll be selling your soul
If you want a lot, just forget what you’re not
If you’re gonna go far, you’ve gotta be who you are
Shout it, flout it, spout it, tout it
‘Til there’s not a drop of doubt
About
Come out!

So I
Took my mind off the bad
And looked
At what I really had
Though it wasn’t much, still, it was beginning
I slowly started winning

Take two
Now, I am what I am
My life
Not someone else’s sham
For better or worse, I do what works for me
And you’ll, too, if you’ll only

You wanna live your life?
Well, you just can’t do it
If it’s not you doing the livin’
You wanna love someone
But you just can’t do it
If it’s not you doing the lovin’
You wanna change the world?
Well, there’s nothin’ to it
Long as it’s you doin’ the changin’
You wanna speak your mind
But if you can’t say, "My mind is mine"
Then what’s the use of talkin’ at all?

Come out, come out, whoever you are
Come out, come out, whoever you are
Come out, come out, whoever you are
Come out, come out, whoever you are

Stand up
Be yourself, feel alive
You’ll do
So much more than survive
Just like love and shelter and food and air
It’s something that we all share

Homo
sapiens all the world ’round
Were lost
Now we all can be found
It all can come out in the end, you’ll see
If everyone will only

Come out!
Come out of your closet
If you don’t, you won’t earn a return on your deposit
Come out!
Come out of your cage
Or all you loathe and all you love, you’ll feel nothing but rage

Come out!
Come out of your shell
Or all you get and all you give, you’ll be living in hell
Come out!
Come out of your hole
Or any tale you might be telling, you’ll be selling your soul
If you want a lot, just forget what you’re not
To get what you need, be yourself in deed
Shout it, flout it, spout it, tout it
‘Til there’s not a drop of doubt
About
Come out!

You wanna get things done
You wanna have some fun
You wanna feel so free
You wanna let it be

You wanna find your path
You wanna have a laugh
You wanna see the sights
You wanna reach new heights

You wanna do your best
You wanna get some rest
You wanna leave your mark
You wanna bite and bark

You wanna be so kind
You wanna ease your mind
You wanna make a friend
You wanna reach the end

You wanna have a thrill
You wanna make a kill
You wanna feel some pride
You wanna get inside

You wanna satisfy
You wanna live and die
You wanna raise the youth
You wanna know the truth

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Three Times a Burger

Tuesday, August 29th, 2000

This song was written as a submission for Wendy’s Search for Sizzlin’ Sounds Contest, in which Wendy’s sought to judge the best song about hamburgers. Learn more about Potluck’s custom songwriting service which uses Appreciative Inquiry to draw out your needs and desires as the basis for an original song.

Music by Mark S. Meritt; Lyrics by Richard Hack and Mark S. Meritt

Listen to .mp3 sample of Three Times a Burger.

Sung by Mark S. Meritt.

Watch a video of a solo piano version right here by just pressing Play immediately below. Or, visit YouTube to see the video or post a comment.

Learn about Potluck’s piano/keyboard performance services.

Lyrics

In the morning when I’m wakin’
I’m craving to get on a course that’s right
But I don’t want no eggs and bacon
They might be fine for some, but they don’t whet my own appetite

My buddy Chuck knows there’s no fakin’
The only thing on Earth to fill my need
Though the day’s just begun
He hops inside of a bun
And makes the one thing on which I feed

For every meal I have a burger
So nice and round, three squares a day
Broil or grill it
Fry it up in a skillet
Long as I get my fill it’ll all be OK

‘Cause everyday’s three times a burger
The finest choice, U.S.D.A.
Twice won’t suffice
Entice with me thrice
Paradise, any price I would pay

My good friend Patty, she’s a luscious hotty
And with me, she’s got a hunch
That the only way to please such a man of taste
Is takin’ a break with a burger for lunch

But even that was just a teaser
When dinner rolls around with good Sir Loin
He helps me to bake
Well done Salisbury steak
And my ache turns into enjoyin’

‘Cause everyday’s three times a burger
Give me the bait, and I will bite
Don’t want fish or chicken
With burgers I’m stickin’
‘Round the clock as it’s tickin’, from morning to night

Yes, everyday’s three times a burger
And if it’s wrong, don’t wanna be right
When I get no meat
I feel incomplete
Triple treat’s my dining delight

‘Cause I’m a burger-eatin’ junkie
And if it was against the law
I’d still get my fixin’
To feed my addiction
It’s such an affliction, I’d swallow ‘em raw

And when I die and go to heaven
Buy the farm and greet Saint Pete
It won’t be so strange
I’ll be at home on the range
With one change: there’ll be all I can eat!

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