In 2018 Dave (warfydave) Cooper sent me recording he had made, inviting me to contribute lyrics, vocals and steel guitar.   Immediately on hearing the recording, the words to Lewis Carroll's “The Lobster Quadrille” (sometimes called “The Mock Turtle's Song) started running through my head.
	We recorded the track and Dave posted it on his SC website (https://soundcloud.com/warfydave).   The song is still there at https://soundcloud.com/warfydave/lobster-quadrille-mix-4.
	The track I have posted here uses all the original stems except for the steel guitar (which I felt obliged to redo).   It has been re-mixed and re-mastered.
	There are many versions of this song on SC, the only ones I strongly remember are by Bruce Klepper (at https://soundcloud.com/bruce-klepper-1/the-mock-turtles-songfeat-mark-ewart), and Steely Dan (at https://soundcloud.com/steely-dan-official/the-mock-turtle-song), but I am sure they are all worth a good listen.

	The Lobster Quadrille appears in “Alice in Wonderland”.   It is sung by the Mock Turtle while he and the Gryphon attempt to demonstrate the dance to Alice.   John Tenniel's famous illustration (the cover art I have used) pictures both the Mock Turle and the Gryphon.

The Lobster Quadrille

BandCamp

In 2020, I presented W.E. (Bill) Bartolotto with a trilogy of incomplete songs asking if he would be interested in helping me finish them.   Bill was quite enthusiastic and so we began the process of collaboration which I am sure most Soundclouders are familiar with.   2 years later we have managed to come up with this track..
	The concept is based on Jack Vance's 1963 novel “The Eyes of the Overworld” and is, more or less, a discussion, partly of the nature of reality, and partly, of the reality of human nature.
	While the concept and music is mine, the lyrics are the combined effort of the two of us.

Full credit belongs to:
   	W. E. Bartolotta:  	vocals
	Ken Minty:  		vocals and all instruments except percussion
	Mike Konopka:	percussion, sound engineer, arrangement, mix and master

Please check out Bill's SC site at  soundcloud.com/user-233624083

Lyrics:

Part 1:   Smolod Town
	where shall the overworld be found
	where shall all our dreams and promises touch ground
	even in our most wistful hour
	it is not wise to underestimate the power
	of gods that strive to be alive

	in Smolod town where marsh and tundra mix
	the huts are birds’ nests made of mud and sticks
	yet the folk walk proud, heads high, voices loud
	in Smolod town

	the village is the abode of squalid gnomes
	as unlovely, graceless as their homes
	yet fixed upon their eyes violet cusps disguise
	their poverty

	the vile stench of filth is everywhere
	it permeates the dark and clammy air
	yet the gnomes know not these spoils
	they conduct themselves as royals
	in Smolod town

 	
Part 2:   The Prince
	when the old one dies
		I shall wear the eyes of the overworld
	I’ll become a king
		I’ll have everything in the overworld
	on lotus fruit I’ll dine
		and drink the nectar wine of the overworld
	I’ll live just as I please in luxury and ease
		staring through the eyes of the overworld

	the lenses do not blind
		they project the mind to the overworld
	though my life’s been poor
		my senses know the lure of the overworld
	exquisitely divine, 
		all pleasures shall be mine in the overworld
	the quintessential scheme of paradise I’ll dream
		staring through the eyes of the overworld

	I’ve worked the barren soil,
		for fourty years I’ve toiled in the normal world
	thus I’ve earned the right
		to taste all the delights of the overworld
	I want to die like this:
		by surfeit of bliss in the overworld
	a prince ‘mongst princely peers to spend my final years
		staring through the eyes of the overworld


Part 3:   Wistful Hours
	where shall the overworld be found
	where do all our dreams and promises touch ground
	even in our most wistful hour
	it isn't wise to underestimate the power
	of gods that strive to be alive

	do you believe
	do you ponder and seek
	do you work endlessly
	to see through the overworld’s eyes

Eyes of the Overworld

Eyes Of The Overworld

This recording is a remix of the “Reservoir Dogs” track posted in July 2021 by N.o.b.S.  at https://soundcloud.com/nobsmeyer/2021-collaborations-the-reservoir-dogs-01-dark-river?in=kcm069/sets/the-reservoir-dogs.   Shorter and bluesier, though, I think, not as imaginative or as freewheeling as the original.

