Home of MarsTunes: Publisher for Leland Scott

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Welcome To Mars Tunes

Martians are born with an intense appreciation for music — good music, of all kinds.

A few of us try writing a tune or two ourselves, mostly in English. The songs on this website represent a sampling of those efforts from one particular Martian, Leland Scott.

In 2010, Mr. Scott sent us some cassette recordings he made during 1978-2000, and we recently finished digitizing them. These recordings are far from polished, but many of them are clearly "diamonds in the rough." Leland is a songwriter rather than a performer, and the rough nature of these demos makes this clear. Still, it's surprising how well received they've been back home, and Scott tells us he is surprised by how much good material there was — 8 albums worth, as it turns out. So he has collaborated with MarsTunes to prepare this website, mostly as a means to document the work he did during that very creative musical period of his life.

Words for all the Mars Tunes

Vol. 1: I Am The Passenger
Vol. 3: Hope And Fear
Vol. 4: The Darkness In Love
Vol. 6: Songs For the Truly Needy
Vol. 7: Dancing In The Sun
Vol 8: The Political Gilbert & Sullivan

I Am The Passenger

You are the water
You are the boat
I am the passenger home

The night is falling
You are the light
I am the passenger home

So guide the boat
Safely through the sea, my love
Guide the boat
To the other side
Be free
Be with me

The rain is coming
You are the sun
Don't hide from the one you love

The storm is over now
You are the one
I am the passenger home

So guide the boat
Safely through the sea, my love
Guide the boat
To the other side
Be free
Be with me

My Woman Change

You know the harder I try to know you
The more elusive you become
Just like this world that's always changing
You know the time has not yet come

She's moving forward
She's moving back
She's metamorphosing now

It's hard to follow,
And I can't lead her
Someday I'll figure it out

My woman change
From day to day
My woman change
From day to day

You know the harder I try to know you
The more elusive you become
Just like this world that's always changing
You know the time has not yet come

My woman change
From day to day
My woman change
From day to day

In The Morning

You will wake
In the morning
And I,
I will be gone
You will look for me,
You will look for me
But I will be gone

And you will find
My last dishes
And my last coffee cup by the bar
You will cry,
You will cry
What went wrong?

You will go out on the town tonight,
And you will try to put me out of your mind
You will follow my steps to the sun,
But I won't be there.

And I,
I will be watching
I'll be seeing
Your trail
And I will cry to you to go
And I will cry to no avail

Yes, there'll be moments when our paths will cross,
We'll remember all the pain
Yes, we'll recall all the pleasure
And the pain
And it'll seem like a shame.

And my things will still be there even after many years,
And yours will always be with me
And I will stumble over ancient eyes

And I'll be startled
By the tears
Until I realize
They are mine
Until I realize they are mine,
Not those of a memory.

If You Ever Leave My Life

If you ever leave my life,
Oh darling you know that I'll survive
But it won't be easy, no it won't
You're half my life,
You're half my hope
So if you ever go away
I'll just have to cope
I'll have to go on,
Even though I know I won't want to...

I've had lots of women in my time
We've played piano, spilled the wine
I loved them all, I loved them well
But what went wrong,
It's hard to tell
But they're all gone, now it's just you right here
And don't you know,
And I'm saying now
That you're for good.

I put my faith in what you'll say
I'm on a limb, don't make me stay
The time has come for you to tell me what you mean to do
Will it be forever,
Will it be through?
I know I'm puttin' you on the spot, babe
But I hope it's clear
I love you dear,
Yes I do.

I'm Gonna Win

It's easy to give in
Easy to give up
It's easy to give anything you've got
Just to get some peace

The world is closin' in
Bottlin' you up
They've got you pegged from your heart to your desire
Like a hungry beat

The choices seem to go,
And you're left with one oar to row
Find your dry land
Let yourself stand on your own two feet
There's lots you can do,
There's lots you can do.

Because you don't have to be what they want
That's not the reason you're here
Well I don't know about you, my friend
But I'm gonna win,
I'm gonna win
I'm not gonna give in.

Well you fight so hard,
It goes on every day
You got to learn how to handle defeats
Along the way

But keep your spirit strong,
Keep your purpose clean.
By the time you reach the shore,
Tell 'em what you've seen.

Tell 'em you don't have to be what they want
That's not the reason you're here
Well I don't know about you, my friend
But I'm gonna win,
I'm gonna win
I'm not gonna give in.

The Song Is Sung

Home again for Christmas,
Nothin's quite the same
The girl I knew in high school
Didn't know my name
Such a silly game.

