"Sometimes it’s better to be … a stranger in a strange land than a stranger in your own."
Michael Sellers: Tidings from the Diaspora

"Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground."
Judith Thurman

Music and lyrics, occasional guitar: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers; Edgar Ibarra (Tonight Colombia!); Sergio Aguilar (Come on you lads!)
Guitars, keyboard, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe (Misty Liar, Tonight Colombia!, I had a fight ..., Come on you lads!);
Juan Herrera (Walking on the Dark Side);
Harmonica: Edgar Ibarra (Walking on the Dark Side)
Trumpet: Franklyn Brooks (Come on you lads!)
Piano: Romeo Rodriguez (Come on you lads!)
Album Cover photo: Jan Alderman
Album Cover design: Michael Sellers
Cover designs: Loretta Sellers Fortuny; Michael Sellers

Buy at Bandcamp

Stranger in your own land

All the songs in this collection center around urban areas, whether the name of the place is mentioned or not, whether the town or city is on Earth, or comes in the form of the caustrophobic urban entity of a generational spaceship,  as it does in the song "There Is No Elsewhere".

“Cities were always like people, showing their varying personalities to the traveler. Depending on the city and on the traveler, there might begin a mutual love, or dislike, friendship, or enmity. Where one city will rise a certain individual to glory, it will destroy another who is not suited to its personality. Only through travel can we know where we belong or not, where we are loved and where we are rejected.”
― Roman Payne, Cities & Countries

"I think all songs should have weather in them, names of towns and streets ... Every song needs certain ingredients to be balanced. You’re writing a song and you need a town and you look out the window and you see St. Louis Cardinals on some kid’s t-shirt. You said, okay, we’ll use that."
― Tom Waits

Credits
released July 15, 2022

Music and lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers (all songs); Chris Curtis (Winter in the City of Vancouver); Ale Destiny (Lost in hard rain down in Juarez; Second!)
Guitars, keyboard, synth, & musical arrangement; Sergio Aguilar
Editing & production: Sergio Aguilar, & with Edgr Ibarra on Second!
Piano & organ: Romeo Rodriguez (Second!)
Trumpet: Franklyn Brooks (Second!)
Sax: Miguel Covarrubias (Second!)
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Album Cover photo: Image by KELLEPICS from Unsplash
Album Cover design: Michael Sellers
Song Cover designs: Loretta Sellers Fortuny; Michael Sellers

Urban Tales

"Death always leaves one singer to mourn."
- Katherine Anne Porter, Pale Horse, Pale Rider

(In the book Pale Horse, Pale Rider) this is exemplified in the song Miranda sings with Adam while she is sick, “Death always leaves one singer to mourn”—that is, the gravity and tragedy of death is not felt by the dead but by those left behind to mourn them.
- The Pain of Living: Theme Analysis in Literature Guides

Credits
released August 11, 2023

Music: Michael Sellers; Sergio Aguilar
Vocals: Michael Sellers (all songs); Ale Destiny (Soldiers Welcome!); Beto Quintero (I Dreamed I Saw My Brother)
Guitars, bass, keyboard & musical arrangement: Sergio Aguilar
Editing & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Album Cover photo: Image by Michael Sellers
Album Cover design: Michael Sellers
Song Cover designs: Loretta Sellers Fortuny; Michael Sellers

Buy NOW at Bandcamp

One Singer Left to Mourn

“Colder by the hour, more dead with every breath.”
― John Green

"Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground."
― Judith Thurman

Lyrics:
I’m lying on the sidewalk
Snowflakes in my eyes
Dreaming of Colombia
Cartagena’s soul blue skies
I’m sleeping on a park bench
Wind whippin’ ‘cross my face
Aching for Colombia
Cartagena’s sinful grace

(Todo bajo el sol de trópico ¡Ay, ay ay ay … me encanta!)

I’m walking on down Main Street
Way too cold to stop
They’re doling out the hot soup
They tell me, “Tough luck Buddy, that’s your lot!”
I’m a cancer on society you say
And I’ve got myself to blame
But I’m envisioning a better place
Than the one from whence I came

I’m going to … Co-co-co-Colombia x3
Tonight, tonight …
(Todo bajo el sol de trópico ¡Ay, ay ay ay … que milagro!)

In Colombia no one dies out on the street
The sun would be kissing me
The cold here is killing me!

(Todo bajo el sol de trópico ¡Ay, ay ay ay … precioso!)

I’m going to … Co-co-co-Colombia x3
Tonight, tonight, in my dreams
(Todo bajo el sol de trópico ¡Ay, ay ay ay … Cartagena!)

from Stranger in your own land, released December 30, 2020
Music and lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers & Edgar Ibarra
Acoustic & electric guitars, bass guitar, keyboard, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Cover design: Loretta Sellers Fortuny
Track cover photo: Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Tonight Colombia!

Buy on Bandcamp

Tonight Colombia! (feat. Edgar Ibarra) 4 Stars/Commended rating in the UK Songwriting Contest, 2021

“When you can stop you don't want to, and when you want to stop, you can't...”
― Luke Davies, Candy

As we became subjects of King Alcohol, shivering denizens of his mad realm, the chilling vapor that is loneliness settled down. It thickened, ever becoming blacker. Some of us sought out sordid places, hoping to find understanding, companionship, and approval. Momentarily we did -- then would come oblivion and the awful awakening to face the hideous Four Horsemen -- Terror, Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair.
― Alcoholics Anonymous

For Gary, and the guy I did see wrapped around a toilet bowl in a bar in Mexico City many, many years ago. How did things turn out for him I wonder ...

lyrics
Had a fight with alcohol
It left me slumped against a toilet wall
Nursing my pride, and a pain in my side … ohhh
It’s been the bane of my whole life
A crucifixion somewhat less than Christ’s
Evenings insane, & mornings of righteous blame
Yeah, I had a fight, yeah I had a fight

Had a fight with alcohol
At times I doubt there’s any good in me at all
I get slaps on the back, but it’s not friends that I lack … ohhh
Sometimes I wish I had control
A meager chance to play a better role
But I’m back on the piss, trying to force a drunk kiss
Yeah, I had a fight, yeah I had a fight

A drunken bum, figure of fun, is that what people see?
But where’s the noble soul, with lofty goals?
The guy I want to be … The guy I want to be

Sometimes I stop to think again
To plan a life of love instead of pain
But now I’m out to get sloshed, no regard for the cost
Yeah, I had a fight, yeah I had a fight

Had a fight with alcohol
It left me wrapped around a toilet bowl
Yeah, drinking’s my curse, but it always comes first
Yeah, I had a fight, yeah I had a fight
Guess I lost the fight

credits
from Stranger in your own land, track released May 9, 2021
Music and lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Acoustic & electric guitars, bass guitar, keyboard, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Cover design: Loretta Sellers Fortuny
Track cover photo: Image by KLEITON Santos from Pixabay

I had a fight ...