Full credit to:
   	Tot. ….................................... percussion
	Norbert (N.o.b.S.) Meyer ….. bass and electric guitar
	Andrea (Foresto) Martini ….. electric guitar
	Ken Minty …......................... vocals, acoustic guitar and electric lap steel

Dark River

Dark River Remix

A ballad based on a poorly remembered story from my childhood.

Lyrics:
	I was born in the granite mountains on a bed of glacial scree
	where the cougar stalks its prey and the eagle screams
	there the ice-cold crystal river begins its journey to the sea
	through great dark brooding forests of mortal dreams

	she lay in the arms of a lover, too weak to raise a tear
	in a cabin touched by the breath of a winter frost
	a child stood in the doorway caught ‘tween hope and fear
	but the blood and the stillness speak of future lost

	so where have you gone my darling, is it a place of light and warmth?
	have you gone to laugh and play with your baby daughter?
	I cannot hear your laughter through the noise of this silent storm
	but you haunt the misty paths by the frozen water

	behold a mighty river embraced by ice and snow
	caught in the bitter grip of the arctic night
	am I like that frozen river do I have too far to go
	will I ever bask again in summer light

	so where have you gone my darling, is it a place of light and warmth?
	have you gone to laugh and play with your baby daughter?
	I cannot hear your laughter through the noise of this silent storm
	but you haunt the misty paths by the frozen water

The River

free download

This piece was written specifically for use at “jam sessions” which are (or once were) common in the Yarra Valley.   The structure is simple and most musicians grasp at once what is happening.

Lyrics:
	on a secret morn in the hours before dawn
	he slips to the dock with a silent song
	then sets off  to sail through the dawn's first light
	she waits alone in the shadows of the pines
	with all of the patience a young heart can find
	watching the waves for that sail to come in sight

	some would think they are made for each other
	for they are closer than sister and brother
	but nothing will happen if it's not in love's plan
	still, he might speak no english, she, no Japanese
	yet they see each other and both believe
	there can be no doubt - they'll understand, they sing the

	the song, the song of love
	the song, the song of love
	they sing the song, the song of love
	the song, the song of love

	you can sit him on her left, sit her on his right
	put them together in the pale moonlight
	but that don't mean anything is going to start
	yet he might live in New York and she in Hong Kong
	and if in his arms is where she belongs
	then nothing in heaven or earth will keep them apart, that's the

Epiphany at Mount D

The Song of Love

The Song Of Love

Album:     The Eyes of the Overworld

	A dark and exotic love ballad.

Lyrics:
	a dark-eyed lass, forlorn enchantress,
	dwells on the Cape of Sad Remembrance,
	waits at night on a lonely beach,
	for that which comes in from the sea

	her lover’s gone and he won’t return
	while the sea still stirs and the sun still burns 
	the flowers that once seemed so sweet
	are dust beneath her feet

	dance, children dance	dance, to the rhythm of the sea
	dance, children dance	dance, while you are young and free 

	a long lost lad on a lonely beach
	does not move and does not speak
	he cannot turn his sightless eyes
	away from the empty skies

	his time is done, he won’t return
	while the sea still stirs and the sun still burns
	he whispers soft his lover’s name
	and does not speak again

	dance, children dance	dance, to the rhythm of the sea
	dance, children dance	dance, while you are young and free 

	the flower girls of far Kauchique
	dance a dance of such sultry heat
	and sing such songs as might give birth
	to a broken heart on an empty earth

The Cape of Sad Remembrabce

The Cape of Sad Remembrance

Album:      Eyes of the Overworld

	Involves some layering of rhythms using piano, bass, several guitars and, need I say it, percussion

Lyrics:
       this is my curse:  revenge is a cord that binds me
       along this path waits my adversary

	fate comes in many flavours, passions and pain
	the curse won’t be lifted until vengeance is gained

	at journey’s end, only my foe shall mourn me
	when blood stains his sword, then I shall be free

07Nov2016

The Curse

Album:  Autobiography of a Lab Rat

	Many of my lyrics have a Kafka-esque edge to them.   This song is about as full flavour Kafka as I get (though “Dark River” and “A Walk in the Park” are, lyrically, even darker).   The music owes much to King Crimson and Moody Blues – though due to the absence of a mellotron, I had to settle for “strings”.


Lyrics:
	the walls, the walls are closing in,  the light is far too dim
	I can’t see where I’ve been
	I can’t, I can’t find my way out,  certainty is replaced by doubt
	what is this all about?