I felt like a fool,
But I was cool,
I hid my shame.

My sister's getting married
The girl will go away.
She wants nothin' to happen
But she doesn't want to stay,
She'd like to play.

The song is sung,
She's much to young
For the happy day.

The past is a silly song to sing
It's a broken thing
If you feel your lips are moving to that tune,
Then all too soon
You'd better close them
Won't do no good to open them again.

The house that I grew up in
Still stands upon the hill
My parents, they still love me
I guess they always will
There's no until.

And I can roam
Away from home
Til my future's still.

The past is a silly song to sing
It's a broken thing
If you feel your lips are moving to that tune,
Then all too soon
You'd better close them
Won't do no good to open them again.

Go On (Don't Worry 'Bout Me)

Go on, don't worry 'bout me
Go on,
Don't worry 'bout me
I'll be OK
Just go away,
And I'll be OK.

Today, my lover said to me
Today,
She said my heart wants to be free
And I looked at her,
And I told my love
How that made me feel.

There was a time
When I never thought that you would leave me
There was a time
When you always did believe me
There was a time,
There was a time...

There's nothing wrong me that a little time won't mind
There's nothing wrong me that a
Little time won't mend
I'll be OK,
I'll be OK,
Yes I'll be OK.

Go on, don't worry 'bout me
Go on,
Don't worry 'bout me
There's nothing wrong me that a little time won't mind
There's nothing wrong me that a
Little time won't mend
I'll be OK,
I'll be OK,
Yes I'll be OK.

Go on
Don't worry 'bout me...

Don't Leave Me with A Broken Heart

You ran away and left me
You ran away and left me,
You packed your bags and fled me,
And you left me with a broken heart.

Don't leave me with a broken heart,
Don't leave me with a broken heart
Your leavin's tearing me apart,
And all I've got's a broken heart.

What about all the good times?
Don't they mean anything to you?
All you talk about's the bad times
All the times that were bad for you.

Well I loved you,
I loved you too much I guess
But I loved you,
And it ended up a mess.

Don't leave me with a broken heart,
Don't leave me with a broken heart
You left before we could even start,
And all I've got's a broken heart.

You were my perfect woman,
We started out with such a bang
You were my only woman,
It all seems such a shame

Well I loved you,
I loved you too much I guess
But I loved you,
I gave you my very best.

Don't leave me with a broken heart,
Don't leave me with a broken heart
Your leavin's tearing me apart,
And all I've got's a broken heart.

Don't leave me with a broken heart,
Don't leave me with a broken heart
You left before we could even start,
And all I've got's a broken heart.

The Singles Bar

Standin' at the singles bar
And we're rollin',
We're rollin'
Don't expect to get far
And we're hopin',
We're hopin'

Standing together with united purpose,
Here we are
Clinging to each other's lonely eyes
Hoping for just an ounce of love or trust
Here at the bar,
And we're hopin'
We're hopin'

Don't let us go,
We're not that bad, we know
It's just a stain that we can't break
We'd like to leave,
Oh god how we'd like to leave
But there's a hole that we will never know.

All our drinks they're goin' down
And they're smoothin'
They're smoothin'
Fillin' up the empty town,
And we're losin',
We're losin'.

Don't let us go,
We're not that bad, we know
It's just a stain that we can't break
We'd like to leave,
Oh god how we'd like to leave
But there's a hole that we will never know.

Standing together with united purpose,
Here we are
Clinging to each other's lonely eyes
Hoping for just an ounce of love or trust
Here at the bar,
And we're hopin'
We're hopin'

I Love My Friend

I love my friend
And I never wanna let him go
I love my friend,
And it's a hard hard thing to show
Yes it's a hard, hard thing to show
But you know...

That I never want to be ashamed
And I never want to cause you pain
And if I could only just explain
When I say to you,
I love my friend,
I love my friend.

I love my friend
It's a feeling completely new to me
I love my friend
I don't know what it'll do to me
No I don't really know what it'll do to me,
Or to you...

But I never want to interfere
And I only want to be right here
And I just want you to hear
When I say to you,
I love my friend, I love my friend.
I love my friend.

The Demo Series

Since I never made anything but demos, this page lists all the albums that have been released as part of the "Demos" series. There are eight different albums in all, starting with "I Am The Passenger" from 1977 and ending with "The Political Gilbert & Sullivan" in 2001.

