Everafter is the 12th track from the album 'Advice To The Wayfarer' (2014). All parts written and performed by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

Life gets better now
Now that you’re gone
I’ve abandoned you and
Opted instead for song
I opened the cage
And I flew away
But I left behind
Others who couldn’t find their way out
They stood their ground
For a while

The world here comes and goes 
As fast as rain
Holding on to dear life gets tiring today
Coping now
In their wake bodies litter the ground

And the worst breaks us down
To the wicked and the brave
It’s only everafter

We can break free from
The draconian laws enforced upon
Me and mine
To use is inscribed on the door here

Lights can dim
Too dark to see
Where I’m walking
Alone, I’m free
Precarious
They’re venomous
And you know they bite
They’re vicious and they fight to protect
A means to an end

Everafter

Private Playground is the 11th track from the album 'Advice To The Wayfarer' (2014). All parts by Rowan Galagher except for the electric piano which was written and performed by E.D.

Lyrics:

And I fear it’s been too long between 
The breaths I need 
That my minds already gone

Hold on to me
I’m alright if I can be with you again
You’re like Oxygen
And I’ll be alright
If I can hold you tight

And I hear a sound beyond serene
As the tides recede 
I can finally breathe

Underwater towns 
Suffocated me til now
You turn the world into our own 
Private playground

In the hold of the oceans bitter cold
I’ve been pulled to shore
Revived, clothed and cared for

I never knew of a land 
Where lungs were used
Life’s been a centrifuge
But the spinning stops with you

Underwater towns 
Suffocated me til now
You turn the world into our own 
Private playground

Private Playground

Plastic Bars is the 13th track from the album 'Advice To The Wayfarer' (2014). Written and performed by Rowan Galagher. Drums inspired by Clinton Spence's drumming as heard in Generic. 

Lyrics:

Hey hey kids
Today we’ll draw a house
Goodbye kids
Tomorrow we’ll draw a house
Isn’t that what you want?

Gotta keep running
Gotta keep going
How soon will
The wheel slow down again

‘Cause we love
We all love the wheel
We may be tired
But at least it’s made of 
Brightly coloured plastic bars
Through which we often smile

Today the weather’s fine again
There’s blue skies and the sun’s still shining

Today the weather’s not fine
No blue skies and the sun’s not shining

Plastic Bars

Scapegoat (Alternate Version) - Track 13 from Scary Poppins (Reissue).
This is a previously unreleased version of Scapegoat. It features a slightly different chord progression which is how the song was originally written.
Remixed and remastered in 2013.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

Out on the lam
No one here would understand
The shades of grey
Some man’s waving sticks today
Worse are those who would be kings

No one can breathe
As you incessantly
Drown the truth
No one can hear anything
Those with boats are in the wind

You cast blind eyes to
Those abandoned by you
And it is tragedy
And who’s the scapegoat now
As you writhe around
Trapped under lock and key

Breaking free from the leash
That you wear around your neck
The price may be high
But it’s worth running
Worse are those who would be kings

No one can breathe
As you incessantly
Drown the truth
No one can hear anything
Those with boats are in the wind

Scapegoat - Alternate Version

Shipwreck is the 5th track from the album 'Advice To The Wayfarer' (2014). All parts written and performed by Rowan Galagher except for the piano which was written and performed by E.D.

Lyrics:

The water’s rising and you can’t breathe
The boat is sinking and you can’t leave
I know I’ll try to save your life
Marooned and absent mindedly

I asked someone to care enough
To spare something
There’s only one who said to me
The barrels aren’t empty

Places we have been before
Now they’ve got much higher walls
The victimised can save your life
Things have changed
And your worth’s a judgement call

I asked someone to care enough 
To rescue me
There’s only one who said something
Where’s the parade?

Shipwreck

Siren Song is the 2nd track from the album 'Advice To The Wayfarer' (2014). All parts written and performed by Rowan Galagher. Lyrics "I've heard Mermaids calling each to each, they do not call to me" based on T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

Lyrics:

We rain on your parade
‘Cause the games you play have casualties
The lunatics are lost
It doesn’t take a lot to become a martyr here

We’re further from the truth 
As you’re fighting nail and tooth to be in control
I’ve heard Mermaids calling each to each
They do not call to me if I’m in the boat

Siren song
It won’t be long 
Till they’re talking destiny 
The Leviathan is watching me
I’ve lost the will to be among living people

Broken sleep and broken dreams
Nothing here is as it seems
You can have high hopes
It takes more than a load off my back

To realise your dreams 
Not an ounce of levity till the attack
Round and round she goes
Where she stops nobody knows

Siren Song

Monsters - Track 12 from Scary Poppins (Reissue).
Released: November 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2013.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

Over the mountainside
There’s a place we left
Never to go again
And no one
No one can right the wrongs
We both shared
No one wept for the life we left

Monsters

Lion In A Cage - Track 8 from Scary Poppins (Reissue).
Released: November 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2013.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher except the echoing drum sound which was contributed by Andrew Smetanin.

