Name: Walk On By by The Secret Red Orchestra
Duration: 2 min 49 s
Description: Cover of the old Bacharach and David song. Entailed the deconstruction of a midi file and the addition of organ, classical guitar and lovely brass, amongst other things.

Such a sweet strings and brass arrangement. You are a brave man taking on such an classic but I'm so glad you did Ronnie.

I love that voice (as always) and yes yes... you ARE a brave man to have taken on such a task.

these songs are a tough sing and you're doing a great job

Vocal(s) were fab, thick yet nuanced - course you were right to post it

Idle Blooms

I made this for my little sister; it's a string of cameos about the town where we were born and raised - a suburb of Newcastle Upon Tyne.  Low income, but real world, real people, real troubles, real joy, real love, real communities, real humour, real music, real life.  All in gloriously rough 1960's industrial working class North East England monochrome.

For those of you not from that part of the world, lyric translations back to English are available upon request. :)

Started as a scribble, pretended to be a poem for a while, then I decided to noodle along and then.....  Ah, you know how it is.....in Byker town.
__________________________________________________________________

Byker Town

Wallpaper of steam trains
Where the sweeping headlights sprawled
‘Cross the ceiling to the old piano
Up against my bedroom wall
In ‘67 the lid came down
Never played again so fair
I’m walking back to Byker town
I’ll meet you there.

Cross the bridge to get to school
Rope swings underneath
Bull’s eyes from the slaughterhouse 
Bombed out rail yard stark relief
Billy Smart’s big top’s coming down
But I don’t care
I’m walking back to Byker town
I’ll meet you there.

Stench of old men in the Raby Arms
A bottle of dog to take back yem
Dominos and baccy tins
Were all that mattered way back then
Every retail product to be found
In Ernie’s shop just six foot square
I’m walking back to Byker town
I’ll meet you there.

Quayside Sunday mornings
Champion, just the job
A week of meat to feed the bairns
For only fower bob
Scranshins from the chippy van ‘round
The side door of the Mayfair
I’m walking back to Byker town
I’ll meet you there.

Sent out on the Wednesday
In Charlie Shepherd’s finest rags
Over to the smokies
To get free broken kippers by the bag
Dad got paid when Thursday came around
Treats for us to share
I’m walking back to Byker town
I’ll meet you there.

Front step full of babbies
Grazed knees on skinny legs
Back lane rows of nappies
Her face is full of wooden pegs
He’s on the dole no work to be found
Torn bookie slips by his chair
I’m walking back to Byker town
I’ll meet you there.

Nets twitching down the road
Never washed in years
Kids with mucky faces 
Almost clean behind the ears
Never seem to have a frown
Owning only what they wear
I’m walking back to Byker town
I’ll meet you there.

Give up all the baggage I’ve got now
Of life in disrepair
I’m walking back to Byker town
I’ll meet you there.

Byker Town

There's no Roses. 

Live piano/ vocal.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hO-5FnIv5s

This is an oldie. Original title was 'Are we cool ? '  Not that I was seeking affirmation of my coolness which would be both pompous and  unnecessary.

There's no Roses  ( cool video )

Corridors of Shifting Trails

Concealed

A group of astronomer-priests mark the three stars of Orion's belt Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak rise one by one exactly where they had predicted over their shiny new megaliths but the night sky is dominated by an unwelcome visitor. 

Mintaka rises
Mintaka shine true

Magi breathe
a solstice prayer
of scrit on bone
this moonfrost eve.

A foxtail star 
rules the sky
All fear the dawn
ere fox may fall

Alnilam rises
Alnilam shine true

A dance begins
with sombre step
to drumbeat heart
with faith in stone

A foxtail star
rules the sky
All fear the dawn
ere fox may fall.

Alnitak  rises
Alnitak  shine true

Magi breathe
a solstice prayer
of scrit on bone
This moonfrost day...


I've used the Arabic names for the stars because I could not pronounce the Sumerian ones but even those would not be as old as I would want and a 'foxtail star' is of course a comet. 

The Pyramids of Giza and those of Teotihuacan, the stones of Nabta Playa and the three great circles of Thornborough Henge in sleepy North Yorkshire all align perfectly with the stars of Orion's belt. 

The 'scrit' on the 'Ishango bone' unearthed in the Congo is thought to be a lunar calender. It dates to  c 20,000 BC. 

https://earthsky.org/human-world/prehistoric-cave-art-suggests-ancient-use-complex-astronomy/

Quote...
A new study says that some of the world’s oldest cave paintings reveal that ancient people had relatively advanced knowledge of astronomy. According to the new analysis, some of the paintings are not simply depictions of wild animals, as was previously thought. Instead, the animal symbols represent star constellations in the night sky, and are used to represent dates and mark events such as comet strikes...

Astronomy in the stone age. Protecting your tribe from calamity was once a serious business. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqXOsbuupMs

Hazy excerpt

Across the sulphur light

Cover of the old Bacharach and David song. Entailed the deconstruction of a midi file and the addition of organ, classical guitar and lovely brass, amongst other things.

Walk On By

Johnson and Son. - 'No one asks for more money 'cause nobody dares, even though they're pretty low and the rents in arears.'

A cover of Cat Stevens' Mathew and Son. A whimsy on what it might be like to work in a small company owned by Boris Johnson and Donald Trump A zero hour contract would be standard, and undoubtedy you would spend your days hoping for a bone and expecting a kick. Such is life.

Johnson And Son

A loose collection of virtual musicians writers and p*ss artists based 'up North.'. Sometimes affiliated to the local virtual progressive rock band The Crimson Kings and the virtual  and less progressive Shy Vikings. Ronnie2010ist is PA to Ronnie Millions the manager of The Secret Red Orchestra. Raison D'etre - to keep the dysfunctional members of the band in some kind of order. A thankless task.
Infulenced by Robert Fripp, King Crimson,Yes, Alan Hull, Lindisfarne, Genisis, Led Zeppelin, Caravan (Through the Land of the Grey and Pink, where only boyscouts stop to think, etc.) Brian Eno, Rick Wakeman, The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Vic Reeves and  Bob Mortimer (local heroes), Dylan Thomas and last but not least, The Irate Pirates Steering Committee.

Walk On By

The Secret Red Orchestra

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