I Am The Passenger (Volume 1)

I Am The Passenger
1978

I Am The Passenger is the first album of material I recorded during my thriving career as a struggling songwriter. The songs range from clear efforts at upbeat hit material ("My Woman Change," "Don't Leave Me With A Broken Heart") to the intensely personal reflections of a newly independent 21-year-old suddenly living on his own (with a college friend) in an unknown city. All of these songs were written and recorded during 1977-78.

Of the more reflective songs, "I Am The Passenger" is a favorite and probably the best love song I wrote in the first year or two.

"The Song Is Sung" splendidly captures the disorientation one may feel on returning home after a year or two gone, visiting your old high school, and catching up with family.

I'm a bit sentimental about "If You Ever Leave My Life," as it's one of the first songs I wrote that I felt worth keeping around. It's got a nice piano bit and and a pretty melody. However, the key is too high for my voice, and the lyrics aren't one of my better efforts.

These recordings were made under the most primitive of circumstances. Yes, that's an apology, as well as a statement of regret. Sadly, there aren't any individual tracks to clean up or remix. All I had was two cassette decks, an old guitar, a $100 piano, and a couple of crappy mikes. Dubbing from one deck to the other while adding layers inevitably muddies the whole affair, especially whatever track was laid down first. Oh well... here they are, as raw as the day they were recorded.

Hope And Fear (Volume 3)

Hope And Fear
1980

Hope And Fear is the third album of material I recorded during my "thriving" career as a struggling songwriter. The overarching theme is of the freedom and clean slate of a fresh new life, combined with fear that important opportunities have already been missed and general apprehension about what's coming next. Many of the love songs display the same hopes and fears as relationships crash and rebuild. All of these songs were written and recorded during 1979-80.

These recordings were made under primitive circumstances. Yes, that's an apology, as well as a statement of regret. Sadly, there aren't any individual tracks to clean up or remix. All I had was two cassette decks, an old guitar, a $100 piano, and a couple of crappy mikes. Dubbing from one deck to the other while adding layers inevitably muddies the whole affair, especially whatever track was laid down first. So here they are, as raw as the day they were recorded.

The Darkness In Love (Volume 4)

The Darkness In Love
1979

The Darkness in Love was the fourth album of material I recorded during my thriving career as a struggling songwriter. Though my vocals were no better, the songs themselves, and some of the piano chord ideas, are a definite improvement over the earlier demos. The songs reflect a period of my life in which a turbulent, intense, and ultimately disastrous love affair replaced the complete absence of romantic entanglement that characterized my life since moving to Washington, DC, in 1977 after college. All of these songs were written and recorded during 1981.

The tune I thought had a decent change for success from this batch was "See What Johnny Got," a song of finding love, discovering how scary it is, and figuring out how to break free of love.

"Under Her Hood" has embarrassingly silly lyrics, but a lovely melody. With better lyrics, it also could probably have found some widespread appeal.

Like the first three albums, the recordings are as primitive as the technology that made them: Two cassette decks, a couple of mikes, an old piano, and a guitar. Dubbing back and forth between decks, it certainly wasn't possible to do any editing, and most tracks were single takes.

Songs for the Truly Needy (Volume 6)

Songs for the Truly Needy
1981

From my first vote in 1972 onward, I observed the march of U.S. politics lean steadily downhill. When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, I suddenly found my Tom Lehrer voice and churned out this set of satirical political tunes. This was also a time when political rock was being popularized by artists like The Clash and Elvis Costello, both among my very favorite rockers. So, though the words are Lehrer-inspired, the music is inspired by Punk and New Wave rock.

Chain Reaction is a broadside against nuclear energy (I'm still opposed, by the way) that still seems relevant and on-target in 2011.

Three Hours A Day pokes fun at Reagan's reported work schedule, and ponders the adoption of the three-hour day by the U.S. workforce in general.

Pentacostal Nightmare was originally written and recorded in 1981, using less sophisticated equipment. Its tune is adapted from a song I wrote in 1979 called "Me & Jeannie" (from Demos, Vol. 2).

Why Don't You Trust Us? sounds the alarm against the trend toward huge corporate mergers taking place in those years. Tragically, the trend continues, and somehow the United States--its citizens, lawmakers, and political leaders--have ceded the mindshare about whether or not it's wise to allow already large companies to consume one another, amoeba-like, into today's giant organisms. Remember, it's the steady deregulation of Federal oversight beginning in the late 1970s that allowed Wall Street to build up companies "too big to fail." Question is, have we yet learned anything from that experience, or will Americans go on pretending that the Federal Government is the bad guy, and corporate giants the good guys.

