Sunday Songs Poster by Billy Ratcliff
I was invited by my buddy Billy Ratcliff to perform a Song Swap at Truth Vinyl in Arlington TX.
I enjoy song swaps. They’re actually one of my favorite types of performance.
This was my first time at Truth Vinyl. The place is very cool. It’s a combination vinyl record store and event space with an exceptional vibe. The stage is nice and the sound was excellent.
The newest Wirerims album, and comic book, In Medias Res.
In addition to visiting Truth Vinyl for the first time, I got to meet Billy Hensley.
He’s the artist behind the Denton band, Wirerims.
We traded tunes and chatted. He is a remarkable songwriter and shared a wonderful collection of his songs.
I performed 13 songs. I went first and then tagged a short song at the end. So between the two of us we performed a total of 25 songs from 7 PM - 9 PM.
It was delightful.
– Blue
I got nothing to sing
I got nothing to sing
Got no position
I’m just gonna let my guitar ring
Don’t wear no ribbon or ring
Got no opinion to sing
No slogan on the banner
I’m just gonna let my guitar ring
I thought I had a thought on a thing
I thought I had a thought on a thing
My ideas they were flying
But now I’m seeing flames on the wing
Don’t wear no ribbon or ring
Got no opinion to sing
No slogan on the banner
I’m just gonna let my guitar ring
No slogan on the banner
I’m just gonna let this Gypsy sing
No slogan on the banner
I’m just hoping that I don’t break a string
Words and music by Blue Ajay
Written 11 October 2017 11AM
© ℗ 2019 Sanity Check Musec ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
When I think about it, you know, things been going swell
I’m alive & I’m love. What the hell?
For a little while now I’ve been sittin’ on the top
I’m just waiting for that other shoe to drop
She got a look the way I like it
Got a walk I find exciting
Give me shivers at the base of my spine
I’m feeling clumsy and heroic
Like a jibber jabber stoic
And I still cannot believe that she is mine
She leave my pupils so delighted
That the ambience is brightened
Every time that she walk into a room
Things been going right since she danced into my life
She leave me feeling just a little less doomed
I think she’s in my corner
Yeah I think she’s on my side
I think we’re copacetic and in sync
I gotta drown these doubts
Or I’m sure to muck this up
Right now I think I need another drink
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2025 Sanity Check Musec ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
I’m Haunted. Haunted!
Too many ghosts to name
I’m Haunted.
They linger just out of frame
I’m Haunted. Haunted!
I’m not sure I’m sane
I ask them what they want from me
They tell me I’m to blame
Some of it is party haze
Some of it’s confusion
It’s really just convenient
To blame it on the Boozin’
Don’t believe in guilty pleasures
Hell! I take what I can get
But those ectoplasmic bastards
Keep stomping on my bet
Some of it was learning
Most of it was growth
Navigating this and that
As victim, guest & host
I try to say my sorries
Do my penance when I can
But regrets & shame & shoulda-dones
Wreak havoc with my plans
I’m Haunted. Haunted.
Too many ghosts to name
I’m Haunted. The linger
just out of frame
I’m Haunted. Haunted.
I’m not sure I’m sane
I ask them what they want from me
they tell me I’m to blame
I ask them what they want from me
they tell me
I’m to blame
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2025 Sanity Check Musec ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
I’ve traded blows with satan
took jesus out in two
I’ve railed at god for a title bout
he’s too chicken shit he’ll lose
There’s no silver to my lining
There’s no twinkle to my eye
my tongue is nowhere near my cheek
I’m just waiting here to die
For the most part baby it’s clear enough
I’m just waiting here to die
I danced with a voodoo priestess
on a thick and murky night
we were listening to swampy blues
and rutting in the moon light
I’ve beaten back so many demons
Hell hound now guards my door
I got this ring from a Flathead shaman
who I then paid to sweep my floor
There’s no silver…
solo section
I’ve been stalked by the darkest clouds
as well as the fluffy & white
been struck by lightning 13 times
strike me down if I’m telling a lie
I’ve met parasites & preachers
their soldiers & their teachers
back around biting reachers
all sorts of leaches
There’s no silver to my lining
there’s no twinkle to my eye
my tongue is nowhere near my cheek
I’m just waiting here to die
There’s no silver to my lining
I’m just waiting here to die
There’s no silver to my lining
I’m just waiting here to die
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2014 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
I wouldn’t say I’ve healed completely
I’ll always have this battle with my mind
the cliffside at the edge stands steeply
It wears away slowly over time
I’ve broken through the thinnest of ribbons
alone but on a personal best
sketching in the artbook of living
empty pages from now until my death
Tiny triumphs they need no celebration
they shine for what they are just because
Even if I don’t improve tomorrow
in this moment I’m better than I was
In this moment I’m better than I was
Some scars are stiff and some are supple
accumulating psychic wounds galore
my parapet seems about to topple
and intruders are amassing by the score
Tiny triumphs they need no celebration
they shine for what they are just because
even if I don’t improve tomorrow
in this moment I’m better than I was
In this moment I’m better than I was
I wa uh uh uh uh uh as
I wa uh uh uh uh uh as
I’m better than I was
contentment on the borrow
Yesterdays conspire to
teach me something sure
close my eyes and fill my lungs
exhale and feel me soften
just smile for an instant
before chasing after more
I’m better than I was
hopeful for tomorrow
every moment has its own special buzz
take a breath, feel a snapshot
take another and then settle
