A modest crowd this week to delve into songs about scorned men. Joining me tonight were Frank, Betty, Bill, Ken, Jen, Ken’s brother Bill, PJ, Dan, Larry, Eric, Jack, Wendy Sue and Dawn.

I learned something today. I have been using Jim’s Ukulele Songbook (aka ozbcoz) for some time but I hate having chords in-line with the lyrics. Today, Ken explained that the layout can be changed to show the chords above the words and you can even transpose. There are other handy options as well. Check it out.

First up was REO Speedwagon’s 1981 TAKE IT ON THE RUN from Ken. Nice effort and Dan said it was surprisingly good. I agree.

Next from PJ, HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART by the BeeGees. Aside from Ken imitating Barry Gibb’s vibrato but sounding more like a bleating lamb, this was a very nice piece and should make our ‘list.’

PJ also gave us Kenny Rogers’ LUCILLE. His first hit after he left the country rock group, The First Edition. A nice number for which we were much stronger on the chorus.

Larry had 3 titles: AIN’T THAT A SHAME by Fats Domino. Dan set the rhythm for us and we were on our way. Fairly simple. Then on to Roy Orbison’s CRYING for which we did a decent job. And finally, Larry’s best for the night was Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys) HELP ME RHONDA. Between the happy beat and harmony and bass tones provided by some of the gentlemen this was very nice and fun to play. We should add to the list as well.

IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE written by Paul Anka for Buddy Holly was submitted by Ken. Very nice.

The next 5 were mine. I’M GONNA SIT RIGHT DOWN AND WRITE MYSELF A LETTER. Bill said it was a good one. Yes, it was! I have since located a more friendly chord sheet.

Hank Williams wrote YOUR CHEATIN' HEART about his first wife. Written and released in 1952, it quickly became a huge hit. He died the eve of 1953 at age 29 from alcohol induced heart failure. I guess it was a hit for us since we played it twice. Complete with Ken’s dramatic intonations.

I WONDER WHO’S KISSING HER NOW released in 1947 Is a pretty song that needs a dramatic pause in the last line. Plus it’s your typical Dr. Uke sheet with a few off putting chords that can easily be ignored. I don’t think it was as well received as I expected.

WHEN WILL I BE LOVED is a simple 3 chord song by Phil Everly. Good job.

And finally END OF THE WORLD by Skeeter Davis. The theme authorities have informed me that Skeeter was a woman. I did not know. Furthermore the song came up on my Google search for scorned men songs. I plead for mercy. We did well.

Dan brought in a paper sheet for Neil Sedaka’s 1960 RUN SAMSON RUN. Dan comes up with such great stuff. I made a chord sheet for it. I loved this and proclaim it my favorite for the night.

Dan also suggested The Beatles’ I’M A LOSER. He played and sang it well but most of us were not familiar enough with the nuances of the song to do it justice.

Back to Ken for Harry Nilsson’s WITHOUT YOU. Ken just loves getting dramatic near the end. Always fun to do.

Dan gave us HATS OFF TO LARRY. Fun. My favorite part was ‘cry, cry, cry.’

Bill created a very nice chord sheet for CRYING TIME by Buck Owens. We sounded great.

One last from me: SUNDOWN by Gordon Lightfoot. From Song Facts:

“The inspiration for this song came from Lightfoot worrying about his girlfriend, who was out at bars all day while he was at home writing songs. He recalled during a Reddit AMA: "I had this girlfriend one time, and I was at home working, at my desk, working at my songwriting which I had been doing all week since I was on a roll, and my girlfriend was somewhere drinking, drinking somewhere. So I was hoping that no one else would get their hands on her, because she was pretty good lookin'!"

"As a matter of fact, it was written just around Sundown," he added, "just as the sun was setting, behind the farm I had rented to use as a place to write the album."

* Lightfoot most likely wrote this about the stormy relationship with his one time girlfriend Cathy Smith, who was later sentenced for delivering a lethal dose of heroin to John Belushi.

Jack gave us several. HEARTBREAK HOTEL. I think only Jack knew this one. I wrote “meh” in my notes. Sorry Jack.

He also gave us MARIE’S THE NAME OF HIS LATEST FLAME and IN THE EARLY MORNING RAIN. Again they suffered from lack of familiarity.

The final song of the night, BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO by Neil Sedaka. I think a few of us stumbled over some of the chords so I’d like to have us try it again with this chord sheet.

The end of the session arrived with many songs left over and many more to choose from so we will have Scorned Men, Part Two for our next jam. Other ideas for future consideration include:

1. Numbers

2. Places

3. Something Old, New, Borrowed or Blue

Until then you keep strumming,

-- Arlene.