My end of Year One blog review

It’s the end of the year, so I thought I’d review the first year of my blog, for myself if nothing else.

 

Followers: 87 – no idea if that’s good or not…I’m pretty sure it’s not great 🙂 Although thank you to everybody who’s followed me so far!

Total views: 853 – I was aiming for 1000, so I’m not too far off.

Best day for views – 28 on August 5th thanks to a 14 view surge from Three Chord Queen.

 

Top 3 “likes”:

3. Cellophane Man https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/cellophane-man-a-poem/ – 8 likes

    The Vampyre: Canto One https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/08/20/the-vampyre-a-gothic-romance/ – 8 likes

2. Her: Part 3 https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/09/29/her-part-three/ – 10 likes

1. Here’s to you, kid https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/heres-to-you-kid/ – 11 likes

 

Most views:

Although most of my “likes” come from my poems and lyrics, two of my top three views are from quite dark articles I wrote about Euthanasia, and the death of actor Cory Monteith from a heroin overdose.

3. Euthanasia https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/euthanasia-if-youve-read-none-of-my-rants-so-far-please-read-this/ – 31 views

2. Three Chord Queen – https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/07/27/three-chord-queen/ – 49 views

1. The Hollywood Addiction https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/the-occasional-rant-formerly-daily-rant-episode-six-the-hollywood-addiction/ – 81 views

P.S. The answer to “how many Taylor Swift song titles” are in Three Chord Queen is…44!

 

Fan favourites:

Grandad https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/grandad/

Alabama Blues https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/alabama-blues-a-poem/

Survivor https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/me-myself-and-i-a-poem/

 

My favourites:

The Present https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/the-present-a-poem-2/ – the first poem I ever wrote.

Sweet Beatrice, My Muse https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/sweet-beatrice-my-muse/

Welcome To The Honky Tonk https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/welcome-to-the-honky-tonk-2/

Back To The Summer https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/back-to-the-summer/

 

Unexpected Disappointments:

Back To My Roots https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/back-to-my-roots-version-one/ – 0 likes

I’ll Always Be Your Hero https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/ill-always-be-your-hero/ – 2 likes

Party Town https://jbjfan2009.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/party-town-or-one-of-those-nights/ – 2 likes

 

A lot of my other earlier poems like “Grandad” and “Alabama Blues” have got 0 likes, hopefully due to the fact that I had barely any followers, so I’m not too disappointed. 

 

I guess that’s it. All in all a pretty good first year I think. Roll on 2014!

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

Welcome To The Honky Tonk

The neon sign is flashing.

“We’re open noon ’til late”

The drink it don’t stop flowing.

So gather up your mates.

 
The air is thick and hazy.

You know the girls are cute.

Stetson’s, shirts, and Levi’s.

A whole lotta cash to lose.

 
So welcome to the honky tonk.

‘Bout time we had you back.

Welcome to our one stop town.

Just kick back and relax.

If God gave us one thing.

It’s our American Saturday nights.

So welcome to the honky tonk.

A little piece of southern life.

 
Pool table in the corner.

Gun rack behind the bar.

Some old gal smoking Pall Malls.

Just like every night before.

 
Chicks dancing on the tables.

Willie Nelson on the box.

Cowboys singing sad old songs.

Sipping whiskey on the rocks.

 
So welcome to the honky tonk.

I knew you’d be back soon.

Welcome to the crazy town.

We’ll go howling at the moon.

If God gave us one thing.

It’s our American Saturday nights.

So welcome to the honky tonk.

A little piece of southern life.

 
Outside the air is balmy.

Inside the smoke is thick.

Let’s take a walk down by the lake.

And go swimming for a bit.

 
Take my hand and listen.

To the buzzing fireflies.

Watch them glowing on the water.

Like the swirling northern lights.

 
So it’s howdy from the honky tonk.

We’ll see you again next week.

This crazy town’ll miss you.

But we’ll sure save you a seat.

If we’ve got one thing to thank God for.

It’s our American Saturday nights.

So good evening from the honky  tonk.

Our little piece of southern life.

 

© 2013 Nick Burgin

Singing Without You (A Poem)

Echoes of the man in black.

Jolene and me and my Cadillac.

Riding through the Oke plains.

To give up now would be a shame.

 

Can’t stop me, thinking a-bout you.

Can’t help me, when I wanna sing the blues.

You know me, and you know the truth.

That I can’t stop singing without you.

 

Brad and Merle and their country songs.

It feels right when I sing along.

Hank and Garth and Billy Ray.

They bail me out, they help me pray.

 

Can’t do this, alone just me and I.

Don’t want to, keep living out this lie.

I need you, because you know the truth.

That I can’t stop singing without you.

 

Think-ing about a different time.

Humming some foggy mountain chimes.

Dreaming of honky-tonks all night.

Your old blues jeans, your bright blue eyes.

 

I found you, lying next to me.

Like wildfire, we’re blowing with the breeze.

I love you, and I hope you know it’s true.

‘Cause now I’m not singing without you.