These recordings were the first (and only) ones made with relatively decent equipment. For the occasion, I ponied up for a high-end 4-track TEAC reel-to-reel recorder (remember those?), and really good ARP electronic keyboard, a drum synthesizer, new mikes, and an audio-filter box. As a result, they are the clearest and most professional of the demos I've done over the years.

Dancing In The Sun (Volume 7)

Dancing In The Sun
1984-2001

Dancing in the Sun is almost entirely a collection of love songs. Unlike the earlier groups of demos, there are no reflective, philosophical lyrics -- unless you count "The Last Good Run" (a pretty big stretch). Unlike love songs written before, most of these are pretty joyous. But being a guy who is always afraid to lose his good thing, there are a few that ponder the tragedy of those whose soul-mates got away.

The album consists of three separate groups of tunes. The first group, featuring just an electronic keyboard and vocal, is from the first six months after meeting and marrying the love of my life. (We're still married, thirty years on…)

The second group was written and recorded after I'd finally got a decent piano and decent mikes, but after I'd disposed of the garage-quality equipment used for Songs for the Truly Needy. So they're just acoustic piano and vocal. The songs were written over a long stretch of time… between 1984 and 1994. "Nathaniel" was written for my first son, born in early 1989.

Then there are two songs from 2001-02, which were recorded on a then-primitive Macintosh using a midi keyboard and -- I think it was -- Cubase software. Unfortunately, the recording formats are now obsolete, so I'm left to live with the note and rhythm flubs. :-) I decided "Jacqueline" was too pretty for words, so it has none. Even now, my Jackie is just too pretty to put into words -- though heaven knows, I've tried.

The Political Gilbert & Sullivan (Volume 8)

The Political Gilbert & Sullivan
2001

These satirical songs were written in part to celebrate Microsoft’s victory in beating back the U.S. Government’s attempt to mete out punishment for its illegally acquired monopoly. Most of them, however, joyously welcome George W. Bush’s coup d’etat in capturing the U.S. Presidency. Just think... Both of these glorious events occurred in the same year: 2000. What a way to usher in the new millennium! Music by Sir Arthur Sullivan. Words by Leland Scott.

The songs were originally released on the defunct website mp3.com and available on the CD The Political Gilbert & Sullivan. I’m pleased to be able to put them back into circulation after all these years. On mp3.com, the two most popular songs were “When Bush Was A Lad,” and Microsoft’s Hit List.”

"When Bush Was A Lad" was written in early December 2000, before the Supreme Court intervened to throw the election to Bush, and while the whole "loose chad" controversy and Florida recounts scandal was underway.

"Microsoft's Hit List" was written in November 2000, prior to the Appeals Court ruling, which threw out Judge Jackson's prior decision calling for a breakup of Microsoft.

The music for all five numbers was written by Sir Arthur Sullivan, with his partner, librettist W. S. Gilbert. I wrote the new lyrics to the songs that were originally written under the following names and Gilbert & Sullivan operettas:

When Bush Was A Lad: "When I Was A Lad," from H.M.S. Pinafore.
Five Little Justices: "Three Little Maids From School," from The Mikado
Microsoft's Hit List: "As Some Day It May Happen That A Victim Must Be Found," from The Mikado
The Lone Star Executioner: "Behold The Lord High Executioner," from The Mikado
Battle Hymn Of The Republican: "For He Is An Englishman," from H.M.S. Pinafore

All songs were recorded in 2000-2001, and were the first I recorded that involved a personal computer (though there was nothing even approaching the ease of use of GarageBand, unfortunately). This set is Volume 8 in the set of Demos I began to release in 2011.

The Political Gilbert & Sullivan Album Cover

Political Satire

Songs for the Truly Needy (Volume 6)

Songs for the Truly Needy
1981

Chain Reaction is a broadside against nuclear energy (I'm still opposed, by the way) that still seems relevant and on-target in 2011.

Three Hours A Day pokes fun at Reagan's reported work schedule, and ponders the adoption of the three-hour day by the U.S. workforce in general.

Pentacostal Nightmare was originally written and recorded in 1981, using less sophisticated equipment. Its tune is adapted from a song I wrote in 1979 called "Me & Jeannie" (from Demos, Vol. 2).

The Political Gilbert & Sullivan (Volume 8)

The Political Gilbert & Sullivan
2001

"Microsoft's Hit List" was written in November 2000, prior to the Appeals Court ruling, which threw out Judge Jackson's prior decision calling for a breakup of Microsoft.

