This track was inspired by the true(ish) news story about a couple who met at a friend's wedding, disappeared on holiday together later that same day and ended up in a years-long, ultimately doomed, relationship.

--------------------

Stockholm

He met her at the wedding of a friend of a friend in Stockholm.
And they danced and they drank and they laughed until the sun came up.
Later that day they took plane to the south of somewhere.
Because they could, so they did and they thought that it would be fun.

They found a small hotel above a lake on an Italian hillside.
They got drunk over lunch and fell asleep until the sun went down.
Dinner was a bottle of wine and a conversation.
Both were running dry by the time they staggered back from town.

Singing hey, hey, hey. The world won't wait.
This is who we are, this is our story and we won't look down.
This is who we are, this is our story.

They did their best to make the best of what they had to make the best of.
As they veered from love to hate to indifference.
They visited churches, took a boat ride where she kissed him.
She couldn't tell if she did it out of lust or belligerence.

Singing hey, hey, hey. The world won't wait.
But this is who we are, this is our story and it makes no sense.
This is who we are, this is our story.

[Woooooaaah oh]
And when she wakes at 2.15. 
[Woooooaaah oh]
Remnants of forgotten dreams.
Are whispering uncertainty and doubt.
[Woooooaaah oh]
This stranger lying in the dark. 
[Woooooaaah oh]
What first appealed now leaves a mark.
A bitter taste of sadness in her mouth.
She wakes him with a kiss that's headed south.
She wakes him with a kiss.

A new day, a fresh start, they took a car and headed for the mountains.
Sun's out, radio's up, they're high on hope.
By lunch they're lost, "Have you ever read a map before" she's screaming.
"I could concentrate better if you drove with your eyes on the road!"

Singing hey, hey, hey. We made a big mistake.
But this is who we are, this is our story and it will be told.
This is who we are, this is our story... 

yeah yeah yeah yeah… etc

On the last day they took a walk down to the cafe by the harbour.
Silence hanging as oppressive as the heat.
"I'm sorry" he said "I'll bet you're glad that this is over."
She just smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
She just smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
She just smiled and kissed him aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaoooooo

[Woooooaaah oh]
On the plane back home she sleeps. 
[Woooooaaah oh]
Looks out the window, doesn't speak.
Dreaming in uncertainty and doubt.
[Woooooaaah oh]
He drives her back to Sheffield, in the rain, 
[Woooooaaah oh] 
she's home by half past seven.
He kind of hopes she might invite him in, she says "I'm sorry", turns and leaves.
He starts the car, waits and extra second...
And then he's headed East.

24 years and whole lot of thinking later.
A thousand late-night e-mails neither sent.
Sitting at the wedding of a friend of a friend in Stockholm.
He hears a voice behind him speak his name, he turns, she says:

Hey hey hey. We made a big mistake.
But this is who we are this is our story let's see how it ends.

1982

Stockholm

This is a song about being a long way from home, in a strange city, chasing your dreams. And realising that maybe what you're chasing isn't quite what you thought it was and maybe what you really want was right in front of you the whole time...

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Lyrics:

Looking at the morning light.
A memory, a bird in flight.
Tell me what we did last night.
No tell me what we did last night.

I'm sitting in the window seat.
At 30-something thousand feet.
Listen to the engine beat.
Listen to the beat.

A house, a car, a perfect start.
A mouth, applause, an open door.
Glass and wire and candle-fire.
Waves that crash upon these shores.

I don't know why I came to Los Angeles. Ah-oh.
Men in black suits. Me down on my bended knees.
Begging David, please, take me home.

Looking for the telephone.
Working out the time back home.
Do you know the country code.
Do you know the country code.

Look - another morning sun.
And all I want to do is run.
All I want to do is run.
All I want to do is...

Run, away, and leave this place.
The strip. The bars. The bleeding hearts.
I don't think this is quite my tempo.

A book. A verse. So well rehearsed.
A tiny room. A distant hearse.
Lights that shine where dreams are made.
And we were watching from the shade.

I don't know why I came to Los Angeles. Ah-oh.
Men in black suits. Me down on my bended knees.
Begging David, please, take me home.

