In memory, Renee · 1967–2021
Here's where
it all started.
In 1990, a young man in Battery Park City recorded a demo about looking for love — and finding it, here on earth and forever.
My songs, written & recorded in 1990 — re-recorded with AI, 2026.
1990.
Written in Manhattan, NY; northern Saskatchewan, Canada; and the San Francisco Bay Area, by Douglas Yates. Recorded at One Way Studios, Concord, CA. A journey of finding true love — here on earth, and eternal: the love of a lifetime, and the love that has been here for over 2,000 years — Jesus, on the cross, the final sacrifice.
How to read this album: the answer first, then a rewind into the wandering, then redemption.
Light from the Cross
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)
Eternal life. All you have to do is step into it — the rest is free.
Tempted
Proverbs 5:1–14
My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. (KJV)
Watch out — sometimes you just have to flee…
Streets of Pain
Proverbs 6:24–35
To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. (KJV)
I was living in Battery Park City, across from the World Trade Center. 1990. It’s 5 a.m., a little drizzle coming down.
Dressed in my business suit, I’m going 65 down West St, heading to the Lincoln Tunnel.
Out of my peripheral I see this figure — for only a split second — a lady of the night, barely dressed, crying her eyes out, mascara streaking down her tears.
No one listening. I’ll never forget.
Love Blues
Ecclesiastes 2:11
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. (KJV)
Sometimes you just have to stop searching — the search gives you a headache.
No Other Girl Like You
Let go, and God gives you a princess.
Marry Me
The start of something special. Thanks to the San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle for documenting our engagement — in a song.
My Princess Bride
Only performed once — live, at . Memorialized here.
I Give My All
From my band, 9 Red Roses. It’s 1985 — after band practice I started playing this little diddy on the piano, the whole band kicked in, and in about fifteen minutes we’d written the whole song. Inspired times. Sung by Justin Dillon.
What grew from this seed
Free for Churches
Every Psalms volume — public domain (CC0). No license, no CCLI, no attribution, no paperwork. Yours to use this Sunday, at zero cost.
Take them free →Streaming
a demonstration (1990) on Spotify & Apple Music — out October 20, my birthday.
Coming Oct 20The Psalms are a free gift to churches. This album is my own story and my own release.
About
Douglas Yates wrote and recorded these songs in 1990 — in Manhattan, in northern Saskatchewan, and in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2026 he re-recorded the demo with AI: the compositions his own, the recordings machine-made. It’s the story of finding true love — here on earth in his Renee, and eternal in the Cross — and where it finally leads.
Honest about the AI
These are my own songs, written and recorded in 1990. In 2026 I re-recorded them with AI. The compositions are mine; the recordings are AI-generated.
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