Uptempo country song. Mainly my lyrics with some input from J. Valdes. His music. Vocals by Charlie Isler. Copyright 2022 Jay Rich and Jim Valdes. 

Concept video of song by Jim here:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GuuQo5Q-DGo








Mining Diamonds (Jim Valdes music, Charlie Isler vocals)

Greenback Blues (Michael Frazier music/vocals)

Country-pop song. Lyrics by myself and S. Procter, music/vocals S. Procter. Copyright 2022 Jay Rich and Simon Procter.

Concept video of song here:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jpuePrglyuw

Gravity (Simon Procter, music/vocals, and lyric co-write)

Terracotta Army (Micke Lagersson music/vocals)

Too Hot To Handle (Peter Davis music/vocals)

Down Among The Hobos (Peter Davis music/vocals)

Continental Drift (solo write pro demo, session vocals)

Atmospheric and brooding indie-folk solo write pro demo, session vocals Copyright 2022 Jay Rich. Concept video here by Jim Valdes:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hwsOPTWUZDc

Lyrics below:

             I Put A Spell On You

V1:

She said, I put a spell on you
I'm driving you half out of your mind
You didn't see it
'Cause you were far too blind to know the signs
I put a spell on you
There's no hidden potion in the wine
I thrilled you and I filled you with a sense of the divine

V2:

I put a spell on you
I whispered incantations in the night
Offered libations (drink usually offered at an altar to a god)
Stoked love and lust by candle and firelight
I put a spell on you
I stirred a passion that would make you mine
Enchains your wayward heart to never part throughout all time

*****Break*****

Ch1:

Nothing out there now can save you
I'll enslave you to the grave
You're enchanted and enthralled
And the trance will never pall
It's no game and it won't wane
Your life won't be the same
On your very soul I've staked my claim

V3:

I put a spell on you
I bound you to me with a sense of sin
Now do without me
Uncanny is the bond you're held within
I put a spell on you
That's gone beyond all reason, got you ringed
You've fallen in so deeply and completely you can't win

Ch2:

Nothing out there now can save you
I'll enslave you to the grave
You're enchanted and enthralled
And the trance will never pall
It's no game and it won't wane
Your life won't be the same
On your very soul I've staked my claim
On your very soul I've staked my claim



I Put A Spell On You (solo write pro demo, session vocals)

Red (solo write pro demo, session vocals)

I Met Him In A Bar (Pianosam music, session vocals)

Erotic Tango (Tom R music, session  vocals)

Ophelia (solo write pro demo, session vocals)

Pop paean. Solo write pro demo, session vocals. Copyright 2023 Jay Rich. Lyrics below:

                      Oblivion

V1:

Your magic touch I crave so much
Attracts me to the danger zone
Safe ain't where I prefer to stay
Don't need to play so close to home
You captivate, I gravitate
Your energy is pulling me
Alluringly, magnetically
Breaking in new territory

V2:

Teasing me and pleasing me
I realise all bets are on
And your electric presence
I find mesmerising all night long
I'm firing up with wild desire
You've gone straight to my head
And now I crave you everywhere
Don't want no other life instead

Ch1:

Green absinthe and creme de menthe
Laudanum and opium
Diamorphine, golden brown
Now shooting up the heroin
You got me really feeling
In the grip of a compulsion
Sunk in deep addiction
It's like drinking to oblivion
Fatal Attraction, midnight action
Basic Instinct and then some
A custom fit, yeah this is it
You're giving me oblivion

*****Break*****

Bridge: (A bridge too far??!)

Erotic, exotic
You're a pure narcotic
May we rock forever
I hope nothing ever stops it
You're so lush, voluptuous
You'll be my eternal crush
How you really tantalize
How you make me fantasize
You're sassy and I'm gratified
I am always satisfied
I'm enraptured and enthralled
By your draw and siren call
It's visceral, instinctual
Primitive, so physical
You give me euphoria
All I want is more of you
How we really get it on
It is one long marathon
And do you truly think I care
That I'm looking worse for wear
No better way to spend my days
Than keeping you within my gaze
You take away my worries
My anxieties and follies
And leave me high and love drunk
In a hedonistic haze

Ch2:

Green absinthe and creme de menthe
Laudanum and codeine
So go on and chase the dragon
Smoke a hundredweight of crack cocaine
I won't fall prey to anything
But your insane temptation
Lost in fascination
I am drowning in oblivion
I'm infatuated
And I'm drowning in oblivion
I'm intoxicated
And so drowning in oblivion
This all-consuming passion
Has me drowning in oblivion

Ch3:

Angel dust, now there's a must
Then try taking crystal meth
Like any seasoned user
You make do with what suits you best
But my lone addiction
Has me wishing for oblivion
It's my fixed conviction:
Only you give me oblivion
Yes, this dark obsession
It's bringing me delirium
I need to possess you
'Cause you're giving me oblivion
Lost to your bewitching
I am sinking in oblivion...




