This Is Not The End

Here's my latest single 'Judy', an indie pop song about life, dreams & spreadsheets. All the important stuff, basically.

Check it out on:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4WnwbUC9pkhF5oJo2s5IcV
Bandcamp: https://davidtaro.bandcamp.com/album/judy
Youtube: https://youtu.be/BllYMQOmOS4

[UPDATE] Reviews are coming in for Judy!

“From start to finish this song packs a beautiful punch and encourages the listener to ultimately get out there and live their life to the fullest.” - Gifted Balance Records, The Study Lounge Blog
https://www.giftedbalancerecords.com/thestudylounge/davidtarojudy

“A beautiful and pretty sounding song with a stinger ending and a great, radio friendly length, Judy has all the elements needed for a huge hit that already sounds absolutely timeless. One of our favourites in a long time.” - Send Me Your Ears
https://sendmeyourears.com/david-taro-judy/

“Representing the London music scene, David Taro is a singer, songwriter, and multi-talented performer who’s put his signature essence on his latest, ’Judy’. Keeping things genuine in the song’s prowess to tell a compelling story through imagery-filled lyricism, there’s definitely an optimism that comes through by the final notes.” - We Write About Music
https://www.wewriteaboutmusic.com/reviews/david-taro-judy


Thank you for listening

LYRICS:

Judy wakes up
Sips from a cup of coffee
Runs for the bus
Same way she has forever
And if you don’t get too excited
Well, you won’t be sorry

Judy is bored
Largely ignored by colleagues
Chews on a pen
Turns back again to the spreadsheet
And if you don’t have dreams to start with
Well, they can’t get broken
And ah, they can’t get broken

Judy has friends
Katie and Ben and Emily
Known them for years
Drank cheap wine and beer in their company
But she don’t see much of them these days
They’ve all got families
And ah, they’ve all got families

Judy, if wanna live the way you wanna
Who am I to judge you
You don’t have to be like you get told to be like
Don’t need someone to love you

Judy comes home
Has dinner alone in her bedroom
Washes her plate
Stays up til late with the TV
And when she turns the lights off
Well, she won't be sorry
Ah, she won't be sorry
Ah, she won't be sorry

Judy

This is my first song for this year's 50/90 songwriting challenge! (https://fiftyninety.fawm.org/)

I've been thinking about little ones leaving the nest quite a lot recently. My kids are 10 and 7, so not imminent, but it still makes me feel a tiny bit sad (and a tiny bit relieved). I certainly know others with kids who are closer to that point, so this one's for them 🙂

When I'd finished my bits on the track, it felt like it was still missing a little something. So I sent it over to my man @nahlejmusic for some sweet percussive magic and, as always, he promptly delivered the goods. Thank you!

LYRICS & MUSIC © David Taro

Oh little bird standing on the edge
Of your nest, will you fledge
Are you ready for it yet?

Oh little bird do your feathers feel the breeze
In the leaves of the trees
Will you spread your wings and see?

Oh, little bird...

Oh little bird getting stronger ever day
It's okay, fly away
You were never bound to stay

Oh little bird, there’s a future yet to write
Taking flight out of sight
In the hazy morning light

Oh little bird...

Oh little bird, wherever you may go
You must know, though you roam
This will always be your home

Though you roam
This will always be your home

Little Bird

NEW SINGLE OUT NOW! 

Never Had A Love Like This Before is an indie rock song with a huge side-helping of bluesy guitar. It's about how love can simultaneously feel so right and so wrong. Why do we do it to ourselves, eh?

LYRICS:

Never had a love like this before
Never had something worth living for
Mind and body in a civil war
And I never had a love like this before

You barrelled into my life like a wrecking ball
The moment I saw you, well I started to fall
Now everything I had before is suddenly a broken mess
You stand there smiling like it's all a success
And oh, you ain't sorry

And I never had a love like this before
Never had something worth living for
Mind and body in a civil war
And I never had a love like this before

I tell you my secrets, you tell me your lies
It always fools me, I never know why
I'm a fly in a spider's web, I'm a moth drawn to a flame
My wings are burning and I'm falling again
'Cos oh, you ain't sorry

And I never had a love like this before
Never had something worth living for
Mind and body in a civil war
And I never had a love like this before

Now I'm stumbling in the dark
I'm never coming back
Everywhere I turn
I just can't escape the fact that

I never had a love like this before
Never had something worth living for
Mind and body in a civil war
And I never had a love like this before

I never had a love like this before
Never had something worth living for
Mind and body in a civil war
And I never had a love like this before

Photo credit: Cassi Josh, Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/photos/lhnOvu72BM8)

Never Had A Love Like This Before

***UPDATE 23 NOV 2022***

New mix and master (courtesy of Marsden Mastering: https://marsdenmastering.com/)

Releasing on Spotify, Apple etc. 23 December



This one started as a backing track earlier in the year, but it's taken me a while to flesh out the tune. The title came first (do others find that a lot?), and I kind of worked back from there in terms of lyrics. Originally, I laid down just drums, bass, acoustic, piano and lap steel. Recorded vocals before I went away on holiday last week. Then today I added some synthy elements to try and give a bit more movement and interest to the arrangement. Et voila...