	I know, if I can find the way,  I will exit one fine day
	exit from the maze

	I can’t, I can’t find my way out,  certainty is replaced by doubt
	what is this all about?
	the jest, the jest is wearing thin,  it’s a race I cannot win
	what is this game I’m in?

	I know, if I can find the way,  I will exit one fine day
	exit from the maze

	the walls, the walls are closing in,  the light is far too dim
	what is this place I'm in?
	I know, if I can find the way,  I will exit one fine day
	exit from the maze

Autobiography of a Lab Rat

The Maze

music and lyrics by Terry Hogan

          Every once in a while with SoundCloud one comes across a real gem of a song.   This is such a song.   I put an improvised acoustic steel guitar track to it and, obviously, posted it.
          Terry's tracks are what I term "stream-of-consciousness" sessions and have an immediate impact that matches the "what-you-hear-is-what-you-get" quality of his recording.
          For those who wish to hear the unabridged original recording, go to:  https://soundcloud.com/terry-hogan-52941365/sounds-from-saturday-evening

Tonight

Tonight - Terry Hogan

a cover of a Jerry Reed classic.

	Anybody who performs music live does covers - sometimes to make up material, sometimes because it is a favourite song, and sometimes, as in this case, out of admiration for a great songwriter.   Amos Moses was a regular request at my gigs, perhaps because it is such a good story.
	My apologies to fans of the late, great, Jerry Reed if this does not reach an acceptable musical standard.

Lyrics:
	now Amos Moses was a cajun 
	he lived by himself in the swamp 
	he hunted alligator for a living 
	just knock 'em on the head with a stump 
	the Loosiana law gonna getcha Amos 
	it ain't legal huntin' alligator down in the swamp boy 

	now everyone blamed his old man 
	for making him mean as a snake 
	when Amos Moses was a boy 
	his daddy would use him for alligator bait 
	tie a rope around his leg and throw him in the swamp 
	alligator bait in the Loosiana bayou 


	'bout forty-five minutes southeast of Thibodeau Loosiana 
	lived a man called Buck Mill South and his pretty wife Hannah 
	they raised a son who could eat up his weight in groceries 
	named him after a man of the cloth - called him Amos Moses

	now folks 'round south Loosiana 
	reckoned Amos was a hell of a man 
	he could trap the biggest the meanest alligator 
	in his huge right hand 
	that's all he got left cause the alligator bit 'im 
	left arm gone clear up to the elbow 

	well the sheriff got wind that Amos
	was in the swamp huntin' alligator skin 
	so he snuck in the swamp gonna getcha boy 
	but he never came out again
	well I wonder where the Loosiana sheriff went to 
	you can sure get lost in the Loosiana bayou

Amos Moses

Amos Moses (Jerry Reed cover)

I have never met Terry Hogan except through Soundcloud.   I do know he does not live in California, he is a good guitarist, a sensitive and emotive singer, and a writer of some fine songs.
Terry's recordings are extremely lo-fi (frequently noisy), but very spontaneous, and his music is such that I can't help returning to his SC page to hear more.
     I often play along with his songs on an acoustic bass or a lap steel guitar, and sometimes I record the results just for fun.   This is the second of his songs that I have posted on my SC page, the first being "Tonight", about 6 months ago (https://soundcloud.com/kcm069/tonight-terry-hogan).
     Please forgive the poor quality of the recording,   I do not have the facilities or expertise to remove the background noise.
     Terry has several SC pages, but the main one is:  https://soundcloud.com/terry-hogan-52941365

I Know You Don't Love Me

I Know You Don't Love Me - Terry Hogan

This song began life in 1953 as a rumba entitled: “¿Quién será?” by Mexican composer Luis Demetrio.   Norman Gimbel added English lyrics and in 1954 the song, renamed “Sway” became a hit for Dean Martin.
	“Sway” has since been recorded by many artists, most notably Shaft in 1999, and Micheal Buble in 2003.
	My version has moved away from Buble's extravagant stage version towards a more acoustic but still danceable, maybe, sound.   Anyhow, it is a great song and I hope this version does not put you off.

Sway

Sway  (cover)

Having survived an encounter with the notorious squirrels of Carduchia and escaped the dangerous Valley of Falling Pianos, our heroes now find themselves lost and friendless in the fearsome Mountains of Carduchia.   They spontaneously take up their instruments, to play, in these dark and strange circumstances, an odd and morose waltz.

