Track Listing
This has been one of our lockdown projects. Twelve brand new songs, some a little different. We had a lot of time on our hands.
All songs written by David J Wilson except * Kip Winter
Lyrics
1. The Passing of the Storm
I understand you're nervous, well so am I
We've all been living through the strangest of times
Keeping our heads down, too long alone
It's hard to understand what's right and what is wrong
Let's take it easy now, there's no rush
We can't allow our fears to get on top of us
I feel there's something missing; I'll bet you do too
But with goodwill, care and patience
We will find another path to guide us through
Chorus
You might be looking for a sign
Or a light at the end of the tunnel
You might be singing a song, or whispering a prayer
Just keep doing what you do
Keep on doing what you do
Cos we're getting there.....
Some good friends and fine, fine people
Have been lost along the way
We're all looking for a brighter day
Let me be your blanket, let me keep you warm
We can build a harbour
For the passing of, the passing of the storm
Chorus
Now I'm sending wifi hugs to the ones that I love
Emoji kisses, hearts and flowers
I can zoom into your room in the afternoon
There's no limit to my powers
Let me be your blanket, let me keep you warm
We can build a harbour for the passing of the storm
And now that we have learned to look out for each other
Let's make sure we don't forget Cos this isn't over, it isn't over yet.
Chorus
2. Black Crow
Black crow, black crow, out there in the garden
Black crow, black crow, he makes me swear
I turn my head, but I don't see him
I hear his call, I know he's there
Black crow, black crow, I know he's waiting
As patient as the live-long day
He visits me when I least expect him
He never strays too far away
Chorus
If I'd only a golden arrow
If I'd only an archer's
I'd raise my bow and hold my breath
And watch that arrow fly
Black crow, black crow, he's a mind to wander
No thought for where he spreads his wings
Rich man, poor man, thief and beggar
He has no care for loyalty
Chorus
Black crow, black crow, he might drag me down
But he'll not hold me for too long
For the battles we've had they have left me ready
They've built me up they've made me strong
Now I see a golden arrow
It's as sharp as an archer's eye
And I'll raise my bow and hold my breath
And I’ll watch that arrow fly
3. Jennifer's Story
Jennifer laughed when the judge passed sentence
She knew she'd be safe for the next five years
The locking of doors, the chain-link fences
The rattling of keys was music to her ears
“This is my time,” she said in a whisper
Nobody noticed no-one could hear“
Time to get straight and put my life in order
”They led her away - no crying, no tears
Chorus
For most of her life she'd been down in the gutter
Used and abused the list it went on
The wheelers and dealers, the drunks and the nutters.
She thought she was weak but my god she was strong
Now Jen took to talking to those that would listen
Convincing a few they were better than this
An ear for the heartbreak, a shoulder in silence
A sharing of similar experiences
Chorus
She stuck to her task, not that it was easy
Keep your eyes on the prize; don't lose sight of your goal
She's isn't there yet, but you can't fault her effort
Now Jennifer's hopeful, she's out on parole
She still shares her story with those that want to hear“
If I can do this, then so can you
Been there and done that
And you can keep the chuffin’ tee-shirt”
She won't save the world but a couple of souls will do
Chorus
Jennifer laughed when the judge passed sentence
4. Pity Me
My grandfather's way it was different to mine
He'd an eye for the ladies, the whisky, the wine
My grandmother said he were nowt but a swine
And his thug of a son was no better
So I took to the roads at just thirteen years old
There's Romany blood set fast in these bones
'Neath the wide open sky was where I felt at home
How different back in the day
Chorus
Pity me, pity me
For the life of a rover it's not what it seems
Pity me, pity me
How I long for the lanes and the meadows
I was honest, I swear, as the day it is long
I didn't mind grafting to earn a few bob
Fair wage is fair trade for a decent day's toil
All I wanted was food on the table
But there's some that would rob you and they'd do it in style
They'd rifle your pockets with the sweetest of smiles
They brought shame on the traveller
Now we're treated like dirt
Worse than a poor lowly beggar
Chorus
I've been kicked, I've been spat on
And chased through the streets
By folks who believed they were better than me
Why did god give them eyes
When they're too scared to see
The reflection right there in the mirror?