Lyrics:

Fine until they came
To make sure that
I wont see the sunshine
Only rain
But there’s a lion in this cage
And you don’t kick a lion in the face

Raining down vengeance upon the wicked

Tip toe through the day
Knowing that you can dish out
More than I can take
And there’s a lion in this cage
And you don’t rub a lion the wrong way

Lion In A Cage

Fade Away - Track 6 from Scary Poppins (Reissue).
Released: November 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2013.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

It’s gonna be a beautiful night
If I can get you away
From your telescopic sight
The targets are already dead
And you’ll save yourself a fight
If you can just let them
Fade away

When we’re apprehended
We’ll be holding on
To more than what you’ve got

It’s gonna be a glorious sight
If I can get them away from their
Psychotic fight
The targets are all in our heads
So we’ll set ourselves alight
If we can’t just let them
Fade away

Fade Away

Out To Sea - Track 3 from Scary Poppins (Reissue).
Released: November 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2013.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher except bass guitar which was written by Rowan Galagher and Andrew Smetanin.

Lyrics:

First you roll the dice
And then you see
Winning is to lose
The irony

Escaping fates found far below
The depths we were ever meant to go
No one has to know

Gonna find a boat
So that I can go out to sea
Anywhere but here's my destiny

It takes us
Some time yet
No one knows

Jaded hearts and hypocrites
Almost everything is hit and miss
And it's come to this

Walking down a dim lit road
No ones got a torch that I can borrow
That's become the show

Out To Sea

Berserkergang - Track 2 from Scary Poppins (Reissue).
Released: November 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2013.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

We come with our axes
To where you are
We can’t help retracting
Out offer of
A kinship which neglects
Our basic decency

You can take my hand
And follow me
No one here can resurrect
The faith in me

I want to believe
To fetch too far
This place questions whether
Faith could be an art

Misdirection
It makes a mess of me

Berserkergang

Scapegoat - Track 1 from Scary Poppins (Reissue)
Released: November 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2013.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:


Out on the lam
No one here would understand
The shades of grey
Some man’s waving sticks today

No one can breathe
As you incessantly
Drown the truth
No one can hear anything

You cast blind eyes to
Those abandoned by you
And it is tragedy
And who’s the scapegoat now
As you writhe around
Trapped under lock and key

Breaking free from the leash
That you wear around your neck
The price may be high
But it’s worth running

No one can breathe
As you incessantly
Drown the truth
No one can hear anything

Scapegoat

Water to Wine was recorded in my home studio between 2024 and 2025. I wrote it in 2006 but didn't find an  appropriate arrangement until very recently. These may be the most melodramatic lyrics I've ever written.

All of my vitriol and one hug

Water to Wine

'No Roads To Take' is the 1st track from the album 'Advice To The Wayfarer' (2014). Music and lyrics written, performed and recorded by Rowan Galagher except for the bass guitar which was written by Andrew Smetanin and Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

You can run but you can’t hide
From the creature that dwells inside
There’s no fall from grace
When you’ve found your place 
Underground

Run as fast as you can
You’re still the sacrificial lamb
There’s no falling star
That tears your world apart

Hiding from the sun
A hunger unsatisfied
A world weary person comes to mind
No one tends to believe
When their lucks run out

No one runs for cover 
No one makes a sound
There’s no roads to take
When you’re tempting fate

The cold closes in
The fear disappears with the feeling
There’s no roads to take
Unless you’re the bait

No Roads To Take

Playing With Fire is the 8th track from 'Advice to the Wayfarer' (2013).
Music and lyrics written, performed and recorded by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

I’ll count to ten 
Before going round the bend
We’re lost enough to need direction
8... 9.... I’ll lose my mind

They rescue us
From the last vestiges
Of a day in the life
The question is:
“Do taller men just have further to fall?”

