A more uptempo offering than usual. I got up in an uncharacteristicly good mood one day so scribbled some words which became this song.

The best seat on the lifeboat

There’s a blackbird on my roof tossing off the moss, his predawn song cutting through the dark
I throw my window open with a hearty exhalation to hold this perfect moment in my palm
But it’s raining cats and dogs there’s a river in my gutter; it’s falling from a sky as grey as lead
But I’m swinging on a star, I got the best seat on the lifeboat, I got up on the right side of the bed

Ch
 I’m buzzing like a wasp in a window
I’ll keep my pecker up come what may
In the words of Nostradamus as he flung off his pyjamas
It’s going to be a good day today


My Freddo dealer rang to say he’s had another shipment so I’m singing like a linnet in the shower
Be Bop A Lula, something by the crooners then it’s off to town, fragrant as a flower
Someone slipped blue Smarties in my latte there’s a ripple and a tingle in my feet
And although this is a world with Piers Morgan it I can’t stop myself from skipping down the street

I’m buzzing like a wasp in a window
I’ll keep my pecker up come what may
In the words of Nostradamus as he flung off his pyjamas
It’s going to be a good day today

The blue trolley passes me so many times in the course of a working day
There’s a lot to be said for not being dead, that’s how I’d like it to stay

I have a smile for the crowds, all the shop assistants a smile for the busker and his songs
A smile for the preacher who said I’m going to Helsby, that’s fine with me unless I heard him wrong
 I’ve a smile for the thief who relieves me of my wallet, I get us in a selfie on my phone
He takes that off me too, there’s not much I can do so merrily, I make my way back home

I’m buzzing like a wasp in a window
I’ll keep my pecker up come what may
In the words of Nostradamus as he flung off his pyjamas
It’s going to be a good day today

The Best Seat on the Lifeboat

Orchestral Demo

The Redeemer

A song about being bleeding cold and looking forward to the spring, the dual blessing and curse of smart meters and not being able to get rid of my garden waste....
Not to be confused with Green Day or Blue Mun Day

Whamageddon
And the year end excess 
Are thankfully now left behind
A pale sun refuses to donate any warmth
To a world that's both cold and unkind.
The decs are back up in the attic
Geese are still high on the wing
I'm waiting for green bin day 
And the welcome return of the Spring
 
My smart meter grins as it climbs into the red
It's giving me a psychotic twitch
"We've spent twelve pound fifty already today
Please, step away from the switch"
There's a pile of rotting logs in the garden
Upon which a Robin does sing
A song about green bin day 
And the welcome return of the Spring 
 
It seems a long time since I pruned my bush 
Like Mary said to the parson 
And it's almost too expensive to keep myself warm 
Without resorting to arson 
 
Those nocturnal cramps and the chill in my bones
Reflect in my face's contortions
I'm counting my blessings as well as my ailments
To give myself a sense of proportion
So when the crocus pops out of the lawn
I'll make a feast that's fit for a king
And raise a glass to green bin day
And the welcome return of the spring
 copyright 2023

Demo

Green Bin Day

This is the moment, I've been waiting for. Featuring Dan Hartman.

A song which was initially triggered by the way names come in and out of fashion, but ended up being vague recollections of chilhood friends I had.
When I went from Junior to Senior school in 1975, many were left behind....
So this song can read two ways
I wonder where they all are now?

Whatever Happened To Barry? (Demo)

Written In response to *that* gesture. There are many ways to interpret it, none of which are healthy.....
Written in a cafe, originally intended as a spoken word peice, but also put to music the following day

Not Waving Or Drowning

My friends in Igloo Hearts had a songwriting prompt in their blog. Write a song about something someone said to you… a good opportunity for something deep and meaningful, but au contraire….
Well I’ve had lots of things said to me, profound, flippant, deep, welcome, unwelcome, but this one has stuck for nearly half a century.
A school friend was at home pottering about. Unbeknown to him, his zipper was undone on his kecks. He only found out when his dad sidled up to him.
“Stephen,” he whispered
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever seen a dead budgie fall out of its cage?”, he muttered, and wandered off.
It took a good five minutes to twig.
I remember this being recounted, vividly. It has become my favourite euphemism; it’s up there with “What’s up, Sooty? (That’s for another day)
Didn’t think I’d ever get it into a song. Same day of the brief, I wrote this in about ten minutes whilst in bed, as a spoken word piece, by lunchtime the next day it had music.
The only way I can describe it is that it’s the musical equivalent of those dreams where you find yourself naked on public transport…..


The Redeemer

Igloo Hearts

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