Chorus x 2
5. I'll Wish You Good Morning
I was watching the sunset and you were watching it rise
So many miles between us but we're sharing the same sky
Now isn't that something
Something to do with how you love
Both of us at the same time staring up above
It's only time and distance that's keeping us apart
There'll always be a place for you
There's space within my heart
And it's not going anywhere
This love is locked in tight
You wish me good morning
And I'll be wishing you good night
Once again I find that I am far, far away
And, as so often, it leaves me wishing
There's so much to discover there’s so many sights to see
But still I ponder on the ones that I am missing
Oh I treasure every phone call
Every message that you send
All the updates from the kids
The gossip from my friends
I'm still holding you close, forever in my sight
Keep on wishing me good morning.
And I'll keep wishing you good night.
6. Our Love Has All Been Spent
Cardboard boxes abandoned on the floor
Packed with clothes and jumble, not much more
Sentimental wreckage, worn out valentines
Old keepsakes from another time
A picture hanging on a bedroom wall
A battered old suitcase getting dragged across the floor
It's a cold and loveless room
But it could have been
Yes it should have been so much more
Chorus
Now there's a sign up in the garden
Saying property for rent
We couldn't make the payments
Our love has all been spent
I didn't see the change it's like the dawning of the day
One minute you're in sunshine the next you're on your way
It's that space between a heart beat
Just before you draw a breath
Who knows what happens next?
Now the rooms are full of echoes
And there's shadows on the walls
All we have are ghosts and memories behind locked doors
Drop the keys back through the letterbox
Turn around and walk away
So much we're missing; nothing left to say
Chorus
7. My Dear Alexandra
My dear Alexandra how are you?
We've not shared a word in a while
Your voice it is timid and gentle
Where once it would soar with the lark
The years they have not been a blessing
Time, it must have its way
Where as you, you've not aged a day love
There's a portrait somewhere
That has withered away
Chorus
Isn't it strange now there's so much behind us
Yet still you're so dear to my heart
The world I have wandered
While you have remained
But we've not spent a moment apart
Did you hear of my father's sad passing?
It came as a shock to us all
I still have his guitar, not that I play.
It hangs like a shrine upon my bedroom wall
I've two kids of my own; how does that make you feel?
Did you dream that there'd come such a day?
Every once in a while, in my dear daughter's smile
I see something familiar that leads me astray
Chorus
I suppose that I'd best head off home now
Who knows where the time it has gone?
Although home's just a word
I've never been sure quite where it is I belong.
Chorus
My dear Alexandra how are you?
8. The First to Fall
There were celebrations down our street
And all across the land
Bunting on the garden gate in tribute to the common man
Respect to all the heroes, every Jack and Jill and Joe
Who answered when the nation called
To fight the evil foe
This then set me thinking about the heroes of our time
Once more a deadly enemy came threatening our lives
Step forward doctors, nurses, carers one and all
A different kind of army came in answer to our call
Dr Adil El Taya was the first to lose his life
Working on the front line, he paid too dear a price
Doing what he'd studied hard for and trained for many years
A man who made his family proud
And worthy of a nation's tears
He'd not ask you where you came from
No concern for where you'd been
Whatever flag you might be waving
Made no difference to him
In the service of all others like many more he did his best
In the service of all others he took his final breath
Doctor El Taya was the first to fall
But many more have passed
A melting pot of heroes
Giving more than we've a right to ask
Wherever you may come from,
Whatever colour, race or creed
We thank you for your sacrifice in this, our hour of need.
They'll not ask you where you come from
No concern for you where you've been
Whatever flag you might be waving Makes no difference to them
In the service of all others they came in answer to our call
Respect to each and everyone we thank you one and all
9. The Angry Mother *
Chorus
I'll give it six months,
You've got nothing in common
Or maybe a year, cos you never give in
And when it's all done
And you come running home crying
I'll still be your mother, but I've never liked him
You had a good life, you had all that you wanted
A husband who loved you, so steady and strong
But it wasn't enough, settled down didn't suit you
Seeking adventure, you found it in song.