I had a fight ... 5 Stars/Commended rating in the UK Songwriting Contest, 2021

Dedicated to the lads, both those mentioned in the song and those many others who sailed those beery seas with me!

“Growing apart doesn’t change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I’m glad for that.”
– Ally Condie; author

Take care of all your memories ... For you cannot relive them.
– Bob Dylan; songwriter & Nobel Prize winner

“When it comes to the past, everyone writes fiction.”
– Stephen King; author

Bursting out of school
Straight into a job
More money than I’d ever had before
Crammed into a car
Johnny in the boot
Cruising pubs, peddle to the floor

Careening round the bends
Steve half-out the door
Nicking traffic bollards for a lark
Then down to Brighton Town
Streaking on the beach
Pale half-moons, a glimmer in the dark

But then, the bottle was chock-full
And getting pissed was cool
Day’s job quiet prelude to Night’s riot
Fist fights down the pub (Oi mush!)
Then eating dodgy grub
We scoffed at those just wanting peace and quiet

Years of dressing sharp
Trying to pull a girl
Turned down way more often than accepted
What the hell to say?
Tongue made out of cloth
Zombies stood more chance once resurrected

Jobs they came and went
Nothing seemed to stick
Belly grew much quicker than my bank account
Steve made a fortune running guns
Flies all around the world
They say Her Majesty made him a viscount!

And now the bottle’s running out
I’ve pitched up at the final shout
In the mirror prowls an ageing dinosaur
Yeah, the bottle’s running out
I wonder, “What was it all about?”
And I think back to us streaking on the shore

Come on you Lads!
Guildford, Shere & Shamley Green,
Up to Kingston, all pubs between

Come on you Lads!
Bramley, Compton, Clandon, Send,
Ripley, Putney - some weekends

Come on you Lads!
Coffee back at Pewley Way
If you were legless, you could stay

Come on you Lads!
Martin, Gerry, Steve & John
Loved ‘em all … don’t get me wrong!

Come on you Lads!
Dave & Andy, Ian & Geoff
Loved ‘em also, I confess!

Come on you Lads!
Peter, Malcolm, Simon too
All in all, a first rate crew!

COME ON YOU LADS!
credits
from Stranger in your own land, released December 30, 2020
Music and lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers; Sergio Aguilar
Electric guitar, bass guitar, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Trumpet: Franklyn Brooks
Piano: Romeo Rodriguez
Cover design: Loretta Sellers Fortuny
Track cover photo: Simon Overett

Come on you lads!

Come On You Lads

Here is a recording from 2014, though composed in 1995. Originally a blues song, although the lyrics display traces of the influence of Lou Reed, now transformed into something more like the Doo-wop of the late 50s and early 60s. Don't be fooled by the seeming sweetness of the lyrics: the narrator could possibly be dangerous. 

Its a fine line between love and stalking.
— David Levithan

Lyrics:

I see her in the morning
And I always catch my breath
Cos she’s inevitably so beautiful
In jeans or in a dress

Am I mad or am I foolish?
Am I conscious of my pain?
Cos she’s inevitably so beautiful
In sunshine or in rain

I try hard to avoid her by playing like I’m blind
But she’s inevitably so beautiful, I see her all the time

She know me yet she don’t know me
My passion lies out of sight
She’s inevitably so beautiful
I think of her all thru the night

I try hard to avoid her by playing like I’m blind
But she’s inevitably so beautiful, I see her all the time

I see her in the evening
And I follow her, all of the time
Cos she’s inevitably so beautiful
And I’m inevitably out of my mind

Music: Michael Sellers
Lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Instrumentation, musical arrangement, & production: Jesus Estrada
Cover design: Michael Sellers

Long Time Coming

Inevitably Beautiful

"A sad tale’s best for winter ..."
― William Shakespeare: A Winter's Tale

“I think God has forsaken this place. I believe I have seen hell and it's white, it's snow-white.”
― Sandy Welch

Cold is merciless. It shows you where you are. What you are.
― Wim Hof

We are seeing every night on the television news now a nature hike through the Book of Revelation. These climate-related extreme weather events have convinced the vast majority of people that the scientists have been right for a long time. We have to address this.
― Al Gore

United Kingdom of Great Britain) Red Snow Warning:
Extreme weather is expected. Red means you should take action now to keep yourself and others safe from the impact of the weather. Widespread damage, travel and power disruption and risk to life is likely. You must avoid dangerous areas and follow the advice of the emergency services and local authorities.


Beast from the east: name given to an extreme winter storm experienced in the UK. Melting Arctic sea ice fuelled the 'Beast from the East', which brought freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall to the UK in February 2018. The ice was and is melting because of rising greenhouse gas emissions, which is fuelling climate change.

Schmo:
United States slang for idiot; fool

The Smoke; the Sticks
British English slang for the city and the countryside (el campo en español) 

lyrics
A fearsome beast is now unleashed
Hell-bent on breaking up the peace
Just clock the red snow warning
Morning trouble dawning
Mailman on the steep slope
Like a man on a tightrope
Won’t push the envelope … no, no
Cos he’s slipping on the deep snow
Feels like a real schmo
Swears in Esperanto

The arctic feel of frosty breath
Omen of a chilly death
Brought by winds blown from the east
Blasting ears like Judas Priest
The Beast just pauses on the hill
And for a moment all is still
Then carries on the winter-kill
Emits a pitiless raucous laugh
Bodies frozen, left as chaff
A cruel, grim, icy autograph

Beast … unleashed, come to feast … on you!

Intense tornadoes, hurricanes
Many places up in flames
Flooding, drought, and pestilence
The Bible says it all makes sense
I swear on my frost-bitten feet
The shit has never been this deep!