Anabasis

Waltz in Asia Minor

This lyrically lightweight song has been with me most of my musical life.   There have been many versions and rewrites, but it survives essentially intact from the day it was written.   At the current time it is largely just a vehicle for instrumental improvisations … it's main reason for being is the fun in the performance.
	The words in the bridge are from a Hanna-Barbera cartoon (spoken by Mr Jinks from The Huckleberry Hound Show, though I cannot find the original cartoon).   The ending is my own facetious way of resolving the harmonic and rhythmic tension of the song.

Lyrics:
	sitting in this loud cafe I hear you call my name
	I look around but you're not there
	sometimes I think that I've gone quite insane
	'cause I hear your voice everywhere
	and I can't get you
	no I can't get you out of my mind

	on a city beach I suddenly see your face
	I start to stand ... then you're gone
	this scene can happen any time or place
	whether in a crowd or all alone
	'cause I can't get you
	no I can't get you out of my mind

	hey, like, uhh, where went the pinano?

	well I can't get you
	no I can't get you out of my mind

	I guess I'll pack up and be on my way
	go back to where I belong
	don't know the date, or what my cellphone says
	but I know its time I was heading home
	'cause I can't get you
	no I can't get you out of my mind
	no I can't get you
	no I can't get you out of my mind

Can't Get You

In December 2017 I collaborated with Adelmo Silva on “I Gotta Getta.   I sent him vocal and rhythm guitar tracks, and Adelmo took it from there.   I promised at the time to post the original song “in a week or so”.   Well, it's been a long long week.
	The rhythm guitar and lead vocal tracks are the ones I sent to Adelmo … all the rest has been added since.

	This song is about being human - there are days when you wake up thinking you have missed out on life, and worse, that is is your own fault!.   Part-and-parcel with this realization are deeply held, if unrealistic, ambitions, and a largely illusory view of what life has to offer.
	Adelmo's remix can be found at:
		https://soundcloud.com/kcm069/i-gotta-getta-with-adelmo


Lyrics:
	I never had no passion and I never had no cool
	I never learnt a trade and I couldn’t finish school
	I never got to travel and I never saw the light
        but I gotta get some action and I gotta getta a life

	I gotta find enlightenment and learn some cosmic things
	and I gotta have a reason to laugh and dance and sing
	but I’m dying on the dole, cannot find a good career
	and I’m running out of money so I gotta get outta here

	now I wanna be a pop star, and have a hit or two
	and I wanna getta habit, cause that’s what pop stars do
	and I wanna be a S.O.B., and drink and screw and curse
	and when my fans get wind of it, I wanna make it worse

	I gotta get some status, gotta getta female friend
	and I gotta have a party where the good times never end
	and I gotta getta Cadillac and drive it all around
	impressing all the sheilas with the power of my sound

	I gotta getta
	I gotta getta
	I gotta getta
        I gotta getta, gotta get outa ...

Not For Sale

I Gotta Getta

I composed this fugue some years ago partly as an investigation into the properties of the 9:8 meter, and partly to check out some of the tools available for writing digital music.
	There are no vocals, the instruments are all synthesized and the instrumental parts are all largely constructed rather than played … the idea being to concentrate on composition rather than instrumental technique.
	It was my first real foray into synthesized sound, hence the title.

	The picture is part of an image I found at:  humansarefree.com

Into the Alternate Universe

It has been my very great pleasure to work on this track with three talented musicians, to wit:
		Foresto, on electric guitar, who has a unique and arresting free style
		Tot., whose percussion is at once precise, restrained and immensely clever
	and	Norbert Meyer with a driving and captivating bass guitar

	I must say: what a magic rhythm section Tot. and Norbert make!!!

	Tot. can be found at: https://soundcloud.com/tot-beat
	Foresto at:  https://soundcloud.com/user-959329289
	and Norbert Meyer at:  https://soundcloud.com/nobsmeyer

	For original and interesting music, all three of these musicians are worth more than just a casual visit.