Chorus
Where did I go wrong? I tried so hard to raise you
To teach you my ways, how to be a good wife
But you never would listen, you always knew better
Now I'll just have to watch as you ruin your life
Chorus
If your father was here he'd be blowing a gasket
And when he was mad who know what he could do
He was wild he was foreign and god knows I loved him
I can still see his smile when I'm looking at you
Chorus
Fast forward in time, nearly thirty years later
I wonder what Mary would make of the scene
For we're still here together, and many years married
Still laughing, still singing, still living the dream
But she gave us six months,
We had nothing in common
Or maybe a year, cos I never give in
And I went home often,
Both laughing and crying
And just as a footnote she really loved him
10. All for the Coin
Oh my back it was aching, my hands were red raw
It was dreams we were building
Whose dreams I'm not sure
All of my aspirations they were nailed to the floor
It was all, it was all for the coin, for the coin
It was all, it was all for the coin
We bulldozed we blasted we tunnelled and we dug
We tore away hillsides and crawled in the mud
We broke our own bodies in pursuit of that drug
It was all, it was all for the coin, for the coin
It was all, it was all for the coin
A loaf on the table, a roof o'er my head
A rare sip of whisky, for the bairns a warm bed
It's not much that I'm asking but it'll soon see me dead
It was all for the sake of the coin, for the coin
It was all, it was all for the coin
Now there's some making millions
While they're lying asleep
Yet they don't pay the taxes they demand off of me
They'll tell me I'm lucky, oh how sweet to be free
Whilst keeping me chained to the coin
Yes I'm tethered and bound to the coin
A loaf on the table a roof o'er my head
A rare sip of whisky for the bairns a warm bed
It's not much that I'm asking it'll soon see me dead
It was all for the sake of the coin, for the coin
Yeah all for the sake of the coin
Oh all for the sake of the coin, for the coin
Yeah where tethered and bound to the coin
11. What Would Johnny Cash Do Now
I didn't want to write a sad song, but that's how it goes
They say you should write about the things that you know
I've been listening to some tunes from the man in black
I'm sure he must have known me, from way, way back
He'd got my number, he had me nailed
While I was watching TV, he was blazing a trail
Didn't have no cool of my own, so I borrowed someone else's
I stole some charisma, yes I am that selfish
It worked for a while. I had a boy on each arm
It didn't take them long to see through my transparent charm
I'd like to go out drinking, but I don't have the money
Feel like crying in the rain, but it's too damn sunny
If I were a boxer, they'd throw in the towel
Tell me this, what Johnny Cash do now?
A friend once told me I was trying too hard
He said “Just be yourself; don't be playing charades”
But when I looked in the mirror I just couldn't see
Who the hell was I supposed to be
Well my passport says Scotland
My heart's in Tennessee
I'm in need of the big man and his mighty hands
It's a tortured path to the promised land
I need his guidance to show me how
Tell me this, what would Johnny Cash do now?
You have to walk a lot of miles to learn these lessons
From the gospel according to country and western
It's a well worn path, hillbillies drugs and booze
I'll give it five more years
Then I'll be singing the blues
I'd like to go drinking, but I don't have the money
Feel like crying in the rain, but it's too damn sunny
If I were a boxer, I'd throw in the towel
Tell me this, what would Johnny Cash do now?
Oh tell me this, what would Johnny Cash do now?
12. Once More for the Old Times
Lately I've been singing some old country songs
Where they've come from, oh I don't know
Might be that they slipped down here from some dusty shelf
Or was it someone else, singing sweet and low
But I sing them and I smile
And I swear that there's a foot somewhere
That's tapping out of time
If you're lonely, come and sit a while
And let's share a rhyme
Once more for the old times
I remember laughter that shook the room
A sonic boom, that blew our cares away
Howling like madmen on the harbour wall
Before the darkness called, brighter days
Yes I get angry and I get sad
But more than that I'm grateful for every hour we had
And if you're lonely come and sit a while
And let's share a rhyme
Once more for the old times
All that faith and belief, somehow it let you down
Oh I have heard the sound of a breaking heart
But if I'm wrong and there is someone above
Then surely all that trust, it must've made its mark
It's thanks to you I walk with open arms
It's so much easier to smile than it is to wear a frown
When l get lonely I sit a while And share a rhyme
Once more for the old times