Oblivion (solo write pro demo, session vocals)

More like folk-pop. Solo write pro demo with session vocals. Copyright 2023 Jay Rich. Lyrics below:

           Some Enchanted Forest

V1:

At night I tend to think of you
And things we both could do
A one-way conversation
Leading me into temptation

V2:

But it's only fantasy
And never a reality
Make-believe's frustrating
And a senseless, endless waiting game

Ch1:

Closure or solution
Growth or shutting down
The future lures like some enchanted forest
But it's never grounded
Swirling just like fairy dust
A dream that turns to rust
One that's sadly dying, never manifesting
Ever-destined not to come around

*****Break*****

Bridge:

Part of me is long-resigned
I marked well the danger signs
You were just breadcrumbing 
The best part of you held back from loving
There was lost potential
We were missing something so essential
And the time has come and gone
You've already moved along

Ch2:

Closure or solution
Growth or just confusion
The future pulls like some enchanted forest
Though it's all delusion
Magical illusion
When I seek clarity
Can't wallow in nostalgia, feeding off the past
I won't be too blind to truly see



Some Enchanted Forest (solo write pro demo, session vocals)

Uptempo dystopian synth-pop. My lyrics, music/vocals M. Lagersson. Copyright 2023 Jay Rich and Micke Lagersson. Lyrics below:

                 Holdout Humans 

V1:

Turn back time just fifty years
See what the doom-mongers feared
When AI was taking off
They knew there would be a cost

V2:

Now we're forced to colonize
Other worlds to fit our size
We've grown exponentially
And it's led to travesty

Lift:

There's less need for agriculture
Or for proper homes
Planet Earth has now become
A huge rewilding zone
Areas for energy-efficient software minds
Both futuristic and return to olden times

Ch1:

Holdout humans, we're the true ones:
All that's left of sapiens
The rest morphed into hybrid androids
Holdout humans, we're the true ones
Our race almost destroyed
We now face an existential void

Bridge:

The general myopia
Has fed this dystopia
Could we not see this would lead
To a strange, alien breed
From this thirst for progress, novelty
And quest for immortality
We're overpopulated
By the spares and clones that we've created
From this nightmare there is no escape

Ch2:

Holdout humans, we remain fixed
With the others we don't mix:
We're all outlaws, throwbacks
Sidelined renegades
Limited in territory
Outcast by the enemy
To this shadow life held hostage
That mankind has made

Outro:

It's now gone so far we can't be saved
And that's how we'll stay until the grave




Holdout Humans (Micke Lagersson music/vocals)

Chamber-synth-pop. My lyrics, music/vocals M. Lagersson. Copyright 2024 Jay Rich and Micke Lagersson. Lyrics below:

                     Mannequin

V1:

Saw you on a Paris catwalk
Stealing that big fashion show
Oh so sleek, though I got near you
Closer than I meant to go

V2:

Usually your breed repels me
'Cause you seem such shallow clones
Tailored clothes racks, overpaid
I strayed out of my comfort zone

Lift:

The game was sin
I aimed to win
Where to begin
My crazy heart was galloping...

Ch1:

From your thighs right on up to your eyes
You look so toned
I'm sure you hit that gym
Got classic bones, you're standalone
In beauty, so alive, with glowing skin
You're a shining mannequin

*****Break*****

Bridge:

A mannequin so animated
Not quite what I had in mind
Felt your kind robotic
Unerotic, and best left behind
Now I know that it ain't true
So I'm rooting all for you
If there's room for one improvement
To my juicy mannequin
May it be that some place
You've a yummy same-sex twin!

Ch2:

From your thighs right on up to your eyes
You look so toned
Vibe energy and vim
Deities do walk among us
Inner goddesses they're channeling
Like my gorgeous mannequin

Outro:

Might be said that I misread you
'Cause there's so much more within
My flawless, never boring, so adoring mannequin



Mannequin (Micke Lagersson music/vocals)

Novelty folk-pop. My lyrics, music/vocals by Rob L. Copyright 2008 Jay Rich and Rob L. Most medically-specific song ever? Lyrics below:

Lucretia, You're Giving Me A Duodenal Ulcer            

V1:

Lucretia, you're giving me a duodenal ulcer
No amount of medicine can fix
Lucretia, I'm feeling like my gut's about to rupture
Your cuisine and me we just don't mix
Lucretia, I know you're putting something in the cooking
When my back is turned you think that I ain't looking
But Lucretia, oh baby I've got wise to all your tricks
Lucretia, Lucretia

