Released 11th June 2021.

As I lay on the ward,
I’ve never felt as safe and reassured,
Than when I see you standing by my side,

What a way,
What a fine way to make my day,
It’s wonderful to hear you say there’s nowhere else that you’d rather be,

I don’t mind, you can go,
There’s a world outside your window,
But I’m glad you’d choose to spend your time with me,

What a way,
What a fine way to make my day,
I’d never assume you’d wish to stay and help me bear the strain,

But it’s wrong, and it’s cruel,
To lay my wounds on you,
I’m ashamed, I’m a fool,
But what else can I do?

You’re divine, you’re a treasure,
You can turn my pain to pleasure,
You’re the one who gave me cause to go on living,

What a way,
What a fine way to make my day,
How can I ever repay the life you gave away to make my day,

What a way to make my day,
What a way to make my day,
What a way to make my day,

Make My Day

Released 10th Dec.
Produced by James Skelly at Parr St Studios, Liverpool.

Bells ring, the love of my life is married,
I can hardly bare to watch it,
O my, o my, o my,

Coping until my eyes betray me,
When they fill with tears of envy,
O my, o my, o my,


Oh my, your life is your own,
To share with anyone you please,
Only wish she’d share with me,
My, o my, o my,


She stands in the light of the stained-glass window,
Never seen someone so clearly in love,
O my, o my, o my,

Then somehow she feels my eyes upon her,
Turns and gives me a smile so tender,
(I feel your eyes on me, we were never meant to be)
How could anyone with a heart resent her?
O my, o my, o my,


Oh my, the look on her face, 
Tells me all I need to know,
I was right to let her go,
My, o my, o my,


Daydreams come as they vow together,
In delusion I was stood there with her,
But all of my dreams retreated,
When her velvet voice repeated:
“I do, I do, I do”,


Oh my, as the dream waved goodbye, 
I looked upon the wedding scene, 
And saw what might’ve been, 
My, o my, o my,
O my, o my, o my,
O my, o my, o my,

The Wedding

'Sunlight Abstractions II' - Alison Jardine

Must I compete with a ghost?
I felt as if we had become so close,
But you invert and fold your coast,
When I ask you who do you love the most?


You once said to me only love has no ends,
And on this belief your heart depends,
You'll sooner forgive foe than friend,
But with this sundered lover you'll never make amends,


I was discarded like steam from a train,
I thought you were crying but it was just the rain,
Tears of my own I must refrain, 
For every drop I would lose you again,


I clung to an horizon on a cloudless day,
I combed the night for stars to wish my doubts away,
With empty words you've led me astray,
And I'm not sure if you love me or you didn't know what else to say,

I Thought You Were Crying (But It Was Just the Rain)

Do I ever cross your mind?
Do you close your eyes and wander back?
Does the sheer mention of my name still cause all your blood to rush all over, and every nerve to stand on end?

Or is the air a little clearer?
The moon a little nearer?
Is the atmosphere lighter?
The sun a little brighter?

Do I ever cross your mind?
Do I ever cross your mind?

Are you anticipating?
I've spent so long waiting by the phone,
Sometimes when I'm all alone at night I will start to type your number, and wander through our messages,

Or did you trade me for another?
You find someone to call a lover?
Did you climb one step higher?
Does he fill a deep desire?

Do I ever cross your mind?
Do I ever cross your mind?

Now I never cross your mind ‘cause I bet your life’s a little easier,
Your time a little breezier, 
Have you found a new provider?
Is your smile a little wider?

So you’ve had your fun,
Guess I jumped an unloaded gun mistaking you for a bullet to dodge,
So please put your stubbornness aside and tell me do I ever cross your mind?

Do I ever cross your mind?
Do I ever cross your mind?
Do I ever cross your mind?

Do I Ever Cross Your Mind

Released 13th October 2023.