The mother says to the second son
“The Beast has got us on the run
The water pipes are ice for gin
I’d trade you in for a warm bearskin!”
The Beast is tiring, time for home
One last chill to strip the bones
Tomorrow … off to other zones
The Beast will surely come back quick
To the Smoke, and to the Sticks
To all the poor but … not the rich

The Beast will surely come back quick …

Beast … unleashed, come to feast … on you!
Beast … unleashed … Beast … from the east
AARRGH! BEAST!

credits
Music and lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Guitars, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Cover designs: Loretta Sellers Fortuny
Track cover photo: Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

A Winter's Tale

A Winter's Tale 4 Stars/Commended rating in the UK Songwriting Contest, 2021

"Winter in the City of Vancouver": On All Streaming Platforms. Here's a landing page: https://linktr.ee/michaelfirthsellers

This is a song about mature resignation in the face of human indifference and natural elements you can do nothing about.

My thanks to Chris Curtis for his harmonies, and to Sergio Aguilar of 423 Studios, for the supremely judged production and instrumental ability he brings to every song we have recorded!

"I would say just the weather in Vancouver in the winter can be kind of unforgiving."
- Brandon Jay McLaren

"I eat out three times a day most days of the year. This is no big deal to most (city dwellers), and it is not something I am necessarily proud of - it's simply the nature of my itinerant life."
- Ben Elliot

Lyrics
Winter in the city of Vancouver
It’s brutal if you don’t have some steady pay
And any working hours you’ve gained
Don’t help to ease the pain
Of living on the edge day after day

Winter in the city of Vancouver
Hail and sleet are flaying me alive
Cos the ragged clothes I wear
Let in more than I can bear
It’s an endless daily struggle to survive

Going south from Lions Gate to Granville Island
Going east from English Bay to Coquitlam
I’m seeking work to get me through to summer
If the job’s well done, press some dollars in my hand

Coyotes snapping at my heels as I walk through Stanley Park
I sure don’t care to find out if their bite is worse than their bark!
My coffee’s cold in my two-year-old disposable Starbucks cup
I fear my hopes are so far down there’s no way to pull them up!

Winter in the city of Vancouver
Christmas snow, the first in many years
As I tramp through dirty slush
My face a cold, red flush
I brush away my bitter icy tears

Going south from Lions Gate to Granville Island
Going east from English Bay to Coquitlam
If I knock upon your door, give me whatever chore
And if the job’s well done, press some dollars in my hand

Going south from Lions Gate to Granville Island
Going east from English Bay to Coquitlam
Boss man says "Just a day, then on your way, son"
But at least I get some dollars in my hand

Winter in the city of Vancouver
A city that I love and love to hate
I’m looking for some heat,
And something good to eat
Nothing more, for now at any rate

Credits from Urban Tales, track released February 28, 2022
Music and lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers; Chris Curtis
Guitars, keyboard, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Album Cover photo: Image by Aditya Chinchure on Unsplash
Cover designs: Loretta Sellers Fortuny

Winter in the City of Vancouver

Buy now at Bandcamp

Winter In The City Of Vancouver (ft. Chris Curtis) 5 Stars Commended rating, UKSC, 2022

CHECK IT OUT! "Over The Sea To Skye": On All Streaming Platforms. Here's a landing page: https://linktr.ee/michaelfirthsellers

The song, "Over the Sea to Skye", is dedicated to the memory of Margaret Jenny Sellers née Peterkin (1923 - 2018). The photo shows her as a teenager in the 1930s. "Over the Sea to Skye" is also streaming on YouTube, Spotify, and many other streaming sites.

At the funeral of my mother Margaret Sellers, John Alderman (her grandson) and I sang "Over the Sea to Skye", a famous Scottish folksong made even more famous by being the Outlander series theme song set to the lyrics of Robert Louis Stevenson. As she was Scottish, this seemed a very suitable choice.

The positive reaction to our rendition encouraged us to record our version of the song under the name of "The Leatherheads". Unfortunately, distance and a pandemic delayed this until March of 2022 when we eventually recorded it under the experienced eye of the amazing Sergio Aguilar, who also arranged the music and played most of the instruments.

I should at this point acknowledge the influence Bear McCreary (who recorded the Outlander theme) had on our rendition. Thanks to him I realized that the Robert Louis Stevenson poem was infinitely more suitable for a farewell to a loved one than the original Bonnie Prince Charlie lyric. Following his lead, I changed the personal pronouns to reflect we were talking about a woman. I also went further and slightly modified the lyrics to fit the occasion (a funeral),and gave it a different arrangement to suit the fact that it was being sung by two people and accompanied only by a guitar, an arrangement largely followed in this recording, apart from the introduction of a counterpoint where I'm singing the chorus of "Will Ye Go Lassie Go" (also known as "Wild Mountain Thyme"), another old Celtic folk song, and the use of more instrumentation and the use of lead guitars rather than bagpipes (the excellent Sergio Aguilar, ladies and gentlemen!).

So, please enjoy what for us was a heartfelt adios to a wonderful daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother! 

lyrics
Chorus:
Sing me a song of a lass that is gone
Sing as we say goodbye
Merry of soul, she sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye
Over the sea … to Skye

Verse 1:
Mull was astern, Rum on the port
Eigg on the starboard bow
Glory of youth glowed in her soul
Where is that glory now?

Chorus:
Sing me a song of a lass that is gone
Sing as we say goodbye
Merry of soul, she sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye

Verse 2:
Give me again all that was there
Give me the sun that shone
Give me the eyes, give me the soul
Give me the lass that's gone

Chorus: Sing me a song of a lass that is gone
(And we'll all go together)
Onward the sailors cry
(To pluck wild mountain thyme)
Merry of soul, she sailed on a day
(All around the blooming heather)
Over the sea to Skye
(Will ye go lassie go?)