Copyright 2025 - The Fiery Lights / Lyrics copyright Ian Knapp

Run (Single)

This is a track about imposter syndrome... and about how we always seem to know exactly what to say to someone when they have a problem but can never apply the same advice to ourselves. And about how it sometimes needs the person closest to you to tell you when you're being an idiot. And about being scared of fire.

--------------------

Lyrics:

She said I was her rock.
She thought that I was wise.
But I am an imposter in a badly worn disguise.

A rock is solid, hard and real.
It doesn't make a sound.
But if you sail too close, your ship will run aground.

There's a bullet in the night. I'm in the line of site. I can feel it coming.
And then your hand in mine. You pull me to the ground. And undercover.
Oh. I wonder...

She said I was her rock.
I always found the words.
But that is giving credit that I'm not sure I deserve.

A rock is solid, hard and real.
Immoveable and strong.
A rock doesn't need to communicate in a song.

There's a bullet in the night. I'm in the line of site. I can feel it coming.
And then your hand in mine. You pull me to the ground. And undercover.
Oh. I wonder...

Tell me, do you see the light? (that must mean there's a fire)
Can you smell the smoke? (that must mean there's a fire)
Do you feel the heat? (that must mean there's a fire)
Do you, do you know the drill? (that must mean there's a fire)

That must mean there's a fire...

Her Rock

This track was inspired by a tiny bird that sat staring back at me for what seemed like forever, on a sunny, still afternoon, during the weirdness of the pandemic. It's a song about our place in the world and the way we treat it - and about how, sometimes, we really are too damn clever for our own damn good. It's the opening track from our debut album, "1982".  Lyrics below...

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Lyrics:

So it all begins.
In the blink of an eye it's ending.
Things killing things they're meant to be defending.
Open season. On the range.
Jesus mercy, things are getting strange.
Words. And wires.
And burning spires.
Man says he chopped down a tree to make a bird box out of wood.
Too damn clever for your own damn good.

See the tiny bird?
Can you imagine what he's thinking?
Staring at you staring at him, eyes unblinking.
Tiny moments. Massive sparks.
All this light, but still we're in the dark.
Words. And likes.
And rusted bikes.
You try to run away from what they'd use to find you if you could.
Too damn clever for your own damn good.

Woah. Wha Woah. Wha Woah. He's not even in denial.
Woah. Wha Woah. Wha Woah. He says it with a smile.
Woah. Wha Woah. Wha Woah. I think he'll be a while.
Woah. Wha Woah. Wha Woah. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.

Is anybody there?
Is anybody still tuned in?
I wouldn't really blame you if you'd given up listening.
Bad reception, some excuse.
Exhibit C - file under "other news".
Words. And wires.
A world on fire.
You're speaking in tongues while complaining that you've been misunderstood.
Too damn clever for your own damn good.

Woah. Wha Woah. Wha Woah. He's not even in denial.
Woah. Wha Woah. Wha Woah. He says it with a smile.
Woah. Wha Woah. Wha Woah. I think he'll be a while.
Woah. Wha Woah. Wha Woah. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.

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Lyrics - copyright 2025 - Ian Knapp

Too Damn Clever For Your Own Damn Good

Too Damn Clever (For Your Own Damn Good)

This track was inspired by the story of the Senegalese chimpanzee David (from the BBC documentary "Dynasties"), who was attacked and left for dead by another chimpanzee, who wanted to overthrow him. Despite suffering horrific injuries, he dragged himself back to his feet and... I'll let you watch the documentary to find out what happened next!

The song isn't "about" what happened as such, but it serves as a metaphor for never giving up, however bad things get. Lyrics below...

--------------------

Lyrics:

Give me a voice to believe in.
Bring me a glass and a listener to numb this feeling.
Oh there's a howling beast inside.
Scared and he's six weeks living in the wild.
Oh do you know how to tame him, reach him, save him? 
Do you know, or would you rather kill him or restrain him?

Give me a choice to believe in.
Bring me a thousand opinions that I can agree with.
Oh there's a crazy wind that blows.
Ripping up houses, tearing at the hedgerows.
Do you know how to tame it? Can you ever tame it?
Do you know or do we walk into the rain and face it?

Oh lord, I did not think I would make it.
Oh but how the night air shines and shines.
There is no magic bullet David.
You simply have to climb. To climb. To climb.