Sometimes I can be an island,
When the tide comes in and the sirens sing,
A song of sadness, call it madness,

Sometimes I can be a highway,
That everyone will ride when the mile is wide,
But a road well-run is good for no one,

They might see a drowning man,
Hopelessly doing what he can and he’ll be fine sometimes,


Sometimes I can be a painter,
When the light is right with a beautiful sight,
And life has colour, bright and fuller,

But sometimes I can be a shelter,
When the rain is hard and home is far,
If you need a bed to lie on, arm to cry on,

But they might see a drowning man,
Hopelessly doing what he can,
Lost at sea, beneath a wave,
But you must see the life to save and throw a line every time,

Sometimes (I Can Be An Island)

Released 20th September 2024.

Break through the vanity of love,
You know the shell of a seed must be broken, 
For our flowers to grow without limitations,

Look past the petals that hang on my vine, 
When the night is darker the brighter they shine, 
Come on dreamer, weave a shade over me,

And when you did the meadow came alive,
And when you did the trees all sang,
And when you did the flowers broke their silence,
And when you did all the birds came out to play,
And you've never been so happy in your life,
And you've never seen a sweeter sight,
And you'll never feel better than you did,
But you're so engrossed that you don't even see me and I know your dreams are running free,
And I know where your feet prefer to be,
I know your heart bleeds for me but your eyes don't love me at all,

I tried not to disturb you, you know,
I spared you all the words that I had, 
In silence hides the most bitter cry,

In sleep I can say all I wanted to say,
Only sleep will fulfil the thoughts of my day, 
And my night shall be remembered for a star,

I confessed to the heavens,
And I confessed to your star,
And I digress but yours outshone the others and you gleamed 'cause I told you so, And you beamed 'cause no one ever told you,
And you'd be wed to me if I told you that everyday,
You didn't listen 'til I said it and I can tell by the way you smiled,
That you'd feel contented down the aisle,
And with me you'd even have a child but your eyes don't love me at all,

Your Eyes (Don't Love Me At All)

Safe & Sound

B-side to new single 'Whatever Happened to John?' released on 7th July 2017.

iTunes

Magic Disaster

Alone Again

A flower waited for the clouds to clear,
Shame it spent its young years stalling its bloom,
And sadly I never took heed of the warning 
When I sat one lonely spring morning, 
And heard my friends outside:
"Come out, come out, come out, come out to play,
We will show you a better way“,

But I just keep holding on,
For a day to reminisce on, before I miss it,
I just hope that I don't dismiss it,

Now the glow of youth is fading,
All my friends they are trading their cycles for cars,
And as I become well acquainted with regret,
On one lonely midsummer sunset,
I heard a drunken bellow at my door:
"Come out, come out, come out, come out to play,
We will show you a better way",

But I just keep holding on,
And saving every penny for a vacation,
Without disappointed expectations,

And I don't know how long since I last resembled,
So much joy that I trembled, than the birth of my son,
I know he and I share the same choices,
And one snowy day I heard voices,
Call to his window:
"Come out, come out, come out, come out to play",
And I lean to him and say:
"Go out, go out, go out, go out and play,
'Cause you won't find a better day",

Come Out to Play

One hand, one hand strikes the other,
The other don't know where it went wrong,
She's strong but got nothing to be strong for,


Her routine lover with drunken lips and bloody eyes,
He starts to swear, her underwear clings to her thighs,
He calls it love, she's named it love since her teens,
And every blow is answered with a cry,

One hand, one hand strikes the other,
The other don't know where it went wrong,
She's strong but got nothing to be strong for,


And there she lay, under the waves of her grief,
He caused her pain without any thought of relief,
And we just watched, we stood and watched,
Who is to blame for all her misery and pain?

One hand, one hand strikes the other,
The other don't know where it went wrong,
She's strong but got nothing to be strong for,
She knows no different, she knows no different,
She knows no different, she knows no different,

One Hand Strikes the Other

Released 27th September.

Little green light, give me a sign, 
Little green light, 
Little green light, come alive!

