Matt James

Introduction in English:

Last year, my wife and me bought a cottage on the Baltic Sea. It was to be something like our retirement home for the next thirty years. 
Unfortunately, this vision has so far been thwarted by our increasingly resentful neighbours. Consideration is a foreign word for them. They let their children play loud basketball as long as they want; they grill foul-smelling meat as long as they want and they party as long as they want. 
If you ask them nicely to be quiet, you will be dismissed with slogans like "We don't give a shit", "Move away if you don't like it" or "We'll do what we like".
In my helplessness and speechlessness over this dissocial stubbornness, I came across an old Beatles song called "Not a Second Time". Of course, it was composed by John Lennon in 1963 in a completely different context.
But its lyrics fit just as well with my desperate and so far largely unheard plea for more neighbourly consideration. - In particular, the lines: "You're giving me the same old line/ I'm wondering why/You hurt me then/ you're back again/No, no, no, not a second time“ sum up our current plight with these self-centred neighbours.
And as always with covers, my aim is not to get as close as possible to the original, but to transform it into a Karlit-O-Kay sound design.
The picture cover for the song is by German artist Markus Schuke.

Einleitung auf Deutsch:

Letztes Jahr kauften meine Frau und ich an der Ostsee ein Häuschen. Es sollte so etwas wie unser Alters- und Ruhesitz für die nächsten dreißig Jahre werden. 
Leider wurde diese Vision bisher von unseren zunehmend renitenten Nachbarn durchkreuzt. Rücksichtnahme ist für sie ein Fremdwort. Sie lassen ihre Kinder lautstark Basketball spielen, solange die wollen; sie grillen übelriechendes Fleisch, so lange sie wollen und sie machen Party, so lange sie wollen. 
Bittet man sie freundlich um Ruhe, wird man mit Sprüchen wie "Ist uns doch scheißegal", "Ziehen Sie doch weg, wenn es Ihnen nicht paßt" oder "Wir machen, was uns passt" abgefertigt.
In meiner Ohnmacht und Sprachlosigkeit ob dieser dissozialen Dickfelligkeit stieß ich auf einen alten Song der Beatles namens "Not a Second time". Der ist natürlich damals 1963 von John Lennon in einem ganz anderen Zusammenhang komponiert worden.
Seine Textzeilen passen aber ebenso gut zu meinem verzweifelten und bisher weitgehend unerhört gebliebenen Bitten um mehr nachbarschaftliche Rücksichtnahme. – Insbesondere die Zeilen „You're giving me the same old line/ I'm wondering why/You hurt me then/ you're back again/No, no, no, not a second time“ bringen unsere derzeitige Not mit diesen egozentrischen Nachbarn auf den Punkt, 
Und wie stets bei Covern geht es mir nicht darum, dem Original möglichst nahe zu kommen, sondern dieses in ein Karlit-O-Kay- Sounddesign zu transformieren.
Das Bild-Cover zu dem Song stammt von dem deutschen Künstler Markus Schuke.

Not a Second Time

Not A Second Time (Lennon/Mccartney)

Introduction in English:

On a Saturday, 9 June 1989, I receive a phone call from my mother at around 6 am. She seems to be laughing. But as it soon turns out, tears are bursting out of her. At first she can only say one sentence: "Your father is dead". Then her voice fails. I, who has just been roused from my sleep by the ringing, at first think it's a bad joke. My father, not even 55 years old, dead, who had been so full of energy in the last few months? With whom I had spoken lively on the phone just a week ago?
Then my eldest sister comes to the phone. She speaks like a robot, as if she has frozen all her feelings inside herself.
She confirms the sudden death of my father from a heart attack and urges me to come immediately from Berlin to southern Germany (800 kilometres away).
Much of what happened after that - from the last encounter with my father in the morgue, to the years of vacillating between feelings of liberation and sometimes massively frightening "I'll bring you to me in the realm of the dead" nightmares after his funeral, to finding a deeper inner peace with him in the last few years - I wrote down and sang about in the following song "My Father in Heaven".      
However, the song lyrics are not chronological, but set in 2011, in which I am all alone on a beautiful summer day in the cemetery where my father's grave is located. From this day I start a retrospective and an outlook.     