Lyrics:	
I watched you dance last night, swinging in the light,
with  a heart of snow
the air was winter still, frozen in the chill,
of your heart of snow

you make me feel we might conspire,
let’s always play the game for real
and let our twinned desire, melt your heart of snow

you always move so nice, clean and cold as ice,
with a heart of snow
though the air is cold, you warm me with the glow,
of your heart of snow

you make me feel we might conspire,
let’s always play the game for real
and let our twinned desire, melt your heart of snow

swinging in the light	clean and cold as ice
set my heart on fire	melt your heart of snow
heart of  snow		heart of snow

Heart of Snow

Heart Of Snow - W Tot., Foresto, & N Meyer

One of my great failings (and I have many) as a writer of money making songs is that the kind of music I most like to write is not commercial.   This song is typical.   And what is the song all about?   Well ... I'd tell you my friend ... but … but ...

Lyrics:
     ghost on the road
     ghost on the road
     ghost on the road
     ghost on the road

     I see the rain
     I see the rain
     I see the rain
     I’d tell you my friend, but ... but ...
     is it really sane

Ghost On The Road

“Bottle of Whiskey”, my attempt at a drinking song, is one of a handful of pieces which paying (and not-so-paying) customers would actually request and sing along with.   It is easy to perform solo because of the simplicity and directness of the lyrics.   It is also easy to perform in a band, or impromptu with other musicians, because there is nothing complicated about the music.
     This version features only two instruments, a lap steel and an overdubbed rhythm guitar ... hence the count-in … which, made after the recording of the lap steel, sounded so odd and out of time that I couldn't resist keeping it.
     Another version, made a few years ago with Bill Kavanagh's Blues Affliction, can be found at: https://soundcloud.com/kcm069/01-bottle-of-whiskey
     The cover image is from Pixabay, a free download site, at:  https://pixabay.com/photos

PS:  I know Gabriel is gonna “blow his trumpet” and not “ring his bell”, but I couldn't think of a suitable rhyme with “trumpet”, and no-one ever seemed to notice anyway.


Lyrics:
	bring me a bottle of whiskey, bring me a bottle of wine
        I’ll make my way to heaven some other time
        bring me a bottle of whiskey, bring me a bottle of wine
        let’s drink to my salvation one more time

	
	now I believe in heaven, and I believe in hell
        and I believe that judgment day is nigh
        and I believe that Gabriel is gonna ring his bell
        and I believe that pigs might fly

	so bring me a bottle of whiskey, bring me a bottle of wine
        I’ll make my way to heaven some other time
        bring me a bottle of whiskey, bring me a bottle of wine
        let’s drink to my salvation one more time

	
	I guess I should consider what the gospels say
        you know I know you know the righteous way
        but bring me a bottle of whiskey, bring me a bottle of wine
        I’ll make my way to heaven some other day

Bottle Of Whiskey

This song started life many years ago as an instrumental piano boogie.   At some stage I decided to add vocals, but only ever wrote one verse before other events intervened ,,, so ... the lyrics never got finished and the song never recorded.
	I have been a follower of the extraordinary vocalist, poet and songwriter W. E. Bartolotta (Bill) on SC for some time now, and one day, in my head, I heard “Life of the Party” in his voice.   I contacted Bill, who was quite enthusiastic about a collaboration, so I passed on what I had, along with a preliminary recording.
	After some back and forth, we arrived at this final result.

Credits belong to:
   	W. E. Bartolotta:  	lyrics, arrangement and vocal
	Ken Minty:  		music, lyrics, piano, bass and lap steel
	John Walsh:		mouth harp
	Mike Konopka:	percussion, bass, sound engineer, arrangement and mix

Please check out Bill's SC site at  soundcloud.com/user-233624083 … I promise, it will be well worth your while.

Image by Tom and Nicki Löschner   at Pixabay.com

Lyrics:
     have the words ever hung from the tip of your tongue
     but you knew not what to say
     i know how you feel  it¹s no big deal
     you will survive another day
     still
     if you wish some assistance
     to keep that doubt at bay
     here is a fact for a winner, whether saint or sinner
     keep your cards in play
     cause you¹re the life of the party
     life of the party
     be free

     some have the notion there exists a potion
     that can flip a fool to cool
     but when your stomach is churnin and you brain is burnin
     you may feel just a tool
     still
     if you need some assistance
     to keep that doubt at bay
     here is a fact for a winner, whether saint or sinner
     keep your cards in play
     cause you¹re the life of the party
     life of the party
     be free

     there's  no one like you in all the galaxy
     come join the party be free

     some think life is merry
     just a bowl full of cherries
     each treat preceding the next
     some like to wallow in the causes they follow
     to fill up their emptiness
     still
     if you need some assistance
     to keep that doubt at bay
     here is a fact for a winner, whether saint or sinner
     just keep your cards in play
     cause you¹re the life of the party
     life of the party
     be free

Life of the Party

Download

Life Of The Party w W.E. Bartolotta

This song first entered my mind while I was comparing translations of the poetry of the remarkable Song dynasty poet Li Qingzhao.

