RUN THE TITLES: VOLUME ONE

“I let the music decide what the words are gonna be…” – Ben Folds

THE BEACH BOYS

STILL I DREAM OF IT.

She was one of those CALIFORNIA GIRLS - the kind that love SURFIN'.

Her name was BARBARA ANN.

One night, while we were watching JOHNNY CARSON, she suddenly said, "I'M SO LONELY."

Then she gave me A CASUAL LOOK, nothing more, but it led to A THING OR TWO happening. Which then kept happening, ALL SUMMER LONG.

IN MY ROOM, IN MY CAR, even IN THE PARKIN' LOT - and pretty soon, we were much more than just FRIENDS.

Until one day she said, "IT'S OVER NOW."

And I was the lonely one, lost without my SURFER GIRL...

THE DOOBIE BROTHERS

In Uptown CHICAGO, there was a place called The Aragon where RIO and I would go to LISTEN TO THE MUSIC.

It didn't matter who was playing, we were just EXCITED to see anything, and we'd wait outside until we had COTTON MOUTH, for a chance to hear something new, something DANGEROUS.

And we'd talk for hours.

It was just a NATURAL THING.

He had such a warm SPIRIT and he'd call me his SWEET MAXINE. I don't know if it was REAL LOVE, but our feelings were GROWIN' A LITTLE EACH DAY.

Until... One night, someone bumped into me, innocently, but I fell to the ground, and next thing I knew, a SHOWDOWN was happening. One that was swift and brutal.

And it caused him to fall to the ground beside me.

"OPEN YOUR EYES", I said.

But he was gone...

FLEETWOOD MAC

RHIANNON had arrived in HOLLYWOOD one sunny MONDAY MORNING, her BROWN EYES wide with excitement.

She was determined to be a star, and was DREAMIN' THE DREAM.

It never occurred to her, even once, that becoming SOMEBODY in the acting world would prove to be harder than trying to climb a mountain, with all the paths blocked by a LANDSLIDE.

But SOONER OR LATER, that’s the harsh reality that pretty much EVERYBODY FINDS OUT.

The glitz and the glamour was EVERYWHERE in THE CITY of Los Angeles, but BEHIND THE MASK, the place was full of people who felt LIKE CRYING.

Because once the MERRY GO ROUND was finished with you, there was NO PLACE TO GO, and you were just DUST in the wind.

With your DREAMS fading to black all around you...

Throughout May, I took part in a fun writing Event, run by

Writer Pilgrim by So Elite

, where we went through the alphabet with a different letter each day, and wrote a Story or Poem based on the Song Titles of a band or solo artist that began with that letter.

It was an incredible journey, and an unforgettable experience that I loved every minute of.

And I wanted to share that experience with you.

So in this series, I'll be showcasing some of the stories I wrote during the Challenge, along with some brand new ones.

Volume Two is on the way soon, but in the meantime, why not try writing one of these yourself? I guarantee you will never look at Song Titles in quite the same way again...