LYRICS

Catch a star and make it shine
All along the borderline
I would walk a thousand miles for you
But time rolls on and on

Staring at the setting sun
Wish the evening hadn’t come
I would wait a thousand nights for you
But time rolls on and on and on

I thought that we were searching for the answer
When maybe there’s no answer to find
We only ever wanted to be dancers
When maybe we were dancing all the time

Blackbird singing in the tree
Pure as any song could be
Wish that I could trace it back to you
But time rolls on and on and on

Falling apart
A weight in my heart
As heavy as the sea

I thought that we were searching for the answer
When maybe there’s no answer to find
We only ever wanted to be dancers
When maybe we were dancing all the time

The Answer

I've been noodling with this riff most of January, so it seemed a good starting point to build a song around today. It's kind of an open letter to myself aged 16. Back then I had a pretty catastrophic falling out with my friends (entirely my own fault I should add). It ended up being quite a sliding doors moment - I went to a different sixth form, joined a band which I'm still part of today, met my wife-to-be. Anyway, I distinctly remember feeling like the world had ended. And I wanted to sort of reach back and tell my younger self that, while it may be rubbish at that particular moment, you'll learn from the experience and... it will get better!

(Special thank you to my erstwhile friend and lead guitar maestro Fareed Sahloul for the screaming guitar solo on this one!).

LYRICS:

I know you feel bitter
I know you feel ashamed
I know you feel broken
I know you feel blamed
I know you feel compromised
I know you feel stoic
I know you feel sorry
But you’re too proud to show it

But boy this is not the end
This is only the beginning

I know you feel empty
I know you feel proud
I know you feel worthless
I know you feel cowed
I know you feel an aching
Deep down in your heart
I know you feel everything 
Is slowly falling apart

But boy this is not the end
This is only the beginning

I know you feel haunted
I know you feel mad
I know you feel reckless
I know you feel damned
I know you feel insecure
I know you feel branded
I know you feel something
But you can't understand it

But boy this is not the end
This is only the beginning

(Let me tell you 'bout the future...)
Some dreams they happen
Some dreams they don't
Some days you'll be happy
Some days you won't
You're gonna have family
They're gonna fill you with you love
Not gonna get everything
But you're gonna get enough

And boy this is not the end
This is only the beginning

Everybody falls
Everybody falls
Everybody falls
It's how you come back

This started life with me messing about with a capo on a high fret of my nylon string guitar. My first attempt at words was genuinely awful. "You make the dinner and I'll pour some wine...." sort-of-thing... BLEURGH. As with many slow numbers, I found that going darker with the lyrics unlocked the song. Disclaimer: I don't think anyone would actually be like this in real life, I just rather enjoyed the metaphor (and the title, I like the title).

LYRICS

You strike a match
And I'll toss it in
We'll watch together
As the fire begins
It's a kind of addiction
We both know is a sin
But who cares

Stand in the moonlight
Watching the flames
The innocent victims
With unmemorable names
And sooner or later
We'll do it again
So who cares

There goes our love again
There goes our love again

Your friends think I'm crazy
I'm poison for you
I'm weak and I'm lazy
Hell, most of it's true
But deep down they know
That you're built like that too
So who cares

When we're together
The flames never cease
We’re both like a jigsaw
With one missing piece
I guess maybe someone
Should call the police
But who cares

There goes our love again
There goes our love again

Oh, I know it’s crazy
But I love to watch it burn
So let’s burn it down again

There goes our love again
There goes our love again
There goes our love again

The Arsonists

Ok, first let me address the elephant in the room. This is VERY John Lennon. When the first line popped into my head and I started humming a tune (taking the kids to a swimming lesson, for what it's worth) my immediate thought was, "Oh, I appear to be writing 'God' by John Lennon". The sentence structure is basically the same, and I'm also aware he wrote a song which features the words 'Love is...' quite frequently!

Anyway, I ultimately came to the conclusion that I DON'T REALLY CARE. When I was a kid I had a poster of (Instant Karma period) Lennon on my bedroom wall. Then through my 20s and 30s, I went a bit cold on him. I thought he was spiky, obnoxious, a contrarian. And then watching the Get Back documentary, I kind of fell back in love with him. Yes, he was still some of those bad things, but also a beautiful, very gentle human too. 

Think of this, therefore, as a love letter to John Lennon. A bit weird on Valentine's Day, I know, but that's where we are.


LYRICS

Love is the answer to the question of why we carry on
Love is an expression of an instinct to belong
Love is the only thing that keeps us weak or makes us strong
Love is the reason for this song

Love is the moment when you really understand
Love is the universe, love is written in the sand
Love is the only thing that’s ever worth a damn
Love is not judgement or demand

Love is me
Love is you

Love is the acceptance of the routine and mundane
Love is the knowledge that life will never be the same
Love is the only thing left standing in the hurricane
Love is just being here with you again
I said, love is just being here with you again

Love Is...

