This song was written at a time when I was still thinking an awful lot about soured relationships and the cheapness of words over actions, then finding out that my father had only a short time to live.  That kind of news puts things into perspective, even if it doesn't make them go away.  
It was quite emotional returning to this song for the recording.

It's Dad's funeral today.  Wish me luck with the eulogy. ;)

(Me on vocals and guitar).

I Forget

After a conversation with a girl, where I told her, I can only really be interested in a woman for 5 minutes, before thinking how pointless relationships are, I wrote this song.  Anyone would think I'm a little bit scarred, emotionally or something.
Do I still feel this way? - None of your Goddamn business nosey!
Vocals and guitar are performed by me.

The 5 Minute Rule

A song that's been kicking around (and in my head) for a long time, in different forms, it seems to have my kind of blues feel that I felt would be a good way to kick off my SMILING KNIFE set.
Me on vocals and acoustic.

Leave Me Be

Mr. MONOCAINE, the penultimate song in THE SMILING KNIFE SET, isn't exactly the jolliest of tunes, but then which ones of mine are, right?  
In case you're wondering, Monocaine was the drug taken by The Invisible Man.
And it is a song about being there/not being there; about hiding away; about letting people see the shape of you but not the real you; about depression, thoughts of suicide - You know the stuff they usually print for you on your Hallmark cards.
There's a bit of extending, and bruising of metaphors, and word-play about libraries and prisons and the like, for good measure - That thing of hiding away in an intellectual prison of your own making, I suppose.
Me singing and playing guitar, this one's probably my personal favourite, from the set.  :-)

Mr. Monocaine (The Body In The Library)

The only cover in THE SMILING KNIFE set.  Put simply, I think it's a lovely song, and one I've never heard anyone else do, barring the original artists, Emerson Lake & Palmer.  It's from their album, TRILOGY.
As ever, my vocal and my guitar playing. :-)

From The Beginning (by Greg Lake)

None of my songs are expressly about an individual, and while it may seem that the attacking nature of the lyric is aimed at a single person, it isn't.  30 PIECES OF SILVER is a song reflecting on my own thoughts on the uglier sides of romantic break-ups and betrayals, and if anything, relies on a composite of people and experiences, but the experiences and emotions belong to me, and are, sadly real.  
The song, in actual fact began life about 20 years ago, when I was a kid performing in a band, where it was originally Punk Rock.  Some lyrics have remained in tact, others fallen by the wayside, and many added on over the years.  Really, the song has grown up with me.
It's me on vocals and guitar, as per usual. :-)

30 Pieces Of Silver

The title track of my set, THE SMILING KNIFE, is a turn of phrase used in a George Mackay Brown poem, describing whisky.  I figure the set has a whisk(e)y flavoured feel to it, and this song is very much concerned with what it means to have a dram sometimes (and, perhaps a little bit more).  I like to think it's a song that has a little bit of journey to it, even if you're only ever going to end up in the same place. :-)
Me on guitar and vocals, of course.

The Smiling Knife

DISCLAIMER, probably the cheeriest of the bunch, from THE SMILING KNIFE set.  "It's rock n roll..."  
Maybe it's me just asking the listener to take whatever they want from my music, and to sprinkle liberal amounts of salt on whichever lyrics they choose.  
A liberating bit of anti-art, or is it?  You decide.
I put 3 Takes of vocal on it, just 'cos, and one track of me playing guitar. :-)

Disclaimer (Loud n Messy Mix)

The last song from my SMILING KNIFE set.  Like all these bedroom recorded songs, it's written by, vocals performed by, guitar played by me.  
Written after seeing a music performance by 'the one who got away', I was so impressed by the ease and beauty of her gifts that, well you can make up your own mind what the song's about from there.  The Alabama Tree, without going into too much detail, is a metaphor for a place of being comfortable in your gifts, your roots, and an effortlessness in your ability to express.  A shady place to play in the sunshine. :-)

The Alabama Tree

For my good friend Helen.  

Nothing says Happy Birthday quite like butchering a song that you love.

Lots of love,

PJ.x

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