Lyrics:

My Father in Heaven

What a beautiful day
All alone in the graveyard 
Come to visit you
Without a grudge

It's unbelievably quiet
Hear the dead deep asleep 
In an beyond harbour
Be with you soon

I hated you sometimes 
Had you so gladly touched,
You're gone too soon 
Left me alone with the dirt 
Of this life.

Wanted to tell you so much more 
You can't sneak away like that
A moment ago you were still there  
I felt quite close to you,

Now only 
A cold hand in the morgue
Nothing more moves

My father in heaven, 
I miss you very much, 
With wistfulness my heart sometimes
Becomes so heavy

When you were suddenly dead
Many things seemed easier, 
I moved forward in life, 
I looked free

but when I slept at night,
you'd come into my dreams, 
trying to pull me over, 
to the land beyond.

You didn’t let me go for so long 
Lying like a black mourning box
On my chest and belly, 
Felt like I was in a tube 
Trapped by you.

Often couldn’t defend myself
Felt completely without power 
When in the deep of the night
you came to my room, 

without a body, 
pure soul contact,
worlds still unknown to me.

Father in heaven,
do you hear me now,
I speak to you in peace, 
I am no longer hurt.

Your grave is newly decorated,
I've picked a bouquet for you, 
I sit down with you, 
I surrender tot he silence
peaceful silence. 

I am here now, you there
even if the wall separates us,
we see each other invisibly, 
You always stay close to me, 

I'll go on now, 
Stay here, 
I'll be back soon

Father in heaven
I think of you often 
You are indispensable, 
Come with me....

My Father in Heaven

My Father In Heaven

Help!

Introduction in English

Sometimes I have to smile a little when I think about the fact that John Lennon was only 24 years old when he wrote these lyrics. 
He certainly didn't know about the cries for help that come with ageing from 60 plus. The experience of gradual physical decline and the increasing dependence on the support of other people. The gradual loss of autonomy, which is so important for one's own dignity. And the subliminal threat of retirement and nursing homes approaching, which then temporarily pulls you out of your increasing mental derangement by singing old Beatles songs.
But apart from that, he certainly already knew a lot about the hardships of being different, of not belonging; the longing to experience something like love in the worldwide recognition and at the same time having to suffocate and drown in this wave of adoration. 
In the pop era of the time, his desperate cry for help was reduced to a tolerable two minutes
I turned it into a leisurely three-minute waltz. And tried to express my increasing need for help in certain areas of life in different ways: shy and fragile, desperate and humble, angry and almost accusatory. 
And towards the end, I find myself in an almost otherworldly limbo in which a part of me comes to peace with the cry for help and finds its own new dignity in it.

Einführung auf Deutsch
Manchmal muß ich ein wenig schmunzeln, wenn ich daran denke, dass John Lennon erst 24 Jahre alt war, als er diesen Songtext schrieb. 
Da wusste er mit Sicherheit noch nichts von den Hilferufen, die mit dem Älterwerden ab 60 plus einhergehen. Die Erfahrung des allmählichen körperlichen Zerfalls und die sich zunehmend anschleichende Angewiesenheit auf die Unterstützung von anderen Menschen. Der allmähliche Verlust von Autonomie, der für die eigene Würde so wichtig ist. Und das unterschwellig drohende Herannahen von Senioren- und Pflegeheimen, die einem dann mit dem Singen von alten Beatles-Songs vorübergehend aus der zunehmenden geistigen Umnachtung herausreißen.
Aber abgesehen davon wußte er sicher schon viel von den Nöten des Andersseins, des nicht dazu gehörens; der Sehnsucht, in der weltweiten Anerkennung so etwas wie Liebe zu erfahren und zugleich in dieser Verehrungswelle geradezu ersticken und ertrinken zu müssen. 
In der damaligen Pop-Zeit wurde sein verzweifelter Hilferuf auf allseits erträgliche gut zwei Minuten eingedampft.
Ich habe daraus einen gut dreiminütigen gemächlichen Walzer gemacht. Und dabei versucht, meine in gewissen Lebensbereichen zunehmende Hilfsbedürftigkeit auf verschiedene Weise auszudrücken: Scheu und zerbrechlich, verzweifelt und demütig, wütend und beinahe anklagend. 
Und zum Ende hin befinde ich mich in einer fast schon jenseitigen Zwischenwelt, in der ein Teil in mir mit dem Hilferuf in Frieden kommt und darin eine eigene neue Würde findet.

