Album

Listen to the Cold

This is the official music video for the Rock (Jam Band) song, Listen to the Cold by the Southern California band the Ram taken from the EP/album, I Am Nowhere I Am Everywhere (release date is April 18, 2025). The single is out now on all streaming platforms.

ABOUT THE SONG:
There are wounds in life which are never meant to heal, eventually they evolve into the same scars we wear with pride and dignity. Watching our parents’ generation disappear back into the dust creates such wounds. The houses I was raised in hold the warmth of ancestry, the family farm in Downingtown, PA, my godfather’s house in Shushan, NY, there are countless dreams and memories. There’s a room in the old farmhouse with red velvet loveseats, where I write music. The same place where the Christmas tree stood, where we listened to music. I’ve looked out that window millions of times. I’ve listened to the floorboards and the ceiling creak in the middle of the night when my father was getting up for work, or his mother was getting up to start the day.

I wish more than anything, that my kids got to know their grandfather. It’s been close to 20 years that he’s been gone, but it still feels like yesterday that he was by my side. Whenever I swim through the waves to get out to the surf, whenever I walk the mountains to gather my thoughts, he surrounds me. His voice, loud and clear in guidance, his hand, steadfast to pick me back up whenI fall. If this song is anything, it’s a prayer to him and a reminder to myself that I have huge shoes to fill.

LYRICS:
Baby Listen to the cold as it blows
Blowing through these window panes
Hand blown glass warp my vision
Looking though the wooden frame
Hear the floorboards speak in the morning
Footsteps ‘fore the break of day
Always caught him in those in between hours
Always coming home after working late

Beneath wooden beams my childhood dreams
All the good times coming back to me
Nothing like the sound of that Farmall C
When you’re sitting on top of that tractor seat
You can hear in the fields such a beautiful sound
Music to the hand that holds the plow
Dinner bell rings call me back to the house
Harvest evening when the sun go down

I used to look out in the evenings
Dream of rambling
Moving lights on the old highway
Thinking of the places that they were off to
On the wide open interstate
When I told him I was set on leaving
He said I know, I love you
God’s speed on your way
Now that he’s gone I come back home
to the memories of this old place

Beneath wooden beams my childhood dreams
All the good times coming back to me
Nothing like the sound of that Farmall C
When you’re sitting on top of that tractor seat
You can hear in the fields such a beautiful sound
Music to the hand that holds the plow
Dinner bell rings call me back to the house
Harvest evening when the sun go down

METADATA:
Listen to the Cold
The Ram
UPC: 199080246245
ISRC: QZHN52570339
Release date: April 18, 2025
ASCAP Work ID: T3242510818
ASCAP Singer Songwriter IPI Number: 375350750
ASCAP Publisher IPI Number: 375351159

ABOUT THE VIDEO:
Years ago, my wife fell in love with Mammoth Lakes, California. Getting to know the Eastern Sierras opened a new chapter in my life. Up until then everything was coastal and revolved around the ocean, the mountains were somewhat of a stranger to me. On a drive from Lake Tahoe to San Diego, we spend the night in Mammoth. It was love at first site. Around that same time, I traveled so much for work, I began to loose myself. The mountains reminded me where my roots are and always have been. Once I’m submersed in those mountains, the floodgates open and the memories of youth are brought back to life. The stars, inter-connected constellations of my own ancestry and mythology. The night sky in the Sierra Nevadas is a true mirror to the soul. The footage was taken after I returned to California from a surf trip to Indonesia. In the mountains and the open ocean, my heart returns to my loved ones who are no longer with us.

Check out all the other videos from the new album, “I Am Nowhere, I Am Everywhere” by the Ram out April 18, 2025.

© 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – THE RAM / OD SOUL, INC. Registered with ASCAP.
Always be ORIGINAL.