V2:

Lucretia, I think you'd like to see my kidneys fry
And barbecue my liver on the porch
Lucretia, I've never figured out the reasons why
You'd put my vital organs to the torch
Lucretia, I think you're stirring up a witches' brew
Wherever sickness goes it follows you
Lucretia, I ain't just gonna sit back and watch
Lucretia, Lucretia

V3:

Lucretia, I reckon Typhoid Mary is your bosom pal
And Doctor Lecter your dear next of kin
Lucretia, you truly are a one-off kind of gal:
So warped and twisted, firmly steeped in sin
Lucretia, it's time that I put up the barricade
As psycho killers go you leave all rivals in the shade
Lucretia, don't come around again:
You won't get in
Lucretia, Lucretia

*****Break*****

V4:

Lucretia, though you once could boast a saving grace
Now it makes no odds to me
Lucretia, the diabolic soul behind an angel face
Is now exposed for all the world to see
Lucretia, I harbour grave suspicions re your name
With those poisoners it's surely the same:
You're one of the Borgia family
You're a member of the Borgia family
Lucretia, Lucretia, Lucretia...




Lucretia, You're Giving Me A Duodenal Ulcer

Folk number from way back merging a few concepts... Lammas is an August harvest festival and Martinmas a November cattle-slaughtering and salting-down for winter one. Plough Monday celebrates the burying of a corn 'dolly' made from the last harvest sheaf to 'embody' the corn spirit and provide a winter refuge prior to its summer rebirth. Kine is an old word for cattle. How in touch with the land were rural folk from centuries past, and how disconnected we seem today in our little plastic techno-bubbles.🙄My lyrics, Mr. L's music/vocals. Copyright 2008 Jay Rich and Mr. L. Lyrics below:

                John Barleycorn

V1:

Hail old John Barleycorn
Your once ripe earth is so forlorn
With weeds instead of grain it's overgrown
From its trials it seems so worn:
Planted seeds as yet unborn
Lie dormant in the soil in which they're sown

V2:

Come summer, crops stand tall and strong
With you to urge their growth along
So Lammas brings in rich and heavy yields
Reapers sing Thanksgiving songs
Nights are short and days are long
The harvest moon shines bright upon your fields

Ch1:

Hail old John Barleycorn
Arise and be reborn
John Barleycorn arise and be reborn

V3:

Lush pastures flush with feeding kine
And Mother Nature marking time:
Her rhythms and her cycles so well known
To you a reader of the signs
Knowing what she has in mind:
Horn of plenty for the harvest home

*****Break*****

V4:

Plough Monday's corn doll offering:
A ploy to ward off suffering
Tombed in the first furrow of the year
With Martinmas comes slaughtering
Of fattened stock now herded in
Feeling nature's bounty will bide near

V5:

As seasons pass embrace your fate
Of lyring low and enforced wait
Retirement though won't suit John Barleycorn
You'll do no more than hibernate
Your reappearance never late
Your spirit will return to be reborn

Ch2:

Hail old John Barleycorn
Arise and be reborn
John Barleycorn arise and be reborn

Ch3:

Hail old John Barleycorn
Arise and be reborn
John Barleycorn arise and be reborn

Outro:

John Barleycorn arise and be reborn
John Barleycorn arise and be reborn



John Barleycorn (Mr. L music/vocals)

Quirky indie-pop. One of my earliest lyrics from way back. Music by James T, session vocals, pro demo. Copyright 2007 Jay Rich and James T. 

The story behind this is strange... I sent the lyric to 6 potential co-writers, with 5 either not responding or saying 'too quirky, uninspiring' etc. But I liked it so pitched it to a 6th - James, who went on to become a music teacher. He loved it and gave me a great tune straight away, so I had the song pro demoed... The moral being stick to your guns if you think something works and ignore the naysayers!  What do they know anyway...🙄Lyrics below:

                  Tokyo, Tokyo

V1:

I got a yen for the sushi and a geisha in kimono
Chopsticks, karate, and judo at the dojo
Then I saw a samurai who told me his bushido
He said if I was up to it he'd show me some aikido
Next I met a sensei who offered me a bonsai tree

Lift:

He harboured an ambitious plan
To make me a top fighting man
A Nippon-style Chan or Lee
Like a sumo wrestler in a gi

Ch1:

Tokyo, Tokyo, find where to go in Tokyo
Catch a show in Tokyo
The land of the rising sun is really such a lot of fun
I love it so much that I'm gonna tell everyone

V2:

Unless you're the Lone Ranger you could be courting danger
But there are worse places for unwary strangers
Once I faced a mugger on the streets of Calcutta
He tried to steal my pocket book
I gave him such a dirty look
Because I know my kendo I hit him with a cane bo (stick)

