Tom's story: 2019
13 pieces on this page. Click a picture or "See the whole card" to open the card.
2019 — Tom was 40 and 41
13 pieces on this year: 4 from a range of years, shown here in the middle · 9 written by this year at the latest.
ABOUT 2019: FROM A RANGE OF YEARS, SHOWN HERE IN THE MIDDLE
1561A Lifetime of Rhyme
about 2019-2020 (age 41) BEST GUESS
PRINTED BOOKS, BINDERS AND NOTEBOOKS
Tom's binder manuscript A LIFETIME OF RHYME - a different poem or song for every day of the year, with printed index pages and handwritten section tabs such as State of the World, Heartbreak and Relationships.
the card says: about age 41 (the collection's intro page reads published 2/5/2020)
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A WIDE GUESS: MORE THAN 10 YEARS, SHOWN HERE IN THE MIDDLE
1744COLLAB TO DO LIST
about 2012-2026 (age 34 to 47) - an estimate - a wide guess NOT PROVED
SET LISTS, SONG LISTS, TITLE LISTS AND INDEXES
Tom's handwritten COLLAB TO DO LIST on lined paper with check boxes - update the website, write the business plan, make business cards - kept with printed lists of live music venues near Salem, Massachusetts.
the card says: written at about age 34 to 47 - an estimate
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1750POEMS WITH NO HOME
about 2012-2026 (age 34 to 47) - an estimate - a wide guess NOT PROVED
SET LISTS, SONG LISTS, TITLE LISTS AND INDEXES
Tom's handwritten POEMS WITH NO HOME sheets sorting his poems that had no album yet under subject headings such as Violence, Death, God, Drugs and Love, fanned out on a binder cover.
the card says: written at about age 34 to 47 - an estimate
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1752BOOK THREE INDEX FINAL
about 2012-2026 (age 34 to 47) - an estimate - a wide guess NOT PROVED
SET LISTS, SONG LISTS, TITLE LISTS AND INDEXES
Tom's printed BOOK THREE INDEX FINAL for his lyric books, with a handwritten lined spiral-notebook sheet giving a one-line description of the mood of each set list; tied to 34 Albums, Books 1 and 2 (2026).
the card says: the printed BOOK THREE INDEX: about 2025-2026 (age 46 to 48); the handwritten set-list mood sheet (set lists 1-21 only) is not dated by it
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WRITTEN BY 2019 AT THE LATEST
A book dated 2019 holds these words, so they were written by then. They may be much older.
256ninety nine percent of my time is spent alone
written by April 2019 at the latest (age 40) - it may be older
POEMS IN THE 34 ALBUMS
Tom's handwritten lyric 'ninety nine percent of my time is spent alone', a raw confessional piece in black ink laid out in two columns with heavy crossouts, on a torn spiral notebook sheet.
the card says: written by age 40 at the latest
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257I love you to learn you
written by age 40 at the latest PROVED
POEMS IN THE 34 ALBUMS
Tom's handwritten short lyric 'I love you to learn you', which became the song REST IN POWER (set list 2, track 1 of the 34 albums), about sixteen lines in ink with crossed-out words on a ragged-top lined sheet.
the card says: written by age 40 at the latest
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259My fear is my friend
written by April 2019 at the latest (age 40) - it may be older
POEMS IN THE 34 ALBUMS
Tom's handwritten lyric 'My fear is my friend', a full lined sheet in pen with many lines and crossings-out, torn from a pad along the top edge, including the line 'It takes dialogue not debate'.
the card says: written by age 40 at the latest
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261Weaponized envy surrounds me
written by April 2019 at the latest (age 40) - it may be older
POEMS IN THE 34 ALBUMS
Tom's handwritten half lyric 'Weaponized envy surrounds me', which became the song HIVE MIND (set list 2, track 3 of the 34 albums), eight lines with crossouts on a torn-top legal pad sheet with a red margin.
the card says: written by age 40 at the latest
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617The Question - Amongst Men
written by April 2019 at the latest (age 40) - it may be older
POEMS IN THE 34 ALBUMS
Tom's handwritten lyric THE QUESTION, also titled AMONGST MEN by Tom Jensen, on a sheet of lined loose-leaf, opening 'You fell in love / But she wasn't a ten', from his 34 albums and published in The November 2024 Collection (2024).
the card says: written by age 40 at the latest
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620When tragedy struck my family
written by April 2019 at the latest (age 40) - it may be older
POEMS IN THE 34 ALBUMS
Tom's handwritten lyric WHEN TRAGEDY STRUCK MY FAMILY, on a sheet of lined spiral-notebook loose-leaf, about a slow descent into insanity after a family tragedy, which became the song REHAB (set list 4, track 6) in his 34 albums.
the card says: written by age 40 at the latest
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640Close your eyes
written by April 2019 at the latest (age 40) - it may be older
POEMS IN THE 34 ALBUMS
Tom's handwritten short lyric CLOSE YOUR EYES, in ink on a single sheet of lined notebook paper with the last two lines crossed out, about quieting the mind and not naming what you hope to find, which became the song APPLIED FAITH (set list 9, track 4) in his 34 albums.
the card says: written by age 40 at the latest
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642In I walk
written by April 2019 at the latest (age 40) - it may be older
POEMS IN THE 34 ALBUMS
Tom's handwritten rap lyric IN I WALK, in ink on a torn piece of lined notebook paper, a boast about the mic drop that stops the hands of the clock, from his 34 albums and published in The November 2024 Collection (2024).
the card says: written by age 40 at the latest
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647I've got no tears left to cry
written by April 2019 at the latest (age 40) - it may be older
POEMS IN THE 34 ALBUMS
Tom's handwritten short lyric I'VE GOT NO TEARS LEFT TO CRY, in ink on lined loose-leaf, about loving to hate someone more than he ever loved to love them, which became the song SMITTY'S ANTHEM (NO TEARS) (set list 12, track 4) in his 34 albums.
the card says: written by age 40 at the latest
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MEMORABILIA FROM THIS STORY
Every card on this page is a real piece — 13 pieces.
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What the words mean: PROVED a date or a dated book proves it. BEST GUESS our best reading, not yet proved. TOM SAID Tom's own word. LIKELY strong clues, not yet proved. NOT PROVED an estimate from the pieces around it. NOT SURE the sources disagree. No word: the card gives none yet. "About 1996-2002" means somewhere in those years; the piece is shown once, in the middle year.