Unbound

Lyrics
You ain’t ever baby gonna find me
You ain’t never gonna track me down
Heard it said you want a piece of the action- gimme action
Heard it said you trying to take me down- don’t bring me down

I am nowhere I am everywhere
I am free I’m unbound
I’m emotion I am instinct
I am music I am sound

No one ever said it was gonna be easy
You ain’t prepared to bleed? Just wasting time
We pay our dues and maybe baby then some
When the Hurricane comes, look ‘em right in the eyes

I am nowhere I am everywhere
I am free I’m unbound
I’m emotion I am instinct
I am music I am sound

Ain’t no need to go and get religion
Don’t waste time with people that’ll put you down
You’re cash money babe, you just can’t see it
Take my word ‘cause I’ve been around

I am nowhere I am everywhere
I am free I’m unbound
I’m emotion I am instinct
I am music I am sound

Never, never, ever settle for a substitution
My fire burns bright, & lasts twice as long
Nows your chance to get a taste of the real thing
Step right up in here where you belong

I am nowhere I am everywhere
I am free I’m unbound
I’m emotion I am instinct
I am music I am sound

 

About the Song
The lyrics and message flowed through me like getting struck by lightning. It was like swimming in the ocean of the collective human soul. Nothing that I can say about this song makes a difference, for it stands on its own two feet and speaks for itself. “Unbound” is the voice of all things uncontrollable, the timber of nature personified. The forces locked up inside the human spirit, embattled in a continuous effort to free themselves.

I am nowhere, I am everywhere
I am free, I’m unbound
I am emotion, I am instinct
I am music, I am sound

Writing this song started during the pandemic. On happenstance, I came accross the video recording of me just ad-libbing with a guitar in hand. The lenses on my iPhone camera were cracked, as was the world around me. When I rewatched the recording, I had no doubt the song was complete, the rest of the lyrics were written as fast as I could write. Sometimes that’s how it works.

 

About the Video:
Originally I was supposed to head home to make a ZZ Top type music video with my brother, and My Uncle Tommy’s Black 57 Chevy. The summer went way too fast, and it looks like Im going to have to have it done this spring and that video is going to have to be set to a different song. That’s the last song of the set. What a great show, and what a great weekend. I hope you all had a great 2024 Thanksgiving weekend. This concert was released in support of the new single “Perpetual Change” (released on November 8, 2024). We started video taping and recording our live shows consistently in 2023, when I took over the live sound. Prior to that the recording sound quality was a bit spotty.

 

Related stories tied to the December 6, “Unbound” release:
Unbound: Official Music Video
Unbound: Studio Notes
Live Performance of Unbound, First Time We Played It at the Camp Store

 

About the Ram
Mark “The Ram” O’Donnell is an independent American composer and visual artist based out of Carlsbad, California. He performs original, surf-inspired, West Coast rock-and-roll.

For more information about the Ram and his music, go to www.TheRamMusic.com

Song Metadata

Unbound
The Ram
UPC: 198886813057
IRSC: QZWFG2478193
Release date: December 6, 2024
ASCAP Work ID: 914765056
ASCAP Singer Songwriter IPI Number: 375350750
ASCAP Publisher IPI Number: 375351159

SESSIONS
Unbound
The Ram
UPC: 196512176866
IRSC: QZNWZ2192499
Release date: December 31, 2021
ASCAP Work ID: 914765056
ASCAP Singer Songwriter IPI Number: 375350750
ASCAP Publisher IPI Number: 375351159

More Information
I currently use DistroKid to get everything out to the streaming platforms, Disco for all sync requests, Bands In Town to list live shows, and Substack for just about everything else.

