Artist: Ian Roland
Album: The Wood Wide Web
Release Date: Fri 24th February 2023

Resist the life stories pre-written for us by the powers that be. Those powers say “it’s always been that way” but it hasn’t and it does not have to be.

THIS MOVIE	    
                         					 
VERSE 1
IN THIS MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE
EASY TO DROP YOUR SPEAKING ROLE
IN THIS MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE
TRYING TO BE WHAT THE CAMERA SHOWS
ACTING OUT YOUR SCENES
MOVEMENTS SEEM PRE-ORDAINED
LIKE EVERYTHING’S ON REPLAY

VERSE 2
IN THIS MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE
LOST YOUR STARRING ROLE
IN THIS MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE
GIVEN NOTICE AND LET GO
NEED A CHANGE OF SCENERY
IT’S TOO HEAVY TO LIFT ALONE
YOUR NAME’S NOT IN THE SCREEN PLAY

CHORUS
‘COS IT’S ALL WORDS CONFUSED TOGETHER
THE SCRIPT COULD BE SO MUCH, MUCH BETTER
THIS SHOW LOOKS LIKE IT WILL CAST YOUR LIFE AWAY

VERSE 3
IN THIS MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE
ADVERTS ALWAYS IN THE WAY
IN THIS MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE
LOST THE WORDS YOU HAD TO SAY
IN CHARACTER FOR THE ROLE
BUT COSTUMES NEVER FIT
YOUR DELIVERY ON DELAY

VERSE 4
IN THIS MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE
YOUR TARGETS NOT YOUR OWN
IN THIS MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE
WAITING BY YOUR MOBILE PHONE
THE LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
LEAVING YOU FAR BEHIND
‘COS EVERYTHING’S ON REPLAY

CHORUS

VERSE 1
IN THIS MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE
EASY TO DROP YOUR SPEAKING ROLE
IN THIS MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE
TRYING TO BE WHAT THE CAMERA SHOWS
ACTING OUT YOUR SCENES
MOVEMENTS SEEM PRE-ORDAINED
SEND A SMILE LIKE IT’S OK

11. This Movie - Ian Roland

Artist: Ian Roland
Album: The Wood Wide Web
Release Date: Fri 24th February 2023

The indescribable beauty of the natural world is the theme for this love song. In the words of David Attenborough, “We have one final chance to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore the wonderful world we inherited…All we need is the will to do so.” (‘A Life on Our Planet’, David Attenborough, 2020).

BEYOND WORDS		    

VERSE 1
CANNOT SAY, CANNOT DESCRIBE
TOO MANY WORDS TO SET DOWN IN A LINE
NOT ENOUGH POETRY TO PORTRAY
THE BALANCE OF LIFE BEYOND WORDS

CHORUS
AND I’VE GLIMPSED IT IN YOU, SEEN IT IN YOU
WHEN YOU SMILE
YOUR OUTLINE APPEARS, MADE OF MOMENTS IN YEARS
BEYOND WORDS

VERSE 2
CANNOT HOLD THIS LIGHT FOR LONG
TIME IS HERE, TIME IS GONE
AS OUR FEET TOUCH DOWN
THE BALANCE OF LIFE BEYOND WORDS

CHORUS
AND I’VE GLIMPSED IT IN YOU, SEEN IT IN YOU
WHEN YOU SMILE
YOUR OUTLINE APPEARS, MADE OF MOMENTS IN YEARS
BEYOND WORDS

VERSE INSTRUMENTAL

EXTENDED END CHORUS
AND I’VE GLIMPSED IT IN YOU, SEEN IT IN YOU
WHEN YOU SMILE
A VISION MADE REAL, IN LOVE THAT WE FEEL
BEYOND WORDS 

ALL OF THE TIME, WOVEN IN RHYME
BEYOND WORDS

YOUR OUTLINE APPEARS … MOMENTS IN YEARS
BEYOND WORDS

10. Beyond Words - Ian Roland

Artist: Ian Roland
Album: The Wood Wide Web
Release Date: Fri 24th February 2023

During the first lockdown, due to the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020, my children and I decided to plant an area of wildflowers in our garden. Science was linking the pandemic with the years of exploitation and destruction of the natural world* and to try to combat our sense of the overwhelming helplessness of this situation we planted wildflowers and over the coming months watched the bees and butterflies visit.

