NEWS – Page 4 – Dan Steven Erickson

Writing Through the Chaos

I’m not going to go into any detail but my life has been a bit trying lately. Between some personal issues and some complications my daughter is facing, the last few weeks have been stressful and chaotic. I guess it’s a good thing I retired because it’s nearly a full-time job.

Hopefully, this chaotic season will pass. Our move to Maine is currently uncertain after months of planning. It might be delayed. So, how do I deal with all the stress? I write. I write about things that are happening in real time. Later, I will choose a portion of those lyrics to edit, fine tune, and put to music.

In the past month, I have written 40-50 new potential lyrics. I’ve also written several personal and professional letters. (That’s a different story.) I want to focus on the lyrics for this short essay.

Writing songs is great catharsis. It can help you to vent immediate anger, despair, and sorrow. It can also help you to understand there is always hope, joy, and possibility. I’ve come to realize that even when the shit is heavy, writing releases some of the weight and provides me with a map moving forward.

I’m not going to post lyrics here but I’ll include a list of recent titles.

A Word is a Word
Spun Up
I Just Want a Little Peace
Seeking the Teeth that Bit
Who Slighted Whom
Blow the Whistle
Stuck in Tennessee
Three-Day Drunk
Waking the Tiger

Many of the lyrics I’ve written in the last month are done in a free-flowing, almost rap-like form. But there are some pure country lyrics and thoughtful folk/pop pieces in the mix.

I don’t know if or when some of these will be put to music. I currently have 235 lyrics in my 2025/26 folder. Some have been put to music, but the majority are waiting. I do know that there will be a day when musical ideas and arrangements will flow as quickly as the lyrics came these last few weeks. That’s how I work.

So, no promises, but stay tuned for something new. – dse

Just Passing Through

On my way to the grocer on a rainy saturday in a strange town somewhere near montgomery someone at an intersection asked me for directions to a church on birch street where they had to meet their people for a funeral

I said i’m sorry for your loss because i’ve borne that cross and i wish i could help but i’m a stranger here myself and i’m a little bit lost and confused about where i am, man

Yeah, i’m just passing through
I’m just passing through

I’m trying to get to my home back up north where i used to live but i got waylaid by things i can’t control that hurt my soul so i stayed and i prayed

I’m just passing through

That i might understand what this world is trying to tell me and sell me and if there’s a god and if he befell me because i’m sure hell ain’t real and i question heaven too

Yeah, i’m just passing through

You know sometimes i wake up in the night and something don’t feel right like there’s an eminent threat remnant of my childhood with sinister characters up to no good taking liberties to appease themselves by creating others’ miseries

And i’ve tried so hard in this life to be a man and i had a wife and we had a daughter that didn’t make it and another one that i’ve had to fight to protect through abuse and neglect and it scares me to leave her alone but i know someday i will, it’s true

Because i’m just passing through
I’m just passing through

God i get so tired of all the bullshit i see going on around me and i want to be free from the drama and the trauma delivered by people in power getting worse by the hour

I’m just passing through

And i wonder if there’s really something on the other side, a place to reside where there’s just a little more peace and no beasts or burdens or heartbreak making me blue

Yeah, i’m just passing through

I’m trying to get to the other side
There’s gotta be something better
I ain’t ready for my own funeral
But i need a change of weather

So i got to the store and i bought a few things to get me by a few days because you never know when the whole thing’s gonna blow and you’ll just slip away into the unknown and maybe that’s home or maybe it’s not but right now the here and now is all i’ve got so i’ll make the best of it yeah, that’s what i’ll do

Because i’m just passing through
I’m just passing through

And lord knows there’s a reason that i’ve spent all my seasons doing best i could and i might not be perfect but i’ve tried to be good and i’ve believed even when the christians turned away

I’m just passing through

So if i die tonight i hope i might find the corridor to another place with lots of space and another level where everybody ain’t in my face for every little thing i do

I’m just passing through
I’m trying to get to the other side
Yeah, i’m just passing through
There’s gotta be something better
Huh, i’m just passing through
I ain’t ready for my own funeral
I’m just passing though
But we need a change of weather
Yeah, i’m just passing through

Minerva

i saw your aunt Minerva
last night in a dream
she was walking through an airport
or somewhere in the in-between
it may have been a blessing
it may have been a curse
considering the history
i don’t know which is worse

she wore some kind of bonnet
her body small and frail
i caught her squinting eyes
behind a see-through veil
she walked directly toward me
i neither hoped nor feared
i felt a sense of dispensation
and then she simply disappeared

i saw your aunt Minerva
i never knew her well
but I know she knew the secret
that your mother will not tell
of horrors that went unspoken
of boundaries that were broken
of shrieks in bedrooms
and ancient heirlooms
of Egyptian spells
and living hells

i saw your aunt Minerva
last night in a dream
she was walking through an airport
or somewhere in the in-between

Introducing Songs from Big Yellow

A couple of months ago I bought an 80’s style boombox. It’s a big yellow Aiwa. Why? Because I have a ton of old cassette and CD demo recordings that I want to share on my YouTube Channel. Introducing Songs from Big Yellow.

I’ve already posted a review of the boombox and about three or four old demo recordings from 1986 and 1987. I have a lot more demos to post from big yellow in the future ranging from the late 80s into the 2000s.

The demos represent recordings with my older brother, Paul Erickson, my younger brother, Pete Erickson, and friends like JB Taylor, Mike Schecnk, John Hauge, and Laddie Ray Melvin. I might post a few solo demos as well.

If you go to my YouTube, you can check out the whole playlist. Expect that list to grow for weeks and months to come. – dse

Recent Protests in Portland Maine

Portland Maine Protest – Photo by Dan Steven Erickson

On January 30 and 31, I participated in the anti-ICE protests in Portland Maine. Why? Because I believe it is the right thing to do to help save our democracy and support the rights of others.

I’m in favor of deporting individuals who are from other countries that have either committed serious crimes or are here 100% illegally. I do not believe that individuals working through asylum or other immigration issues should be deported. And I stand firmly against the tactics of ICE approaching people simply based on the color of their skin. I also stand against the extreme and lethal tactics we’ve seen ICE using around the country.

The protest was completely peaceful. There were about 3000 people who gathered at Monument Square on Friday, January 30 to listen to half a dozen speakers. After the presentations, the protesters took to marching the streets of downtown Portland. The March was about one mile long from Congress Street to Commercial Street and back. I only saw about 3-5 law enforcement officers and that was primarily to block streets for the event.

The protesters that I talked to were all locals. I didn’t see anyone who I would suspect as paid protesters from other parts of the country. I’d guess about 50% of the crowd was under 30 years old and 30% was over 60. The 30-60 age group was thin because they probably needed to work. Maine has seen a significant rise in housing and utility costs in the last five years.

It was very cold out. Most of us spent about four hours in temperatures that likely dropped into the single digits after the sun went down. That is how dedicated thousands of people were to this cause.

I went back on Saturday morning for a smaller gathering and felt the same spirit of solidarity. – dse

Days to Come

who’s to say what is
and what is done?
who’s to understand
days to come?

i walk because i can’t stop,
for to stop would be to give up.
i watch the ocean get angry
and rise. i wonder.

what will become of the fisherman?
what will become of the fish?
raise your voice.
raise your fists.

we have the power of choice
to say what is
and what can be done.
we may die trying
but we must stand up
for days to come.