Help!

Help! (Lennon/Mccartney)

Introduction in English

Many of them were persecuted, oppressed, tortured or even murdered. 
But many of them escaped their perpetrators and potential butchers and emerged even stronger from these struggles for survival. 
And especially at a time when the tyrannical powers are raising their heads again, when a repressive right-wing shift is taking place all over the world, they are more important than ever;
In their unmistakable clarity, their healthy stubbornness, their intuitive knowledge to protect the all-encompassing love and vitality in the world from the destructive forces of fascist systems.
With my song I want to encourage all free spirits to show themselves even more and to go forward. And I want to encourage all listeners of this song to open up more to their own free-spirited side.

Lyrics (for those, who don`t speak German)

Free spirits

They never let themselves be bent
Never let any repression get them down

They have a keen sense
For what is real or just false adornment

They follow their own tracks
They tick according to their own clocks

They are with themselves and yet open-minded
They change and remain true to themselves

Often stand on their head
Don't like to swim with

Every ancient braid
Is sprayed with color
Until it burns out

Free spirits
Are still 
In this land

Free spirits
Not all 
Have they
Banished, Burnt

Free spirits
Have 
Survived the hells
And lay down in the light unbreakable

They dream with their eyes open
Make a thousand mistakes, seem to be no good

Are often still unrecognized, banished from the grill plate
Yet they sparkle beneath the sand  

They are often underestimated
Violated in their dignity
Abandoned in the forest by the mainstream
They wear orchids 
Can see in the dark
Can walk blind on clouds

Are outraged alive
Say out loud what bothers them

Are driven by love
For themselves, the humans and the world

Free spirits
Are still 
In this land

Free spirits
Not all 
Have they
Banished, Burnt

Free spirits
Have 
Survived the hells
And lay down in the light unbreakable
lay down in the light
lay down in the light
Lay
Down
In
The 
Lieght

Deutscher Originaltext:

Freigeister

Sie lassen sich niemals verbiegen
Von keiner Repression unterkriegen

Sie haben ein feines Gespür
Für das was echt ist oder nur falsche Zier

Sie folgen Ihren eigenen Spuren
Sie ticken nach Ihren eigenen Uhren

Sie sind bei sich und doch aufgeschlossen
Sie wandeln sich und bleiben sich treu

Stehen oft auf dem Kopf
Schwimmen ungerne mit

Jeder uralte Zopf
Wird mit Farbe besprüht
Bis er verglüht

Freigeister
Sind noch immer 
In diesem Land

Freigeister
Nicht alle 
Haben sie
Verbannt, Verbrannt

Freigeister
Haben 
Die Hölllen überlebt
Und sich unkaputtbar in das Licht gelegt

Sie träumen mit offenen Augen
Machen tausend Fehler, scheinen nichts zu taugen

Werden oft noch verkannt, vom Grillteller verbannt
Dennoch funkeln sie unter dem Sand  

Gerne werden sie unterschätzt
In ihrer Würde verletzt
Vom Mainstream im Wald ausgesetzt
Sie tragen Orchideen 
Können im Dunkeln sehen
Können auf Wolken blind gehen

Sind lebendig empört
Sagen laut, was sie stört

Sind von Liebe getrieben
Für sich, die Menschheit und die Welt

Freigeister
Sind noch immer 
In diesem Land

Freigeister
Nicht alle 
Haben sie
Verbannt, Verbrannt

Freigeister
Haben 
Die Hölllen überlebt
Und sich unkaputtbar in das Licht gelegt
In das Licht gelegt
In das Licht gelegt
In 
Das
Licht
Gelegt

Freigeister (Free Spirits)

Looking to Heaven

Hey guys,
here is my cover version of "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan. A beautifully sad song - but a great one! I hope you like my rendition. You can also find a video of me performing it on the RoomRock YouTube-Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY2nWIUmbn8

Thanks again to Mike for letting me be a part of the project.
And thank you guys for listening! Leave a like, comment, repost or follow if you want to.
Have a great day!

Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilbert O'Sullivan (Acoustic Guitar-Cover) - RoomRock Live-Version

Mixed and Mastered by Woods Studio
https://soundcloud.com/woods_studio

Juan Fco. Bueno - Fiesta

Mastering: A7 Recording Studio
Written by Cavebar while sitting on the balcony loving the geranium glow.
Guitar: Taylor 150e 12-string

Lyrics:
Thanks for this sunshine day,
Thanks for the joy that comes our way,
The summer’s near, the blossoms here,
What on the planet have we got to fear now?
Sittin’ on the balcony lovin’ the geranium glow.

It’s such an easy sell,
The cooling breezes treat us well,
The summer’s near, the greens appear,
What on the planet have we got to fear now?
Sittin’ on the balcony lovin’ the geranium glow.

It’s such a simple thing,
Sure as the season moves from Spring,
We’ve got some plans, we’re in good hands,
Thinkin’ ‘bout visitin’ some beautiful lands now,
Sittin’ on the balcony lovin’ the geranium glow.

Instrum. +
Doo-doot-doo, doo-doot-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba, Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba.

It’s such a simple thing,
Sure as the season moves from Spring,
We’ve got some plans, we’re in good hands,
Thinkin’ ‘bout visiting some beautiful lands now,
Sittin’ on the balcony lovin’ the geranium glow.
Sittin’ on the balcony lovin’ the geranium glow.

Geranium Glow

I didn't write this song, but it's very close to my heart! It was written and recorded by Tonio K (of "Life In The Foodchain" fame), and was released on his 1986 album "Romeo Unchained." Not a widely known tune, but literally one of my faves!

YOU WILL GO FREE

You've been a prisoner baby
Been a prisoner all your life
Held captive in an alien world
Where they hold your need for love to your throat like a knife
And they make you jump
And they make you do tricks
They take what started off such an innocent heart
And they break it and break it and break it
Until it almost can't be fixed

Well I don't know when
And I don't know how
I don't know how long it's gonna take
I don't know how hard it will be
But I know
You will go free

Now you can call it the devil
Call it the big lie
Call it a fallen world
Whatever it is, it ruins almost everything we try
It's the sins of the fathers
It's the choices we make
It's people screaming without making a sound
From these prison cells in paradise
Where we're chained to our mistakes

Well I don't know when
And I don't know how
I don't know how much it's gonna cost you
Probably everything
But I know
You will go free

You can't see the jailer
You can't see the bars
You can't turn your head around fast enough
But it's everywhere you are
It's all around you
And everywhere you walk these prison walls surround you

But in the midst of all this darkness
In the middle of this night
I see the truth cut through this curtain like a laser
Like a pure and holy light
And I know I can't touch you now
And I don't want to speak too soon
But when we get sprung
From out of these cages baby
God knows what we might do

Well I don't know when
And I don't know how
I don't know if you'll be leaving alone
Or if you'll be leaving with me
But I know
You will go free

I know the truth will set you free
The truth about who you are
The truth about 
Who you were always meant to be
You will go free

You Will Go Free (Tonio K Cover)

Written about my favourite area to visit.

Lyrics:
Blue-green infinity, the holy trinity: water, shoreline and sky
Poseidon slumbering, fear not encumbering, water, shoreline and sky
There was enlightenment and pure proportion, 
Channeled through the golden mean.
The perfect pieces of the past lie broken,
Waiting in a timeless dream. Aegean aquamarine.

It doesn’t matter if the world is stalling 
It doesn’t matter if it’s all appalling 
It doesn’t matter if the sky is falling
When the aquamarine is calling.
 
Invasion history, asleep in mystery, hidden in the evening calm,
The water covering, no tale discovering, hidden in the evening calm.
The sun retreating from its aerial throne, lifting off its golden crown,
Apollo, Helios and Phoebus descend, easing their chariot down,
Into the aquamarine.  Instrum.

Blue-green infinity, the holy trinity: water, shoreline and sky
Poseidon slumbering, fear not encumbering, water, shoreline and sky
Aegean aquamarine.

