Just messing around with the drum machine one afternoon.

Lost.WAV

Don’t Come Around Here 					

I’ve got all day but I ain’t wasting my nights
Don’t come around here
I don’t want to argue and I don’t want to fight
Don’t come around here there’s nothing much to say
Don’t come around here wasting my time
Don’t come around here.

I’ve been a fool and I don’t even know why
Don’t come around here
You know the answers and I just can’t lie
Don’t come around here leave me alone
Don’t come around here wasting my time
Don’t come around here.

I got a ransom note and I know what it says
Don’t need to answer because I’ve already paid
Don’t come around here, please
There’s nothing much to say
Don’t come around here, please
Leave me alone
Don’t come around here, please.


Don’t come around here, please, there’s nothing much to say
Don’t come around here, please, leave me alone
Don’t come around here, please, wasting my time
Don’t come around here.
Don’t come around here, please, there’s nothing much to say
Don’t come around here, please, leave me alone
Don’t come around here, please, wasting my time
Don’t come around here.
Don’t come around here
Don’t come around here, please
Don’t come around here.

Don't Come Around Here.WAV

Outside the back door
Far across the fields  
Hiding in the tall grass
She kneels
Laying low
Staying out of sight
She waits.

All the warning signs
All the flashing lights
Like walking on water
Dancing on ice
There’s no cure
For the brave so
She waits.

And I’ll wait with you.

She Waits.WAV

Heard them talking behind my back
Saying something ‘bout you coming back
Well there’s good news and there’s bad
And there’s nights I wished I’d never had.
	
I heard there’s trouble in paradise
Seems it didn’t work out so nice
Tables turned and the angel learned
We all take a turn and we all pay a price.

	
	You don’t always get what you want
	Promises have to be paid for
	Everyone knows that the checkouts closed
	Cause we’re living on minimum wage now.

I don’t mind the complication
Though I can’t say I’m not scared
The damage done as hit me hard
I’ve paid in full for all of my scars.


	You don’t always get what you want
	Promises have to be paid for
	Everyone knows that the checkouts closed
	Cause we’re living on minimum wage now.

Minimum Wage.WAV

These Days                                    

If anyone asks you can say I’m coming back
I just need a change of pace and scenery
I’ve been stuck in a rut for some time and I don’t know why
For life seems unkind these days.

I know I’ve been quiet and spent more time on my own
It all feels so blue and I need some greenery
And I don’t know what to with myself some times
For life seems unkind these days.

I wanna run, run, run, run away
I wanna run, run, run, run away
For life seems unkind these days.

The top and the bottom all feel much the same
Just a cog in some broken down machinery
With the fools and the gods all dancing to the same old tune
For life seems unkind these days.

These Days.WAV

When Johnny left school there was nowt much to do
So him and his mates well they joined the dole queue
And the hung around the streets like young lads often do
When a man from the Army comes calling.

He gave them some spiel and a look up and down
And he said, “Come on lads, take a good look a round
For there’s nowt for you here you should leave this old town”
When a man from the Army comes calling.

For we’ll teach you a trade and for life you’ll be made
You could travel the world and for it you’ll get paid
And all the young lassies love a man on parade
When a man from the Army comes calling.

There was not much to choose from it was easy to see
There was nowt in the town and they never would be
So they signed on the line thinking they would be free
When a man from the Army comes calling.

But instead of a trade they were given a gun
And sent off to fight in the mid-morning sun
And they started to doubt all the things they had done
When a man from the Army comes calling.

Well Johnny got lucky he just lost his legs
As he laid in the dirt he could near his mates beg
But they never got home and he lives to regret
When a man from the Army came calling.

Politicians like wars because they are blind
They never see the pain or the hurt left behind
It’s their greed and ambition and a whole waste of time
When a man from the Army comes calling.

So come all young lads don’t believe what they say
They need you to put yourself in harm’s way
For there be no wars if you just stay away
When a man from the Army comes calling.

Well Johnny’s back home where there’s nowt much to do
He’s in his wheelchair and back on the dole queue
And he shout’s out a warning to young lads like you
When a man from the Army comes calling.

When A Man From The Army Comes Calling.WAV

Well I worked and worked till my fingers bled
And I prayed and prayed with every breath
And all you did was drink yourself to death
What a good fine man your friends all said.

Now I work two jobs just to make ends meet
Put food on the table for the kids to eat
And I spend all day on my feet
And at night I cry myself to sleep.

For you were always a card game from good luck
And you were just another drink from being unstuck
And you said you were nearly there
Another day another year
But you never could out run all the bad luck.

Well you touched my heart with just that smile
And when we danced that summer my world caught fire
And I knew nothing would be the same
I guess I've only got myself to blame.