Lift:

But not my oriental sword
He was my makiwara board
It hasn't happened in Japan
For that I feel a lucky man

Ch2:

Tokyo, Tokyo, the lights are low in Tokyo
Take it slow in Tokyo
The land of the rising sun is really such a lot of fun
I love it so much that I'm gonna tell everyone

Bridge:

Now Tokyo's a busy city buzzing with high energy
Tall towers, ferris wheel, zen tranquillity
Rainbow Bridge for sightseeing
Venus Fort and doll museum
Puffer fish, a gourmet dish, and all the kaiso you could wish
Dazzled by the neon signs
Sozzled on the sake wine
I came in on the bullet train
Narita flies me out again
Narita flies me out again
Out again

Ch3:

Tokyo, Tokyo, feel the glow in Tokyo
There's rarely snow in Tokyo
The land of the rising sun is really such a pretty one
I love it so much that I'm gonna tell everyone




Tokyo, Tokyo (James T music, session vocals, pro demo)

A patriotic piece of Americana here (though I'm a Brit!), detailing the lead-up to the 1775 War Of Independence/Revolutionary War. More like a rousing anthem! My lyrics, Rob L's music/vocals. Copyright 2008 Jay Rich and Rob L. Lyrics below:

                 Lexington Green

V1: 

Twelve long years of new fiscal impositions
Have finally met with determined opposition
Britannia's demands and her trading regulations
Are starting to sour our once friendly relations
She hampers our economy; she should tamper less
And resentment's building, though without redress
Our grievances all sidelined, are they even heard?
For who can rely on that old tyrant George the Third

Lift1:

It seems like forever that we've made objections
Now backed up by action in the boldest insurrection
Brits misread the signs of disenchanted times
With militia farmers now forming battle lines

Ch1:

That was the starting point:
That's where it all began
The fight for our rights
To our brave new land
The way ahead was tough:
The bid for freedom long
But we took our first decisive step
On the green at Lexington

V2:

Britannia, you oppress us: your conduct is unjust
We surely won't be used by you then ground into the dust
Feelings have been running high right across our nation
Ever since taxation without representation
You grasp yet more revenue for our governance
But from this heavy burden we seek deliverance
Since when has an American sat in your parliament?
The time has come for us to demand self-government

Lift2:

Thirteen seaboard colonies will be United States
We'd fight for independence: for the highest stakes
And a many-signatured, official declaration
Will give us a coveted new liberated nation

Ch2:

That was our finest hour:
That initial stand
Half our numbers firm
Almost to a man
The road ahead was rough
But desire for freedom strong
When we took that first momentous step
On the green of Lexington

Ch3:

Tom Paine and Paul Revere
And General Washington
Saratoga, Valley Forge
Crossing off of Trenton
And French aid helped turn the tide
Finally at Yorktown
But the Minutemen began it
On the green of Lexington

*****Break*****

Ch4:

We stood patriotic, loyal, brave, and strong
On that historic battlefield at fateful Lexington
We fought because we felt
To do less would be wrong
And it all started on
The green of Lexington
The green of Lexington

Lexington Green (Rob L music/vocals)

This is an early and slightly rough recording of a folk co-write based on the true story of the little Derbyshire village of Eyam ('Eem' - google if curious), which under the guidance of its inspirational local clergyman Rector Mompesson, was persuaded to self-quarantine very successfully once infected by flea-ridden cloth sent from London to the resident tailor. The neighbouring village kept it supplied with all requirements, being paid with coins soaked in vinegar, believed to 'disinfect' against the plague. Buboes were the medieval term for lymph nodes, which swelled up and darkened the groin and armpits of those infected, hence the term bubonic plague or Black Death. It has never really died out but is easily cured these days with antibiotics, not mass-produced till about the 1940s. How fraught and fragile life must have been without these, and what a hardy and lucky lot our ancestors were, especially since the 14th century wave of plague is thought to have wiped out a quarter to a third of Europe...

Anyway, my lyrics, Rob's music and vocals. Copyright 2008 Jay Rich and Rob L. Lyrics below:


      The Plague Village Of Eyam

Spoken intro:

In this year of Our Lord, 1665
A curse is upon us that threatens our lives
In Derbyshire dales a dark tale unfolds
And all we can do now is pray for our souls...