Perpetual Change

Lyrics:

I can hear it in the distance, coming down the line
Such an overwhelming feeling, hard to deny
People come, drift away
The love they bring is everything
Everything, everything

Don’t you know, don’t you know, don’t you know
There lives a fire in the sky
Fire lives, fire breathes
Resides in these green eyes

Don’t hold back, ride your wave
‘Cause the only thing guaranteed
Is perpetual change, perpetual change

I’ve taken my share of beatings, plenty of times
They only guarantee, I’ll Never stop trying
Guide my steps through mystery
Painful though the changes be
Changes be, changes be

Don’t you know, don’t you know, don’t you know
There lives a fire in the sky
Fire lives, fire breathes
Resides in these green eyes

Don’t hold back, ride your wave
‘Cause the only thing guaranteed
Is perpetual change, perpetual change

Each day we rise is a gift of, unspeakable cost
The only thing guaranteed, is that all’s not lost
People come, drift away
The love they bring is everything
Everything, everything

Don’t you know, don’t you know, don’t you know
There lives a fire in the sky
Fire lives, fire breathes
Resides in these green eyes

Don’t hold back, ride your wave
‘Cause the only thing guaranteed
Is perpetual change, perpetual change

Perpetual change, beautiful strange
Ain’t no denying, feel it inside

From Cadillac Maine, cross windswept pains
Blue Western skies, ver Rocky Mountain high

You are the answer to the question, deep in my mind
The only thing guaranteed, is change has arrived
Music comes, drifts away
The love we bring is everything
Everything, everything

 

About the Recording Process:
The music from “Perpetual Change” feels like it was written lifetimes ago, that’s because it was. It came from a bunch of instrumental songs I wrote for two projects I called “Spirit Animal Tattoo“ and “Roots Back East”. I arranged them into tow separate albums because of feel and instrumentation. In hindsight, I was just procrastinating writing lyrics. I used to be the worst lyric procrastinator of all time, probably still am depending on who you ask. That’s how I write, music first. Lyrics are the fun part I get to do when the hard part has been completed.

I was a completely different person back then, which is all right. Nothing is static, and this song is called “Perpetual Change”. We evolve regularly, if we don’t continue to grow, it can be a bad thing. Eventually I put a collection of instrumental recordings together and called the project “Black Sheep“, at least then I spent a half year right before the pandemic recording bass. Marco Savoia, a local standout and good friend was good enough to lend me a hand as a hired studio gunslinger. Him and Dave Ondrick (Saxophonists featured on my first album) taught me the joys of recording amazing session musicians.

It really is one of the funnest things to do in the world as a songwriter. I just sit back in my engineering chair and try to control myself (and make sure I don’t scream with joy) because Im such a fanboy. With Marco, I remember just doing a few takes one where he was conservative setting up an in the pocket groove, the other was full on Jaco. What a treat to watch. During the process, I learned how to mic an upright double bass. I’d put my Townsend Sphere on the neck and blend it with the signal from the DI bridge pickup he had on his bass.

Marco is featured on bass on this song, Mike Pritchard is on a Nord Stage 4 set to the “Tiny Transistor“ electric keyboard. I play the guitar parts and the Mellotron.

 

 

About the Song:

The premise of “Perpetual Change“ is simple: life is short, don’t waste it. There is so much that is out of our control, we need to focus only on the things that we have tactile control over. This means having absolute and utter faith in ourselves and our actions. Our loved ones in time will pass on, so love them with all you have while there still here on earth. If they’ve already passed, never stop thinking about them. Never stop telling their stories and appreciating what they sacrificed so that you’d live.

Ancestry is powerful, genetics tie us to the natural world. Our ancestors taught us consciously and gave us instinctual gifts in our DNA, those are the tools we need to be successful in life. The world is ever changing and evolving, you can put money on it. Never rest on your laurels, always seek to continuously improve yourself until you die. That all that matters.

It’s fitting that I put footage from dropping off my son at school in the music video for the song. My own life is changing faster than I care it to, my hair is white, my face at 55 far older looking than I feel inside. I’m glad to be at this point in life. writing and performing music with friends and family. My biggest drive, is to record the brilliant musicians I play with regularly while I still can.