Verse 3:
Billow and breeze, islands and seas
Mountains of rain and sun
All that was good, all that was fair
All that was she is gone … gone

Chorus: Instrumental

Chorus:
Sing me a song of a lass that is gone
Over the sea to Skye
Over the sea … to Skye

credits
from Sing me a Song of a Lass that is Gone, released April 2, 2022
Music: Traditional Scottish air collected in the 1870s by Anne Campbelle MacLeod
Lyrics: Robert Louis Stevenson (with changes by Bear McCreary & Michael Sellers)
Vocals: Michael Sellers; John Alderman
Guitars, keyboard, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Song Cover photo: Family photograph
Cover design: Loretta Sellers Fortuny

Sing me a Song of a Lass that is Gone

Over the Sea to Skye

Over The Sea To Skye - The Leatherheads UK Songwriting Contest: Five Stars: Commended Entry

“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”
― William Shakespeare, As You Like It

“He was not of an age, but for all time!”
― Ben Jonson

This is an original song written by Michael Sellers in which it is imagined that William Shakespeare is telling the story of how be became successful and famous as a playwright. Although the title ends with "and all is true", the only true thing we know is that we don't know how much is true. Much of Shakespeare is still a mystery. Many have speculated he was gay; a few have put forward the proposition that the writer of these plays was in fact a woman, and William Shakespeare a front man, given women were not encouraged to write for or perform on the stage. Consequently, the second verse can be understood in more than one way. Whatever you believe, Shakespeare is probably best explained by one of his own quotes: "All the world's a stage ... and one man in his time plays many parts ...".

lyrics
Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives,
Live regist'red upon our brazen tombs
And then grace us in the disgrace of death;
When, spite of cormorant devouring Time,
Th' endeavor of this present breath may buy
That honor which shall bate his scythe's keen edge
And make us heirs of all eternity.
― Ferdinand, act I, scene1, Love’s Labours Lost

Lyrics:
With pen and ink, to the London stink
I came looking for success
A country lad, homespun clad
With a world of words to impress
All our patrons in the theatre round
Spending a day in this big dirty town
Ready to be entertained
And that’s how I gained my fame

I met my love, my titled dove
With the best coat of arms, he’d boast
His sword at play would quiver and sway
And was bigger, he’d claim, than most
We’d wile time away on the banks of the Thames
Kissing and drinking and reading out poems
He was ready to be entertained
And that’s how I gained my fame

The Virgin Queen and her sinister team
Of pox-ridden lords and brave rascals
Bade me write bold stories of English glories
And many a right royal squabble
Came James to the throne, uniting two crowns
With a lust for fine tales while out on the town
He was wanting to be entertained
And that’s how I gained my fame

Now I’m back in the country; I’m writing no more
When Death comes a-courting, I’ll answer the door
He’ll be dying to be entertained
Though in truth, he cares not for my fame

So, farewell, it’s the end of the game
‘Tis true - all that’s left - is my name

credits:
from Sing me a Song of a Lass that is Gone, released April 2, 2022
Music & lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers; John Alderman
Guitars, percussion, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Flute: Andrea Herrera
Cover photo: Photo by Jessica Pamp on Unsplash
Cover designs: Michael Sellers

Sing me a song of a lass that is gone

All's Well ... And All Is True

All's Well ... And All Is True - The Leatherheads - Five Stars Commended rating in the UKSC, 2022

This song was written in 2014 and recorded in 2018 by Jesus Estrada in his unique, idiosyncratic production style. A song about lost love, and the hope that somewhere, there is someone who is the right one. The track features a short piano solo from Jesus, and a little whistling from myself at the end.
 
“Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.”
― Kahlil Gibran

“When you loved someone and had to let them go, there will always be that small part of yourself that whispers, "What was it that you wanted and why didn't you fight for it?”
― Shannon L. Alder

Lyrics
I beg for forgiveness
She turns her back
I guess it’s all over
Love’s slipped through the cracks

Chorus: Please tell me there’s someone in the future for me … ah ahh 

Some sing the blues to bring comfort
Others pray to the lord
Many look to the bottle
While a few just fall on a sword

Chorus: So tell me there’s someone marked out for my company … ah ahh

A room’s no place for the loveless
But nor is a cold, lonely street
Where the wind howls through your memories
Bringing rain, maybe snow, even sleet

Chorus: Please tell me there’s some love in my proximity … ah ahh
Please tell me there’s some love in my proximity … ah ahh

She pleads for redemption
But he’s out through the door
We can see it’s all over
As love crashes to the floor

Chorus: Please say that there’s someone in the future for us all … ah ahh

A Long Time Coming

Someone

Mexico is considered the most dangerous country for reporters outside a war zone. 14 journalists killed this year, and counting!

Dedicado a esos periodistas de México, y de muchos otros países, que han sido asesinados haciendo su trabajo, ya los que continúan a pesar de las amenazas de violencia!
Dedicated to those journalists from Mexico, and from many other countries, who have died violently doing their job, and to those who continue despite the threats of violence!

A special thanks to Ale Destiny, whose vocals added so much to this song. Listen to her latest song "Vincent" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfa7jjZoK0U&list=OLAK5uy_kwTdpzKWQbJ5Xm05Ok3ulGPmfAm_xv7s8

"La violencia contra la prensa en México no da tregua y en solo seis meses, lo que va de 2022, 12 periodistas han sido asesinados en el país, según el recuento de organizaciones como Artículo 19, Reporteros sin Fronteras (RSF), el Comité para la Protección de los Periodistas (CPJ, por sus siglas en inglés) y el que registra CNN."
(The violence against the press in Mexico does not let up and in just six months, so far in 2022, 12 journalists have been murdered in the country, according to the count of organizations such as Article 19, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) and the one recorded by CNN.)
― Rocío Muñoz-Ledo: 4 Julio, 2022, CNN Español

“No society can be free and fair without journalists who are able to investigate wrongdoing, bring information to citizens, hold leaders accountable and speak truth to power.”
― UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Journalists ... have been killed ... in a lot of places where hard rain falls. As readers or journalists, we honor them when we remember that their dying was not part of a plan to make the world cheaper, baser, or dumber. They died to bring us the truth.”
― Pete Hamill (journalist, novelist, essayist and editor)

Lyrics
Aunque sea esto lo último que escriba…. ¡No voy a rendirme!
(Even if this is the last thing I write... I'm not going to give up!)

