Produced by Martyn Lewis Moss&#13;
at the Margaret Street loft, Brighton &#13;
on 1st &amp; 2nd March 2014&#13;
&#13;
Jon, guitar and vocals&#13;
Martyn Lewis Moss, bass&#13;
Maria Marzaioli, violin&#13;
&#13;
Dave is the lead single from the forthcoming Hiawatha Telephone Company album 'Passengers Greatest Hits'. It features Martyn Lewis Moss on bass and Maria Marzaioli on riffing violin. &#13;
&#13;
The track Dave is available from Monday 17th March as a free download via http://hiawathatelephone.bandcamp.com/album/dave where (apart from a higher quality file) you can also hear and download another track from the new album - the beautiful 'If I didn't love you' - and two non-album bonus tracks.&#13;
&#13;
Lyrics:&#13;
&#13;
Dave, you say that you're good but that you're a little bit misunderstood &#13;
and you don't know the right thing to say, these days &#13;
&#13;
Dave, you say that you're worried and you're a little bit changed &#13;
but you can't always stay the same, these days &#13;
&#13;
Dave the modern world is sorry you don't seem to fit in all that well these days &#13;
&#13;
Dave, you're having trouble sleeping and you've nothing to feel guilty about &#13;
Dave, you're having trouble weeping but there's nothing much that you feel like crying about &#13;
&#13;
And you know you used to feel something

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Dave

Taken from the Hiawatha Telephone Company album 'Passengers Greatest Hits'  (now available also as a Pay-what-you-want download via https://hiawathatelephone.bandcamp.com/album/passengers-greatest-hits)

Lyrics: 

We're not all the same but we're all related 
Not all in the game but we're all playin' it 

You cry your heart out at little things 
I try to comfort you, with little things 

We're not all the same but we're all related 
we're not all in the game but we're all playin' it 

Your clear blue eyes, can reflect the sun 
My clear blue thoughts don't hurt any one 

I sigh out loud sometimes, I might wear a frown 
that doesn't mean honey, I don't want you around 

We're all the same but we're not all related 
we're all in the game and we're all playin' it 

Politicians are trying their best but it's so complicated 
The next ones will still make a mess, that much is fated 

Some people are looking for peace but just ain't that strong 
But a soldier fighting for peace seems incredibly wrong 

We're not all the same but we're all related 
we're not all in the game but we're all playin' it 

Two people can be so close, yet fight all the time 
Love is a battelground, makes no reason or rhyme 

We're all in the game, we're all related, 
We're all the same, yeah, we're all playing it 

We're all in the game and we're all related, 
We're not all the same, but it's so complicated

******

Vocals and guitar by Jon; Electric Piano by Martyn Lewis Moss. 

Recorded straight onto cassette in Brighton. The mix is in the desk.




Twins

A song I wrote today whilst stuck at home with chronic back ache and recorded straight onto the laptop through the pinhole mic. It's based around a simple round beginning with the chord of D and with the lyrics taken directly from the bible, the beautiful 1 Corinthians 13. 

I expect to rework this and rerecord it in due course.

D XXX232
   XXX003
   XXX222
   XXX003
   XXX232

1 
If I speak in the tongues of men but do not love, I am an empty shell. 

If I can comprehend mystery and my faith moves mountains, I'll have nothing to tell. 

If I give all I possess to the poor but do not love, then I gain nothing, nothing at all.

5
I see a poor reflection of who I am like in a faded mirror 
But when I look into your eyes I know I will no longer be alone,
I shall be whole again, ...even as I'm fully known.

2 
Love is patient, love is kind. 
Love does not envy, and it is not proud. 
Love does not criticise nor seek things for itself, 
It is not easily angered, it remembers no wrongs. 
Love thinks no evil and tells only truth,
Love will trust and it will hope. 
And love never fails to prosper.

4
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. 
When I became a man I put these childish ways behind me and I stood tall.