Each day we rise is a gift of, unspeakable cost
The only thing guaranteed, is that all’s not lost
People come, drift away
The love they bring is everything
Everything, everything

 

About the Video:
2024 has been a good year for family and I. The winter months were spent snowboarding in the mountains, writing music, and traveling to Big Sky, MT. As the weather warmed up, we started playing at our favorite local music venues regularly up until mid June, then we hit the road and didn’t stop till the end of August. Most of the footage of the video speak to the travels. We start on the Aegean Sea on the last day of my cruise, heading back to Athens, Greece after a long day of ocean kayaking with the family.

The music video starts and ends with this footage, as I had an experience with God during that sunset, on the deck of that sailboat. What happened is between the creator and I. There’s a bit of an easter egg at the end where I superimposed footage of massive thunderstorms, I videotaped while in the airplane traveling to Key West, FL. While in Montana, I was fortunate enough to have a spectacular view of Lone Peak (11.16K) right out the room window, so I took a time-lapse every time I went back to the room with my iPad. The palm trees and pelicans are native to my hometown, Carlsbad, CA. There’s a transition that goes from B&W footage in Arizona to a sunset in Humboldt, CA which means a lot to me. It was the last dinner I had with my son Ronan before we dropped him off at Cal Poly Humboldt. God I miss that guy.

I had no idea what it would be like dropping my first child (more like a 6’8” ft man) off at college. We’ve done our best to make him independent, that’s all he needs in life, he’s got a good heart, just like my dad and my brother Tommy.

About the Ram
Mark “The Ram” O’Donnell is an independent American composer, producer, filmmaker, multi-instrumental performer, designer, and visual artist based out of Carlsbad, California. He performs original, surf-inspired rock-and-roll music on the West Coast.

For more information about the Ram and his music, go to www.TheRamMusic.com

Song Metadata
Perpetual Change
The Ram
UPC: 198888527709
IRSC: QZTBF2469259
Release date: November 8, 2024
ASCAP Work ID: 926718445
ASCAP Singer Songwriter IPI Number: 375350750
ASCAP Publisher IPI Number:  375351159

 

 

More Information
I currently use DistroKid to get everything out to the streaming platforms, Disco for all sync requests, Bands In Town to list live shows, and Substack for just about everything else.

Space Cowboy

Lyrics:

Moon so bright, my eyes are weeping
Electrified tide of brilliant light
I’m venturing out, through the pounding ocean
Psilocybin speak to my deepest mind
Aw Yeah
To my deepest mind, yeah
To my deepest mind, yeah

The waves call my name
Ride on Space Cowboy
Smoking that kine, high stepping through the night
And the stars all align to the home of my heroes
And the Milky Way, she’s is a friend of mine
Just a friend of mine, yeah, yeah
Just a friend of mine, friend of mine
Just a friend of mine, yeah, yeah
She’s a friend of mine, friend of mine

Quiet my soul to laser focus
Tame the wild seas for your son tonight
Amphitheater formed by clouds above me
Laugh as I drop into my perfect ride
Aw Yeah
To a perfect ride, yeah
To my perfect ride, perfect ride
Perfect ride
To a perfect ride, yeah
To my perfect ride
Perfect ride
To a perfect ride

The waves call my name
Ride on Space Cowboy
Smoking that kine, high stepping through the night
And the stars all align to the home of my heroes
And the Milky Way, she’s is a friend of mine
Aw Yeah Just a friend of mine, yeah
Just a friend of mine, friend of mine, friend of mine, friend of mine
Just a friend of mine

Waves so high, my body’s peaking
Psilocybin ride through electric nights
Man I’ve made my peace
With the pounding ocean
And the milky way, she says she’s a friend of mine
Aw Yeah
She’s a friend of mine
She’s a friend of mine, friend of mine

The waves call my name
Ride on Space Cowboy
Smoking that kine, high stepping through the night
And the stars all align to the home of my heroes
And the Milky Way, she’s is a friend of mine
Just he’s a friend of mine