in this moment, I’m better than I was
in this moment I’m better than I was
Tiny triumphs they need no celebration
they shine for what they are just because
even if I don’t improve tomorrow
in this moment I’m better than I was
In this moment I’m better than I was
Words and music by Blue Ajay
Written 4 April 2025
© 2025 Sanity Check Musec ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
Breaking cold hard ground on a cold grey day
A broken man digs a January grave
A broken man digs a January grave
Shoveling earth through fog & haze
A broken man digs a January grave
A broken man digs a January grave
Tears done cried life gone away
A broken man digs a January grave
A broken man digs a January grave
Been here before, few words to day
A broken man digs a January grave
A broken man digs a January grave
Here is the spot where love shall lay
A broken man digs a January grave
A broken man digs a January grave
Breaking cold hard ground on a cold grey day
Shoveling earth through fog & haze
Tears done dried, life gone away
Been here before, no words to say
A broken man digs a January Grave
This is the spot, this is the spot
This is the spot where love shall lay
A broken man digs a January grave
A broken man digs a January grave
Words and music by Blue Ajay
Written 29 January 2013
– for Bourbon
© 2013 ℗ 2014 Sanity Check Musec ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
I need myself a moment
just a bit of peace
Open up the pressure valve
I need a release
The machine will have to churn a bit
without me as a cog
If anybody needs me
I’ll be petting my dog
Maybe play some frisbee
maybe toss a ball
always up for eating
and maybe then a walk
Maybe we’ll just lie around
& stretch & groan & yawn
Before we even know it
the whole morning is gone
I need myself a moment
just a bit of peace
Open up the pressure valve
I need a release
The machine will have to churn a bit
without me as a cog
If anybody needs me
I’ll be petting my dog
Got another bill to pay
more paperwork to file
The telephone is ringing
The mail goes on the pile
Seems like I’ve been hustlin’
ever since the dawn
Before we even know it
the afternoon is gone
I need myself a moment
just a bit of peace
Open up the pressure valve
I need a release
The machine will have to churn a bit
without me as a cog
If anybody needs me
I’ll be petting my dog
Maybe play some frisbee
maybe toss a ball
always up for eating
and maybe then a walk
Maybe we’ll just lie around
& stretch & groan & yawn
Before we even know it
the whole damned day is gone
I need myself a moment
just a bit of peace
Open up the pressure valve
I need a release
The machine will have to churn a bit
without me as a cog
If anybody needs me
I’ll be petting my dog
If anybody needs me
I’ll be petting my dog
If anybody needs me
I’ll be petting my dog
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2014 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
There’s dirt beneath skin
There’s dirt in the eye
There’s dirt that’s crusted like
the remnants of a lie
There’s dirt that flows like gossip
with salt upon the rim
There’s dirt in this puddle
where my memories swim
Got dirty eye
no light gets reflected
See it shift to the side
it fails when inspected
Got dirty eye
See it shift to the side
Got dirty eye
See it redden when denied
There’s dirt in this closet
it cradles these bones
it’s dark and it’s caustic
and the spirits bemoan
Got dirty eye
no light gets reflected
See it shift to the side
it fails when inspected
Got dirty eye
See it shift to the side
Got dirty eye
See it redden when denied
See it redden when denied
Inspired by the November 2025 Denton Songwriters Guild prompt, “Dirt in my eye”.
Words and music by Blue Ajay
Written 22 October 2025
© 2025 Sanity Check Musec ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
Seems that there’s a hole in the map
Where my soul is supposed to be
Testing my reflexes like a hammer to the knee
Grasping once again for the right analogy
A glutton for punishment through the gauntlet again
Chain myself to the drilling wheel taking it for a spin
I looked up from the mat and took another one on the chin
Because it hurts I think I love you
Because it hurts you know I care
Because it hurts I’m thinking of you
The ghost of you it haunts my mind
Seen gliding through most any time
Stirring shadows and bending light
Because it hurts you know I love you
Certainly one wonders why
I do the things I do
Bordering perplexity
Another notion yet to chew
An effort to evaluate
Gotta tally up these clues
Because it hurts I do this
What other reason could I need
Questing for an impetus
Saddling that steed
A cat amongst the pigeons
Playing catch with a well
This time might be different
Only time will tell
Because it hurts I think I love you
Because it hurts you know I care
Because it hurts I’m thinking of you
The ghost of you it haunts my mind
Seen gliding through most any time
Stirring shadows and bending light
This time I’m gonna get it right
Because it hurts I know I love you
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2025 Sanity Check Musec ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
Arsenic & Absinthe, yeah
Arsenic & Scotch
Pass the champagne bottle
put an oldie on the box
Line up former lovers
spin the bottle in the round
She’s a sexy evil genius
and someone’s going down
She’s a sexy evil genius - 3x
A sexy evil genius and someone’s going down
Her eye makeup is dark
Her eyes are even darker
Though poison is her preference
She got a pistol in her garter
Pleading for their lives
but she’s in no mood to barter
Even if she’s crazy
there’s no doubt that she’s smarter
She’s a sexy evil genius - 3x
A sexy evil genius and someone’s going down
Someone call an ambulance, yeah
Dial 911
Stilettos click, she struts away
too elegant to run
In the aftermath we try to see
the tapestry she’d spun
Even if this was no game
it’s clear that she had won
She’s a sexy evil genius.