* “The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by zoonotic SARS-CoV-2, has important links to biodiversity loss and ecosystem health” https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00258-8/fulltext#seccestitle230


WILDFLOWERS		
	                              I
VERSE 1
SO CLOSE TO TOUCHING YOU
LOST IN THE AIR, THE PUSH AND PULL
DISTANCE BROUGHT US TOGETHER.
SO CLOSE TO HOLDING YOU
SKY’S SUCH A DEEP, DEEP BLUE
OUR LIVES CHANGED FOREVER.
TRUTH IS

CHORUS
WILDFLOWERS TO REMEMBER THE DAY
WILDFLOWERS TO SIMPLY PRAY
WILDFLOWERS STOPPED US FALLING APART

VERSE 2
APART WE ARE LIVING THROUGH
CAN WE SURVIVE THIS INVISIBLE?
AS THE COLD LIGHT OF DAY SHINES DOWN.
IN THE SOIL WE PLANTED OUR FAITH
WILDFLOWERS COULD GROW IN THIS SPACE
AS THE SEEDS FELL FROM OUR HANDS TO THE GROUND.

CHORUS

MID 8 
WE THREW THE CORNFLOWERS, TANSY AND QUAKING-GRASS
FREELY AROUND.
AMONGST THE SWEET VERNAL GRASS 
WE MIXED PURPLE LOOSE STRIFE AND THYME.
WHITE CLOVER, SELF HEAL AND YARROW
LINING THE PATH.
THEY SPRUNG FROM THE GROUND,
BRINGING MEMORIES OF US.

CHORUS

09. Wildflowers - Ian Roland

‘Living in Sound’ is Ian Roland’s first single release of 2024. Music creates communities and lifts us above the grind and toil. With evermore grassroots music venues closing due to the current economic crisis for small businesses, and yet more stadium music concerts generating huge revenues, this song speaks for a re-distribution of profits so that the UK music industry becomes sustainable and has a future. A general re-evaluation of what is truly valuable and sustaining for the world, would be good too. Music and the Arts are important. They question and challenge the status quo. We are all ‘Living In Sound’, wanting the chance to not only just exist but to live equally valued lives, in tune with our environment. This song is about still having “the strength to believe”. It is about singing in chorus with our natural environment and each other and in so doing, forming a new reality.

LIVING IN SOUND

VERSE 1
KEEPS ON HAPPENING, KEEPS DROWNING US OUT
THAT PROMISE OF BETTER, AS TIME’S RUNNING OUT
LONG LINE OF NOTHING, WEIGHING US DOWN
(BUT) WE BECOME VAPOUR, LIVING IN SOUND
IN SOUND

CHORUS
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT
SOME SWEET, SWEET TRUTH IN OUR LIVES
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT
CAUGHT, ESCAPE, SURVIVE.

VERSE 2
HALLELUJAH, TIME IS HERE
RINGING VIBRATION, IN OUR EARS
UP IN THE TREE TOPS, FEET OFF THE GROUND
WE ARE CHORUS, WE ARE FOUND
FOUND

CHORUS
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT
BELIEVABLE AS A DREAM
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT
STILL GOT THE STRENGTH TO BELIEVE

VERSE (HALF)
LONG LINE OF NOTHING, WEIGHING US DOWN
(BUT) WE BECOME VAPOUR, LIVING IN SOUND
IN SOUND

CHORUS
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT
STILL GOT THE STRENGTH TO BELIEVE
credits
releases April 26, 2024
Ian Roland – vocals, guitar
Dave Coomber – bass
James Chapman – drums
Mishkin Fitzgerald – piano, keyboards, backing vocals
Simon Yapp – violin, viola, backing vocals

Song by Ian Roland
Recorded at Brighton Road Recording Studios by Jake Skinner
Mastered at Subvert Central Mastering by Bob Macciochi
© 2024 Ian Roland

Living In Sound

‘Lodestone’ is Ian Roland’s second single release of 2024. Inspired by the sound of local church bells heard echoing across a Sussex village, this song points to the enduring purity of music as a uniting force that rings true in all of us. Music helps grow and sustain us. It helps grow and sustain communities. Music helps form shared identities and helps us appreciate difference. Music accompanies us through all the distinct stages of our lives. The sound of church bells rolling across the South Downs on a Sunday morning transcends the restrictive, the prescriptive, the contained, and allows our hearts to beat free for a moment.

Credits
Ian Roland – vocals, guitar
Dave Coomber – bass
James Chapman – drums
Mishkin Fitzgerald – piano, keyboards, backing vocals
Simon Yapp – violin, viola 

Song by Ian Roland
Recorded at Brighton Road Recording Studios by Jake Skinner
Mastered at Subvert Central Mastering by Bob Macciochi 
© 2024 Ian Roland

In memory of Gavin Macleod, founder of the Greyhound Acoustic Gathering at the Greyhound Pub, Keymer.