Your words are like holding 
Candles to the light
What’s up with you now
It’s been a while since you’ve been around
The world has taken it’s toll
Some will stay and some will fall

You look for men
Who are prone to falling
Then your knives you suspend
For a moment to catch them
To trap them in your labyrinth of lies

It’s just a matter of time
‘Til they see through your disguise
You use to inspire 
Trust that’s soon jeopardised
You hate, you try to feed off their cries

Playing With Fire

No Tolls To Pay is the 6th track from 'Advice to the Wayfarer' (2014).
Music and lyrics written, performed and recorded by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

I want you to know that I stayed 
Because you taught me how to love 
The way words will stray and if I go 
It’s gonna rip my heart out

I flew so high
There will come a time 
To fall and I will go away 
From this place
But if I go I just know 
It’s gonna rip my heart out

As I fall down the spiral stairs
Everyone’s got their own cross to bear
I can see the fires burning 
In those with the faith
A passion which dissappointment 
Slowly takes away
Jaded by the healers 
Who have become the plague
But I’ve got something better
I just hope it’s not too late

I want you to know that I stayed
Because you were what I found 
That made this place 
More than just an empty shell
There are no tolls there is no bell

I knew the line
That retribution would come and 
I would fall one day without grace
I want to give but remaining is a dry well

No Tolls To Pay

Crimson Teeth is the 9th track from the album 'Advice to the Wayfarer' (2014). All parts written and performed by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

I wont be your collateral damage
As you grin and bare your crimson teeth
Gone are those who rushed into the reeds
They’ll be alright
If you see the signs to the art

That could make a difference this time
And you have tried to turn the tides
Lost are those with quickly silenced cries
They’ll be alright
If you see the signs to the art

And cameras they’ll be 
The first of many steps 
‘Til there’s no one left
A life we cannot lead 
‘Cause it’s fraying at the seems
But I care about it

And we’ve become cautious men
But it’s gone in minutes... taken

It carries me through the colder night
And you have wished for brighter lights
Visceral but doomed to be denied
They’ll be alright
If you hold on tight to the art

Crimson Teeth

Jekyll From Hyde is the 6th track on the album known as 'Hi Penthus' (The first album released under the name 'The Mad Pride'). I've been meaning to reupload some of the older songs which I previously deleted due to limitations on storage here. Thanks everyone who has been listening and commenting on my songs. Your support means more than you can imagine. Sorry I've been out of contact. I'm hoping to have an internet connection of my very own again in the near future. :)

Lyrics:
See this line
Cross in time
Tomorrow you could be someone you can’t even define
You’ve got a hole in your heart
You’ve got a thorn in your side
With the rest you try to make Jekyll from Hyde

'Cause you’re a smooth talker
But you can’t take the blood from the water
You’re armed to the teeth
But it just makes you that much shorter

Jekyll From Hyde

Song For Eli is the 1st track on the album 'Hi Aphrodite'.
Released: January 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2014.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

Alone again
Darkened eyes that light up broken men
Wait for me
I’d follow you beyond the world we see

Walking with you flying through the air
Words of wisdom the devil may care

Life and love
One without the others not enough
Worse than death
Losing you and fighting for breath

One more moment staring in your eyes
Proof that the soul can never die

Song For Eli

Greater Falls is the 2nd track on the album 'Hi Aphrodite'. 
Released: January 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2014.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

One day passes and then
The next begins
The dark passes and then
The light seeps in

Who will wake up if I...
This could be the last
Breath of my life

You’ve made your mark
It’s on your skin
You’ve made your mark
On Vicodin

You’ve spent your time trying to fly
Greater falls from greater highs

Greater Falls

Time is the 6th track on the album 'Hi Aphrodite'. 
Released: January 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2014.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

I’ll be a wrecking ball but I’ll be ok
My body will have to suffice for the lack of a place
To destroy brick by brick, day by day
While you were holding hands I was led astray

Time will change
Nothing ever stays the same
These things pass then they fade away

So labouring has become my occupation
To undo the damage done from feeling forsaken
I need a hammer and I’m looking for someone
Who knows the answer to my only question?

Time

Myths is the 10th track on the album 'Hi Aphrodite'. 
Released: January 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2013.
Written, performed, recorded, arranged and produced by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

You don’t rock the boat
That’s keeping you afloat
You’re a part of it so
It’s no wonder you don’t know

There’s a lake you stare in it all day
Just you wait, eventually you will change
Not into a singing head but into a man making a maze
One day it’ll be too late

You envy everything you’ve missed
The conselation prize was a hedonist
One of twelve you’ve turned it on a dime you couldn’t spend
Leaving behind rosemary and thyme to end

Myths

The River is the 8th track on the album 'Hi Aphrodite'. 
Released: January 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2013.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher.

