Every once and a while I press 'record' and just start playing and singing. This is such a recording. Songwriting in the heat of the moment. I hope you enjoy.

Recorded 2014
Original by Mike Spring
V21M02

Hope it's alright

Hope It's Alright  (song improvisation 2014)

Welcome to Mike Spring’s corner of in-your-face songwriting

This page is inspired by the charm of pure songwriting. It is about the creating of a song, improvised music and raw demo’s. Naked not afraid ;)

‘Sketches from Holland’ is created by MIKE SPRING. This page holds raw recordings of original songs played live solely or invented in the heat of the moment. Tracks may be mono and not mixed. 
Once my inspiration is lit into a song idea a musical train starts rolling off hill. Often I finish a piece. Sometimes it stays a sketch and is forgotten about many years.

Thank you for listening!
Mike
The Netherlands (Holland)
2015/02/07

(all rights reserved)


Gonna blow up this page soon and start all over...got some new 2025 stuff I'm working on that's gonna set it off...Stay Tuned

Violin
 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC75yod6RSSe4JLRdhnW8StA

If you like what you hear, please also listen via my Spotify page. Always grateful for the support. Thank you.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0dMBWuIwRXXEduU7VwJunr

I love the sounds of the 60s and 70s especially. I try to write songs that I would enjoy listening to myself. It’s the only gauge I have. My songs are just the sum total of all my positive listening experiences. I'll let you try to guess who they are!

Listen to Korima songs at www.korima.net


\
\
\
\
\
\
\




















































Samhain
The púca
Of all the ghosts and fairies abroad on Halloween, the púca (or pooka) was the most feared and October 31st was known as Púca Night in parts of Ireland. The púca, meaning 'goblin', can be malevolent or benevolent and is not solely associated with Halloween. It's a mythological fairy and the ultimate shapeshifter, capable of appearing in a variety of forms but most commonly as a dark horse or part dog.

Spring Solstice


Winter Solstice 
The Winter Solstice is an astronomical phenomenon that marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice occurs on 21 or 22 December, when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Capricorn. At sunrise on the shortest day of the year, for 17 minutes, direct sunlight can enter the Newgrange monument, not through the doorway, but through the specially contrived small opening above the entrance known as the ‘roof box’, to illuminate the Chamber.

Samhain
The púca
Of all the ghosts and fairies abroad on Halloween, the púca (or pooka) was the most feared and October 31st was known as Púca Night in parts of Ireland. The púca, meaning 'goblin', can be malevolent or benevolent and is not solely associated with Halloween. It's a mythological fairy and the ultimate shapeshifter, capable of appearing in a variety of forms but most commonly as a dark horse or part dog.

October 

Night migration of birds.

-
-
-
-
-










September

Barn swallows bury themselves in mud in lakes



August

Barn owls and birds of prey on the move
-
-
-




July

Watching bats emerge at dusk.

--
-
-


June

walking in meadows




-------

-
-
-
-








May
The Dawn Chorus:  Ireland 5 am.
-
-
-
-







April
First swallow of the year
Welcome, welcome
From out of mud in lakes
Were you resting there?



March

Unveils like a first thought
A whisper



February

"Nothing stands out yet", you said
As you looked over your shoulder
Broad and rounded, square and hunched
I thought I heard you say, "We are water
And over time we solidify"

Concept Art by SuZanne Ledwith
Photography by something&knot Productions 
Graphic Design by Simon

January
Snow white egret
among fields of greenandbrown
Are you lost in its vastness?
Bubulcus ibis.

DE-cem- ber
Silver EEL migration 
down river to the sea
on a moonless night

through
an obstcale 
of nets
Cutting blades
pollution
And 
Par -a -sites
White egret



December
Mild to touch, not yet winter
snow drop dropping still
daffodil 

November, can I surrender to your dying
Are you truly dying or surrendering



Is it not enough to be ALIVE, autumn 
As birds migrate thousands of miles, autumn
Of an inner stirring and outward knowing

Is BE-ING
to Our Mind
bor -ing

As summer turns, it turns
To autumn, autumn
The slugs and worms live at the root; 
The slugs eat the juice of carrot
Is it good for their EyEs too...?

I buried a 'th' in the soil
With vowels and nettles
And I, this eyE, aye, oh
This What...?
This sometimes
Known thing
Doesn't kNOW oh oh

Winter take, take these
Sor rows, lay them
Deep ee eep
To become worms
for the birds to eat


ever ever
Denied to

.
Concept Art by SuZanne Ledwith
Photography by something&knot Productions 
Graphic design by Simon

Dear listener, Feel free to leave comments and I'll try to reply.

I've been making music for around 16 years now but because of the wonderfully generous community that is SC, I have learned so much in a short time. I look forward to learning even more by collaborating. 
I suppose my strengths are in lyric-writing and singing. I feel fortunate to have been able to work with some stunning compositions by some very talented SCers.

My very best to you, Mark

Some links to recent Continental Collision streaming sites, etc are available below:

I'm a singer-songwriter from Durban, South Africa. Having being raised in the church I was advantaged with a ready-made audience. Their kindness, patience and ecouragement gave me the confidence to improve my songwriting and to take it quite seriously. At times when the lyrics had a touch of controversy, they never thought it scandalous, which further encouraged me to write on social issues, love songs, and songs with just a story. 
By my mid-teens I was heavily influenced by the hippy gospel songwriter Larry Norman, which may explain why into my 50's I still have long hair! Through his music I learned that songs do have a greater purpose. 
As a young upstart I was blessed with a kind and forgiving congregation. Today I'm blessed with a very tolerant family and a bunch of great friends. I love what I do!



A ginnel is a passageway between red brick terraced houses, specifically in Yorkshire, where I grew up. The ones near where I lived had peculiar sound reflections that always fascinated me when I was little. Macalla is Irish Gaelic for echo, in a nod to my Irish roots…