LODESTONE						                

CHIMES EARLY MORNING, SUNDAY CHURCH BELLS
PURE TONES COLLECTING, WAKING MY WORLD
COMMUNITY RINGS OUT, DOWN STREETS, THROUGH THE FIELDS
AN ENERGY LODESTONE, WE ARE WITHIN

(AND) IT COULD BE RELIGION, COULD BE FAITH’S BLINDING LIGHT
(BUT) THE SOUND OF THOSE BELLS, HEARTS IN A SWELL
ECHOES OF US, IT BINDS

SOUNDS OF A WEDDING, PULSE OF ITS RING
BIRTH, CELEBRATION, FUNERAL SINGS
THROUGH OUT ALL AGES, ACROSS CONTINENTS FLOW
PEELING BELLS CHIMING, BRING US BACK HOME

(AND IT) COULD BE RELIGION, COULD BE FAITH’S BLINDING LIGHT
(BUT THE) SOUND OF THOSE BELLS, HEARTS IN A SWELL
STANDING TOGETHER, IN TIME

(AND IT) COULD BE RELIGION, COULD BE FAITH’S BLINDING LIGHT
(BUT THE) SOUND OF THOSE BELLS, HEARTS IN A SWELL
STANDING TOGETHER, IN TIME

CHIMES EARLY MORNING, SUNDAY CHURCH BELLS
PURE TONES COLLECTING, WAKING MY WORLD
COMMUNITY RINGS OUT, DOWN STREETS, THROUGH THE FIELDS
AN ENERGY LODESTONE, WE ARE WITHIN

Lodestone

‘The Beacon’ is Ian Roland’s third single release of 2024. A homage to the Adonis Blue Butterfly and the landscape of the South Downs National Park, near Hassocks, UK, this song celebrates the essential beauty of nature, the web of which sustains all life, including our own. We need to preserve it. It was way back in 1970 when Joni Mitchell sang, “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot”, and since then we have had 50+ years of scientific evidence highlighting the destruction the fossil-fuel industry causes. It takes a huge amount of money to try to divert our attention away from this issue, but it is inescapable and will affect us all, no matter how many billions of dollars may have been invested in media disinformation, political influence, division and unrest, to try to muddy the waters.

Credits
Ian Roland – vocals, guitar
Dave Coomber – bass
James Chapman – drums
Mishkin Fitzgerald – piano, keyboards, backing vocals
Simon Yapp – violin, viola 

Song by Ian Roland
Recorded at Brighton Road Recording Studios by Jake Skinner
Mastered at Subvert Central Mastering by Bob Macciochi 
© 2024 Ian Roland

VERSE 1
HEAD FULL OF NOISE, JUST START WALKING
UP THE HILL TO, THE BEACON
CHALK GRASSLAND SLOPES, ROLLING TO THE SEA
A SKYLARK CALLS, A 1000 FEET HIGH ABOVE
CHORUS X2
HIGH ON THE BEACON, WE
DISSOLVE AND RE-APPEAR
LANDSCAPE TAKES US (HOME)
HOME TO ADONIS BLUE
VERSE 2
MEADOW PIPPIT, CORN BUNTING SING
RAIN-SOAKED CHALK SLOPES, DRYING OUT IN THE WIND
WILD ORCHIDS GROW, MIMIC A BEE
ALL SLOWS DOWN FOR, ROUND-HEADED RAMPION

CHORUS X2
HIGH ON THE BEACON, WE
DISSOLVE AND RE-APPEAR
THE LANDSCAPE TAKES US (HOME)
HOME TO ADONIS BLUE

MID 8 X2
THOUGHTS PASS IN SILENCE, SILENCE IS HEARD
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US BECOMING MORE BLURRED
CLEAR THE CONNECTION, SPARK AND IGNITE
BEACON IN DAY, BEACON IN NIGHT …BLUE, BLUE, BLUE, BLUE

CHORUS X2
HIGH ON THE BEACON, WE
DISSOLVE AND RE-APPEAR
THE LANDSCAPE TAKES US (HOME)
HOME TO ADONIS BLUE

The Beacon

‘Craving’ - Ian Roland

In my very early years, growing up in South London, my big sisters used to take me to Crystal Palace Park to see the huge model dinosaurs there. It was a mix of trepidation and excitement to seek out the prehistoric animals amidst the Park’s trees and the grey, rainy skies of the Borough of Bromley. I knew the park as Crystal Park, a magical park, and it features in this song, which is about the enduring power of love that can sometimes haunt us, like a toxic drug, but also sustain and uplift us, if we give it enough space.  
Credits
Ian Roland – vocals, guitar
Dave Coomber – bass
James Chapman – drums
Mishkin Fitzgerald – piano, keyboards, backing vocals
Simon Yapp – violin, viola 

Song by Ian Roland
Recorded at Brighton Road Recording Studios by Jake Skinner
Mastered at Subvert Central Mastering by Bob Macciochi 
© 2024 Ian Roland

