I can't see the future anymore
No far horizons, no distant shore
And now the last act begins
The stage is set, the lights now are dimmed

I feel the walls here closing in
And every step I take reminds me where I've been
Somebody lift me to the clouds
Oh I need a hand, I will not be proud
'Cause I'm still a child

And I need love now
Yes I need your love now

I feel the cold more every year
I dream of suns but the light is not so clear
And everything I think I know
Is nothing, or something to let go

So come now all you, gather 'round
Bring your treasures all, lay them down
'Cause time is a knife, it cuts both ways
I've been every clown on this parade
But I hold them all, each and every day
'Cause I'm just a child

And I need love
Yes I need, I need your love
So come, come to me and help me believe

The Last Act

Early, rough guitar/voice demo

Image by Rowan Heuvel

Shake It Off (demo)

Guitar and voice demo:

I try to pin down the year
But the image is unclear
The crystal light fading now

A lonely last polaroid
(Outlived the brittle celluloid)
Fragile memory playing tricks
Is this 1966?

Evanescence, obsolescence 
Lost in the mist

Who is that pale thin man?
That phantom holding my hand?
Just a child in his own way
They started young in his day

Adolescence, luminescence
Is this the twist of 1966?

I see my brother how strange
Now was ever such a babe?
So small, just a wisp
I can't believe how much I've missed
I wasn't ready, ready for this
For 1966

1966?

https://www.loc.gov/item/2016655162
Underscored with music starting at :40
Not the whole speech, just some choice passages that are relevant today.

Americanism/Franklin D. Roosevelt (1920)

When we broke into the magic within
You asked me, "how can it be?
Can it linger, can it last
In a world of entropy?"
I was thinking of something to say
Some words to reassure
But there is only, only today
And no need to open that door

We when fell into the wonder within
You asked me, "is this real?
Is it a fancy, just a whim?
I don't know how to feel"
I was thinking of something to say
Some wisdom to give you
But there is only, only today
And no other truth

Image by Kier In Sight

The Magic Within

Call her Peregrine
Call her what you want
She's hard to hold
And she never stays for long
You wait your turn
You bide your time
She's here and gone
But the sweetest anodyne

Call her Peregrine
Call her what you must
She's hard to pin down
Hard to trust
She's mercurial
She's serpentine
But the sweetest anodyne

Call her Peregrine
Call her what you will
She's here and gone
But what a thrill
All the longing
All the time
And she's the sweetest anodyne

Image by Juliette Contin

Call Her Peregrine

Variation on an earlier upload: slower, mellower, with modified lyrics and arrangement.  Demo only at this point:

Old dreams gone
Sad, sad song
Will you sing it with me?
A long, long fall
Can you recall the melody?

The speed of change comes crashing in
Turns my head around
The wheel of time, a frantic spin
A battleground

I think about my younger days
When there was less of this and that
When the world was small
And we didn't hold it in our hands

When the songs were on the radio
And the phones were on the wall
When old folks said, "son, good day to you"
It seems so strange now, after all

I remember wandering 'round, questions in my head
No quick answers, no remedies
No computers on the table, or in my pocket
Was I free?

When the films were in the theater
And the flights were to the moon
Can't say for sure if life was sweeter then
But those times went by too soon

Old dreams gone
Sad, sad song
Come and sing it with me

Nostalgia's lame, but even so you find
You are all the eras of your life
I hear the past, those echoes in my mind
Breaking like glass

When the songs were on the radio
And the books were on the shelf
When the young were a little bit radical
Or at least thought for themselves

When the stars were on the big screen
When things were made to last
Can't say for sure if life was sweeter then
But those days went by too fast

Image by Tamim Arafat (Unsplash)

When The Songs Were On The Radio (alternate)

I will assume that most will no know this tune because it is from one of Bowie's later LPs called "Heathen" (2002), but I am so here is my take.....

"Slow Burn," the David Bowie song, explores the themes of societal collapse and a dystopian future, particularly in the context of a gradual, almost biblical, decline. It depicts a world plagued by fear and spies, set in a "terrible town," and touches upon the idea of a "slow burn" leading humanity towards its end. 
The song paints a picture of a world on the brink, with societal decay and an atmosphere of dread. 
It evokes a sense of an impending apocalypse, drawing parallels to the "end of times" described in religious texts. 
The lyrics suggest a gradual, rather than sudden, downfall, implying a slow, insidious deterioration of society. 
The line "At the center of it all" is seen by some as a precursor to Bowie's later album, "Blackstar," and its exploration of similar themes. 
The song fits within the overall theme of "Heathen," an album dealing with spiritual decay and a perceived decline in 21st-century values. "               Google Generative AI
Image: Merlin Lightpainting

Slow Burn-David Bowie (Cover)

Music: Little Man & Janne Hennie
Lyrics & Vocals: Janne Hennie
Instruments & Mix: Little Man

Lyrics

1
Raining outside
What the hell are you going to do?
This is your life
The one to decide is you!

Chorus x 2:
Live it well, don't make a fool of yourself
Your decision will affect your day
Imagine you have wings, fly through the rain
Keep it honest and real along the way...

2
Storming inside
What the hell are you going to do?
This is your life
The one to decide is you!

Chorus x 2:
Live it well, don't make a fool of yourself
Your decision will affect your day
Imagine you have wings, fly through the storm
Keep it honest and real along the way..

3
Dirt on your mind
What the hell are you going to do?
Well, this is your life
The one to decide is you!

Chorus x 2
Live it well, don't make a fool of yourself
Your decision will affect your day
Imagine you have wings, fly through your life
Keep it honest and real along the way...

4
Living your life
What the hell are you going to do?
Well, this is your life!
The one to decide is you!

Chorus 
Live it well, don't make a fool of yourself
Your decision will affect your day
Imagine you have wings, fly through your life
Keep it honest and real along the way...

This Is Your Life

Many listeners will have caught the Nick Drake influence in my music. He was a tremendous inspiration, and directly affected my sound, perhaps especially on earlier albums. In the last decade or so I've listened to Nick less, but he is still in the back of my mind when writing. When composing this guitar part, I thought, "I would not have come up with this without Nick Drake." And then it occurred to me that I had never written a tribute to him. This track is for those who know and appreciate Nick's music, and especially his lyrics:

A song for you, just for you
The palest blue
A song for you, gone too soon

Is this the time of your reply
When we deem you oh so high?

And did you find your place to be?
Your second grace?
Your fruit tree, your fruit tree?

Now time has told me you're a rare, rare find
A troubled cure for a troubled mind

Oh did you lie behind the sun
When the day, the day was done?
Day was done

Then a new day dawned from the ground
And now you rise, you're all around

A song for Nick, gone too quick

(The song image is from the label of a Martin 000-28 Custom "Nick Drake Tribute" guitar--only 10 made, of which I am lucky to own #2.)

A Song For Nick (updated)

Here you will find little acoustic pop songs; melancholy, dreamy-folk things. Sometimes some jangly, fuzzy rock tunes or ambient pieces as well. Work-in-progress demos to finished tracks, informal playlists to official album releases. Enjoy.

A Song For Nick (updated)

Tom Hanson

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