3
But where there are prophecies, they will cease; 
Where there are wagging tongues, they will be stilled; 
Where there is knowledge, it will fall away. 
But when love comes, then we are whole again. 

6
And now only three things remain: faith, hope and love. 
But the greatest of these is love.
It is always love.
It is always love.


(cover star: Anna Sten)

Love is the greatest thing (laptop demo)

This is a song about sad songs. It has two chords. It has a whistling section. What more do you want? 

One of the new songs, quickly recorded straight to laptop. It'll be re-recorded, and this version deleted at some point.

LYRICS: 

It's so easy, to sing a sad song,
So many sad songs to sing.
The world turns out wrong
For so many souls it seems
The road is long,
with a heavy cross to bear,
Our skins so thin
it's difficult not to care

But I don't care how long the road carries on
At least it carries on
Sing me a happy song.

Gonna try to sing the blues away
Wind blows, sometimes clouds will stay
But it doesn't matter if it's a cloudy day
Because it's another day, there's another day

I don't care how long the day goes on
Because at least it goes on
Sing me a happy song

(whistling)

Tolstoy wrote people who are happy all look the same
And people who are sad are all sad in their own different ways
And singing about sadness never made the pain go away
But if you felt nothing you'd have nothing to say

So I don't care if it hurts sometimes
Because then I know that I'm really alive
I wouldn't want to feel nothing at all
I wouldn't want to be that happy at all
So sing me a happy song
sing me a happy song

Happy Song (laptop demo)

Another demo recorded with the excellent Simon Adams (WITH THE BEATLES, MUM DAD &amp; THE KIDS etc). Inevitably flawed and  imperfect, but    

I'M NOT HARD TO GET ALONG WITH 

Lyrics:

D Left you in bed this morning with a smile upon your G face 
Your hair a ribbon, your fingers subtle D lace 
The sun shone in the window on the sheets where you G lay 
One thing a woman needs is to feel loved every D day. 

[Bridge Am G D] 

I'm feeling nervous I'm feeling only half awake 
I think the morning is more than I can take 
I need more coffee I'll pour another cup 
A teaspoon of sugar, a little pick me up 

I'm feeling hard to get along with 
Sometimes we all wake up that way 
I think I'll pour another cup of coffee
We all need a little loving on our way

I left you in bed this morning with a smile upon your face 
Your hair was a ribbon, your fingers subtle lace 
The sun shone in the window on the sheets where you lay  
One thing a woman needs is to feel loved every day. 

The sun is shining, Spring is on its way 
I'm on your side dear no matter what you say 
A teaspoon of sugar can take the blues away 
One thing people need is to feel loved every day 




Demos

I'm not hard to get along with

Lyrics:

(D) Shut the door and keep them all at (C) bay 
(D) Close the curtains hide the light of (C) the day 
(G) But when you're on your own, it doesn't make the pain (D) go away. 

They don't know what's been done to you, 
They don't know the pain that you battle through,  
But when you're on your own you ain't never gonna get it through. 

Talking to someone never seems easy at all, 
When you do it always feels like you're going to fall, 
But when you're on your own it's better to make that call. 

(G) I don't feel like seeing anybody (D) today 
Feel better if I just go my own way 
I don't really appreciate the things that they'd say 

I cant stop the hurt I can't give it a name 
I can't stop the hurt Won't take away the pain 

(D) Talking to anyone is never easy at all (C) 
(D) I'll never ever want to make that (C) call, 
(G)But when you're on your own it just feels like (D) nothing at all. 

And in the end I just want a good friend. 
And in the end  I just want to be held.  
By someone who really loves me. 
Feels like nothing at all. 



Cover star: 

Lucille Burroughs, daughter of a cotton sharecropper. Hale County, Alabama (Photograph by Walker Evans, 1936)


When You're On Your Own (One Mic Home Recording)

Track 1 from an EP of Tim Hardin covers, released to celebrate the Method Acting No.1 Tribute night on 6th Feb 2017. 

