Anti-War Songs

Misty  (song of Errol Garner)

Vocal by Leilani : https://soundcloud.com/leilani-roosman
Music played by Pierrou

Misty (Cover by Leilani & Pierrou)

A cover of the IMMENSE song by Phil Coulter.
James Higgins: vocals
Alfredo De Pietra: guitars
Backing Tracks: Band-in-a-Box

The Town I Loved So Well (Phil Coulter cover)

Charlie Gormley: vocals

The Island (Paul Brady)

They say the skies of Lebanon are burning.
Those mighty cedars bleeding in the heat.
They're showing pictures on the television.
Women and children dying in the street
And we're still at it in our own place.
Still trying to reach the future through the past.
Still trying to carve tomorrow from a tombstone...

Chorus

But Hey! Don't listen to me!.
This wasn't meant to be no sad song.
We've heard too much of that before.
Right now I only want to be here with you.
Till the morning dew comes falling.
I want to take you to the island.
And trace your footprints in the sand.
And in the evening when the sun goes down
We'll make love to the sound of the ocean

They're raising banners over by the markets
Whitewashing slogans on the shipyard walls
Witchdoctors praying for a mighty showdown
No way our holy flag is gonna fall
Up here we sacrifice our children
To feed the worn-out dreams of yesterday
And teach them dying will lead us into glory...

But Hey! Don't listen to me!.
This wasn't meant to be no sad song.
We've heard too much of that before.
Right now I only want to be here with you.
Till the morning dew comes falling.
I want to take you to the island.
And trace your footprints in the sand.
And in the evening when the sun goes down
We'll make love to the sound of the ocean

Now I know us plain folks don't see all the story.
And I know this peace and love's just copping out.
And I guess these young boys dying in the ditches.
Is just what being free is all about.
And how this twisted wreckage down on main street.
Will bring us all together in the end.
And we'll go marching down the road to freedom....
Freedom

The Island (Paul Brady cover)

vocals: James Higgins

Green Fields Of France (Eric Bogle)

Oh how do you do, young Willy McBride
Do you mind if I sit here down beside your graveside
And rest for a while 'neath the warm summer sun
I've been walking all day, and I'm nearly done
And I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen
When you joined the great fallen in 1916
Well I hope you died quick
And I hope you died clean
Oh Willy McBride, was is it slow and obscene

Did they beat the drums slowly?
Did they play the fife lowly?
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down?
Did the band play the Last Post in chorus?
Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?

And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some loyal heart is your memory enshrined
And though you died back in 1916
To that loyal heart you're forever nineteen
Or are you a stranger without even a name
Forever enshrined behind some old glass pane
In an old photograph torn, tattered, and stained
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame

Did they beat the drums slowly?
Did they play the fife lowly?
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down?
Did the band play the Last Post in chorus?
Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?

The sun shining down on these green fields of France
The warm wind blows gently and the red poppies dance
The trenches have vanished long under the plow
No gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now
But here in this graveyard that's still no man's land
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man
And a whole generation were butchered and damned

Did they beat the drums slowly?
Did they play the fife lowly?
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down?
Did the band play the Last Post in chorus?
Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?

And I can't help but wonder oh Willy McBride
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you the cause?
Did you really believe that this war would end wars?
Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame
The killing and dying it was all done in vain
Oh Willy McBride it all happened again
And again, and again, and again, and again

Did they beat the drums slowly?
Did they play the fife lowly?
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down?
Did the band play the Last Post in chorus?
Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?

Green Fields Of France (Eric Bogle cover)

vocals: James Higgins

Waltzing Matilda (Eric Bogle)

Now when I was a young man I carried me pack
And I lived the free life of the rover.
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback,
Well, I waltzed my Matilda all over.

Then in 1915, my country said, "Son,
It's time you stop ramblin', there's work to be done."
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun,
And they marched me away to the war.
And the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
As the ship pulled away from the quay,
And amidst all the cheers, the flag waving, and tears,
We sailed off for Gallipoli.

And how well I remember that terrible day,
How our blood stained the sand and the water;
And of how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.
Johnny Turk, he was waitin', he primed himself well;
He showered us with bullets, and he rained us with shell --
And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell,
Nearly blew us right back to Australia.
But the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
When we stopped to bury our slain,
Well, we buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs,
Then we started all over again.

And those that were left, well, we tried to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire.
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
Though around me the corpses piled higher.
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head,
And when I woke up in me hospital bed
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead --
Never knew there was worse things than dying.
For I'll go no more "Waltzing Matilda,"
All around the green bush far and free --
To hump tents and pegs, a man needs both legs,
No more "Waltzing Matilda" for me.

So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed,
And they shipped us back home to Australia.
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane,
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla.
And as our ship sailed into Circular Quay,
I looked at the place where me legs used to be,
And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me,
To grieve, to mourn and to pity.
But the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
As they carried us down the gangway,
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared,
Then they turned all their faces away.

And so now every April, I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me.
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march,
Reviving old dreams of past glory,
And the old men march slowly, all bones stiff and sore,
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask meself the same question.
But the band plays "Waltzing Matilda,"
And the old men still answer the call,
But as year follows year, more old men disappear
Someday, no one will march there at all.

Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda.
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billabong,
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?

