Brian Peters - The Song Man

I really love it when things come together quickly. Daniel contacted me two weeks ago, and suggested a collaboration. This song immediately came to me, and I sent him a recording a few days later. He then added his magical instrumentation and backing vocals. I am so grateful to him for his wonderful talent and input on this. Thank you, Daniel! https://soundcloud.com/user-276716031

I also asked my niece, Judith, to provide the artwork. It includes a photo of my dad, and the sheet of his favourite song. Thank you, Judith!

In remembrance of my dad - this Christmas Eve will be 3 years since his passing. Thanks for listening.

Daniel Lockhart: strings, violins, added vocals, harmonium, slide lead guitar, hollow body guitar, accordion 
Me: vocals, acoustic guitars, bass
Judith Joshua: artwork
video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V2VyqmvdRo&index=1&list=UUDAJEffE-Nk6zs4eYTrNEgg

Birds of Heaven (Brian Peters)

Not another story
Of princes, crowns and glory
Kingdoms rise and fall
To a Jester’s call
Where Man does not belong
There’s a chapel here
A burned-out tabernacle here
Where a Sliding Stone
Makes a passing home
For the birds of heaven

Now the Archer’s leaving
The arrow’s arc receding
Bleary harmonies
Set in broken keys
Are rolling out a song
Thru’ the fallow fields
Spins a Piper’s reel
And Time is gain
On a rusty chain
For the birds of heaven

There’s an open door
Fading lines along the shore
And flying high
In a bluer sky
Are the birds of heaven

Birds Of Heaven (w Daniel Lockhart)

vid link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3Tw7pYMhAQ

Wonders Will Never Cease (Brian Peters)

As long as I can make amends
And turn an enemy into a friend
As long as I in love defend the peace
Wonders will never cease

As long as I can take a stand
And hold a fallen brother by the hand
As long as I can see that man increase
Wonders will never cease
-
I’m calling you
There’s a better way
I’m calling you
There’s a better way
-
As long as I can heal a wrong
Uplift the weak and purify the strong
As long as I embrace the very least
Wonders will never cease
Wonders will never cease

Wonders Will Never Cease

This song was written coming up to the 19th anniversary of Stephen Biko's death in detention. I'd visited St. Stephen's Green in Dublin, where the last hanging took place, and that prompted the title. I'd also been musing on the death of Saint Steven, the first Christian martyr. All of these various ideas informed the lyric.

Vid Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phlGdpXHuUc&feature=youtu.be

Saint Stephen(Brian Peters)

There’s a wicked wind behind me
And it’s coming on down
And it’s breathing air reminds me
There’s blood on the ground
And I’m sleeping on an old lullabye
And I’m reaching between earth and sky

Now there’s a wall between us
You’re on one side
You have already seen us
There’s no place to hide
And I’m standing at the wrong end of the line
And I ain’t got a dime
-
Some people never wonder about things they’ve seen
Some people never worry, some people never dream
-
Well the shadows of the evening
They come to me now
And they’re calling Saint Stephen
To come on back down
There’ve been twenty hard years on the plough
And plenty of tears have been sown

I can feel Saint Stephen
He walks like a ghost
And his nails are uneven
His eyes they are lost
And he’s looking for a home in the world
And he’s caught between heaven and earth

Saint Stephen

Pravinand and I were in his front garden, overlooking the roads of our neighbourhood, when these first lines came to me. I went indoors and started composing this on his piano, before taking it home to finish it off.

vid link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7PfVsJq7UY&feature=c4-overview&list=UUDAJEffE-Nk6zs4eYTrNEgg

When The Healing Starts (Brian Peters)

There’s an asphalt highway burning
All the numbers are lost
No friends and no enemies returning
To the snake on the cross
And I am on the assembly line
Like a body of spare parts
And I’m waiting for the time
When the healing starts

The spirit touches the water
Once in a very long time
There’s fumes in the heart of the city
Cars backed up over a mile
Old men with broken bodies
Lovers with broken hearts
In restless dreams where God is
When the healing starts
-
Wise men, they follow their conscience
Children, they follow the rules
Me, I’m just in between them
I’m always somebody’s fool
-
The neon ladies are sparking
The suicide’s out on a ledge
Two hundred feet to the parking
It’s the thin edge of the wedge
Lies don’t hurt nobody
Truth don’t hit the mark
Everything’s now under study
When the healing starts
-
Temptation’s ‘round every corner
Prejudice over my back
Pride is on my shoulder
Deceit won’t cover the track
-
I’ve seen your face on the cover
Of some mag on a newspaper stand
Everyone’s got to go somewhere
You did the best that you can
Now the power pylons are falling
The streets are deserted and dark
I’ll see you in the morning
When the healing starts

When The Healing Starts

During Apartheid-era South Africa it was quite common for the regime to use the death penalty as a way of eliminating or scaring off opposition. That history has largely turned me against capital punishment. This is dedicated to those prisoners-of-conscience who made the ultimate sacrifice!

vid link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCxWnkrqlxI&feature=youtu.be

Death Row (Brian Peters)

See yourself in the water
Feel the grains of sand beneath your feet
Whirling up in form superior
Enthralling me with majesty

Natural is and natural let it be
We live or we die beneath the sacred tree
Life is just a mist
Soon it’s time to go
Spare my little kid
Waiting on Death Row

To each his own and all for all
Provided we can live in honesty
Perversion comes to turn the mind
Away from man’s equality

Natural is and natural let it be
We live or we die beneath the sacred tree
Life is just a mist
Soon it’s time to go
Spare my little kid
Waiting on Death Row

Death Row

I'm a singer-songwriter from Durban, South Africa. Having being raised in the church I was advantaged with a ready-made audience. Their kindness, patience and ecouragement gave me the confidence to improve my songwriting and to take it quite seriously. At times when the lyrics had a touch of controversy, they never thought it scandalous, which further encouraged me to write on social issues, love songs, and songs with just a story. 
By my mid-teens I was heavily influenced by the hippy gospel songwriter Larry Norman, which may explain why into my 50's I still have long hair! Through his music I learned that songs do have a greater purpose. 
As a young upstart I was blessed with a kind and forgiving congregation. Today I'm blessed with a very tolerant family and a bunch of great friends. I love what I do!



Brian Peters - The Song Man

Johnny Minstrel