Words and music by Blue Ajay
Written 11 February 2014
© ℗ 2014 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
I’m gonna play my guitar
I’m gonna kick my heels and sing
I’m gonna open up these pipes
and let these hollers ring
I’m gonna pack my day away
greet my evening, namaste
Buddha via Sasquatch, Hey!
It’s the Appalachian way
I ply my trade, I stake my claim
all engaged with truest aim
the fire ring gonna melt the day away
I’ve tired feet and a quiet mind
Yesterday’s done gone behind
The fire ring gonna melt the day away
There’s sunlight on the suffix of
the next breeze come our way
The fire ring gonna melt the day away – 2x
I ply my trade, I stake my claim
all engaged with truest aim
the fire ring gonna melt the day away
I’ve tired feet and a quiet mind
Yesterday’s done gone behind
The fire ring gonna melt the day away
There’s sunlight on the suffix of
the next breeze come our way
The fire ring gonna melt the day away
Words and music by Blue Ajay
Written 2 May 2017
© ℗ 2019 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
This is just another nail in my plain pine coffin
familiar as a pre-rain ache
Another loop on the noose
Another drip down the candle
just another regret to forsake
Maybe it’s my calling, maybe it’s my aura
I’m fated to lose and that’s the rub
By now it’s just accepted that
I’m ready and I’m chomping at
the bit to toe to toe with Beelzebub
I’m gonna toe to toe throw hands with Beelzebub
I’m gonna toe to toe throw hands with Beelzebub
It’s on the card, it’s on the poster
Winning chicken in the roaster
Been my booking since the moment I was formed
At the bell I’ll come out swinging like a storm
I lost a hand of blackjack on the lid of my own box
before a winning round of Russian Roulette
Got a splinter in my eye acclimating to these digs
Pulled it out by a wilted bouquet
I’m acquainted with these losses
among statues and crosses
in this untended back acre plot
Working my own shovel, and working my own iron
These blisters are the only thing I’ve got
I’m gonna toe to toe throw hands with Beelzebub
I’m gonna toe to toe throw hands with Beelzebub
It’s on the card, it’s on the poster
Winning chicken in the roaster
Been my booking since the moment I was formed
At the bell I’ll come out swinging like a storm
Well, I’ve got dreams and I’ve got plans
beyond this throwing of the hands
but my agency might just be a lie
My gut is feeding hunches that
foreshadow only punches
This was scripted by promoters from on high
I’m gonna toe to toe throw hands with Beelzebub
I’m gonna toe to toe throw hands with Beelzebub
It’s on the card, it’s on the poster
Winning chicken in the roaster
Been my booking since the moment I was formed
At the bell I’ll come out swinging like a storm
At the bell I’ll come out swinging like a storm
It’s on the card, it’s on the poster
Winning chicken in the roaster
Been my booking since the moment I was formed
At the bell I’ll come out swinging like a storm
At the bell I’ll come out swinging like a storm
Inspired by May 2025 Denton Songwriters Guild prompt, “I’ve got dreams”.
Words and music by Blue Ajay
Written 16 April 2025
© 2025 Sanity Check Musec ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
Hey there, Wonderful
Hope you are well
I was just thinking ‘bout ya
nothing to tell
You can hit me back if you are so inclined
but don’t feel obligated I’m doing fine
The thought it did occur to me
that it’s been a while
and you should know the thought of you
it brings me a smile
you can hit me back if you are so inclined
but don’t feel obligated I’m doing fine
Please tell you-know-who
that I send my “hello”
& pass my regards to the friends we both know
you can hit me back if you are so inclined
but don’t feel obligated I’m doing fine
Smooches plus toodles
equals Smoodles you know
so Smoodles to you, Wonderful
but I’ve gotta go
Smoodles to you, Wonderful
XX OO
Words and music by Blue Ajay
Written 22 July 2014
© ℗ 2014 Sanity Check Musec ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
These photos were captured by Christina M. Orr at Truth Vinyl in Arlington TX on Sunday 15 February 2026.
Blue Ajay and Billy Hensley
Blue Ajay
Billy Hensley
Blue Ajay
Billy Hensley
Blue Ajay
Billy Hensley
Blue Ajay
Billy Hensley
Blue Ajay
Check out the music of Billy Ratcliff and Billy Hensley's band, Wirerims.
Check out the Truth Vinyl website.
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