The Band played Waltzing Matilda (Eric Bogle cover)

Lyrics composed by Hamish Henderson on the traditional Scottish tune "Farewell to the Creeks"

vocals: James Higgins

The pipie is dozie, the pipie is fey
He wullnae come roun for his vino the day
The sky owre Messina is unco an gray
An aa the bricht chaumers are eerie

Fareweill ye banks o Sicily
Fare ye weill ye valley an shaw
There's nae Jock will murn the kyles o ye
Puir bliddy swaddies are wearie

Fareweill ye banks o Sicily
Fare ye weill ye valley an shaw
There's nae hame can smour the wiles o ye
Puir bliddy swaddies are wearie

Then doun the stair an line the watterside
Wait yer turn the ferry's awa
Then doun the stair an line the watterside
Aa the bricht chaumers are eerie

The drummie is polisht, the drummie is braw
He cannae be seen for his wabbin ava
He's beezed himsell up for a photie an aa
Tae leave wi his Lola, his dearie

Fareweill ye banks o Sicily
Fare ye weill ye sheilin an haa
We'll aa mind shebeens an bothies
Whaur kind signorinas were cheerie

Fareweill ye banks o Sicily
Fare ye weill ye sheilin an haa
We'll aa mind shebeens an bothies
Whaur Jock made a date wi his dearie

Then tune the pipes an drub the tenor drum
Leave yer kit this side o the waa
Then tune the pipes an drub the tenor drum
Puir bluidy swaddies are wearie

Fareweill ye banks o Sicily
Fare ye weill ye valley an shaw
There's nae Jock will murn the kyles o ye
Puir bliddy swaddies are wearie

Farewell To Sicily (Hamish Henderson cover)

Charlie Gormley: vocals

Paddy's Lamentation

Well it's by the hush, me boys, and sure that's to hold your noise
And listen to poor Paddy's sad narration
I was by hunger pressed, and in poverty distressed
So I took a thought I'd leave the Irish nation

Well I sold me ass and cow, my little pigs and sow
My little plot of land I soon did part with
And me sweetheart Bid McGee, I'm afraid I'll never see
For I left her there that morning broken-hearted

Here's to you boys, now take my advice
To America I'll have ye's not be going
There is nothing here but war, where the murderin' cannons roar
And I wish I was at home in dear old Dublin

Well meself and a hundred more, to America sailed o'er
Our fortunes to be made [sic] we were thinkin'
When we got to Yankee land, they shoved a gun into our hands
Saying "Paddy, you must go and fight for Lincoln"

General Meagher to us he said, if you get shot or lose your head
Every murdered soul of youse will get a pension
Well meself I lost me leg, they gave me a wooden peg,
And by God this is the truth to you I mention

Here's to you boys, now take my advice
To America I'll have ye's not be going
There is nothing here but war, where the murderin' cannons roar
And I wish I was at home in dear old Dublin

Well I think meself in luck, if I get fed on Indian buck
And old Ireland is the country I delight in
With the devil, I do say, it's curse Americay
For I think I've had enough of your hard fightin'

Here's to you boys, now take my advice
To America I'll have ye's not be going
There is nothing here but war, where the murderin' cannons roar
And I wish I was at home in dear old Dublin

Paddy's Lamentation (Irish traditional)

Watermelon Man (Herbie Hancock)
Vocals by Monica (https://soundcloud.com/monicafalco)
Clarinet by DDJohn (https://soundcloud.com/stevee101=
Musics by Pierrou (https://soundcloud.com/pierrou)

Watermelon Man (Cover by Monica, DDJohn & Pierrou)

The first new song of the 21 century :-)

Co-write with Walter Davidson

The One
Lyrics and Music:
Walter Davidson, Fredden

Winter days, early nights
Christmas tree, Christmas lights
A fairytale, a rednose deer
It's the time of the year

Chorus: And you, the one for me
I'd rather have you near

People shopping in the square
Happy children everywhere
Hear the sleigh bells... Santa's here
It's the time of the year

Chorus: And you, the one for me
I'd rather have you near

Now let us gather the family
Presents under the Christmas tree
Singing choirs are what we hear
It's the time of the year
Chorus: And you, the one for me
I'd rather have you near

Winter days, early nights
Christmas tree, Christmas lights
A fairytale, a rednose deer
It's the time of the year

Rock - Ballad


The One

No Bridges Burnt (5 Janvier 2015)

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Just because it's Christmas.

[J.S. Bach, Composer]

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

Almost Blue was written by Elvis Costello apparently for Chet Baker. Both Elvis and Chet have great versions of it, and I came about this tune from playing it with some great friends of mine. We even named our band after it, and this version is very close to how we played it at our shows.

Almost Blue

Cole Porter is probably one of my all-time favorite songwriters and composers. I don’t think I’ve heard a tune of his that I don’t like… this one you’re going to hear next, was written for the musical “Born to Dance” in 1936 and has been sung by crooners ever since. Like many of Cole Porter’s tunes, he gives away the title in the first line!
I guess my version, like many, is based off of Frank Sinatra’s recording from the late 1950s. I learned to sing it in a duet version, but here it is in solo form.

I've Got You Under My Skin

This "Big Band" tune was written by Duke Ellington and Bob Russell in 1940. This version is inspired by a vocal/guitar rendition I heard recently from Fiona Apple.

Don't Get Around Much Anymore

une chanson de Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac)

STEAL YOUR HEART AWAY

La sensibilità è l'abito più elegante e prezioso di cui l'intelligenza possa vestirsi.

Quando - Pino Daniele - Jazz piano A. Napolitano Improvisation

Born in 1955 in Potenza, Italy, lives in Palermo, Sicily, since 1972.
General practitioner (family doctor), amateur guitar player and home recordist.

Thanks for listening!

The Town I Loved So Well (Phil Coulter cover)

Alfredo De Pietra

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