In the freezer of my fridge
Waits an impression of my teeth
To identify my mutilated remains
If they hear you’re asking questions
See their names in big bold captions
There’s a deadly bullet waiting with your name …….. your name

Caught in the crosshairs of a nation at war
Trying to tell a story with one eye on the door
If they don’t like what you’re saying
You’d better get to praying
Cos only God could be your savior … now
Caught in the crosshairs of a nation at war

I’m married to death,
Hand in hand we stalk the streets
The camera clicks to capture the grisly trail
I try to find humanity
In this crazy, cruel insanity
I can’t tell if I succeed or if I fail …….. if I fail

Caught in the crosshairs of a nation at war
Trying to tell a story with one eye on the door
If they don’t like what you’re saying
You’d better get to praying
Cos only God could be your savior … now
Caught in the crosshairs of a nation at war

I’ve lost so many friends and colleagues
Shot or stabbed or hacked to pieces
By cops or gunmen from the narco
Leaving stains like scarlet day-glo
Craven silence in high places
Bought by money with no traces
No justice for those brave cold corpses
Lost in hard rain down in Juárez
Lost in hard rain down in Juárez
Lost in hard rain down in Juárez

Caught in the crosshairs of a nation at war
Trying to tell a story with one eye on the door
If they don’t like what you’re saying
You’d better get to praying
Cos only God could be your savior … now
Caught in the crosshairs of a nation at war

credits
from the album Urban Tales, released February 28, 2022
Track released July 16, 2022
Music and lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers; Ale Destiny
Guitars, keyboard, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Album Cover photo: Image by Mizter_X94 from Pixabay
Cover design: Loretta Sellers Fortuny

Lost in hard rain down in Juarez

Lost In Hard Rain Down In Juarez (ft. Ale Destiny) 5 Stars/Highly commended rating in the UKSC, 2022

"Mike and Sergio have come up with a song that is long enough to relax into."
— Gerry Verdier (English language teacher, music critic, and occasional lyricist)

“As long as we are a single-planet species, we are vulnerable to extinction by a planetwide catastrophe, natural or self-induced. Once we become a multiplanet species, our chances to live long and prosper will take a huge leap skyward.”
— David Grinspoon (American astrobiologist)

One of the greatest challenges of traveling to another star has to do with the sheer amount of energy necessary to get humans to another star within their own lifetimes. Hence why some proponents of interstellar travel recommend sending spacecraft that are essentially miniaturized worlds that can accommodate travelers for centuries or longer. These “Generation Ships” (aka. worldships or Interstellar Arks) are spacecraft that are built for the truly long haul.
— Matt Williams (From Universe Today: Space and astronomy news)

“(With generational ships) … stuff breaks down. The second law of thermodynamics is unbreakable. You can't just put a closed system in space for a century and hope for the best. And either the planet at the other end is dead, in which case we'll have to spend centuries terraforming it, or it's alive, and its unseen assassins could kill us in a hundred ways. (In other words) … there is no Planet B."
— Chris Taylor (writing about Kim Stanley Robinson’s book Aurora) 

lyrics
Woke up this morning, (least I think it was;
it’s hard to tell out here in Space)
And looked at photos of the Earth way back when
All blues and greens and a happy face
That home today is stormy grey
Hot as hell, cold as clay
Stuck inside a tin can just like “Major Tom”
We seek a new world where we can all belong

Sailing out upon “Hope of Humanity”
To places only fate would make us dare … to go
Sailing out into the great expanse
To find and build a home out in a galaxy … and know
We’re there to stay … there is no elsewhere x2

On a journey longer than our lives
Where decades form one endless year
I stare at the dark and quiet immensity
All I sense is death, somber and severe,
no safe haven near

Sailing out upon “Hope of Humanity”
To places only fear would make us dare … to go
Sailing out into the great expanse
To find and build a home out in a galaxy … and know
We’re there to stay … there is no elsewhere x2

Woke up this morning, (the stardial says it is)
And thought about my parents back on Earth
It’s sad to think that I’m as good as dead to them
I wonder about our sacrifice … and what it’s worth

Sailing out upon “Hope of Humanity”
To places only faith would make us dare … to go
Sailing out into the great expanse
To find and build a New Jerusalem … and know
We’re there to stay … there is no elsewhere

from Urban Tales, released February 28, 2022
Track released September 10, 2022
Music and lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Guitars, synths, piano, drums, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Album Cover photo: Image from photofunia.com
Cover design: Michael Sellers & Loretta Sellers Fortuny

There Is No Elsewhere

Buy this at Bandcamp

There Is No Elsewhere - 5 Stars/UK Songwriting Contest, 2022 & 2023: Semi-finalist

This song is an admittedly amateur examination of second child syndrome and parent loss.

"But as a middle child she faces some of her own unique challenges. She feels upset about losing her role as the baby, and often feels left out and jealous because both her older and younger siblings command so much attention."
– Meri Wallace (columnist & author)

"The middle child could do the most amazing things, and nobody's ever going to notice cos the other two are just busy making so much noise."
– Richard Herring (stand-up comedian, podcaster)

“If you love your dad, it’s tough when he dies. If you don’t like your dad, it’s tough when he dies. Because you lose that guy. Whatever you didn’t get, you miss. And what you did get, you miss.”
– Jimmy Iovine (American entrepreneur & record executive)

Lyrics
My father died when I was young and wild
We were three, I was the second child
Never felt he loved me enough, that deepened the blow
Death left its mark, a somber undertow

Being second often means you feel second best
You don’t feel at home, more like a houseguest
They don’t buy you the bike, you have to run behind
It’s hard to overcome what this does to your mind
When you’re …

Second, in a race that you didn’t plan to run
Second, in a space where there’s only room for one
Second every year of your life in this town
Don’t wait to be first ‘til you’re down in the ground …and
Second! Second! Second! Second! Always …
Second! Second! Second! Second! Always second!

When mother remarried, I ran away from home
Searching for a place where I could make it on my own
Where my name meant nothing to the folks there at all
And no older brother that they would recall
But I still feel …

Second, in a race that I didn’t plan to run
Second, in a space where there’s only room for one
Second all my life in this or that town
Fated to be second ‘til I’m down in the ground …and
Second! Second! Second! Second Always …
Second! Second! Always a second thought!

If father had lived, would I have made it to first?
Become the golden girl of this small universe?