V1:

From Holland is spreading a nightmare disease
Carried by rodents and plague-bearing fleas
Though on Our God's wrath the afflicted are blaming it
And for our part we will try to contain it

V2:

Tainted cloth sent here from infected London
Came to the attention of Rector Mompesson
Who well-mindful of this most terrible pestilence
Convinced his flock not to pass on the virulence

V3:

So with all good dwellers agreeing to bide
Our self-quarantining should help stem the tide
With stoic resolve and respect for the dead
We vow to close our ranks so to limit the spread

Ch1:

Some hope for redemption and pray for a sign
While others believe 'tis only a matter of time
As buboes are swelling and skin turning black:
A sure way of telling there's no going back
The grim reaper's struck and his death-dealing hand
Has caught us off guard with its merciless stand

V4:

Our neighbours, appreciative of the high price
Eyam village has paid in its self-sacrifice
Kindly bring supplies: for unseeing hands
We leave vinegared coins at the edge of our lands

V5:

And we suffer anew when we bury our own:
So alone and afraid in our dark, silent homes
No more sorrowful sight than each new daily cross:
Stark and tragic reminder of ongoing loss

V6:

The fate of Eyam village is in the gods' lap:
Our plague-stricken state has put us on the map
And though isolation and going to ground
Will help save our county, we're now a ghost town

Ch2:

The Black Death descends with such chill inhumanity
Testing our faith and assailing our sanity
We've done our best; let events take their course
For The Almighty's hand no mere mortal can force
And all supplication is proving in vain
For not in one instance has it eased the pain

*****Break*****

V7:

Despite all our efforts the blight's closing in
The end's drawing nigh as we confess our sin
And trust annals tell that we did as we must
To thwart ashes to ashes, and dust to dust

V8:

And though Saviour Mompesson escaped with his life
The bell surely tolled for his good lady wife:
Like so many innocents, now dead and gone:
In a year less than half of us left to go on

Ch3:

In our darkest hour we were never to know
The account of our courage the records would show:
Just how in the face of our desperate plight
We stayed firm and strong and put up a brave fight
And for our heroic and selfless morality
History favours us with... immortality




The Plague Village Of Eyam (Rob L music/vocals)

Haunting emotional pop ballad and solo write pro demo from way back with session vocals. Copyright 2008 Jay Rich. Lyrics below:

              No Man Is An Island

Intro:

No man is an island (x4)

V1:

Standing there on the silent sound (inlet)
Like a tidal wave you came crashing down
And swept away all my solid ground
Then you coldly cut me adrift:
Your cruel stroke so sure and swift
And the treasure I thought I'd found
Became one more shipwreck run aground

V2:

Although I tried to go with the flow
Got caught up in the dark undertow:
Out of my depth, oh how well I know
Those cross-currents and fast riptide
Left me wide open, nowhere to hide
Far better to have stayed landlocked
Than be dashed upon your barren rocks

Ch1:

No man is an island
And I'm all lost at sea
With surging breakers
Bearing down on me
I need to find passage back
Among the shifting sands
But sanctuary that I seek
Eludes me on dry land

V3:

Your Lorelei's seductive siren call
Lured me so far from safe landfall
I saw the trap but couldn't heed at all:
Blinded by heartfelt emotion
Needed to plunge right into your ocean
But as they say, the deepest depths
Are graveyard to most hapless wrecks

Ch2:

No man is an island
And I'm so lost at sea
Broken by the storm
No lifeline can save me
The causeway is now covered
I'm stranded all alone
The mists're coming down
As the waters claim their own

Outro:

No man is an island (rpt to fade)




No Man Is An Island (solo write pro demo, session vocals)

My latest solo write pro demo with session vocals, a pacy folk-pop number. Copyright 2024 Jay Rich. Lyrics below:

                    Unrequited     

V1:

I see you moping around
Well haul yourself off the ground
I hate to see you in a state
But don't go making no vows
That wouldn't work anyhow
And you'll regret it far too late
You say you're waiting for me
But did I say I'd wait for you
And was I asking you to
I know that sounds so uncool
But I'd rather speak the truth
Because you're wasting your time
And you're way out of place
In my heart there's no space
And if there were, then I'm afraid
It wouldn't be for you

Ch1: 

You've got a case of lovesick blues
And I'm sorry to be giving you bad news
It's uninvited, unrequited
It's misgiven, and it's ultimately blighted
And if you think I'm cruel
Or I don't understand
Then let me tell you I do
Oh, let me tell you I do
'Cause I've been there too

*****Break*****

V2:

So dry the tears from your eyes
Try to find a better guy
Run a comb through your hair
Then go grab something to eat
You'll soon be back on your feet
Get a man with love to share
But don't go waiting for him
If he wouldn't wait for you
And don't assume he wants you to
I know that sounds hard advice
But it's best to think twice
'Cause in matters of the heart
It's all too easy to lose
And start falling apart
That's why I'm sorry for you
'Cause I've been there too

Ch2:

You've got a case of lovesick blues
And I'm sorry if it's sounding like old news
It's uninvited, unrequited
It's misgiven, and it's ultimately blighted
And if you find me cruel
Think I don't understand
Well I assure you I do
Yeah, I assure you I do
It's why I'm sorry for you
'Cause it cuts through deep
And it makes your heart weep
So I'm sorry for you
And all I'm putting you through
I'm truly sorry for you
'Cause I've been there too
Oh how I've been there too


Unrequited (solo write pro demo, session vocals)

Retro pop, my lyrics, Peter's music/vox. Copyright 2024 Jay Rich and Peter Davis. Lyrics below:

            Ninety-Nine Degrees

V1:

Volcano, furnace, you're a blend
Excitement round you is never-ending
I'm stoked up, my fire is lit
You're like Clara Bow so oozing "It"

V2:

I'm entranced, it's like a spell
With other men the same as well
I advanced, could not retreat
And found myself swept off my feet

Ch1:

The temperature is soaring
Over ninety centigrade and more
My throat is tight my pulse is racing
Being round you is so bracing
I'm light-headed, what you said
Has made me weaken at the knees
The heat is reaching ninety-nine degrees

Bridge:

Force of nature, what a taste of the dark side of life you were
Many days have passed since then
And still my senses in a stir
You're like a burning building
One that's blazing up in flames
My temperature's been raised
Right through the scale and out of range
My life was on hold
And I'd known icy cold damped down to freeze
But you amped it up
To fully ninety-nine degrees (ninety-nine degrees)

*****Break*****

Ch2:

The temperature is soaring
Over ninety centigrade and more
My throat is tight, my pulse is racing
Any time now, I'll be shaking
I'm light-headed, what you said
The way you made those guarantees
The heat has peaked at ninety-nine degrees
The heat has peaked at ninety-nine degrees
The heat has peaked at ninety-nine degrees


Ninety-Nine Degrees (Peter Davis music/vocals)

Epic folk shanty. Pure invention though notorious press gangs did exist. My lyrics, Clive's music and vocals. Copyright 2024 Jay Rich and Clive Pett. Lyrics below:

   Ma Riddle And The Blind Beggar

V1:

I'll tell you a tale, happened in the Blind Beggar:
A tavern once property of Mother Riddle
They say that this witch was in league with the devil
So crooked and stooping her decrepit figure

V2:

Her prey were young men who at her expense supped:
She'd fill them with drink while providing a room
Meantime the press gangs, finding them in their cups
Would spirit them off by the light of the moon

*****Mini-break*****

V3:

And Old Mother Riddle would pile up her gains:
Her excuse being dupes always take the King's shilling
The truth was that it had been slipped their drunk way
With no single wight (man) able-bodied or willing

Ch1:

Away, away, how she cast them away
And sadly it lasted for many a day
Away, away, wretched men met their end
At the hands of a rogue masquerading as a friend

*****Break1*****

V4:

And so would continue this inhumane scam
Until one dark day at her bar would present
A young and bold stranger, a smart, sober man
And fate took a turn, as Ma Riddle soon learned

V5:

This stranger was different, his blue gaze direct:
Ma fell to mute silence, her old heart aquiver
Requesting no victuals (food), he stood and assessed
Her discomfited face, then declared her a sinner

*****Mini-break*****

V6:

My father, said he, at not quite nineteen years
Is from a sunk warship long lost to the depths
It's taken a lifetime of grieving and tears
To see his betrayer pay off her old debts

Ch2:

Away, away, how she cast them away
And it would last for so many a day
Away, away, those drowned men met their end
At the hands of a scoundrel who posed as a friend

*****Break2*****

Bridge:

Old Mother Riddle
She played a mean fiddle🎻
Though not the sort sweet music would make
Her greed was her downfall
But she'd lose it all
And scheme herself into a premature grave

*****Mini-break*****

V7:

Well Mother Riddle she pleaded and bargained
With the young stranger so grimly resolved:
He said though you're old, your grave sins bring no pardon:
Your only hope is to pray for your soul

V8:

It's my intention to show you the snow
So give me your gold and the deeds to your home
Then you'll go forth so the deep winter cold
Freezes your skin and creeps through your old bones

*****Mini-break*****

V9:

And call yourself blessed for to keep your bright eyes:
This bleak season will get all your damnable kind
Though tempting it is to deprive you of sight:
Render you like this tavern: cursed and beggar blind

Ch3:

Away, away, how he cast her away
Whence she could never come back again
Away, away, how she met a bad end
At the hands of a nemesis that fate would send




Ma Riddle And The Blind Beggar (Clive Pett music/vocals)