I look across the bay upon America,
Her sleepy shore once bore a glow to foreigners,
My waves will break for you, and I will wait for you,

And your little green light, give me a sign, 
Little green light, 
Little green light, come alive! (shine for me once more)

I saw her sons set sail and dare to claim the moon, 
Her shadowy sky gave tide for the dreamers to pursue,
My day will break for you, and I will wait for you,

To hold the world in awe, the same as years before,
With your little green light beside your door,
Little green light, lady on the shore,
Raise your torch once more, my little green light, 

Give me a sign, my little green light,
Please come alive, my little green light, 
Then long may you shine, my little green light,

Little Green Light

Released 13th March 2020

Between the drum of the rain heard a beautiful sound,
A song drifts in the dark and no one around,
I’ve never heard anything as lovely in my life,


And you, my mystery girl, 
With every single note that you played,
I bet you never knew how happy you made me feel,
How happy you made me feel,


With a pen in my hand traced the melody line,
Then, as if she’d known that her tune would be mine,
In an air of wariness, the music died away,


And you, my mystery girl, 
With every single note that you played,
I bet you never knew how happy you made me feel,
How happy you made me feel,


And you, my mystery girl,
Don’t depart, my mystery girl,
Please forgive me my mystery girl,
I meant no harm,


And you, my mystery girl, 
With every single note that you played,
I bet you never knew how happy you made me feel,
How happy you made me feel,

My mystery girl,
My mystery girl,
My mystery girl,
My mystery girl…

Mystery Girl

Release date: 15th May 2020

So I guess you heard the news?
Woke up to the cry of a battle drum,
No one knew where the riders had come from, nobody in hell stood a chance,
And then came the raining of arrows, in one fell swoop I can call myself a widow,
There is a debt that must be paid,

Sundown, your home was ransacked,
Shot down by the devils riding horseback,
Sundown the banners turn the same shade of black,


So I guess you heard the news?
On the sunrise we rode into the valley below,
A fine line between plain and alley, you know how it goes, the pendulum of war,
And they tell you murder’s never easy but you should’ve seen the ease in which we did it,
How can you deny a man’s revenge?

Sundown, your home was ransacked,
Shot down by the devils riding horseback,
Sundown the banners turn the same shade of black,

Pendulum

Performed, recorded and produced by James Holt, 2016-17. Mastered by Alex Wharton, Abbey Road studios (2017)
Demo first released in 2015.

Hey Bill, what d'you kill? Ain't no way stop a thrill.
But Jill, write your will, hope you don't rest in landfill,
Stop there young lady, don't you go and shed any more tears,

Oh boy, here's your toy, give yourself a little joy.
My ploy, decoy, the horse that's heading for Troy,
Sit up and stand up, against all of your darkest fears,


You can stand me in a line but you'll never be in control,
There ain't a lot of hope for me,


Hey John, you've gone, went out and left your light on.
I spawn, break of dawn, conducting cars with a baton,
You better find the key to all that ever will be,

Oh Paul, on the wall, see it that you don't fall,
Close call, canon ball, ringing the local town hall,
Maybe we'd hear the answer to our plea,


You can stand me in a line but you'll never be in control,
There ain't a lot of hope for me,


You eat like a Roman, lie on your back and want more,
You kiss like a demon, crouch on your front like a whore,
You talk like a Queen, foam drooling from your mouth,
You fight like a teen, who's left all of his arms back down south,


Oh Lord, take a sword, and strike me before I get bored,
Ignored, in the ward, lying on the cutting board,
Hope I can pay, my debt in bags of stone,


You can stand me in a line but you'll never be in control,
There ain't a lot of hope for me,
There ain't a lot of hope for me,
There ain't a lot of hope for me,
There ain't a lot of love for me,

Whatever Happened to John?

Contact: info@jamesholtmusic.com
"Fresh and exciting to listen to" - Brian Eno
"Love his music, upbeat, great tracks" - Dermot O'Leary, BBC Radio 2
"Sounds so great on the radio!" - Chris Douridas, KCRW
"Talented and versatile songwriter" - Tom Robinson, BBC 6music
"Very talented, very wonderful - absolutely love his voice" - BBC Introducing Manchester

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