For when Mamma found out she left in tears
And Daddy yelled and said I give it two years
Well the days were hard and the nights were long
But when your heart beats fast your heart beats strong.
CHORUS:

Grease in my hair dirt under my nails 
Sheets on the line like big white sails
And the kids they ask me if I'm okay
Truth is I don't want to lie today.  
CHORUS:

All The Bad Luck.WAV

The Ballerina’s Secret   
                          
The ballerina fell after being so brave
Promised not to tell and took her secret to the grave
All she had to do to save herself was whisper your name.
The show moved on from town to town
Same old act to a different crowd
In the hard parts of town where it all looks the same.

And I don’t want to be here in the morning if that’s okay
No I don’t want to be here in the morning if that’s okay.

Try as I might I can’t keep afloat
The seas to rough and this boat
Ain’t strong enough to keep my head above water.
I’m the first to tell and the last one to know
People laughed when I said I won’t go
It’s never going to end in anything but slaughter.

And you don’t want to be here in the morning if that’s okay
No you don’t want to be here in the morning if that’s okay.

I lit the fuse she threw the dynamite
The headlines were written well before the fight
By those who already knew and don’t like to lose.
So the ballerina fell and took her secret to the grave
All she had to do to save herself was whisper your name.

And we don’t want to be here in the morning if that’s okay
No we don’t want to be here in the morning if that’s okay.
No we don’t want to be here in the morning if that’s okay
No we don’t want to be here in the morning.

The Ballerina's Secret.WAV

Good Old Times Again                                           

Sometimes it rains cats and dogs
And sometimes you have to kiss frogs
There’s no getting away from the feeling that one day
It will all be worthwhile will it not
And one of these days my ship will come in
My numbers come up and the lottery I’ll win
And I’ll share it with you because you know where I’ve been
Like all those good old times again.

I once wore a shirt and tie
And I polished both my shoes that’s no lie
I wore the suit you bought for me the one I let you choose
My confidence was growing thanks to booze
And I know I wasted time not telling you the truth
But you know how scared I get as if you needed proof
I’ve been alone so long it’s like pulling a tooth
Like all those good old times again.

Like all those good old times again
You know your welcome here
Like an old friend dropping by for beer
It will be like those good old times again.

I kept all your things just in case
I’d lied when I said I’d misplaced
I wear all your clothes from my head to my toes
I must say you had style and you had grace
And if anyone asks I say I’m doing fine
I’m putting it out there laying it on the line
I’ll never admit it feels like doing time
Like all those good old times again.

Good Old Times Again.WAV

Rain on a Sunday Afternoon						

I don’t hide behind the sofa anymore
I’m all grown up and I’m standing straight and tall
I ain’t frightened and I ain’t scared
I’m not running from the world out there
It always seems to rain on a Sunday afternoon.

Life ain’t always like a picture postcard
Sometimes it’s easy but most days are just hard
You write a short note and post it first class
Everyone can read what you wrote on the back
It always seems to rain on a Sunday afternoon.

It ain’t fair……Who said it was going to be
It ain’t fair……Who said this life’s for free
It ain’t fair……I know they cheated me
It ain’t fair

It’s left at the bottom and straight on till you fall
When you’re not feeling pretty it’s hard not to feel so small
I’ve got it in writing I’m doing okay
You know it’s true what people say
It always seems to rain on a Sunday afternoon.

Rain On A Sunday Afternoon.WAV

Wishing the Night Away

I get home from work and I'm tired
It's too late to eat so I go straight to bed
I can't sleep, I'm just wishing the night away.
It doesn't really matter what day it is
They all seem the same and they all lead no where
There too long, I'm just wishing the night away.

If you could only read my mind
Then you'd know just what I mean
If you could only step into my shoes
Then you'd know just how it feels
When your wishing the night away.

It was all I could do to stay sober
It was dragging me down it was tearing me apart
I was lost, just wishing the night away.
It's better if I keep myself busy
Distracted by bright shiny things that don't move
It's not easy, when your wishing the night away.

If you could only read my mind
Then you'd know just what I mean
If you could only step into my shoes
Then you'd know just how it feels
When your wishing the night away.

Wishing The Night Away.WAV

Take Me Home

MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm

Come on baby take me home
It’s getting late and I’m feeling tired
I’ve been on my feet all day
Come on babe let’s slip away.

MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm

Come on babe let’s make a move
What they don’t know they can’t prove
I’ll make my way to the door
I’ll get the coats you get the car.

MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm

It’s a long drive till we get home
If I fall asleep don’t wake me up
The roads are quiet this time of night
Everything is still and quiet.

MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm
MmmmmmmmMmm (Come on baby take me home)
MmmmmmmmMmm (Come on baby take me home).

Take Me Home.WAV

Hi, I have always enjoyed writing and recording my own songs. Now and then I go out and play live, Open Mics and Folk Clubs etc, sometimes by myself and sometimes with friends. I do it for fun and have been very fortunate that I have never had to make a living out of it! I've put some of the songs to video's (not of my making) but by some very talented strangers which you can find from the Youtube link, Pete McKenna Music

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7gYb0w2aB355wrXt3sSJ6A/videos

Pete McKenna Music

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