	The attraction I have to Li Qingzhao's work is twofold - firstly: the sheer power of her expression, which speaks to me through each and every translation (some translations being so different that I often fail to recognize them as being the same poem) - secondly: her “Ci” poetry, is, for all practical purposes, songwriting.   “Ci” poetry began as lyrics to be sung to tunes both popular and original, not unlike the “12 bar blues” or “rock and roll” songs of the modern world.

	The imagery used in this song largely comes from her Ci poem “Banana Trees”, but should in no way be thought of as a translation - I do not pretend to have that kind of scholarship or talent.   It is, at best, a re-working of theme and image for a contemporary context.

	I do not know the original source of the cover art I have used here, but I found it at http://www.chinesetimeschool.com/en-us/articles/li-qingzhao/.   There are no extent images of Li Qinqzhao from her own time.

Lyrics:
        looking from our door, I see the poplars that we planted
	their green shadows fill the lawn
	their green shadows fill the lawn, leaves a-flutter in the breeze,
	in the quiet of the moment, they seem to share my thoughts

	they seem to share my thoughts, I recall a last farewell
	at the gateway of our home
	at the gateway of our home I listen to the sound, 
	in the quiet of the moment, to the rustling of leaves

	the rustling of leaves, a sound you’ll never hear again
	it breaks my heart
	it breaks my heart we can no longer share our thoughts,
	in the quiet of the moment, looking from our door

Looking From Our Door

Looking from Our Door

Long Time Gone was originally written as a “swing” blues for a recording session with Bill Kavanagh's Blues Affliction in 2014 (SC link below).
	In keeping with my fascination for eccentric rhythms, I later thought I would try it in a 7 beat meter.   The result was good enough that I asked Foresto, N.O.B.S., and Tot. to give me a hand.   These very talented musicians had joined with me previously on “Heart of Snow” (SC link below).
	The track came out even better than I had hoped ... retaining all the characteristics of a rock/funk boogie while losing none of the odd feel of the unusual meter.

Credit to:
	Andrea Martini aka Foresto (electric guitar) https://soundcloud.com/user-959329289
	Norbert Meyer aka N.O.B.S. (bass) https://soundcloud.com/nobsmeyer
	Tot. (percussion) https://soundcloud.com/tot-beat
	I can be held to account for the lap steel, acoustic guitars and vocals

Cover image: L.Moonlight, acquired through Pixabay	https://pixabay.com/users/LMoonlight-236255/
Swing blues version with  Bill Kavanagh's Blues Affliction:
	https://soundcloud.com/kcm069/03-long-time-gone
Previous collaboration with Foresto, N.O.B.S., and Tot.:
	https://soundcloud.com/kcm069/heart-of-snow-w-tot-foresto-n-meyer

Lyrics
        we're a short time here and a long time gone
	we're just a short time here but we're a long time gone
	make hay while the sun shines you can't once it's down

        you might dance with the devil but that don't make him your friend
        you might gamble on the devil but that don't mean you're gonna win
        best to keep your cards close you just might meet him again

        perhaps I'm just a fool behind a sage's mask
        I keep posing questions only heathens ask
        may be come judgement day I will pay for my faithless past

        we're a short time here and a long time gone
	we're just a short time here but we're a long, long time gone
	make hay while the sun shines you can't once it's down

yes we're a long, long time gone

Long Time Gone

Long Time Gone 7

Guitars and Keyboard by Ken Minty
	Recorder by Marcia “WhistleWeaver” Phillips.   To hear more of Marcia's exceptional music please visit:   https://soundcloud.com/whistleweaver   Many thanks Marcia for taking part in this project.
	Cover Art by Karsten Paulick from Pixabay


	Rat was the son of Rat, by Rat - one of a litter of 5 males and 6 females, whose names, respectively, were Rat, Rat, Rat, Rat, Rat, Rat, Rat, Rat, Rat, Rat and Rat.

