Songs You May Have Missed #822

28 Feb 2026 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

Kevin Jonas: “Changing” (2025)

The last of the three Jonas Brothers to step out with a solo single, Kevin Jonas had previously contented himself supporting brothers Joe and Nick as songwriter, guitarist and backing vocalist.

However his reflective “Changing” has been warmly received since he debuted it at the Fenway Park stop on the Brothers’ 2025 tour.

To quote Danielle Holian’s excellent summation in Atwood Magazine:

The lyric that has already become its signature appears in the opening verse, “This coffee’s cold like these same old conversation.” The line has a lived-in realism. This song is truly an awakening. A recognition of the subtle erosion of routine, the quiet hollowness that can creep into the corners of adult life, even when nothing is technically wrong. It’s the soundtrack of a person lifting their head one morning and thinking, “What if I am overdue for a new chapter?”

From a songwriting perspective, “Changing” perfectly displays a mastery of the contemporary hit formula of following a verse with a climb (in this case, melodically-speaking a literal one) to a memorable chorus.

We dedicate this one to the crusty, taste-locked “new music sucks” curmudgeons who won’t listen to anything less than 40 years old.

There are still people out there who know how to do this pop music thing.

Songs You May Have Missed #821

22 Feb 2026 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

Jim Stafford: “Cow Patti” (1981)

Self-taught on guitar, fiddle, piano, banjo, organ and harmonica, James Wayne Stafford did alright for himself.

Best known for a trio of 1974 hits, “Spiders and Snakes”, “My Girl Bill” and “Wildwood Weed”, his true musical talents enabled him to parlay his relatively brief comedic country success into a 30-year headlining gig at his own theater in Branson, Missouri.

From the “Any Which Way You Can” soundtrack comes “Cow Patti”, probably a parody of Lorne Greene’s “Ringo” from 1964. (Also “Ringo” was a gunfighter ballad which had nothing to do with the Beatles’ drummer.)

Shame that over the years a parody song can be like a stick of gum that loses its parody flavor when the original object of parody has faded from memory.

“Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!” comes to mind, as does the work of Spike Jones, and this brilliant Pat Donohue parody tune too.

Songs You May Have Missed #820

17 Feb 2026 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

Emily Kinney: “I Went Looking For You” (2021)

Actress/singer-songwriter Emily Kinney wrote “I Went Looking For You” about the 2018 funeral of her “TV dad”, as she called Scott Wilson, who played Kinney’s character’s father on The Walking Dead.

Beyond the particulars, though, there is a universal idea most of us can relate to–that of looking for a loved one who is no longer there…or perhaps still is in some way.

I thought I felt you, and the sun was burning my skin
As I climbed the stairs to handshakes and embraces
I thought I saw you in the screens, or heard you in the speeches
Or maybe in the tears running down your best friends’ faces

Take it in, one last look
We all hesitantly stood
Take a view, past the church pews
I was just staring at my shoes
But as expected, at the last second
Paper skin and bright white hair
I went looking for you, my friend
But you weren’t there

I guess you’re in the heavens
I guess you’re in the sky
I guess you won’t be coming back to say goodbye
More questions than answers
Your guess as good as mine
And though you’ve lived such a beautiful life
It doesn’t seem fair
When I went looking for you, my friend
You weren’t there

There were whiskey shots and dancing
Handouts with your name
We all kept our composure
Though the world would never, ever be the same
In this life, the hits keep coming
Oh, our bodies wear and tear
I spent the evening circling, looking
For you, my friend
But you weren’t there

I guess you’re in the heavens
I guess you’re in the sky
I guess you won’t be coming back to say goodbye
More questions than answers
Your guess as good as mine
And though you’ve lived such a beautiful life
It doesn’t seem fair
When I went looking for you, my friend
You weren’t there

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2023/12/10/songs-you-may-have-missed-738/

Songs You May Have Missed #819

15 Feb 2026 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: , ,

Offa Rex: “The Queen of Hearts” (2017)

The collaboration between England’s Olivia Chaney and Portland band The Decemberists earned a Best Folk Album Grammy nomination in 2018.

Songs You May Have Missed #818

03 Feb 2026 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

Juan Luis Guerra: “Palomita Blanca” (1998)

Beautiful melodies spill out of Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra with every release. The fact that he hasn’t appeared more frequently on this site isn’t indicative of a lack of great material to showcase; it’s more a problem of narrowing it down to which of his sublime bachata ballads or irresistible merengue dance numbers to feature.

Guerra’s 1998 Ni Es Lo Mismo, Ni Es Igual (Neither Is It the Same Nor Is it Equal) album ended a four-year hiatus from recording following his conversion to Christianity.

The record received nominations in four categories at the first annual Latin Grammy Awards and won Best Merengue Album.

“Palomita Blanca” (“White Dove”) was the album’s second single and one of many gorgeous ballads in Juan Luis Guerra’s ever-growing catalogue.

I will tell you: I am so happy
when I am close to you
that I do not get used to it,
if I do not hear the green of your voice,
you see nothing is the same
everything is cold if you are not here white dove,
carry my song on your wings.

CHORUS
Tell her that the nights haven’t been silent,
they talked about love and haven’t left,
tell her that I love her and that I miss her,
that I haven’t forgotten and
that I’ve suffered

I already know
my mistake,
but I understand that love
forgives everything and never ends, sweetheart,
you see nothing is the same
everything is in vain if you’re not here
White dove,
carry my song on your wings

Tell her that the nights haven’t been silent,
they talked about love and haven’t left,
tell her that I love her and that I miss her,
that I haven’t forgotten and
that I’ve suffered

And a seagull of light
Among the waves of the sea,
It gathers the blue that I did not know how to give you
And a dawn with kisses of yours

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/07/17/songs-you-may-have-missed-149/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2017/01/25/video-of-the-week-flashmob-performance-of-juan-luis-guerras-la-bilirrubina-in-dominican-republic-airport/

Songs You May Have Missed #817

23 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

The Arrogant Worms: “The Happy Happy Birthday Song” (1995)

Canadian musical comedy trio The Arrogant Worms remind us what we’re really celebrating every year.

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