Bill Gessner Song Lyrics and Poems

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  "Baseball Blues," Song Lyrics, 1978

  Bill Gessner

  Lyrics for "Baseball Blues," a song written by Bill Gessner in April 1978. The song regards a dream he had while napping in his "favorite chair" while listening to a game. The lyrics are typed, with hand written revisions. One sheet of paper, which was a photocopy from the book "Private Screenings."

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  "Beaker's Bridge and Bullheads," Song Lyrics, undated

  Bill Gessner

  “Song lyrics for "Beaker's Bridge and Bullheads" by Bill Gessner. Handwritten opposite a beer poster. The song paints a picture of rural life, father-child bonding, and the quiet beauty of small traditions that linger in memory long after the moment has passed. It has a country ballad structure.

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  "Blue Lake, Blue Lake" Song Lyrics, undated

  Bill Gessner

  "Song lyrics for "Blue Lake, Blue Lake" by Bill Gessner. Two sheets of paper, that include typed lyrics and handwritten guitar chords. Both pages include handwritten notes and revisions. The song is about admiring a lake during the night.

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  "Catch Me at Park Rapids, Minnesota," Song Lyrics, 1983

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Catch Me at Park Rapids, Minnesota" by Bill Gessner. Four sheets of paper, which include handwritten and typed lyrics, as well as guitar chords. The second sheet indicates a date of May and June 1983. The song has numerous references to fishing, as well the middle of the street parking in the downtown area.

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  "Cedar Waxwing," Song Lyrics, undated

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Cedar Waxwing" by Bill Gessner. One sheet of paper, handwritten on both sides. It also includes many inserted revisions. The song is a metaphorical description of human civilization from the ancient to the modern. Going back and forth, Gessner talks about different animal species, such as dinosaurs and birds.

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  "Christmas Island", Song Lyrics, 1981

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Christmas Island", by Bill Gessner. One sheet of paper with typed lyrics that included handwritten notes and guitar chords. He has no revisions written on the lyric sheet. The song "Christmas Island" is about a place where it is Christmas every day. Gessner talks about how he was inspired to write this song by his love of the Christmas season and Christmas music.

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  "Cruel Memories," Song Lyrics, undated

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Cruel Memories" by Bill Gessner. Seven pages total, including one double-sided page. The typewritten pages include multiple versions of the lyrics, with some pages including handwritten marks and notes; some notes and suggested revisions appear on yellow post-it notes affixed to the sheets of paper. The song is at least partly concerned with changes and restrictions to diet.

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  "David and Oprah," Song lyrics, undated

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "David and Oprah" by Bill Gessner. A song about David, who is Bill's friend, overly watching Oprah on television, to the point where he is losing sleep over it.

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  "Disillusioned Downbeat," Song Lyrics, undated

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Disillusioned Downbeat" by Bill Gessner. Two pages on one sheet of paper. One side includes typed lyrics, and the other side is a copied page of "Civil Disobedience." The song follows a character who Gessner refers to as a "disillusioned downbeat" and makes several references to events/topics from the late 1970s, such as the discotheque and the Vietnam War.

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  "Double Lives," Song Lyrics, undated

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Double Lives" by Bill Gessner. Three pages total, including one double-sided sheet of paper. The double-sided pages include typewritten lyrics, with only minor variations. The third, single-sided page has typewritten lyrics, with handwritten notes and revisions, including guitar chords. All pages are undated. The song is about the "double lives" all people lead, including our public vs. private selves and the different lives we lead at home and work.

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  "Equal Opportunity," Song Lyrics, 1981

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Equal Opportunity" by Bill Gessner. One sheet of paper with handwritten lyrics that include multiple versions for the chorus, as well as notes and light revisions in the margin. Gessner performed this song live on April 25th, 1981. The song references relationships and unfulfilled romance.

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  "Grand and a Glorious Day," Song Lyrics, 1994

  Bill Gessner

  Lyrics for "Grand and a Glorious Day" by Bill Gessner. The song was written in 1994 during the Holiday season. Gessner (1947-2019) graduated from UND in 1969 and was a major figure in the co-op grocery industry. He was also a musician and guitar player who composed many songs.