	Rat was a truly remarkable rat, beyond doubt, the rat of his generation.
	As is the nature of rats, Rat grew up very rapidly, and was soon wondering about the nature of life.   Having become a master of the maze, he made it his life's purpose to inspect every facet of life and the universe.
	Rat is known mainly for developing the theory, and refining the practice, of the domestication of humans.   He was the first to observe that domesticated humans do have a limited number of primitive emotions, the most important being loyalty.    This seminal work was later further developed by his great-grand-daughter, Rat, who showed that, with training, humans could even display love at the most basic level.
	It is pertinent to point out that Rat was widely travelled – he explored, not only the entire building in which the lab is housed, but also a large part of the surrounding grounds, and even visited some sewers and other interesting constructions.
	He was a gifted intellectual, lived a long and fruitful life (almost three and a half years), was the progenitor of several hundred descendants, and will be remembered by ratkind until the end of the laboratory.

	Rest in Peace, Rat

Requiem for a Rat

Requiem For A Rat

The lyrics to this song are a variation on those in The Riverton's “Papa Oom Mow Mow” released in 1962, and used most famously by The Trashmen in “Surfin' Bird” in 1963.
     These nonsense words create a deep and compelling rhythm which I felt would be very appropriate to this track - which is really about comparing a heavy 4:4 rock beat to an equally heavy 5:4 rock beat.
     While classical, traditional and jazz based music are quite comfortable with eccentric rhythms, Rock has not been so (with a few notable exceptions, such as Pink Floyd's “Money”).   I wrote this song to try to figure out why.   I still don't know why, but here is the song.

The cover art is an Image by Iván Tamás from Pixabay

Surfin' Rat

download

Written for the 70th birthday of family friend Johanna.

Lyrics:
	here’s a thought 'tween you and me
		about the world we share
	in the beat of these busy streets
		there's seldom time to spare
	memories of the past, strong now,
		fade at last
	we might forget the flavours of
		the potions we were sold
	but we’ll recall the sum of all
		the stories that they told

	the destinies of mice and men
		cannot be foretold
	we pursue, as all must do,
		our syncopated goals
	we seek to find some peace of mind,
		bring nothing to leave behind
	though our youth might run its course
		our lives are not forlorn
	so celebrate both long and late
		the date that you were born

cover image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

A Birthday Thought

In August 2019 I posted a track made with Adelmo Silva in  the EDM genre.   Adelmo did the mix.   This is a remix of the same track with emphasis on the rock side.   Except for the guitars and some of the percussion I have used the same stems we put down in the original mix (and have shortened the song somewhat).
	Adelmo has disappeared from SC (as he does sometimes) so I cannot give his SC address, but the original track is still at https://soundcloud.com/kcm069/adelmo-ken-minty-let-your-hair-down.
	Hope I have not made too much of a mess of it


Lyrics:
	if the wine you drink and the lips you kiss
	end in tears, not in bliss
	just let your hair down, let your hair down

	whether seen from above, or seen from below
	it's just a scene from a puppet show
	so let your hair down,  just let your hair down
	
	let your hair down, run through the jungle

Let Your Hair Down Rock remix

This song was written by one of Australia's greatest songwriters, Archie Roach, in 1990 and was included in his first album “Charcoal Lane”.   I have seen Archie live many times – he gives such great performances that I was a bit dubious about posting my own version of his song.   I justify the posting on two grounds: one, this is not one of Archie's best known songs, and, two, I have done this song many times in small venues.
	 If you wish to hear what this song really should sound like, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wy9sxcxOFU for Archie Roach's original version.

	The cover image is by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

Lyrics:
	Sitting here in a lonely old guest house
	I'm sure that my life is all through
	Scratching fleas and watching a grey mouse
	and making love to the memory of you

	For without you I'm weak and uncertain
	And I feel so naked and cold
	Like a window without any curtains
	My innermost feelings unfold

	The drink I just had
	It wasn't as bad as the first
	But drinking won't do
	When it's only for you I thirst

	For your kiss it quenches all burning
	It's sweeter than the sweetest of wine
	Now you're gone I find myself yearning
	For the love that I left behind

	Nobody can heal the pain that I feel inside
	And if I said I'm strong and I'm never wrong
	I lied

	Nobody can heal the pain that I feel inside
	And if I said I'm strong and I'm never wrong
	I lied. I lied.

I've Lied

I've Lied (Archie Roach cover)

A one chord song about striking out on your own before full adulthood yet well after childhood.   Maybe a bit lightweight, but no less real for all that.

