New in November

Saddle Up III

this is a recording from a couple of years ago, just me and guitar. 

So I'd watched the amazing Peter Jackson, WW1 documentary film, They Shall Not Grow Old. It really brought the subject to life, and was a vivid and sensitive documentation of the great war. 

The following night I watched a BBC documentary which was an insight into the origins of shell shock, in terms of psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, what we would now call PTSD. Some really harrowing stories were told from WW1. 

One story in particular haunted me. A tale of a young teenager suffering from shell shock and sent home to recover before going back to the trenches. He was so traumatized by the effects of war, that he pleaded with his mother to hide him under the stairs when the army came looking for him. The mother did exactly that, but the boy was dragged back off to war, where the  boy could well suffer the ignominy of being killed by his own comrades if he refused to fight.

It's hugely hard to comprehend this sort of story, and it's not my place to condemn or condone behaviour in warfare as I have no experience whatsoever of it.  

But I can certainly feel empathy for the boy, and although these harrowing tales are hard to rationalize, this song was my meagre attempt to show empathy and genuine compassion towards a story that touched me greatly.

And so the song is told as, The Boy Beneath The Stairs. 

Lyrics

Mamma I heard the call, are we going to war
mamma please don't you let them take your boy

if they come, would you hide me beneath those staris

they dragged me kick and scream from beneath the stairs
called me coward, n gave me a gun 
and said please go ahead

now I shake from head to toe
I got nowhere to stand

mamma please do you remember when
we stayed up half the night 
and laughed our heads
mamma I'm seeing things
my brain don't comprehend

mamma I'm telling you now
I see your face
and this is gonna be the very last pain I feel
really wish I could of stayed beneath those stairs
really wish I could of stayed beneath those stairs

when I refused to jump, they shot me dead
no last post no holy ghost 
they just leave you there

thanks for listening and reading along, really appreciate it✌️








Boy Beneath The Stairs

it's up to you  (new vision of johanna)

Whose woods are these I’ve no idea
Lost in the snow like this you must think it somewhat queer
Stopping here in the dead of night
I should know better but I’m still mystified
The heart confuses what the cold clarifies
That there’s no one, that there’s no one by my side
A cold front descending the snow piling high
I’ve no worries about it my worries behind
A walk in the Winter woods with the one I love

Lovely woods dark and deep where we’d come to know
Each other’s heart each other’s soul
All the while, all the while the falling snow
I think of you then your face brilliant and bright
Flush with the moment, flush with our lives
And a future, and a future that knows no time
A Wintertime walk under snow covered boughs
Each word that you spoke precious to me now
A walk in the Winter woods with the one I love

We’d hold on to each other tight
I’m still holding on to you tonight

There was a story  you’d tell me every now and then
About two people in love is this where that story ends
If you could tell it again
Cause I’ve gone miles and miles to find some peace
To find a place to rest, to find a place to sleep
All the while, all the while it’s surrounding me
Now I’ve done what you wanted
Ashes in snow
Got no promises left I got no place to go
A walk in the Winter woods with the one I love

Whose woods are these…

Whose Woods Are These

A first recording of a song I wrote four years ago.

We think of You every day,
We think of You when we pray,
You are so special, You're really special,
We think of You every day,

And Your guiding light, it shines on us so bright,
With the setting sun, we know You are the Holy one,
You are the only one we need,

We think of You every day,
We think of You when we pray,
You are so special, You're really special,
We think of You every day,

And on the darkest night, Your star, it still shines bright,
With the rising sun, we know You are the Holy one,
You are the only one we need,

We think of You every day,
We think of You when we pray,
You are so special, You're really special,
We think of You every day,

You are so special, You're really special,
We think of You every day,

Stuck Inside of Indy with The Chicago Blues Again

Dean Moore