Tell me a story with an ending.
A story where it all works out and there's no pretending.
Oh there's a shiver in the Autumn breeze.
Monsters snarling and gnashing their teeth.
Oh do you know how to tame them? Can you really tame them?
Or are they only doing what their way of being makes them?

Oh lord, I did not think I would make it.
Oh but how the light defines the dark.
There is no magic bullet David.
You simply have to start. To start. To start.

And I don't know how.
I don't know how.
I just know why… why… why…

(Lying on the ground. Left for dead on the ground) x 4

Tell us something new, something different.
Something that makes us stop and think "man you're a visionary"
Oh there's a ripple in the middle of the sea.
To a tidal wave from a whispered breeze.
Oh do you know how to ride it? Can you ever ride it?
Maybe that's the only way somebody can survive it.

(Lying on the ground. Left for dead on the ground) x 8

David

This song is about struggling with the parts of yourself you don't like so much and how no matter how hard you try, sometimes those parts of your personality just won't lie down.

Lyrics:

Sometimes I feel sad that I am human.
When I see the way that I behave.
Then I speak to you and you remind me, 
who I need to be and why it is I have to keep the faith.

"Look outside", she said, "there is a sunrise.
and in the hedge a baby bird on wing".
How come it is you who always sees it all?
How come it is me, who always misses everything?

"Listen, these words" she said, "they speak to me.
The rhythm and the cadence and the tone.
Would you open up your heart and try to hold them?
'Cos I don't want to be someone who reads these words alone.
I don't want to read these words alone."

There are nights I stay up drinking whisky.
Because I like the way it makes me feel.
I like the holes and cracks and gaps it opens for me.
Out of which the voices of those sirens call to me.

Let's go to the Black Dog and eat eggs, we...
can order what we order every time.
We'll talk about the patterns in my coffee.
They'll tell me they can teach me.
I'll tell them Monday's fine.

'Cos sometimes I feel sad that I am human.
(you are the glue, you are the seam)
And sometimes I feel sad that I am not.
(you are the fabric in between)
I think about the things we're slowly losing.
(stitches that bind, give me belief in all the good things I have got)
And how I'm tearing holes in all the good things I have got.

Remember on the streets of Copenhagen?
We walked until we could not feel our feet.
I took a summer jacket, I was frozen.
Thank you for not laughing at my predictability.

Lyrics copyright 2024 - Ian Knapp

Copenhagen

This is a song about losing somebody you care about and about how different people grieve in different ways. Some want to talk about the person, to keep them alive through words and stories. Others can't, and maybe they know something about grieving that the rest of us don't. It's a track about loss and love and not knowing what to say.

Lyrics:

An open book. Bad handwriting.
A map half-drawn in biro.
Why don't we speak about these things?
I loved him too, you know.
A summer's evening in the Downs.
All bathed in fiery lights.
The smell of smoke. The drunken bees.
I dreamt of him last night.
I dreamt of him last night.

If I try to explain.
You look at me like I'm talking.
In another language.
Made of words you don't believe in.
Think about it, you remember.
How you cried, stood on the driveway, in the sunshine.
I remember.
Can we try to do this my way?
Can we try to do this my way?
Can we...

Just speak. It only takes a word.
Or three. Or hell, whatever works.
Do you know. Do you know. 
Do you know something we don't.
Do you know something we don't know.

Let's take a walk, through the snow.
I can't find the words to ask you what I want to know.
So we say other things.
You tell me all about your week.
About the people you have seen.
I know it's hard. I know.
But there are doors we shouldn't close.
Doors we shouldn't close. Oh...

Just speak. It only takes a word.
Or three. Or hell, whatever works.
Do you know. Do you know. 
Do you know something we don't.
Do you know something we don't know.

Let's take a walk, through the snow.
I can't find the words to ask you what I want to know.
So we say other things.

--------------------

Lyrics copyright Ian Knapp 2024


Just Speak

This is a track about how sometimes, meeting a certain person seems pre-ordained. Wherever you went, there were signposts leading you to them.

Lyrics:

In the stars, in the stars, I saw you in the Southern stars.
Where there were birds and beasts and playing cards.
I knew you as I lay in the night, with the desert at my back.
I stared at the stars and they stared right back.