Doesn’t matter much now, ‘cos you’re a big, big star
If your father had lived, would you have got this far? This far?
This far? D’ya still think you’re …

Second, in a race that you didn’t plan to run?
Second, in a space where there’s only room for one?
Second every year of your life in this town?
I won’t wait to be first ‘til I’m down in the ground …and

Second! Second! Second! Second! No more …
Second!! Second! Second! Second! No more …
Second (second) Second (second) Second (second) Second (second) No more …
Second (second) Second (second) Second (second) Second!
Only first!!

from Urban Tales, track released November 5, 2022
Lyrics: Michael Sellers
Music: Michael Sellers & Sergio Aguilar
Lead Vocals: Michael Sellers & Ale Destiny 
Backing Vocals: Sergio Aguilar
Guitar & bass, musical arrangement, editing & production: Sergio Aguilar & Edgr Ibarra
Piano & organ: Romeo Rodriguez
Trumpet: Franklyn Brooks
Sax: Miguel Covarrubias
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Album Cover photo: Courtesy of the Fortuny Loret de Mola family
Cover design: Loretta Sellers Fortuny

Second!

Buy from Bandcamp

SECOND! (ft. Ale Destiny) 5 Stars/Commended rating in the UK Songwriting Contest, 2022

A bitter-sweet Christmas song, but then that can sometimes be the reality.
¡Feliz Navidad a todos! Merry Christmas everyone!

Lyrics:
It’s Christmas morning, what should I do?
Drag myself to church, hung over and blue?
Christmas Eve was grim
I picked a fight I couldn’t win … with you … with you

It’s Christmas morning, I stumble out
Seasonal bonhomie, follows me about
I’m beginning to cheer up
Their jokes are making me crack up … and shout … and shout

It’s Christmas time … It’s Christmas time
My love life’s on the line
But it’s Christmas time, yeah it’s Christmas time

It’s Christmas time … It’s Christmas time
My life’s a pantomime
But it’s Christmas time, yeah it’s Christmas time

The folks who used to walk right past me
Now stop and call me friend
The knives they stuck into my back
Stowed away till Yuletide’s end

Cos it’s Christmas Day … Yeah, on Christmas Day in the morning
Shopping frenzy all done, my money all gone, but hey!
It’s Christmas Day

It’s Christmas Day … It’s Christmas Day
Presents by the tree, one for you, none for me
Still it’s Christmas Day

It’s Christmas time … A Merry Christmas time
Gin & tonic, and water turned into wine
Yes it’s Christmas time

It’s the day after Christmas, hung over and blue
I made you mad, and now we’re through …

It's Christmas Time!

"Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner
That I love London so
Well, maybe it's because I'm a Londoner
That I think of her wherever I go"
– From the song "Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner", by Hubert Gregg

A bitter-sweet, nostalgic song about leaving London to live elsewhere. Based on an unpublished memoir by Gerry Verdier; with lyrics by Michael Sellers & Gerry Verdier. The song is set in Balham, an area in south London, England.

The exclamation of surprise, disbelief, or excitement "Oh my days", which was in fact the initial catalyst in the writing of this song, was, according to The Oxford English Dictionary, "first recorded in 1895, and my days (in ‘Law, my days!’) in 1841, but it remained relatively rare until the twenty-first century. Although its recent revival in popularity—especially associated with its use in Multicultural London English—is sometimes said to have its origins in Caribbean usage, conclusive evidence for Caribbean roots for this resurgence has proved hard to find."

“Mind the gap.” – London Underground

“My Dad says that being a Londoner has nothing to do with where you’re born. He says that there are people who get off a jumbo jet at Heathrow, go through immigration waving any kind of passport, hop on the tube and by the time the train’s pulled into Piccadilly Circus they’ve become a Londoner.” – Ben Aaronovitch (Author)

“Wet weather in London, but when was it anything else?” – Cassandra Clare (Author)

Lyrics
London at daybreak
Brings with it heartache
I’ve got to leave you now
Cold on a corner
I won’t be warmer
Until my bus again comes round
And I’m heading out of town

Oh my days! My London days

Flats with their patch of green
Grey sky squeezed in between
Freezing rain begins to fall
Looking over my shoulder
Lost sight of my corner
On the A24 passing Balham Hill
The bus is warm but I feel a … chill

Oh my days! We’re parting ways
I’ll miss this city, vast, grey and gritty
Hushed now in morning haze

My London days! How will time play …
Tricks on my memories of friends and families?
And stories of our yesterdays?
My London days … My lost London days

Oh my days! We’re parting ways
I’ll miss this town
But my spirit’s not down
I’m far from the smoggy haze

My London days! How will time play …
Tricks on my memories of friends and families?
And stories of our yesterdays?
My London days … My lost London days

My London days! How will time play …
Tricks on my memories of friends and families?
And stories of our yesterdays?
My London days … My London days … My lost London days

from Urban Tales, track released February 28, 2023
from Urban Tales, released February 28, 2022

Music: Michael Sellers
Lyrics: Michael Sellers; Gerry Verdier
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Guitars & bass, tambourine & shaker, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Album Cover photo: postcard from Sandra Baker on Facebook
Cover design: Michael Sellers & Loretta Sellers Fortuny

OH MY DAYS! (My lost London days)

Oh My Days! (My lost London days) Two 5 Stars; Commended Entries; UK Songwriting Contest, 2023

Another low-fi recording from around 2014, although the song itself was written in 2001 as a reaction to the collapse of the World Trade Center. Quite what my lyrics have to do with that terrible day, I'm not too sure now, but I like the track, so here it is. 

Lyrics
Traffic lights are changing daily
Up and down this fine, fine land
But there’s no one crossing over
‘less they’re holding somebody’s hand

Fear and consternation baby
Are gripping this fine, fine land
No one dares to watch the TV  
‘less they’re holding somebody’s hand

I saw you shy, I saw you try to hide
I saw you hesitate, unable to decide …  
To come inside … please come inside

Oh Fat Betty caught the night train
Though it wasn’t even in her plan
They found her dead inside the train wreck
Holding onto somebody’s hand

I saw you shy, I saw you try to hide
I saw you hesitate, unable to decide …  
To come inside … please come inside

Traffic lights are changing daily
Up and down this fine, fine land
But there’s no one crossing over
‘less they’re holding somebody’s hand

Music & lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocal, instrumentation & musical arrangement: Michael Sellers
Production: Eduardo Fortuny
Cover photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash
Cover design: Michael Sellers

Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

Somebody's Hand

On May 13, 2015, my brother-in-law Eduardo Fortuny Loret de Mola was killed in a road accident, to the great sorrow of all who knew and loved him, in particular his widow and two sons. I wrote this song in the aftemath of his all too soon passing away, but the time never seemed right to try and record it ... until now, when Enna, his wife, read the lyrics and expressed her wish to hear a recorded version. It would also have been his 60th birthday this year. I took both as a sign that it was time, and thanks to the monumental musical and production abilities of Sergio Aguilar, not to mention the wonderful backing vocals of Beto Quintero, here it is.