I was inspired to this lyric by a book on a Cornish fishing tragedy of Victorian times, full of evocative sepia-tinted photos. So the song just cried out to be written. It's from way back, with music and vox by a late American co-writer I did many good songs with. Copyright 2008 Jay Rich and Michael Frazier. Lyrics below:

                   The Cruel Sea

V1:

A fisherman's son of the port I was born
Nor for other trades had I thought to be torn
Our family's lifeblood so long maritime:
Spending our lives with the gulls and the brine

Ch1:

The sea, the cruel sea
Her bounty and majesty
Of her are many things most truly said
The sea, the cruel sea
Her shameless treachery
That fateful night it all came to a head

*****Mini-break*****

V2:

Roused from our sleep by a loud siren call
How I wished to God I had not seen it all:
Young widows bereft and prostrate on the ground
The cries of the children a heart-rending sound

Ch2:

The sea, the cruel sea
Changed everything for me:
Lambs to the slaughter, her victims she led
The sea, the cruel sea
Destroyed our community
On that dark day that she piled up our dead

*****Mini-break*****

V3:

And for my part I would know tragedy:
See five of my kinsmen claimed prematurely
I recall their coffins stacked high in the nave
And vowed to myself I'd fill no early grave

Ch3:

The sea, the cruel sea
Won't be my destiny
And though a child, I could still understand
The sea, the cruel sea:
A farmer I chose to be
And to this day my feet won't leave the land

Ch4:

The sea, the cruel sea
The anguish and misery
I can't forgive the destruction she wrought
The sea, the cruel sea
Ruined many a family
Who can't forget the sad lesson she taught

*****Mini-break*****

Ch5:

The sea, the cruel sea:
Merciless enemy
Don't take her on, not for anyone's sake
The sea, the cruel sea:
Curse her harsh tyranny
And all the heartbreak she leaves in her wake

Outro:

Yes, and all the heartbreak she leaves in her wake
And all the heartbreak she leaves in her wake
Bless all those poor souls she saw fit to take




The Cruel Sea (Michael Frazier music/vocals)

A fun synth-pop solo write pro demo with session vocals. Copyright 2024 Jay Rich. Probably the first song to include the word becquerels, a unit of radioactivity named after a pioneer in that field and co-winner of the Nobel Prize for physics with the estimable Curies. Radioactivity is also measured in grays and sieverts (and formerly rads, curies, and rutherfords) but only becquerels would really do here phonetically!  Lyrics below:

                     Radioactive

V1: 

Alpha, beta, X- ray
That's your thing
I guess your radiation's
Making my heart sing

V2:

The particles you're giving off:
High energy
They're penetrating everything
To get to me

Lift:

Never thought that I could feel so high
And now I've got the lowdown on just why
I mark the Geiger counter sounding
My heart pounding, senses drowning

Ch1:

You're radioactive
I swear that you glow
What gives you such an inner force
I really don't know
You're radioactive
A smoking hot girl
They measure you in becquerels
Woo hoo!

*****Break*****

Bridge:

When conversation's drying up
Think I'm running out of luck
I feel your power true and strong
With you's where I do belong
And though I know you're smart and cute
I won't throw caution to the wind
I need a radiation suit
If your love I'm gonna win
And now seems like a good time to begin (begin, begin, begin)

Ch2: 

You're radioactive
You got a blue glow
You're throwing off the gamma rays
And what a great show
You're radioactive
A sultry hot girl
They measure you in becquerels Woo hoo!
They measure you in becquerels Woo hoo!
They measure, measure, measure you
In becq, becq, becquerels
Woo hoo! Woo hoo! Woo hoo!



Radioactive (solo write pro demo, session vocals)

Piano ballad pro demo with session vocals. My lyrics and music, copyright Jay Rich 2024. The second title, Pro Patria Mori, refers to the Wilfred Owen poem Dulce et Decorum Est (it is sweet and right) Pro Patria Mori (to die for one's country). Owen took the line from the Roman poet Horace and quite rightly called it 'the old lie'. These are Owen's (a sad casualty, dying just a week before Armistice) unsentimental words:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46560/dulce-et-decorum-est

My scathing lyrics below:

The Aggrieved Dead/Pro Patria Mori

V1:

Suppose for just a moment
That heaven's truly real
And the dead could all come back
To tell us how they feel

V2:

Especially those fallen
In the two world wars
What would long lost soldiers
Say to mine and yours

Lift:

I can see the warning signs:
What they'd make of modern times
Maybe they could offer us advice

Ch1:

Would they say we died for you
And this is all that you can do
Most of us were way too young
To lose our unlived lives by brutal tank and gun
You stab each other in the street
Your standards are down at your feet
And what it feels like watching you
Is that the sharpest knife has run our hearts right through