Yes I stand with my old guitar
To you I’ll be faithful
Just give me little action every now and then
And when I pluck upon these steel strings
It all comes to a stand still
My love song’s sung to the southern wind
To the southern wind
To the southern wind, southern wind, southern wind, southern wind

 

 

About the Ram:
Mark “The Ram” O’Donnell is an independent American composer, producer, filmmaker, multi-instrumental performer, designer, and visual artist based out of Carlsbad, California. He performs original, surf-inspired rock-and-roll music on the West Coast.

For more information about the Ram and his music, go to www.TheRamMusic.comTo view the latest release on all streaming platforms:

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/theram2/space-cowboy

Song Metadata
Space Cowboy
The Ram
UPC: 198890939767
IRSC: QZTBB2417267
Release date: September 27, 2024
ASCAP Work ID: 926718443
ASCAP Singer Songwriter IPI Number: 375350750
ASCAP Publisher IPI Number:  375351159

Warmth of the Fire Single

Lyrics:

Bring the horses to water
The last light of the sun
Wear that dirt and sweat with pride
Today’s works all done
Today’s works all done
Today’s works all done
Today’s works all done
Today’s works all done

It’s a simple life, but we know what’s right
Part of his plan, God provided this land
Can I hear an Amen my friend
Can I hear an Amen my friend

It’s a simple truth, from the seed to the root
The fruit of our toil, springs forth from the soil
Sustenance again
Sustenance again

Clean your hands and wash your face
Leave those dirty boots by the door
Stow away the tools of the trade
There’s no need to work anymore
There’s no need to work anymore
There’s no need to work anymore
There’s no need to work anymore
There’s no need

It’s a simple life, but we know what’s right
Part of his plan, God provide the land
Can I hear an Amen my friend

It’s a simple truth, from the seed to the root
The pride of our toil, springs forth from the soil
Sustenance again
Sustenance again

It’s a simple life, but we know what’s right
Part of his plan, God provide the land
Can I hear an Amen my friend

It’s a simple truth, from the seed to the root
The pride of our toil, springs forth from the soil
Sustenance again
Sustenance again

When the veil of the evening falls
Stars hail in the night
Gather round with the loved ones
Feel the warmth of the fire
Feel the warmth of the fire
Feel the warmth of the fire
Feel the warmth of the fire
Feel the warmth of the fire

It’s a simple life, but we know what’s right
Part of his plan, God provided the land
Can I hear an Amen my friend

It’s a simple truth, from the seed to the root
The fruit of our toil, springs forth from the soil
Sustenance again
Sustenance again

About the Song:

A deep cut from the Ram’s upcoming album, “Warmth of the Fire” is a prayer to rural America.  A subdued reflection on being raised on a small farm in Southeastern Pennsylvania;  five children, two widowed grandmothers, and legendary parents.

We were raised to help others.  Neighboring farmers worked together, and supported one another.  With the family’s blessing, our neighbors kept their livestock free roaming by the farmhouse.  In the evenings, they’d come over and bring the horses to water.  My father’s bond with the land was his gift to each of his children, his spirit looks over those farmlands.

“With love comes sustenance.”

About the Ram:

Mark “The Ram” O’Donnell is an independent American composer and visual artist based out of Carlsbad, CA. He can be seen performing Southern California rock under the stage name, the Ram with a cast of local musicians.

For more information about the Ram and his music, go to www.TheRamMusic.comTo view the latest release on all streaming platforms:

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/theram2/warmth-of-the-fire

Song Metadata
Warmth of the Fire
The Ram
UPC: 198673403010
ISRC: QZNWX2411741
Release date: August 2, 2024
ASCAP Work ID: 924101760
ASCAP Singer Songwriter IPI Number: 375350750
ASCAP Publisher IPI Number:  375351159