The song, needless to say, but I will say it, is dedicated to Eduardo, and all who loved him.

Hallelujah is a transliteration of Hebrew: הַלְלוּ (hallū yāh), which means "praise ye Jah!" (from הַלְלוּ‎, "praise ye!" [8] and יָהּ‎, "Jah".)[9][10][11] The word hallēl in Hebrew means a joyous praise in song. The second part, Yah, is a shortened form of YHWH (Yahweh or Jehovah in modern English).
~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallelujah

“In traditional Christian thought, the final transition from life on earth to life in heaven is symbolized by crossing the Jordan River."
~ https://jesusway4you.com/2020/06/24/signs-and-symbols-of-the-bible-jordan-river/

“For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”
― Kahlil Gibran, artist and poet.

"The song is ended
But the melody lingers on
You and the song are gone
But the melody lingers on."
~ Irving Berlin, songwriter.

“Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”
~ Terry Pratchett, English author.

Lyrics
Last night I dreamed my brother strode with Jesus by his side
With heavenly strength to move them on, they walked the ocean tide
I cried, “Dear brother, hold your haste, we all must journey home.”
“Jordan calls me,” was all he said, I knew myself alone
I knew myself alone

Hal-le-lu …. Hal-le-lu …. Hal-le-lu …. Hal-le-lu

Last night I dreamed my brother rode in tandem with James Dean
Along the streets and the highways that to this world are unseen
I cried, “Dear brother, promise me, you’ll meet me when I come.”
He smiled his smile, and raised his hand, I felt my world undone
I felt my world undone

Hal-le-lu …. Hal-le-lu …. Hal-le-lu …. Hal-le-lu

Now I’m awakened, oh, let me dream that dream once more
Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu … yah

Now I’m awakened, oh, let me dream that dream once more
Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu … yah

And take me over Jordan, see my brother walk upon its shore
Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu … yah

Yeah, take me over Jordan, for I am tired and so heartsore
Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu, Hal-le-lu … yah

Credits
Music: Michael Sellers; Sergio Aguilar
Lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers; Beto Quintero
Guitars & bass, piano; musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Album Cover photo: Michael Sellers
Cover design: Loretta Sellers Fortuny

I Dreamed I Saw My Brother

I Dreamed I Saw My Brother FT Beto Quintero (UKSC: Star Rating: 5 Commended Entry 2023)

The tragic tale of a foreign girl forced into prostitution in England during the First World War, and the terrible fate that awaited so many of the soldiers. Many, many thanks to Ale Destiny for her poignant and plaintive vocal. You can hear her latest song "Vincent", also produced by my producer Sergio Aguilar,  here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfa7jjZoK0U&list=OLAK5uy_kwTdpzKWQbJ5Xm05Ok3ulGPmfAm_xv7s8

“Many home-front brothels served an increased number of clients following the war’s outset owing to the influx of men in arms preparing to go into the field.”
- Journey Steward (International Encyclopedia of the First World War)

Slang used in the song:
Dose: (in this case) a venereal infection
Dough: money
Slut: term for a person, usually a woman or girl, who is sexually promiscuous or considered to have loose sexual morals. It dates from the late 14th century in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, although ironically he was describing a man!
Squaddies: soldiers
The clap: gonorrhea (The narrator in this song gets gonorrhea, or the clap, which was rampant at the time because so many soldiers were catching it from the prostitutes operating near the front. Many of those soldiers, believe it or not, were still virgins and didn't want to die without experiencing sex)
Whore: prostitute

Lyrics
There’s many a squaddie comes visiting
From the barracks up the road
And they all, if they pay, get a welcome
And a rest from a soldier’s load
They’ll be fighting for King and country
And be paid with a grisly end
So, the least we can do is to hold them
To be, for a while, their friend
To be, for a while, to be, for a while
To be, for a while, their friend

Ah me, I was born in a Catholic land
I’ve no love for you Protestant lads!
But I got put in the family way
And reviled as sinful and bad
I’m in England now, a whore for sure
But I dance and I sing and I play
And the squaddies laugh so innocently
As night gives way to the day
As night gives way to
as night gives way to
As night gives way to the day

I fell in love with an Irish boy
No more tender a lad you could meet
He was set to ask me to marry
But was lost in some bloody retreat
I’m carrying his child in my belly
But it’s whoring that brings in the dough
I’m to visit some witch in an alley
To make sure that there’s nothing to show
Make sure that there’s nothing,
Make sure that there’s nothing
Make sure that there’s nothing to show

The doctor says that I got the clap
A soldier, I’ll bet, from the front
The sluts down there do a roaring trade
Death so close, that they bear the brunt
Of virgins wanting a taste of the flesh
‘fore their bodies are ripped to shreds
And if they survive, return with their dose
To pass on in the heat of our beds
Pass on in the heat, pass on in the heat
To pass on in the heat of our beds

Yes, many a squaddie comes visiting
And will do for some time to come
But will there be any lads left alive
To march to the military drum
Yes, soldiers are welcome, one and all
And will be for some time to come
But where are all of the marrying types
To save us from our whoredom
To save us from our, to save us from our …
To save us from our whoredom

From One Singer Left to Mourn; track released August 11, 2023
Music: Michael Sellers; Sergio Aguilar
Lyrics: Michael Sellers
Lead Vocal: Ale Destiny
Backing Vocals: Alejandro Hidalgo & Michael Sellers
Guitars & bass, piano, percussion; musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Cover photo: Photo by The British Library on Unsplash, combined with a photo provided by Loretta Sellers
Cover design: Michael Sellers; Loretta Sellers Fortuny

Soldiers Welcome!

Buy: Bandcamp

Soldiers Welcome! FT Ale Destiny (UK Songwriting Contest: Star Rating: 5 Commended Entry 2023)

An elegiac song about lost love, death, resentment, remorse & regret.

“My grief lies all within,
And these external manners of lament
Are merely shadows to the unseen grief
That swells with silence in the tortured soul.”
― William Shakespeare: from Richard II

“His love for her was so deeply woven with resentment that he could not untangle the two.”
― Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper's Daughter

“I’m unsure which pain is worse– the shock of what happened or the ache for what never will.”
– Unknown

Lyrics
"Of all the sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been'."