When Bush Was A Lad: "When I Was A Lad," from H.M.S. Pinafore.
Five Little Justices: "Three Little Maids From School," from The Mikado
Microsoft's Hit List: "As Some Day It May Happen That A Victim Must Be Found," from The Mikado
The Lone Star Executioner: "Behold The Lord High Executioner," from The Mikado
Battle Hymn Of The Republican: "For He Is An Englishman," from H.M.S. Pinafore

Singles

As a 45 singles addict, it seemed only appropriate to release a few of my favorites as singles... So I did!

Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain

Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
1979

This recording is one of only a handful (one or two?) that weren't self-penned. In this case, Willie Nelson's beautiful single, which had been a big hit a few years before, was one of my favorite songs, and I really liked doing it on the piano. Though I've never thought of myself as much of a vocalist, I was surprised by how much I like my singing here.

"Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" is a song from one of the demo albums I haven't yet released, tentatively entitled I'm Not Who I Am.

When You Try

When You Try
1980

This song is part of a collection I wrote while living on my own for the first time — in a flat in Dupont Circle. It's a bit different from most of the songs I was writing in those days, since it was unabashedly positive about romance. Overall, I still find it a lovely tune, and given the recording setup (live, ome take, in my apartment, old piano, bad equipment, etc.), it's aged well.

"When You Try" is a song from one of the demo albums I haven't yet released, tentatively entitled I'm Not Who I Am.

The Last Parade

The Last Parade
1982

This is one of the few recordings I made with only guitar and vocal. The song hasn't been released on any of the Demos series albums yet, but has always been one of my favorites. An earlier version will be included in Demos Vol. 2, I'm Not Who I Am.

The song is one of several I wrote around the time that a long-time romance was breaking up. As the lyrics attest, the breakup was not pleasant for either party. Although a painful moment for me, I have to say I wasn't sad to see her go...

See What Johnny Got

See What Johnny Got
1981

A hypnotic rocker centered on a young guy just losing his virginity. The joy is great, the girl is great... it's all great! Except he realizes he doesn't love her, and she doesn't love him. Is there a way out? See what Johnny got.

This tune is one of my favorites from the collection Darkness In Love.

I wrote this song toward the end of a tumultuous relationship with a woman who actually was the one who made me "glad I'm a man" (to quote from a famous rock lyric). The affair went seriously wrong, though, and it took me forever to find a way out. Like all the songs in the Demos series, the recording is muddy and very low-fi. This particular track was done by overdubbing two piano tracks and two vocals, and then doubling them. The piano riff was unusual for me at the time, as it goes its own way while the vocal goes another.

Why Don't You Trust Us?

Why Don't You Trust Us?
2001

This satire about anti-competitive corporate giants is highly relevant today, as the world is still struggling from its last bout with those beasts. When written in 1981, it was trying to sound the alarm. It failed then, but hope springs eternal. :-)

"Why Don't You Trust Us?" was written and recorded in 1981, and is included in the collection of political satire, Songs For The Truly Needy.

The song was my contribution to the effort to sound the alarm against the trend toward huge corporate mergers taking place then. Tragically, the trend continues, and somehow the United States—its citizens, lawmakers, and political leaders—have ceded the mindshare about whether or not it's wise to allow already large companies to consume one another, amoeba-like, into today's giant organisms. Remember, it's the steady deregulation of Federal oversight beginning in the late 1970s that allowed Wall Street to build up companies "too big to fail." Question is, have we yet learned anything from that experience, or will Americans go on pretending that the Federal Government is the bad guy, and corporate giants the good guys.

About Leland Scott

Leland Scott wrote songs for 20 years, then married and had two sons. Like most Martians, Mr. Scott dabbled in numerous technical and artistic fields. Over time he became a programmer, then an HTML/JavaScript guru, then a web designer, then a writer, then a graphic artist, then a Mac themer, then a Cocoa coder.

He briefly started a small business as a disk jockey in 1983-84, which is where he met his destined wife, Jackie. In the mid-1990s, Leland designed and managed the new Citibank Intranet (CitiWeb), moved on to manage the White House website, then the National Science Foundation website.

In 2001, he designed and programmed an online store (Classic 45s) to support his ongoing addiction to 45 rpm vinyl records. In 2005, Scott started a blog, appropriately named Musings from Mars. In 2008, he began work on a theme for Mac OS X called Crystal Clear, which he ultimately released as shareware in April 2010 under the name CrystalClear Interface. In April 2011, he released a second shareware theme, Crystal Black.