The other Tim Hardin songs covered are: 'Lady Came from Baltimore', 'Shiloh Town' and 'Song for Hank Williams'.

Full EP available to listen/download over on bandcamp 
https://hiawathatelephone.bandcamp.com/album/plays-the-songs-of-tim-hardin

plays the songs of Tim Hardin

If I Were A Carpenter (Tim Hardin cover)

Over 15 years ago I composed my only dance track. I thought it had been lost to the world but I found an old CD in a drawer and this mp3 was on it. 

The track was created on one of those computer-based music apps using standard samples. An interesting little trifle. Free download here so please take it and keep it. If anyone has any idea to do something with it, knock yourself out...

Summer 2001

Techno Thing

Techno thing (2001)

One of two songs from a new digital single, recorded at home on a laptop in single takes - free to listen/download via bandcamp https://hiawathatelephone.bandcamp.com/album/ill-follow-the-sun-single 


Lyrics: 

It's a cold cold morning 
And I'd follow the sun 
But the sun just won't come 

It's a slow slow evening 
And I could sleep for days 
Oh but sleeping doesn't pay 

And I'd follow the sun 
but the sun just won't come 

And in the afternoon all I do is wait here 
Your presence would really make my day dear 
Oh, but you just don't come 

In the night-time you're always with me 
Even though you're miles away in Sydney 
If I could run I'd surely run 

Yeah, I'd follow the sun 

Chords: D... F C D

One Mic Home Demos 2017

I'll Follow The Sun

A cover of the Karen Dalton song 'Something on your mind'.  Lots of people have recorded this classic, originally written by Dino Valenti. 

One-mic, one-take home recording. Just guitar and vocals. Not from the latest session.

One Mic Home Demos 2018

Something on your mind

Something on your mind (Karen Dalton cover)

This song was an out-take from the Freewheelin' sessions, listed as a Dylan composition although heavily drawn from an old Mance Lipscombe blues. I just heard it for the first time this morning and thought it was lovely, so decided to record my own version. 

You can hear Dylan's versions and read about the song here https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/5870

Covers

Rocks and Gravel (Bob Dylan cover)

Home recording 2018 v4

My take on the Loudon Wainwright classic, also covered by Johnny Cash. 

Also, band name is going to change to The Family Grave and a new album under that name will be released this Autumn. Follow on Facebook for more info https://www.facebook.com/thefamilygrave/ 

Cover photo by Tom Pumford (via Unsplash).

Lyrics: 

There once was a man and he couldn't cry 
He hadn't cried for years and for years
Napalmed babies and the movie Love Story
Could not produce any tears

As a child he had cried as all children will
Then at some point his tear ducts all ran dry
Grew to be a man, it all hit the fan
Things got bad, but he couldn't cry

His dog got ran over, his wife up and left him
After that he got sacked from his job
Lost his arm in the war, was laughed at by a whore
Ah, but still not a sniffle or sob
His novel was refused, and his movie was panned
His big Broadway show was a flop
He got sent off to jail, you guessed it, no bail
Oh, but still not a dribble or a drop

In jail he was beaten, bullied and buggered
And made to make license plates
Water and bread was all he was fed
Not once did a tear stain his face
Doctors were called in, scientists, too
Theologians were last and practically least
They all agreed sure enough, this is no cream puff
Oh, but in fact an insensitive beast

He was taken from the jail and placed in a place
For the insensitive and the insane
He made a lot of friends and he played a lot of chess
And he cried every time it would rain
Once it rained forty days and it rained forty nights
And he cried and he cried and he cried and he cried
On the forty first day, he passed away
He just dehydrated and died

He went up to heaven, located his dog
After that, he rejoined his arm
Below all the critics, they took it all back
Cancer robbed the whore of her charm
His ex-wife died of stretch marks 
His ex-employer went broke
The theologians were finally found out
Right down to the ground, the jail house burned down
And the earth 
suffered 
perpetual drought...