Lyrics:
o-oh hey, what is meant to be
does anyone know what will happen to me
o-oh hey, my will may be free
but I am compelled by the vision I see

why wonder what is at the end of the road
perhaps nothing more than a myth to explode
so much to do, so much to know
the journey is long but I’ve still got to go

this might be a game of chance that we play
it might be a goal we will capture one day
but if you think it is better to stay
then open the door and get out of the way

Life In A Suburban Laboratory

Fans of nonsense poetry will recognize lines and images from two of Edward Lear's most famous poems: “The Owl and the Pussycat” and “The Jumblies”.
I wrote the song in 2004 and have performed it occassionally as a solo acoustic number without ever really capturing the darkness the lyrics demanded.   Tot's precision percussion, Andrea (Foresto) Martini's freestyle electric guitar and Norbert (N.o.b.S) Meyer's bass guitar technique have provided that darkness.
I have done a number of collaborations with these three excellent musicians and have created a playlist of our combined efforts at:  https://soundcloud.com/kcm069/sets/the-reservoir-dogs
I highly recommend a visit to their respective SC sites if you do not already know them.
Tot.		https://soundcloud.com/tot-beat
Foresto	https://soundcloud.com/user-959329289
N.o.b.S.	https://soundcloud.com/nobsmeyer

	The cover image is by ĐÔ NGUYỄN from Pixabay

Lyrics:
	let’s sail away for a year or a day
	to the shores of our own blue lagoon
	hand in hand at the edge of the sand
	we will dance by the light of the moon
	the moon, we will dance by the light of the moon

	far and few, far and few, are the lands where the pure of heart live
	on a winter’s morn at the height of a storm we’ll go to sea in a sieve

	we are creatures of light, we are creatures of darkness
	‘tis a web of intrigue that we spin
	the passage is dark, the voyage too long
	and our friends all remark it is terribly wrong
	to sail so far for our sin

	far and few, far and few, are the lands where the pure of heart live
	on a winter’s morn at the height of a storm we’ll go to sea in a sieve

	let’s sail away for a year or a day
	to the shores of our own blue lagoon
	hand in hand at the edge of the sand
	we will dance by the light of the moon
	the moon, we will dance by the light of the moon
	we will dance by the light of the moon
        the moon, we will dance by the light of the moon
        the moon
        the moon
        the moon

By the Light of the Moon

By The Light Of The Moon

The Reservoir Dogs - a SC collaborative band consisting of Norbert (N.o.b.S.) Meyer, Tot., Andrea (Foresto) Martini and Ken Minty.    We had done so many collaborations together we thought a band name would be appropriate.
	The song “Entranced Hearts” or “Hearts in Trance” - take your pick – originated as a percussive track by Tot.   Norbert Meyer created a harmonic background with electric organ and a punchy bassline.   He onforwarded it to me (Ken Minty) for my input, so I added a 12 string guitar rhythm track, a melodic line, and lyrics (a sequel to Foresto's “October 7”).   Andrea Martini then added electric guitar.
 	Lastly - a quick and careful mix by Norbert, and, voila – the finished item.

	Lots of links:
Tot.		:  https://soundcloud.com/tot-beat
N.o.b.S.	:  https://soundcloud.com/nobsmeyer
Foresto:	:  https://soundcloud.com/user-959329289
Foresto's “October 7”:  https://soundcloud.com/user-959329289/7october
The Reservoir Dogs playlist:  https://soundcloud.com/kcm069/sets/the-reservoir-dogs


Lyrics:

	gardens grow by the light of the moon
	moonlight flowers bloom so soon then they’re gone

	now the shadows are fading fast
	e’en the memory cannot last  for long
	they’ll soon be gone
	shadows lightly dance at night
	a darkling dance through moonlight night ‘til the 	dawn 
		the coming of dawn

	love’s unlikely lunacy   blooms and withers ceaselessly
	a shadow dancing to a moonlight beat

	nourished by desire’s light
	glances grow to ecstatic heights of romance
		a passionate dance
	grasping with our callous hands
	we reach for those magic lands of romance
	        our hearts are in trance
		our hearts are in trance

Hearts in Trance

Hearts In Trance - The Reservoir Dogs

singer/songwriter from Yarra Valley, Australia.   Struggling as much with modern times as with times past.   I guess that makes me a chronic struggler.

Ken Minty

Popular tracks