Lyrics:

I’ve been walking back to my house along the river
Where some grow tall and some will fall
I’m looking for ravens wings
If we can lie down and watch the clouds roll by
The buildings fall down but there’s natural light
The little things in life

We should be happy these things can be broken

I’ve been waiting for the right time to go down the river
They say it’s ok for a trip one way
To where angels play
I’m hoping the current takes me somewhere familiar
A place I knew not so long ago
A place called home

The River

Stay Here is the 9th track on the album 'Hi Aphrodite'. 
Released: January 2010.
Remixed and remastered in 2013.
Written, performed, recorded and produced by Rowan Galagher except the electric guitar which was written, performed and recorded by Greg Hughes.

Lyrics:

I wish I could stay here all the time
Everything here’s beautiful
With you

But I have to go back to those people
And all of their worrying
Oh well

I’m running away from the pain
I can’t take these things you say

Stay Here

Singer/songwriter/guitarist making alt-folk, baroque psychedelia & art rock. Neurodivergent, optimist, anarchist, avid gardener, former graphic designer & aspiring sound engineer. 

Combining 60s psychedelia, alternative folk, art rock, baroque pop and gothic post-punk, The Mad Pride has been described as haunting & ominous like a Tim Burton film soundtrack made by Syd Barrett & David Bowie. Reviewers have made comparisons to Radiohead, Midlake, Meat Puppets, David Sylvian, Erik Satie, Frank Zappa, Nick Cave & even Leonard Cohen. 

The Mad Pride is a reference to the movement “MAD PRIDE” which aims to increase awareness about neurodiversity, the mental healthcare system, psychiatric survivors and the rampant epidemic of ableist abuse targeting vulnerable people.

It began as a fun idea to make demo recordings of my original songs in case I forgot them. Slowly it transformed into a solo home recording project that allowed me to explore a mysterious and exciting place. An almost physical place that is beyond “sound” and “music”. Beyond the superficial vibrations forming the medium and through the emotional catharsis that makes up the message we find ourselves arriving at the only logical conclusion. That only one path leads away from a devastating nightmarish future. It doesn’t lead to riches and it doesn’t lead to Rome. It leads to a revolution of love.

I don’t know the landmarks (or genres as you call them) but I’m certain we can build something wonderful there. I lack the music theory that empowers and homogenises so many others but it’s alright because I’ve made my own. It doesn’t have words, just feelings. A sprawling landscape of emotions that I can scarcely even describe – except through song, My real name is Rowan Galagher but feel free to call me Rosie. 

My first 4 albums are free to download on Soundcloud. I’m currently finishing my 5th album, an endeavour which was delayed for over a decade while the rental crisis vanquished the physical spaces I would have used to write and record. Despite the greed-fuelled delay, I’m finally back in my happy place. A happy place built out of excessive trauma and hopes for positive cultural change. It’s like a messed up “Koom by yah” accompanied by a wood-chipper and a sad clown with a kazoo.

"If you mix the elements from Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Syd Barrett and Radiohead, you’ll get this music, in the most creative way." 
- acuvi - acuvi.org

“Psychedelic 60s gone noir cabaret with 80s goth production: watery guitars, icy keys and vintage Bowie-esque vocals.” 
- Delarue - New York Music Daily

“I recently came across some incredible stuff… The songs bear some resembles to Syd Barret, Tom Waits, Nick Cave or Cohen, this is interesting stuff for sure… I’m posting this because I think it’s worth it.”
- Netanderthalian – Grateful Breed Blog – A Psychedelicious Corner

"The Mad Pride is a good example of Folk Noir (“dark folk”) that also plays with some late 60′s dark psychedelic folk melodies. Galagher has been compared to Syd Barrett and the comparison is apt." 
- Matt Coleman - The Music Court Blog

“The variety here is amazing. The songs run the range from soft, almost acoustical to moody and experimental enough to be the sound track to a Tim Burton movie. They each push the limits of their genre. Be sure and listen to them all as they are very different and there is sure to be something you really like.”
- Jane W – fanrealm.com

“Rowan Galagher’s music is amazing. One minute it has you thinking “Pink Floyd” the next something entirely different. There is an ebb and flow to it that makes The Mad Pride beautiful to listen to.”
- Paddy – Only Australian Music Blog Archive

“Touches of the fragile detachment of Radiohead and a spectrum of dramatic emotion all take up residence under an ominous sky."
- Mr Atavist – Sunrise Ocean Bender

The Mad Pride

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