In the words, in the words, in the words of a midnight song,
You touched my hand, then you were gone.
You were the ghost of a promise of a whisper of a distant voice.
And in the end I had no choice.

Through all the miles and moments, fires and long forgotten friends.
Pictures from another life, my father at the end.
You left a trail of breadcrumbs that I followed. I could not comprehend.
And though I never knew your name, I loved you in the desert, even then.
Though I never knew your name...

In the smoke of a fire, in the dark of a cloudless night.
The wolves they wait beyond the light.
And in the voice of the wind, with the cold of the devil at my back.
You spoke my name, the wolves drew back.

Through all the miles and moments, all these many tiles of land.
In the chapel, speech all written down, your hand upon my hand.
You left a trail of breadcrumbs that I followed, but I could not understand.
And though I never knew your name, I loved you in the desert, in the sand.

And though I never knew your name...
Well now I know your name...
Now I know your name.

Australia

This track is about allowing the same difficult patterns to play out over and over in friendships - and how on some level those choices and interactions must benefit you, even though they make you feel rubbish, because otherwise, why do you keep playing the same role? Nods to several characters from the hit US TV drama Homeland.

---------------------

Lyrics:

I called Saul, he had things to do.
He made a bunch of promises but we both knew.
They were there for breaking if he needed to.
So I thanked him and I went right back to what I knew.

I called Saul, he said "you're my man"
"I need you on this right away" and so I ran.
I swear he only does it just because he can.
Every time's the final time, next time I'll make a stand.
Every time's the final time and I'm nobody's man.

Aaaah it was all that I could do
(I had no choice in any of it)
And aaaah - it was all because of you.
(you took my voice, you buried me with it)
You are the smartest and the dumbest person I ever knew.
You are the smartest and the dumbest person I ever knew.
You are my great regret.

"Don't go home, don't go home", she said.
"I need you at the bar by 10.15am"
I swear I saw the cross of Jesus floating in my cup.
I shut my eyes, I fantasised, I drank right up.
I shut my eyes, I fantasised, I drank right up.

Peter said it was all that I could do.
(I had no choice in any of it)
Peter said it was all because of you.
(You took my voice, f*cking buried me with it)

You are the smartest and the dumbest person I ever knew. ( x 4 )
You are my great regret.
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.

I Called Saul

This is a live version of The Fiery Lights' debut single "Tongues", recorded at the 2024 Local & Live Festival in Tunbridge Wells, England.

Studio version: https://soundcloud.com/thefierylights/tongues
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdPZrYR8dPc

The track explores how social media makes us feel, the addictive buzz we get from the "ping" of a new message coming in and whether the anonymity it allows people to operate in has left us better off. Are we having fun?

--------------------

Lyrics:

Wrap it up, tap, tuck it up, move on.
Throw it in the back like a bit of trash, crush it like King Kong.
I did not say those things.

Remember when a secret really was a secret.
You wrote it in a code, to a friend, only you and they know but now...
A million tiny pings.

Are we having fun? Tap, wipe it out, swipe, kill a bit of doubt.
Sift through the wreckage for the reason for the burnout.
Crowned. A million tiny kings.

Everybody's ruling, fuelling, bullying and mewling.
Waiting for a tiny bit of power they can drool in.
Fly on someone else's wings.

You learn it when you're young.
They used to cut out tongues.
Now it's smiling suns.
Clapping hands and thumbs.
Are we having fun?
Are we having fun?
Are we having fun?
I'm not having any fun.

Did you take my hit?
I buried it, take another Merocet.
Maybe if I use a fancy word I'll look intelligent.
I don't know why I said that.

You say you're feeling worth it? Perfect.
Except you never earned it.
Put you on a wave and f*cking right you're gonna surf it.
But look down. Did you see those fins?

You learn it when you're young.
They used to cut out tongues.
Now it's smiling suns.
One mistake you're done.
Cancelled, banished, gone.
Are we having fun?
Are we having fun?
Are we having fun?
I'm not having any fun.