It doesn’t matter if the world is stalling 
It doesn’t matter if it’s all appalling 
It doesn’t matter if the sky is falling
When the aquamarine is calling.    Instrum.

Aquamarine

Lyrics:

A quiet gardener, laying lonely on his bed,
Something is calling, something is calling, faintly in his head
A dream of roses, draws him out to search the sky
Something is calling, something is blooming there,
Beyond the vision of his eye.

Can it be something beautiful’s reaching out to me?
Can it be, there’s a garden that welcomes every leaf?
Can it be, there are flowers that love my calloused hand?
Can it be, that they’re blossoming in a flawless land?

A quiet sailor, laying lonely on his bed,
Something is calling, something is calling, faintly in his head
A dream of dolphins, draws him out to search the sea
Something is calling, something is sailing there,
Beyond what he can see.

Can it be something beautiful’s reaching out to me?
Can it be, there’s an ocean that welcomes every stream?
Can it be, there's a ship that wants guidance from my hand?
Can it be, that it’s voyaging far from sea or land?

Something is calling everyone, there always seem to be,
Greetings that are reaching for us all.         
Something is hoping that everyone will listen carefully
For the spirit call.

Can it be something beautiful’s reaching out to me?
Can it be, there’s an ocean that welcomes every stream?
Can it be, something’s hoping to hold my calloused hand?
Can it be, something’s calling me from a flawless land?

Something Is Calling

Cursed Till The Grave

Introduction in English:
Some of my friends accuse me of having a longing for death or even of glorifying death. In fact, I often deal with death in my lyrics - as I do in this song and the whole album that will be released in the next 12 to 15 months. 
But as with previous songs, I always say that I can enjoy life all the more by fully accepting death as an inevitable reality. Many people who try to suppress this fact constantly feel an underlying, agonising fear that tends to keep them away from the wonderful aspects of life. 
In addition, recognising that death is a constant companion from birth leads to even more profound gratitude for every day that I am allowed to live. 
The song ‘Rendezvous with Death’ was written at a time when I was at an important turning point in my life. During this phase, I realised that I had to let some things ‘die’ in order to continue living well. In this respect, this in-depth rendezvous was necessary in order to move forward again. Another example of how death and life are inextricably linked.


Lyrics in English

Rendezvous with Death

The dead comes very quietly
He sneaks up behind you unnoticed
He has stolen your lifelong dream
So don't even start making plans for the future

In the most beautiful kiss he takes your joy
In the greatest rush of life he simply unplugs you

He cradles you gently in his lap, lulls your mind, sings you to sleep
Before you awake, he draws you all the way in to himself 

He is waiting for you in the treetop 
Lean in, he takes you to himself
With every branch he has already grasped you
The dead

Deutscher Originaltext

Rendezvous mit dem Tod

Der Tod kommt auf ganz leisen Sohlen
Er schleicht sich unbemerkt von hinten an
Er hat Dir Deinen Lebentraum gestohlen
Drum‘ fang‘ erst gar nicht mit Zukunftsplänen an

Im schönsten Kuss nimmt er Dir Deine Freude
Im größten Rausch des Lebens stöpselt er Dich einfach aus

Er wiegt Dich sanft in seinem Schoß, lullt Dich ein, singt Dich in den Schlaf
Bevor Du erwachst zieht er Dich ganz zu sich hinein 

In der Baumkrone erwartet er Dich 
Lehn Dich an, er nimmt Dich zu sich
Mit jedem Ast hat er Dich schon erfasst
Der Tod

Rendezvous mit dem Tod (Rendezvous with the dead)

Rendez-vous mit dem Tod (Rendez-vous with Death)

God Save Me

Wrote this one a long time ago and have been waiting to do it with a new acoustic guitar.  Finally got one for my birthday from my family and I'd like to dedicate this one to them.  Because of them, I am far from lonely, and to my wife, you are my everything, thank you!

Lonely People

Verse 1
I don’t know much, not much of anything at all
I know myself and I know what I see
All by myself, drinking coffee in the rain
In part to wake up, in part to wash away the pain
Every week I sit here, sorting out my thoughts
Watching people, watching me, wondering if they’re living or just letting the days pass by

Chorus
Look at all the lonely people, look at all the empty eyes
Look at all the lonely people, just passing by.