Home Recording

The Man Who Couldn't Cry (Loudon Wainwright III)

"Living is laughing
Dying says nothing at all..."

A cover of the Townes Van Zandt song 'At My Window' 

(Recorded 23/9/2018 v5)

At My Window (Townes Van Zandt)

A quick cover of the Dylan song from Highway 61 Revisited mainly because I was just listening to a version by an early 1970s English folk band called Wild Oats which is extrordinarily beautiful.  

Mine's not. There's a comedy mouth harp section at the end of my version, because Dylan always had a harmonica outro in those days... but it's hard for even that to ruin what is undoubtedly a beautiful song.

Just Like Tom Thumb Blues (Bob Dylan cover)

Hiawatha Telephone Company - Cards on the Table (Live)

From a collection of demos recorded in January 2009 at Peppercorn studios, Brighton (UK)

RELEASED AS THE ALBUM BY HIAWATHA TELEPHONE COMPANY 'HARRY SMITH WAS MY FATHER' ON BANDCAMP


What’s your move? 
Where you gonna go  
when your time has come?
What’s your move,  
Where you gonna go   
when your river has run?

Are you gonna make some changes? 
Are you gonna carry some pain?
Are you gonna make some changes?   Again….

Life is short             
Dontchya know?          
Every day is lost.
Life is hard              
I surely know               
to my cost.

Peace will always come            
If you wait    
When you’re in the ground.
Life goes on,    
It only does                  
When you’re still around.

What’s your move? 
Take a chance             
C’mon c’mon
Have you stopped    
Playing the game        
and having fun?

Are you gonna make some changes?    
Are you gonna take the strain? 
Are you gonna make some changes…… again?


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11-What's your move-

Another FAWM2013 song, recorded quickly whilst suffering from a cold. Here in rough demo form so you can imagine the tune.

(Copyright Jon Simmons 2013)

NIGHTMARES

(E) Walking along Brighton (C) beach
(G7) Sea beneath my (E) toes
(E) Pebbles beneath my (C) feet
     Pickied one (G7) up and I gave it a (E) throw
(E) Seagulls overhead mocking (C) me 
     with their (G7) cries of avian (E) woe
(E) There should be sand under-(C)-neath
     but why there (G7) isn't, nobody (E) knows

(chorus, higher voice)
(E) Nightmares don't cut (G) flesh but they (D) do cut (E) bone
(E) Being one of a (G) party won't make (D) you feel less a-(E)-lone

   Sleep eluded me last night
    My head was full of weird ideas
   Woke up with a crooked neck
    and think I've grown a six inch beard
   Talking in my sleep 
    sometimes messages don't get through
   Dealing with a deck of loaded cards
    aint no good if the joker is you

Nightmares don't cut flesh but they do cut bone
Being one of a party won't make you feel less alone

   This fire won't keep me warm
    and my blanket's full of holes
   You can only play the hand you get
    but the dealer won't let me fold
   I've been getting strange ideas
    the monkeys are on the roof
   I think they're rattling chains
    and screaming their monkey truth

Nightmares don't cut flesh but they do cut bone
Being one of a party won't make you feel less alone

  Take my hand my love and
   lead me through this tunnel of fire
  Take my arm and pinch me
   before I fall and expire
  Peaceful sleep is eluding me
   my head is full of shameful ideas
  The mermaids are coming for me
   to douse me in all of my fears

Nightmares don't cut flesh but they do cut bone
Being one of a party won't make you feel less alone



Nightmares (demo)

Hiawatha Telephone Company: "nothing experimental, nothing progressive... The music Jon plays is immaculate and reduced to the necessary core. This is the acme of intimacy in music and that’s the reason I love it" (Common Folk Meadow blog)

Now playing under the name The Family Grave.

Hiawatha Telephone Company

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