*****Break*****

Bridge:

So yes we're really well aggrieved
Like we've been meanly deceived:
Signing up for King and country
Fighting for our peace and freedom
Nothing much has come of it
Nor will, nothing's right or fit
Broken Britain, you ain't kidding
Now we're cynical and bitter
There was no real point in winning
Save to check the long-gone threat of Hitler

Ch2:

Would they all say we died in vain
'Cause there ain't been no worthwhile change
So many young are feral thugs
Who waste their money, get blind drunk, and take hard drugs
As adults you got no real sense:
You just go starting wars again
So if we could turn back time
We'd surely never ever face that firing line

Outro:

Owen's moving poems
Said we suffered such indignity
Pro patria mori - the lie:
For this land we'd never die
How we wish we'd done things differently
So differently, so differently, so differently




The Aggrieved Dead/Pro Patria Mori (solo write pro demo, session vocals)

Folk-pop. Solo write pro demo with session vocals. Copyright 2024 Jay Rich. Lyrics below:

                    Am I In Ruins

V1:

You didn't tear me down:
I realise you cared
And for a while
Precious memories we shared
But in time's deep maw
Raw feelings they got lost
As we both saw
And then found to our cost - mmm, mmm, mmm

V2:

But it's a no-blame
Although sad situation
And there ain't no shame
Nor indeed accusation
We just fell apart:
The ground beneath us shifting
As your heart changed
And set us to drifting - mmm, mmm, mmm

Ch1:

I see trouble brewing
But am I too late or too soon
I'm mulling it over
That I ain't hearing your tune
The landmarks are missing
It's like navigating the moon
Am I in ruins
Is this what you've brought me to

*****Break*****

Bridge:

It's a state of limbo or ambivalence:
Don't make no sense
Neither here nor there
Stuck in a wasteland
And a tad defensive
Feeling out new ground
And so uncertain if I'm lost or found
It'll take some time to come around

Ch2: 

I see trouble brewing
But am I too late or too soon
I'm mulling it over
That I ain't hearing your tune
The landmarks are missing
It's like the dark side of the moon
Am I in ruins
Is this what your love can do

Outro:

Am I in ruins
Or am I fin'ly immune


Am I In Ruins (solo write pro demo, session vocals)

Retro pop, '70s feel. Mainly my lyrics with some rearranging by Simon, who did the music and vocals. Copyright 2024 Jay Rich and Simon Procter. Lyrics below:

                     El Dorado

V1:

Golden love and golden days
Guess we had complacent ways
Thought that they were set in stone
Till we ended up all alone

V2:

The tower fell, foundations split
Still can't say what to make of it:
That special deal we can't get back
And every day I feel the lack

Ch1:

We just couldn't keep our El Dorado
So we let it slowly slip away
That sun-kissed, endless lush estado (state)
That never saw a dismal day

V3:

Somehow reality just crept in
It pained us so and it felt like sin
Although it cuts me up inside
I'll take it all in my stride

V4:

Is it the same when you hear my name
Or are you playing another fleeting game
Am I a stranger now your life has changed
And our past has been rearranged

Ch2:

We didn't maintain our El Dorado
And we let it slowly slip away
We let it slide into pasado (the past)
Now all I see is a cloudy day

Bridge:

I'm drinking to our El Dorado
Its memory forever shining bright 
It never was ill-favoured maldonado (unlucky)
While lighting up the deepest shades of night

*****Break*****

Ch3: (Ch1 repeated twice)

We just couldn't keep our El Dorado
So we let it slowly slip away
That sun-kissed, endless lush estado (state)
That never saw a dismal day



El Dorado (Simon Procter music/vocals)

Hi all, I'm a multi-genre, diversely-themed very prolific hobbyist lyricist who writes virtually with a variety of composer-singers and sometimes solo. Header pics courtesy of Wavebreakmedia and Pvproductions. Also benart75 and Vecteezy.com

All 40 listed hugely varied songs are copyrighted by myself, Jay Rich, and various co-writers, 2007-2024. There are also a number of concept video links in the describe your track section, plus many more songs unposted due to SC's free page limitations. I also have a truly massive backlog of lyrics constantly being added to, with influences too many to list. This being so, feel free to hit me up for collaborations (I write both to and without music) but be aware I only write for fun and challenge; I'm no industry wannabe and never plan to be.

Finally, please do not 'follow' me if you can't be bothered listening to any of my songs. It won't be reciprocated and I will block you. The prima donnas here are tedious and you know who you are. Ditto the bots that 'like' a track the instant it's uploaded. Soundcloud, you need to do a better clean-up job here, please take note... Overall though thanks for a very useful and generally friendly platform.👍

Richsoundz

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