A selection of collaborations (mostly me lending my voice) to Ali's great poetry and music. Hope you enjoy them.

Collaborations with enlimila

Collaborations

A modern Christmas carol for you all. The lovely Mark J Bennett has provided the vocals (and artwork) - all at rather short notice too which is typical of his generosity.

We hope you enjoy it and that it encourages some thought about the Christmas message (which, let's face it, seems to have got a little lost in recent times....)

May the deep peace of the running wave be yours.

Music (based on trad tune)/Lyrics/Backing Vocal - enlimila
Vocals - Mark J Bennett.
[Audio-clip of children playing courtesy of garuda1982]

THREE BOATS
I saw three boats come sailing in,
Come sailing in, come sailing in.
I saw three boats come sailing in,
On Christmas Day in the morning.

One of those boats won’t sail again,
Not sail again, never sail again.
For that boat sank with all its men
And all its women and children.

The second boat its engine died,
Its engine died ‘cos the smugglers lied
And the waves crashed down on the folk inside
That little boat in the morning.

Those desperate folk held hands and prayed,
Held hands and prayed, as the sea it sprayed
’Til at last they sank beneath the waves
On Christmas day in the morning.

The third boat managed to reach the shore
And the folk inside all prayed some more.
Then the politicians began to roar
With rage on Christmas morning.

“How dare these strangers reach our land
Expecting us to lend a hand?
Our inn is full and we have no room.
Let them go home and face their doom.”

They went to church to sing and pray,
To sing and pray, to sing and pray,
And watch their kids in Nativity plays
On Christmas Day in the morning.

Three Boats

Three Owls are
 Régulo Tortolero: Drums, Bass, Cuatro Venezolano and lyrics 
 Oorlab https://soundcloud.com/oorlab : Lead Vocals and Backing Vocals, Piano, Strings and lyrics
Mark Bennett: Lead and Backing Vocals and lyrics

Recorded at NoHum Studio, El Limón - Venezuela and Oorlab Studio, Amersfoort - Netherlands and Edinburgh, UK 2025. Mixed by: R.T. ©® NoHum Records 2025  All Rights Reserved

Recorded and Produced by Three Owls 
 Art Cover: Mark J Bennett

Régulo (AKA @kings-of-manguareo) in Venezuela started this project a year ago with a piece called ‘Al Paso C’.
After several evolutions involving Dick (Oorlab) and myself, then the new title was suggested by Régulo and we ventured into space, with a ‘Musical Consequences’ scenario. I started off the lyrics, then Régulo added some lines and finally Dick completed them. Soundcloud is a great place for experimentation. Many thanks to my collaborators and also to you for taking part by listening, Mark

Am I the follower?
 Pleiades am I bound? 
Pleiades I am bound,
 I am the follower.

Aldebaran, Aldebaran, Aldebaran, Aldebaran… 
Never going, never going… coming back!

The fiery eye of Taurus,
 Trains its gaze upon, 
Orion’s shiny belt 
And it's perfect triad
 Over all of us
 For all eternity…

As long as the sun will shine
 And the magnetic field  
Stays well aligned 
The World will keep itself  
On course.

The long night will turn around
 Winter solstice is here 
Aldebaran will rise
 The ice will disappear

Aldebaran by Three Owls

Tom Régnier https://soundcloud.com/tom-r-gnier approached me with a beautiful piano piece and with the words 'Kiss Me Goodbye' to ask if I could make a song lyric out of this. After receiving my short sung part and having superb contributions from Jussi Welin https://soundcloud.com/juswel (Guitars and guitar arrangements) and Georg Boehme https://soundcloud.com/georg-boehme (Flute & Horns), Tom described it more as a journey than a song and I think he is right.
Painting by Paul Cézanne.


Kiss me goodbye
Now is the time
For us to part
Let it show
With all of your heart
Kiss me goodbye, let me go

Kiss Me Goodbye - Tom Régnier & Friends

Mark says - 
In the 5 years I have been working with Rod, I have been encouraged to reach as far as my experience allows me to, with complete support at all times. So far we have completed 11 songs and have experimented with several others that made for a great learning curve for me, with several more at other stages of development... Watch this space, however as we are methodical and patient, therefore it may take some time to get them off the ground.

The subject matter of this song may be based on a different scenario but it is also a token of my gratitude to my inspirational collaborator and friend Rod, who has given me much confidence to rise to the ambition of his musical creativity and meticulous arrangements. Thank you all for giving this song your time.

Rod says - 
This song was conceived a long time ago to be sung in Spanish, but Mark did a magnificent adaptation with his English lyrics, and the meaning is 100% faithful to the original spirit, even though he hadn't heard the original song in Spanish. Technically, there are three voices together, consolidating a multi-vocal performance. The synth sounds emulate my old analog and FM synths, and the guitars were routed through an old console to achieve the vintage sound I was looking for.

Rodolfo Planes - Music composition, instrumentation, arrangement, production and mix - @rplanes
Me - Vocals and lyrics
Image by Douglas Corrance

Thank You (Rodolfo Planes/Mark J Bennett)

I would like to tell you just how grateful I am,
And also how important you’ve been here in my life.
I know I don’t need to draw you a diagram,
Thank you for being there all this time as my wife.
I have to tell you just how good you’ve been for me,
And I hope that I have also been there for you,
When you needed me through all this trouble and strife.
 
No need to show me all of your gratitude,
I already know how much you show that you care,
When you were prepared to move to my latitude,
Then I was convinced I was ready to share,
My life with you whatever it threw at the both of us.
I know that it’s true, no matter what you care to say.
I’ll always need to express all of my thanks to you 
This will always be true on that I swear.
 