CRAVING
						
VERSE 1
CARVED OUR NAMES INSIDE A HEART
ON MY FAVOURITE TREE IN CRYSTAL PARK
WISH I HADN’T NOW ‘COS IT’S BLEEDING IN ME
THE PAIN I TRANSFERRED TO THAT OLD OAK TREE

CHORUS (X1)
LOVE GOES ON AND ON
THE WORLD SINGS ONE MORE SONG
A FINAL NOTE RESOLVES
AND WE’RE STILL CRAVING

VERSE 2
SHOT A SPARROW IN BRIGHT DAYLIGHT
IT HOLLOWED OUT MY HEART AND MADE ME CRY
FELT MY SOUL DIMINISH THERE
PULLING MY HATE OUT OF DESPAIR

CHORUS (X2)
LOVE GOES ON AND ON
THE WORLD SINGS ONE MORE SONG
A FINAL NOTE RESOLVES
AND WE’RE STILL CRAVING

MID 8
THERE, THERE, CRAVING LOVE’S ALL 
THERE, THERE, CRAVING LOVE’S ALL
THERE, THERE, CRAVING LOVE

FROM YOU… FROM YOU… FROM YOU…CRAVING (LOVE) (X2)

VERSE OUTRO
LOVE, LOVE GOES ON AND ON 
CRAVING…CRAVING…(X2)



Craving

Falling for you, in bleak, bleak times. Hang on to you.

Hang On To You

New single. Release date 28th July 2025.
Overview
Must be some way of living, where I don’t hurt you anymore. Must be some way of living, where you don’t kill me every day. Some way of living, stop digging holes in the ground. Must be some way of living, uncharted, unplanned.

Biggest invention, is what we do now. Some system that caught us, way back when somehow. Liberate our side steps, our shuffle back and forth. Must be some way of living, to break this curse.

Some way of living, unlock every day. Pixel perfect reflections, getting carried away. Storms ahead brewing, lighting up the same sky. Must be some way of living, where we’re on the same side.

Credits
Ian Roland – vocals, guitar
Dave Coomber – bass
James Chapman – drums
Mishkin Fitzgerald – piano, backing vocals

Song by Ian Roland
Recorded at Brighton Road Recording Studios by Jake Skinner
Produced by Ian Roland and Jake Skinner
Mastered at Subvert Central Mastering by Bob Macciochi
© 2025 Ian Roland


Some Way Of Life

"Paul Simon meets Fleet Foxes". "Nick Drake meets Elbow".

On average, a person takes between 15 and 25 breaths every minute. I have plumped for 20 and written a love song, with trees in mind.

20 Breaths Of Love Per Minute

Ian Roland & The Subtown Set

'Double Rainbow' album

1.	The Valley   		3:51
2.	Butterfly      		4:17
3.	Songbirds    		4:15
4.	In The Darkness   	3:17
5.	Colour Me In         	2:29
6.	Searchlight           	4:09
7.	Human Too           	2:55
8.	Shooting Star        	4:40
9.	Day Became You   	2:58
10.	Gravity Inside        	2:14
11.	Double Rainbow    	4:00

Ian Roland - vocals, guitars
Simon Yapp - vocals, violin 
Brione Jackson - vocals, cello 
Nick VanVlanderan - drums
Ruby Rose - backing vocals
Recorded at: Airtight Studios, Manchester; Subtown Studios, Brighton.
Producer (tracks 1,6,7,8,9,10): Nigel Stonier
Mixed by: Sèadna McPhail
Mastered by: Alan Lowles
Songs: Ian Roland

Photography: LBPhoto.UK
Cover photo:  (left to right) 
Jade Woodhouse (vocals, cello), Ian Roland (vocals, guitars), Simon Yapp (vocals, violin)
  
Website: www.ianroland.com
Copyright: 2019

11 - Double Rainbow

Website : http://ianroland.com/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/ianrolandmusic
Facebook Band Page https://www.facebook.com/ianrolandband
Twitter https://twitter.com/ianrolandmusic
Amazing Tunes: http://ianroland.amazingtunes.com/

Baylen Leonard - Amazing Radio
"Ian Roland's songs have a way of sneaking into your head and heart after just one listen. I find myself singing them long after hearing them. His songwriting somehow has the magical ability to transport me back to the front porch of my youth. They manage to sound both modern and like something from times gone by. Excellent." Baylen Leonard - Amazing Radio, http://amazingradio.com/?show=thefrontporch

Phil Widdows - FolkCast
"Ian Roland is a gifted songwriter and performer with an individual and refreshingly different approach to his art, producing songs that really are well worth getting to know." - Phil Widdows, folkcast.co.uk

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