Verse 2
She irons her dress, brushes her hair but she still feels like a mess
She dries her tears and makes a wish, it’s the same wish every day
Daydreaming through work, coasting through everything she does
Waiting for something or someone to take her away

Chorus
She’s one of the lonely people, she’s swimming in empty eyes
In a world full of lonely people, she’s getting by

Verse 3
He’s spending his time, dancing with her in his mind
Holding her hand, he’s contemplating her name, what’s her name
He sees her in the café every night, the same seat, the same time, the same salad and wine
All he has to do is knock on the glass, but he just walks past.

Chorus
He’s one of the lonely people, he’s lost in empty eyes
In a world full of lonely people, he’s getting by

Instrumental Bridge

Verse 4
She finished her wine, as red as her lips, she drops a tip and waves good-bye
Picks up her worn-out copy of On the Road, and heads for the door
She loves the rain; he gives up on the newspaper and lets the water have its way
He can’t help but smile and feel like something’s about to change.
He turns, she turns, she smiles, and he says hi, she looks down instantly and walks on by
He stops himself and takes a deep breath, and asks for her name

Chorus
Just a couple of lonely people, found something in empty eyes
In a world full of lonely people, are you getting by, don’t just get by

Lonely People

What You Need

Two Steps Into Heaven

Beat by Tellsonic with some Microphone Mafia touches .

Girl On The Moon

Introduction in English:

Manfred (‘Manne’) was my oldest friend. We used to play together in the sandpit. 
We were both very contrasting characters. I was ambitious for a long time and wanted to excel through special achievements. Manne, on the other hand, preached idleness and complete freedom from pressure even as a teenager.  He often laughed at me from his lotus position when I got bogged down in something. I secretly admired him for his attitude of pure being and complete freedom from purpose. 
Through him, I learnt about the benefits of slowness and pausing. And he was a sensitive companion when I came into contact with certain drugs such as cannabis, alcohol and cocaine in my early adulthood.     
Unfortunately, from his mid 20s onwards, he tipped more and more towards the destructive side of drug use. During this time, we both drifted further and further apart. The last time I saw him, he seemed like a wreck to me. I could already sense that things weren't going to be good with him for much longer. 
Nevertheless, I was shocked when I learnt of his early death at the age of just 31. 
Since then, I have visited his grave every year and see how many beautiful aspects of him live on in his son, who is my nephew. 
With this song, I would like to honour him with my own personal musical memorial.   

Lyrics in English (for those, who don`t speak German):

Manne Manne

Manne Manne, it hurts so much
Because I just don't quite understand
That you left so soon
You pissed off from one day to the next

Manne Manne, you were such a cool hero
In your anti-achievement world
Instead of storm and stress in a noble snail's pace
A bohemian with a song of lullabies

Believed in you for a long time,
In your ‘Let yourself go’ poem
Your vision of life without haste

Without any pressure and stressful scabies
Just stay lying there
Behind misty coloured windows
Against the compulsion to do!

Manne manne, you were once so beautiful
You could turn women's heads
With your deeply chilled charm
Even the proudest lay in your arms

Manne Manne, master of slowness
Of ‘I don't have to do anything, I always have time’
Of life beyond ‘Nine to Five’
Of twilight sleep in the realm of night owls

Lord of the drug world
Herring-hook-less tent
Invited us into

Strange magic worlds
Where no rules apply
Into dark shadowy spaces
Gave us a light there

Manne Manne, it hurts so much
Because I never quite understand
That you went down like that
I've missed you a few times

Manne Manne, I`ve dreamt of you sometimes
Damn, I missed it somehow
To stop your self-dissolution programme
At the last meeting it was already much too late

Manne Manne
Manne Manne
Manne Manne
 
 




Manne Manne

This song was originally recorded by the Waterboys then Ellie goulding. written by Mike Scott. All vocals on this one Bobby T Moore

Matt James

Mrwesleyhasanhickmanlé*9155-s7t_vk_an6Justin-z2i2f