I wrote this song after a walk home past my old street.  Everything seemed smaller and so much had changed.  The memories hadn't.  I had most of it in my head by the time I got home and immediately wrote the lyric.  Tinkered with a guitar piece I'd already started and the whole thing was done in about ten minutes.  

I used to get sent to bed really early which led to extra teasing and bullying and was never allowed to join in with what was going on downstairs.  I used to sit at the top of the stairs and listen to what was going on then go back to bed, if I hadn't fallen asleep on the stairs, and cry myself to sleep.  My mother used to say that I wanted for nothing but I wanted affection and the truth which didn't come.  I still strangely craved for those years as a kid though, as many do.  That's what the chorus is about. 
Recorded at Impulse, Wallsend 1996

Words and music by Davy Craig

THE SOJOURNERS - 47 Hastings Parade

Recorded at Impulse, Wallsend 1996  Named after Don from Hoults Yard Rehearsal Rooms.

Music by Davy Craig 
Lyrics by Steve Jobling

THE SOJOURNERS - Don (working title)

This song was originally written about a guy called Harry I noticed in Leroys in Hebburn.  He was barely intelligible & I asked someone if he was ok.  It turned out that he used to work on the cranes and would talk to them all day as he was by himself.  Now made redundant he would just get drunk & talk to himself.  I was walking home from South Shields one night & heard a terrifyingly loud wailing sound.  I realised that it was the cranes moving in the wind.  I thought of Harry.  The cranes seemed to be crying for him & he was lost without them.  I lost my original lyrics and Steve added some words to the song as I'd remembered the tune and chords.  Enjoy.

Recorded at Impulse, Wallsend 1996

Words by Davy Craig & Steve Jobling
Music by Davy Craig

THE SOJOURNERS - Harry

We kept changing this song around adding 7/8 parts to it and that but this is the original version of the song.  I wanted a siren like intro using e-bow and slide on the guitar.  It was always a good one to play live and start off the set.

Recorded at Impulse, Wallsend 1996

Music by Davy Craig
Words by Steve Jobling and J. Christ

THE SOJOURNERS - Distant Prayer

Very simple song working around the main riff with delay.  Kept changing it and never put lyrics to it myself so Ash used some words written by bassist Steve.  Could do with a whole new approach but still like the riff.

Recorded at Impulse, Wallsend 1996

Music by Davy Craig
Lyrics by Stephen Jobling

THE SOJOURNERS - The Fiddle (working title)

An experimental piano mood piece written after a walk down Barrack Road where the sun sone on the houses and made everything look orange.  Just a simple reflective instrumental piece from 1999.

Music by Davy Craig

Davy Craig - Orange Walls

This was our original demo at Impulse, Wallsend, 1995.  It's not very tight but I still like bits of this.  The slower intro and middle 8 were tinkered with later.  Done in one take with a few guitar overdubs added later.

Music by Davy Craig
Lyrics by Davy Craig / Stephen Jobilng

Vocals - Ash Timmins
Guitars / E-Bows - Davy Craig
Bass - Stephen Jobling
Drums - Luke Phillips



THE SOJOURNERS - Harry (original version)

This was our original version of this song before I worked on a shortened version with stacks of programming by Keith Nichol for release as a single.  Again played in one take with added guitar overdubs.  Luke the drummer left the band when Keith programmed the drums on the later version and his live drums weren't used on the track.  The end was nigh after that as we never really found a decent drummer who fitted in.

Recorded at Impulse, Wallsend 1995

Words and music - Davy Craig

Vocals - Ash Timmins 
Guitars / E-Bows - Davy Craig
Bass - Stephen Jobling
Drums - Luke Phillips

THE SOJOURNERS - Blue Skies (original version)

We used to finish most gigs with this song and it always seemed to go down well so we decided to record it when we had a wee bit of time left during our first demo session.  We went for it big style at the end but when we came out of the recording booth we found that the 2 and a half inch tape had run out!  Typical!  So the mad bit at the end is missing!  I developed this song from a simple riff and it just grew from there.  

Ash basically made the words up as he went along but there were a few parts where he kept it the same to use as triggers for the guitars.  The rest of the music was mainly improvised but as always you remember the best bits and keep them in.

We had a lad playing rhythm guitar at this early stage but he was sacked when I had to re-do almost all of his parts apart from on this.  Rock 'n' Roll eh! ;)

Recorded at Impulse, Wallsend 1995

Music by Davy Craig
Words by Ash Timmins

Vocals - Ash Timmins
Guitar - Davy Craig
Bass - Stephen Jobling
Drums - Luke Phillips
Rhythm Guitar - some lad from Gateshead!

THE SOJOURNERS - Daddy (demo/jam)

Words and music by Stephen Jobling

Vocals - Ash Timmins
Guitars/e-bows - Davy Craig
Bass - Stephen Jobling
Drums - Luke Phillips

This was the only Sojourners song I didn't write anything for but it's one of my/our proudest moments.  Steve came to me with a bass line and some lyrics and told me it was about a rocky relationship where he used the metaphor of going "Beneath the Waves" and coming up for air again and again but wanting to fly away from it all and to be happy.  I saw that it could also apply to someone who's loved and lost through death with emotion dragging them under but with the hope that you'll hopefully one day be able to fly away and be together again. It's open to personal interpretation.  

I wanted to try and get a sound that fitted so worked on a few rhythm tracks and then used the e-bow to dink up and down the strings and swirling it over the strings with delay for the scratchy, watery sounds then recorded a track of e-bow with slide to get the effect of going "Beneath the Waves."  No keyboards or samplers used, just a Gordon Smith Gypsy II guitar.

i think Ash's vocal is great as well.

Hope you enjoy it.

Recorded at Impulse, Wallsend 1996