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  "In the Web of My Hand" Song lyrics, October 15, 1997

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "In the Web if My Hand" by Bill Gessner. The lyric sheet provided for this song is four pages long, with two copies of the song on two pages and a two-page cord sheet. The song copies appeared to be typed in while the cord sheet looks handwritten. The lyrics sheet also indicates that one of the copies was created on October 17th, 1997, at 12:07, and the other copy along with the chord sheet was created on October 27th, 1997, around 18:56, 18:57, and 19:35. The words of the song expresses how one can use one's own hands as a simple tool to connect, care for, and make a difference in a world full of inequality.

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  "Norwegian Fandango" by Bill Gessner

  Bill Gessner

  Bill Gessner (1947-2019) was a UND alumni and an amateur musician. This is music for one of his songs titled "Norwegian Fandango." It is a short instrumental piece played on guitar. The music sheet has an illustration of several people (presumably Norwegians), doing the fandango.

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  "Peach Pie," Song Lyrics, 1999

  Bill Gessner

  Lyrics for "Peach Pie," by Bill Gessner. The song describes the process of baking a peach pie, with Gessner's recipe being that of an unnamed loved one. There are three sheets of paper, with two of them being typed lyric sheets with handwritten notes on the side, and the third being fully handwritten lyrics and guitar chords. The first typed sheet also has the recipe's ingredients and instructions noted.

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  "Red River Rising," Song Lyrics, 1978

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Red River Rising" by Bill Gessner. Four sheets of paper, which include typed lyrics and musical notes. The first sheet indicates a date of April 1978, while the remaining sheets have a fax machine date of April 9, 1997. This was several days before the dikes broke in Grand Forks and ushered in the 1997 Red River Flood.

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  "Singing Woody Guthrie," Song Lyrics, 1977

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Singing Woody Guthrie" by Bill Gessner. Two single-sided sheets of paper, which include typed and hand-written lyrics. The page with typed lyrics includes a few hand-written marks and notes and is dated "Sept, Oct, 1977." The song describes a community of folk music artists and the performers whose music they admire and hope to preserve, including Woody Guthrie and Chuck Berry. Many other musicians are mentioned by name and Gessner makes a specific reference to Guthrie's song, "Pastures of Plenty."

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  "Slow Motion," Song Lyrics, 1999

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Slow Motion" by Bill Gessner. Three separate pages which all include the same typewritten lyrics, with the first page having handwritten notes. A reflective mediation on inner stillness and the quiet beauty of surrendering to the flow of life.

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  "Somewhere in Between (Freezing Drizzle)" Song Lyrics, undated

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Somewhere in Between (Freezing Drizzle)" by Bill Gessner. Two single-sided sheets of printed lyrics total, with one yellow sticky note indicating lyric revisions. No date is mentioned anywhere on the pages. The song is a mournful but resigned description of falling out of love. The lyrics utilize weather metaphors and vivid imagery to relate to listeners with similar experiences. No name is mentioned that may reveal the subject of the song, but the lyrics allude to the ending of the relationship by the end, so it is likely to be a past love in his life.

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  "Telephone Girl," Song Lyrics, undated

  Bill Gessner

  "Song lyrics for "Telephone Girl" by Bill Gessner. Five sheets of paper consisting of typed lyrics, along with guitar cords on the right side of the pages. The song has references about calling up a "telephone girl" and a possible relationship. The song states about the urges to call the telephone girl in the following lyrics:

  "Gettin’ the urge, feelin’ a surge
  To call up my telephone girl
  I’m on the verge of a verbal purge
  So I call up my telephone girl"

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  "To Make a Long Story Short," Song Lyrics, undated

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "To Make a Long Story Short" by Bill Gessner. One sheet of paper consisting solely of typewritten lyrics. Gessner reflects on a relationship gone bad, ending the song by noting:

  "A flashback or two
  Served to explain
  How we let our love
  Go down the drain"

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  "Water In My Ear" Song Lyrics

  Bill Gessner

  Song lyrics for "Water In My Ear". One page of typewritten lyrics with the date written in the bottom right corner. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of sorrow so intense it floods the bedroom, soaks the pillow, and sends water flying down the stairs. It's emotional, theatrical, and strangely relatable for anyone who's ever felt overwhelmed by love lost.