The day after his epic Glastonbury performance, I awoke filled with McCartney love and thought to myself, I need to write a Paul-ish song. I sat down with a guitar at the piano, flitting between the two and, starting off in D (the key he says is best for pastoral pieces) soon came up with a melodic idea. It being a Sunday, the 'Hymn no 44' feel came quite naturally.
To try to get a bit more authentically McCartneyesque, I thought to myself 'What's the angle?' the lyrics need a twist, a perspective that might not have been adopted too often before. It being the wedding season, I'd seen some close friends and relatives in the situation of seeing their kids married, so I made it about how parents might feel on their children's wedding day. Being an older Dad, who might not be around for my son's wedding, I imagined how I might feel and what I might want to say in that situation and the words flowed quite easily from that. In recording the second version, I decided on F as a key, which made the strings and vocal sound better.

And if by chance I cry for you
They're only tears of joy
That every wish and dream come true
So don't be paranoid
Thinking you should avoid
That old sentimental fool
Don't play it cool
I wish you all the happiness
Your heart could ever hold
But I won't try to second guess
I wouldn't be so bold
Just let it all unfold
And be aware that destiny
Is what we allow to be
Enjoy the days and nights
Of the honeymoon phase
A gift from God above
When times get rough
And you feel like you've had enough
Don't give up on love
The gently shifting sands of time
Will change that water into wine
And if by chance I cry for you...

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Tears  of Joy

The chilly wind blows wild
Oh my sweet golden child
The cold days rob you of your precious glow
The sleet and rain fall down
On this grey Northern town
Till I wanna get up, I wanna get up and go

So stop apologising for the things you never did
There are clouds on the horizon, but the sun's right overhead
I may get through to talk to you, but I don't know where, why or when
I want to lie under California skies again

Where sundance diamonds glde
On a clear blue ocean wide
To watch the Gods bestride Pacific stray
Where Venice beach dreams grow
That's where I want to go
Yeah I wanna go there, I wanna go there and stay

So stop making excuses for the love you never made
The times you could have got away, but you changed your mind and stayed
It doesn't matter what you've done, what counts is what you do
California skies are waiting there for you

And if today's the same as yesterday
Wipe your tears away, wipe them away
Let tomorrow be what we want it to be
We can be wild and free, we can be us
Before we're history, before we're dust

A Key to All of the Mythologies

California Skies

a song about the joys of Minecraft.

We're gonna build a city
And fill it up with people
With homes and parks and highways
Rollerdomes and skyways
If we build a world upon an ideal
That happiness can be found
A utopian dream we can make real
If we build it up from the ground
and when we hit the ceiling
We're gonna keep on building
Way beyond out limits
We'll start and never finish
We'll tunnel down
We'll dig so deep
Find precious ore and stones to keep
We'll wake the Kraken from its sleep
We'll bridge the moon with cable cars
We'll build a water slide to Mars
A rollercoaster through the stars
And we can live together
In a city at the edge of forever

City At The Edge Of Forever

Out of the Earth come light
Illuminates the empty night
Sends its rays into the cosmic dawn
Red shift blue shift no decay
Fragments of a summer's day
Growing up in the house where I was born
Where I belonged
In my private universe
Time is flowing in reverse
I lose myself in days of future past
Traffic flows I count them all
Watch those cooling towers fall
Remember when those things were built to last
Well now those days are gone
We learn to love and we try to trust
Strange fascinations may turn to dust
Still we dare to dream
We dare to dream
Out of the Earth comes light
Get down to the parade tonight
To see the best of all that we've become
Here in this northern town
The sun comes up and then goes down
We don't give up until the race is run
Where I come from

Ex Terra Lucem

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Amazing Grace - variations for strings & guitar.wav

WAR'S END

PEARL HARBOR

STRIVING

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

Lyrics by Terry Naylor
Music and arrangement by Betsy Breitborde
Copyright 2023
Registered with BMI

If you ask the Ghosts of Christmas Past
Whether this year will be better than the last
The answer that comes through loud and clear
May not be what you want to hear

The Ghosts of Love from long ago
Leave their footprints in newly fallen snow
And their breath upon your window pane
Tells you that they're here again

Once my heart was wild and free
Till the world slipped away from me

I'm not alone anymore
Your presence touches everything

And by the embers of the fire
I can aspire to feel the love you bring

When Angels Sing

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

"Flight" - for orchestra

"Sacrament" extended version for string orchestra

Video, film, and TV composer. All songs registered with BMI.  All songs are copyrighted by the Library of Congress.  It is unlawful to download and use without permission.

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

Breitborde Music

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