Original Songs by Kenn Amdahl

Kenn Amdahl has written over 200 songs during the last sixty years or so, and he continues that bad habit. During the pandemic of 2020 he took on the project of digitizing some very old reel to reel and cassette tapes. He uploaded over 300 originals and covers to his site “kennamdahl.com” but vandals broke into the site and destroyed it. This site is more modest, but hopefully also more secure.

The following basket of miscellaneous originals is mostly for his family and close friends. He has finally abandoned his dream of becoming Taylor Swift, but his grown sons might like to recall the songs they tried to sleep through as toddlers. Of course, Taylor, if you’re listening, he’d be delighted if you’d like to record one. BMI knows where to find him.

These are from several different decades, with no regard for chronology or quality. A few are Kenn’s adaptations and arrangements of songs that were popular in Dublin in 1808. A dozen of those old songs are on the page “Old Irish Songs” along with chords, lyrics, and background info.

Here is a video of Kenn performing his song The Way You Let the Wind live in Eugene Oregon in 2018. He introduces it with a brief discussion of his “creative process” when writing a song.

Kenn Amdahl in 2021 doing his song The Ghost of Pleasant Ned. Kenn spent so much time rehabbing Irish songs from 1808 he flet a kinship with those old songwriters, including Pleasant Ned Lysaght” and John Philpot (“Stutterin’ Jack”) Curran. So he wrote his own old Irish song.

Sparkling Water Audio only, Kenn wrote this in 2023, included here because it’s recent. Like so many of his other recordings, this was a bit of an experiment. He bought a computer program that could tune the pitch of a singer and also create harmonies. He used this song to try to learn the program. Sort of a weird effect on this recording. He expects to re-record some of his uneven recordings soon.

MORE VIDEOS

SONGS WRITTEN BY OTHER PEOPLE

Kenn Amdahl’s Top 100 Original Songs

IN NEARLY ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Ain’t Licked Yet (original instrumental)

A Please Come Back Look

All the Pale Women

Born on the Ocean

Back in the Poorhouse

Big Red Barns Written in Kansas. The first verse and chorus written acapella while driving from Denver to Winfield, Kansas, the second verse written while sitting on a hill at the edge of the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival, watching campers on one side and cars on the highway on the other side.

Broken Wine Bottle

Bumper Squire Jones An Irish song from around 1800, rescued, rehabilitated, arranged, and performed by Kenn Amdahl. It has survived only as an instrumental, probably because the original sheet music didn’t include any rests. There wasn’t any place to breathe. Kenn adjusted that old sheet music to make it singable as it was originally.

Burgundy Love

Can’t Go Skanooky written and performed by Kenn Amdahl and Stan Swanson while in high school

Caterpillar Busy written by Kenn and Cheryl Amdahl. Performed by Kenn and his very young son Scott

Cinnamon Tea

Crazy Lover

Cushlamachree An Irish song from around 1800, rescued, rehabilitated, arranged, and performed by Kenn Amdahl. The tune was ancient even then, these lyrics were probably written by John Philpot Curran, aka “Stutterin’ Jack.”

The Doorway

Down in the Woodlands

Drunk for Free

Down, Down, Down (Kenn wrote and recorded this in about 8th grade)

Down to the Market on Christmas Day

Feel That Way

Fire and Smoke

Folk Rap (We think the Limelighters actually did this first, but Kenn and his group Cottonwood adjusted it and added verses.) This is Cottonwood’s version live at Swallow Hill in Denver.

Folk Mass Written and performed by Kenn Amdahl, Stan Swanson and Dean Reiter. All were in high school at the time.

Floating Kenn solo version

Floating This version performed by Cottonwood on their “Floating” CD. Kenn sings lead.