Does anybody understand? Has anybody figured out the rules?
Of this great Wild West, where you're a genius or a fool.
All the copying, borrowing, following and worrying.
Endless mirrored halls to wander in.
Take me back to 1982.
For Bryan Robson versus France.
BMXs, Top Trump cards.
Trading stickers with my friends.
Somebody's dad's Mercedes Benz.
My valentine, for Karen Green.
Why can't I have a Soda Stream?
The endless days of childhood summers gone.
Before I heard that song.
Angels howling, demons singing.
Tips on suicide and cleaning.
All the voices saying the same damn thing.
"You're not enough, you've never been."

Why can't someone stop this train?
Why can't someone stop this train?

Lyrics © Ian Knapp 2023

Performance Credits: Ian Knapp (vocals & guitars), Chris Ibbott (drums & samples), Chris Hencken (bass). Live sound by Joe Turner, Al Drake-Brockman and the rest of the Local and Live engineering team.

Live at Calverley Park

Tongues (Live)

Tongues (Live at Calverley Park)

A track inspired by the guy who screams at you when he's trying to push in front of you in traffic... the guy who bumps into you in a bar and then blames you for spilling his drink... the guy whose eye you don't want to catch when he's in the wrong mood... and what happens when he ends up with way more power than he should have...

Lyrics:

Hey! Don't be a fool. It doesn't suit this kind of day.
Get back in your car. And drive on...
I don't think you know what it is you're trying to say.
You're just feeding us fuel for these songs.

You set fires.
And you drop bombs.

Hey! You should sit down. I hear there's people on their way.
I think we might have been here before.
You are tracking for an aneurysm - get off the stage.
And take your place down here on the floor.

You set fires.
And you start wars.

You got blood on your face and you're smiling. You got blood on your face.
You got blood on your face and you're smiling. You got blood on your face.
You got blood on your face and you're smiling. You got blood on your face.
(You set fires)
You got blood on your face and you're smiling. You got blood on your face.

Lyrics © Ian Knapp 2025
All music written and recorded by Ian Knapp (vocals, guitars, bass) and Chris Ibbott (synth, keyboards, drums)

Bombs (Single)

Bombs

This is a track about seeing someone you love heading into the unknown, putting themselves waaaay outside their comfort zone - and how you know they'll be fine, even if they don't know it themselves. It was written over the winter of 2024 / 2025, during which time I kept noticing this one single rose flower that remained on a climbing rose plant in my back garden, living through multiple storms, high winds and snow whilst everything around it died back. It's a song about about facing your fears, about love. And about resilience.
- Ian K (lyricist, vocalist, The Fiery Lights)

-----------------------------------------------
Lyrics:

Out the back, behind our house, the rain is falling.
On this summer's dried out Autumn leaves.
This year's been a little stranger than is normal.
And you are still arriving into someone who believes.

Neither you nor I can say what's round the corner.
But nothing hiding there can stand a staring chance.
This November stayed a little warmer.
And the storm is just an opportunity to learn to dance.

So let me say "merry winter, my love... next year is ours".
Next year is ours.

The trees are staying green this year for longer.
And do you see that single fighting, climbing rose?
Seems to me it's saying "come on world - I belong here!"
And never mind November, or what's coming, or the cold.

So let me say "merry winter, my love... you'll be fine, I know"
You'll be fine, I know.
I know, I know.
You'll be fine, I know.
I know. I know.
You'll be fine, I know.

Lyrics (c) 2025 Ian Knapp
Ian Knapp - vocals, guitars, accordion, bass guitar
Chris Ibbott - drums



Merry Winter, My Love (Single)

Merry Winter, My Love

Merry Winter My Love

The Fiery Lights write songs that tell stories.

Some are long, winding and strange. Some are full of hope. Others are steeped in chaos and disaster. All told over a backdrop of music that takes in edgy alt-rock guitars and pounding drums, intimate acoustic instruments, and a healthy slice of synthy electronic magic.

The Fiery Lights were born in 2023, when lyricist / singer Ian Knapp and DJ / drummer Chris Ibbott met via an ad in their local coffee shop, where they played their first live show a few months later.

Their 10 track debut album "1982" was released in 2024, with new singles "Run", "Bombs" and "Merry Winter, My Love" following early in 2025.

They're based just outside London, UK.

The Fiery Lights

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