A meditation on appreciating the moment you're in right now, written while sheltering from the monsoon on a Thai island, mostly recorded in Udaipur, India where I had sitar lessons.

Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.
Drums, bass, production and good pair of ears courtesy of Tony Sherrard.
From the album 'High Priestess' Songs' by the cruellest months
www.cruellestmonths.com

Gentle My Love

Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.
Drums, bass, production and good pair of ears courtesy of Tony Sherrard.
From the album 'High Priestess' Songs' by the cruellest months
www.cruellestmonths.com

What Parvati Wants

1994: Halfway up a mountain in Göreme, I met a woman who asked me for a light in French. We spoke for a while before realising she was Turkish, and I'm English. She was living in a cave, escaping a bad marriage. We had a lovely summer together by the sea, until she left me for an older man who had one more yacht than I owned.

Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.
From the album 'High Priestess' Songs' by the cruellest months, www.cruellestmonths.com
Bass, drums, production and good pair of ears by Tony Sherrard.

Cinderella Not Quite

Akka Maha Devi (ಅಕ್ಕ ಮಹಾದೇವಿ)was a prominent poet and mystic in 12th century Karnataka (India), where she is a household name. Her poetry was addressed to Shiva, whom she called "Chennamallikarjuna" or 'Lord, white as jasmine'.  In some poems, she describes herself as both feminine and masculine. A true ascetic, Mahadevi is said to have refused to wear any clothing.

Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.
From the album 'High Priestess' Songs' 
www.cruellestmonths.com
Drums, bass, production and good pair of ears courtesy of Tony Sherrard.
Contains a sample of “Hairaan Hua” by Sufi poet Sachal Sarmast, sung by Sanam Marvi.

Akka Maha Devi

"Who put Bella down the Wych Elm?" is a graffito that appeared following the 1943 discovery by four children of the skeletonised remains of a woman inside a wych elm tree in Worcestershire, England. When police checked the trunk of the tree they found an almost complete skeleton, with a shoe, a gold wedding ring, and some fragments of clothing.  The woman remains unidentified, and the current location of her skeleton and autopsy report is unknown.

Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.
Drums, bass, production and good pair of ears courtesy of Tony Sherrard.
From the album 'High Priestess' Songs' by the cruellest months
www.cruellestmonths.com

Bella In The Witch Elm

When I went to Angkor Wat, I loved the carvings of goddesses called Apsaras washing their hair. The traditional formal dance in Cambodia is known as Apsara, and it really moved me to see it performed by young people, after the Khmer Rouge had tried to murder all the dancers,

Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.
Drums, bass, production and good pair of ears courtesy of Tony Sherrard.
From the album 'High Priestess' Songs' by the cruellest months
www.cruellestmonths.com

Apsara

A quiet ballad with modulation and harmonies so nifty that I sat on the song for a decade, convinced I'd accidentally ripped it off, and playing to random people (including, memorably, my mum's postman) to ask them if they recognise it.

From the album "Calling for the Moon" by the cruellest months https://cruellestmonths.com
Drums, bass, production and good pair of ears courtesy of Tony Sherrard.
Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.

Blue Green Kiss

From the album "Calling for the Moon" by the cruellest months www.cruellestmonths.com
Drums, bass, production and good pair of ears courtesy of Tony Sherrard. Honey-tongued Shakespeare reading on Aquamarine by Richard Crowest, whom you should hire for voiceover work or acting.  https://crowest.co.uk 
Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.

Aquamarine

From the album "Calling for the Moon" by the cruellest months www.cruellestmonths.com
Production and good pair of ears courtesy of Tony Sherrard.
Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.

Lady Merchant

A non-album track by the cruellest months, the first I recorded with @TonySherrard. I wrote it after ingesting one of Dr Hofmann's  magic sweeties, by accident. 
 Albums: www.cruellestmonths.com
Bass guitar, drums, good ears and knobs by Tony Sherrard.
Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.

Speed Of Light

From the album "Calling for the Moon" by the cruellest months www.cruellestmonths.com
Vocals, instruments, Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.
Drums, bass, production and good pair of ears courtesy of Tony Sherrard.

Shine To Me

An accidental power ballad that I wrote for a woman to sing, but when I recorded the guide vocals I decided to keep them, rough as they are. Bass and making sense of loads of different parts by knob-twiddler extraordinaire, Tony Sherrard.

From the album "Calling for the Moon" by the cruellest months www.cruellestmonths.com
Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.

Who Are You?

A non-album track, one of the songs I wrote for the first band Tony Sherrard and I started as teenagers. (The photo is of us in our 2nd band, in early 20s.) I recorded it when Pete Shelley died, as the melodic punk of Buzzcocks, The Undertones, SLF etc inspired me as a kid.

Words and Music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved.
Bass guitar, drums and knob dexterity by Tony Sherrard.

She Just Loves To Be Loved

I get so excited writing JavaScript
I'm pretty easy-going but I use Strict.
When I first began I was in callback hell
But then I met you and now it all goes well

I love you when my tests pass
Meet me in the moonlight and extend my class.
You've always kept your Promises from the start
Now you've shot your fat arrow straight to my heart

Oh TC39, I'm so glad you're mine!
Say you will be with me til the end of time!
Oh TC39, you're so sublime.
Your specs are the best, my TC39!

Words and music © Bruce Lawson, all rights reserved

TC39

See https://saperlipopette.uk/

Words and music (c) Bruce Lawson 2020
www.brucelawson.co.uk
Twitter: brucel

Saperlipoppete by Deluxembourg

Psychedelic world fusion folk punk ballads 'n' roll, by Bruce Lawsona nd friends.

the cruellest months

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