For my sister, and the many other strong women that we all know. Backing vocals and co-write courtesy of the inestimable @sonya-heller.

LYRICS:

There are times
When I forget myself
And all the trouble in this world
Then I feel guilty
For feeling happy
I know it sounds absurd

But when I think of you
Things you’ve been going through
All I really want to say is

Sister, oh my sister
You are strong
Stronger than I'll ever know

You’ve been dealt
Your share of hardship
Oh, but in the face of yours
You walked for miles
Across the desert
Now you're running many more

So when I think of you 
And every sister too
All I really want to say is

Sister, oh my sister
You are strong
Stronger than I'll ever know
Sister, oh my sister
You are strong
Stronger than I'll ever know

Oh sister
If the truth be told
I don't know what the future holds
But, it's like we've learned to say
Don't do tomorrow
What can be done today

Sister, oh my sister
You are strong
Stronger than I'll ever know
Sister, oh my sister
You are strong
Stronger than I'll ever know

Stronger, stronger
(Stronger than you'll ever know)

Sister

String arrangement (and song title) courtesy of the brilliant Brisk aka Hypnotist aka Yeslessness... go check him out immediately (https://yeslessness.bandcamp.com/)

This one is all about loving someone, whilst also acknowledging you are sometimes powerless to help them 💔

LYRICS

Love, love is not the answer, child
There was a time perhaps I thought it was
When I gave you my heart
(He gave you his heart)
But a heart could never hope to fill the void
And there are things a loving heart simply can’t provide

If I could, I would give you
The whole white moon
But I can’t, and that’s what breaks my heart

Time is a cruel, cruel master
And innocence exists to be lost
I wish I could give you some answers
But they come at a cost

Faith, faith should be unshakeable
There was a time perhaps I thought it was
When you fell from my arms
(You fell from his arms)
And I could not defend you, though I tried
Now I see a sadness linger in your eyes

If I could, I would give you
The whole white moon
But I can’t, and that’s what breaks my heart
No I can’t, and that’s what breaks my heart

Whole White Moon

Here's the first of two older tracks that I've re-recorded to go onto a potential album later this year. Hope you enjoy!

LYRICS

Daniel, you could get away with anything
Cos the world seems so much brighter when you’re smiling
Daniel, when did you get so big?
You're running round the garden with those older kids

And you’ll always be my baby
But it’s crazy how you grow
Daniel we were young
But now we’re getting old

Daniel, seems like no time at all
Since I held you to my body in the hospital 
Daniel, I never want to let you go
But I know I'm going to have to, it's inevitable  

And I'm watching all the changes
They're amazing to behold
Daniel we were young
But now we’re getting old

I took a picture, put it in a book
Maybe in fifteen years you're gonna take a look
And then in fifteen more you’re gonna look again
Remember just how much I loved you, my friend

Daniel, you could get away with anything
Cos the world seems so much brighter when you’re smiling
Daniel, I never want to let you go
But I know I'm going to have to, it's inevitable

And you’ll always be my baby
But it’s crazy how you grow
Daniel we were young
But now we’re getting old
Daniel we were young
But now we’re getting old
Daniel we were young
But now we’re getting old

Daniel

Archive track no. 2, re-recorded for a potential album later this year...

LYRICS

Cool kids on the promenade
Know they're going nowhere fast
I make a note on a postcard
Says, "I'm leaving but I won't get far"

In a field by the fairground
I just came to take a look around
There’s a song in the background
The singer makes a sound like

Hold me baby, hold me baby
Hold til I'm a little bit stronger
Hold me baby, hold me baby
Hold me just a little bit longer

Maybe we’re all just skin and bones
Hearing voices on the radio
Maybe we’re all just skimming stones
While our dreams sink into the foam
Maybe we're all just waiting
Don't know what for, but waiting
Maybe we’re all just skin and bones
With these voices on the radio

See the thing about this ghost town
Is you're always on the way down
So when the kids hear a new sound
They'll all be going round like

Hold me baby, hold me baby
Hold til I'm a little bit stronger
Hold me baby, hold me baby
Hold me just a little bit longer

Maybe we’re all just skin and bones
Hearing voices on the radio
Maybe we’re all just skimming stones
While our dreams sink into the foam
Maybe we're all just waiting
Don't know what for, but waiting
Maybe we’re all just skin and bones
With these voices on the radio

You can lose yourself for hours and hours
Doesn’t matter when it’s ours, all ours
Yeah, but when the sun goes down
You're still stuck in this old town
So maybe I’ll stick around after all

Hearing voices on the radio
Hearing voices on the radio
(Hold me baby...)

Maybe we’re all just skin and bones
Hearing voices on the radio
Maybe we’re all just skimming stones
While our dreams sink into the foam
Maybe we're all just waiting
Don't know what for, but waiting
Maybe we’re all just skin and bones
With these voices on the radio

Voices On The Radio

Half-British, half-Japanese, South London-based singer-songwriter and producer. Indie pop, rock and blues. Thank you for listening!

This Is Not The End

david taro