I would like to tell you just how grateful I am,
And also how important you’ve been in, in my life.
I have to tell you just how good you’ve been for me,
And I hope that I have also been there for you,
When you needed me through all this trouble and strife.
Then I was sure that I was ready to share,
My whole life with you, whatever that meant for the both of us.
I know that it’s true, whatever you say.

This song on Continental Collision's own cloud - https://soundcloud.com/user-517923604/thank-you

Also available on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/album/5pfvPjop9XCJPrVL9a60U0

Thank You - Continental Collision (Rodolfo Planes & Mark J Bennett) on Spotify

Tom's piano melodies are so inspirational, not just to me (Mark) but also to Jussi, Georg and Boon. The energy of this piece carried us all off on a wonderful journey. We hope you enjoy the joyful enthusiasm that Tom initiated. Tom also gave me the key line, 'My Way Through' and I had to run with it as it made so much sense with this uplifting and hopeful music. Thanks for listening.

Tom Regnier -  @tom-r-gnier Music composition, piano and other instrumentation
Jussi Welin - @juswel First guitar and guitar arrangement
Georg Boehme - @georg-boehme Horns and horn arrangement
Boon Suzuki - @boon-suzuki Final guitar and guitar arrangement
Mark Bennett - Vocals and lyrics

Wherever you’re bound you know I’ll, 
Make my way through 
Sure may take a little while
 But I’ll make my way through

Wherever I’m bound I know I’ll,
 Make my way through
 It may take a longer while 
Till I make my way through

Wherever you’re bound,
…You’re bound
I know that I’m bound, yeah!

When I get there you know I’ll
Make my way through
Sure may need a broader smile
But I’ll make my way through.

Desamor - Tom Régnier, Jussi Welin, Boon Suzuki & Mark J Bennett

Mark Bennett has kindly lent his warm vocal tones to this version of Toyroom, which I think enhances it greatly. I hope you enjoy as much as me..... 

Toyroom by enlimila - ft Mark Bennett

This is my input on Mark Bennett's collaboration project "The Parting Glass".  I promised to do it ages ago but was finding it difficult to find the right approach and also match the slight shifts in timing in Mark's lovely original acapella. My version doesn't match the musical standards of some of the previous contributors because I lack their skills, but hopefully offers a different view of the song. To me, this is a song sung by a person who knows he's not coming back, hence the way I have ended it.

The Parting Glass

The Parting Glass - Mark J Bennett - ft enlimila

A happy memory from childhood, and one of the reasons I have always loved blackbirds. Thanks to markjbennet (https://soundcloud.com/markjbennett)for lending me his excellent voice for the reading of this. Artwork by Bridget Moore RBA NEAC RWS.

Blackbird at bedtime

I recall the cool of bed sheets
As the hazing sun sank westwards
In a late and clear June sky,
The murmur of my parents downstairs.

Stirring on the faint breeze,
My curtains would shift softly
And open to the cries
Of unwilling children called to bed.

Admitting shafts of sunlight
That danced my bedroom walls,
Caressing the half-read book
That would nestle patiently by my side.

And the barking of far-off dogs
Would drift across the rooftops
Where the evening blackbird sat high,
His notes like pebbles skipping across still water.

© enlimila 12/06/2011.

Blackbird at Bedtime

Blackbird At Bedtime (ft MarkJBennett)

Another song written for my "Clutha Project" - songs reflecting my memories of, and association with, places on the River Clyde. This one relates to a tiny peninsula known as Ardmore Point. It's a place well used by dog walkers, as the footpath down to the shore would attest from the volume of dog poo to be found on route (hence the title) and I used to go there with my parents to walk their dogs. Plenty of others also go there without dogs though, perhaps for the fresh air, the wealth of wild nature there, or just the beautiful solitude to rest their minds. I would often see lone persons down there, sitting as still as the rocks on the beach, staring out to sea with a beer tin or a bottle of something stronger by their side. You get some great sunsets from the beach there and, for some of the people going there, maybe those sunsets would be the only good thing they had to look forward to.

I asked Mark J Bennett to do a collab with me on this and he not only patiently provided all the excellent vocals but provided the artwork too, so deep thanks to him for all of that.

DOG POO ALLEY

Dog poo and plastic bags
Broken bottles and burnt out fags
Under the green forgiving trees
Plastic ropes and old beer cans
Forgotten barbeques in the sand
Last week’s newspapers blowing in the breeze

The tide comes in and the tide goes out
The waste of man is all about
Among the rocks down by the seaweed shore
The people come, the people go
But trees remain and flowers still grow
Across the marshy woodland floor

ch#
It’s a place for solo dog-walkers
It’s a place to come and think
It’s a place for seals and seagulls
It’s a place for some to drink
Alone

Moss and lichen, weathered stones
Suntan bottles like old bleached bones
Of things that died a long, long time ago
A welly boot, an old oil can
Embedded in the glistening sand
Who knows what else might lie below?

Mussel shells and sea-worn glass
Bits of wood from ships long past
Oyster Catchers rambling on the shore
Curlews call and seagulls cry
Harebells nod as the breeze blows by
So beautiful but still ignored.

Ch#

The Sugar Ship lies in the sea
Half submerged, it’s just like me
We’re both going nowhere anymore
Sitting on this driftwood log
I watch an old man and his dog
Standing silent on the windswept shore

They’re waiting for that sunset
That golden glowing flowing sunset
The one that makes the whole long day worthwhile
Walking here between the trees
I’m free come or go as I please
If I come with a frown I’ll leave here with a smile.

Ch# FIN

©enlimila 23/10/2020

(Clutha Project) Dog Poo Alley

This is my latest spill-over page for newer stuff. The older material is at @enlimila and @enlimila-plus

Thanks for looking. :-)

 SoundCloud
 hearthis.at/4YJwNLhy/
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(Clutha Project) Dog Poo Alley

enlimila++