Unfinished construction projects stared us in the face. During the endless rainy days of April, we often asked ourselves if we would do it all over. Or . . . if we were magically given a second chance at life, would we take it? More importantly, if we did seize the opportunity, what would we decide to do differently?

Music

Lyrics

If I could do it all over
What would I change
From the way I did things in the past
Who I used to be
Would I take that second chance

If I had just a penny
For every thought
On a sleepless night as I lay awake
Wondering what might have been
If only I had a second chance

Would I take back words
That might have hurt
Or would I say again
What I said there and then

Would my actions be thought kind
Every deed
Or fall short of the mark
Breaking some body’s heart in two

Given the chance
Would I be unfair or just
Different

If I had a good reason
To think my life could be better somehow than it is
Or the way it has been

Then I might want that second chance
Though I imagine other choices
Still I know I’d do everything the same

If I could have a second chance
I’d let it pass

Beatrice’s Ghost (Bonus Track) by Joshua Housh

Cheryl and Em were leaving for a hike to Monte Senario and Em told our visiting nephew, Josh that he was welcome to play the guitar in our absence. He decided to play some music inside the recently finished cantina, which is like an echo chamber.

Josh wrote and recorded a spontaneous song he called “Beatrice’s Ghost”—appropriate since Dante Alighieri’s muse lived some 700 years ago in the villa just down the hill. We were so taken by his spontaneous creation, we decided to include it exactly as he recorded it on that day, as a final secret bonus track on our CD, “By Invitation.”

Credits

From By Invitation, track released August 1, 2009
Cheryl Martlage – Lyrics, vocals and production
Emerson Martlage – Music, guitar, vocals and production
Mr Toad’s San Francisco – Mastering
Beatrice’s Ghost – Joshua Housh in the Cantina (Bonus Track after Second Chance)