All of us, we make mistakes
Act a little too late
I’ve done my fair share of all that and more
Many messages yesterday
Saying you’d passed away
Fired up bittersweet memories that cut me to my core

Way back when we were involved
I hurt your feelings, all unresolved
Next time we met, your voice, it froze my heart
You left me crying at the station
My love in vain, so blue and lonesome
I never thought that’d be the way we’d part

I never saw you again
We never talked through your pain
And the anger it seems you couldn’t put away
Did you ever ask after me?
You know, we kept the same company
Like that threesome with your so-called fiancé/fiancée

But you didn’t stop smoking
And boozing and joking
Put on weight and rolled like a drunken sailor's bum
Okay, I did the same
I’m not trying to pin blame
I just think you marched to the wrong beat of your drum

Seems you wasted away
Quite why, they didn’t say
Lousy habits, bad health? How should I know?
I hadn’t seen you in years
But I’ll surely shed tears
For what was lost and now lies in deep sorrow
And the part of me that'll always be . . . hollow

Quote above by John Greenleaf Whittier: American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States.

From One Singer Left to Mourn, track released December 19, 2023
Music: Michael Sellers; Sergio Aguilar
Lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Guitars & bass, keyboards, & musical arrangement: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Sound engineering & production: Sergio Aguilar; Edgr Ibarra
Album Cover photo: Image by Jorge Barahona from Pixabay
Cover design: Michael Sellers; Loretta Sellers Fortuny

One singer Left To Mourn

Lament

Lament (UK Songwriting Contest: Star Rating: 5 Commended Entry)

An Islander's Progress; being a song concerned with empire and imperialism, and their consequences, and reincarnation.

". . . false accounts of the role Britain played regarding colonisation not only misleads students but supplies them with a false sense of pride. This filter on reality may then be applied to view topics concerning race, discrimination and equality in their adulthood . . . (as a result) . . . racism is embedded in Britain’s history and society."
― Martin Greenwood: The Impact of the Past: How British Colonialism Affects the Modern World: May 4, 2021

Lyrics:
Over the seas and far away (and far away)
When I was young, I joined the ships leaving from the harbour
“Fair winds and following seas” went cries to each and every boat
We hastened down to Africa, then caught the Trade Winds west
With foul holds full of sad lost souls to toil in lands remote
But I drowned off the Florida coast in a raging hurricane
My body lost forever, but my soul it did remain

Proud Islander I was my friend, one of our doughty sailors
Whose cargo to America brought us wealth and God’s good favors
Proud Islander I was my friend
Though hard these days to comprehend
Proud Islander was I . . . Proud Islander was I

Over the seas and far away (and far away)
When I grew up, I yearned to be a brave strong soldier lad
So, I upped and joined the army, and sailed east to India
When the sepoys rose against us, we strapped them to our cannons
And blew them all to Hell and back in the name of Queen Victoria
But cholera came to claim me in a ravaging blue death
My body gone forever, but my soul it would not rest

Proud Islander I was my friend, proud of our mighty regiments
That did our people all inspire by seizing lands and continents
Proud Islander I was my friend
Though hard these days to comprehend
Proud Islander was I . . . Proud Islander was I

Over the seas and far away (and far away)
When good Queen Liz attained the throne, I joined the colony police
And fought the Mau-Mau brutally, with torture and fell murder
Yet in truth I’ll willingly admit to a conscience slightly stricken
When I forced a poor young Kenyan girl to couple with her father
Years later they avenged her fate, strung me up by a noose
My body left for animals, but my soul it still was loose

Proud Islander I was my friend, proud of our glorious history
That encompassed many centuries, albeit often bloodily
Proud Islander I was my friend
You may find it hard to comprehend,
Proud Islander was I … Proud Islander was I

My friend I’ve lived for centuries, seen the rise and fall of nations
I’ve seen bright mornings shining while a dark night duly lengthens
For all my sins it is my fate to be reborn again
I’ve not atoned! Proud Islander, I still am my friend!

Proud Islander I am my friend
Though I find it hard to comprehend,
I’m never going to die . . . I’m never going to die
I’m never going to die

Vocabulary:
Sepoys: The term sepoy referred to all native soldiers in the service of the British East India Company's army. For a number of reasons, many sepoys were involved in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against British rule. It's fair to say both sides committed atrocities during the Rebellion. It was repressed by the British and quite a few sepoys were executed as described in the song.

Mau-Mau: militant African nationalist movement that originated in the 1950s among the Kikuyu people of Kenya. The Mau Mau advocated violent resistance to British domination in Kenya. The British suppressed their rebellion by means of war with the Mau-Mau fighters and the use of detention camps for large swathes of the population.

Music: Michael Sellers; Sergio Aguilar
Lyrics: Michael Sellers; Gerry Verdier
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Guitars & bass, keyboards, & musical arrangement: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Sergio Aguilar
Sound engineering & production: Sergio Aguilar
Album Cover photo: Image originally from cottonbro studio on Pexels
Cover design: Michael Sellers; Loretta Sellers Fortuny

An Islander's Progress

An Islander's Progress (UK Songwriting Contest: Star Rating: 5 Commended Entry)

A celebration of life-long friendship, with a cheeky nod to Saturday Night Fever, although musically, it's not even close to the music of that film! To my ear, it sounds, completely unintentionally, like Dire Straits, but others may disagree. 
In lo-fi mode, as it's unlikely time and financial issues will allow the proper recording of all the songs I've written to date, but I thought it would be nice to get it out there as a bonus track. 

Jeff, by the way, is the abundantly coiffured (lucky bastard!) and classically jaw-lined gentleman on the far left in the photo. Steve, the host of Pool Night, is on the far right. All friends from school back in the 60s and early 70s in the UK. 

Lyrics:
It’s Pool Night at Steve’s 
And tonight, Jeff is the man
He smokes himself to victory
It’s like the gods control his hands
The others smile and shrug and drink
With every miscued shot that they make
“It’s always been that way,” they say
“We don’t care, for heaven’s sake!”

Cos it’s Pool Night, big appetite 
For downing beer and potting balls
It’s Pool Night, we’re dynamite!
Wild high fives when the last one falls
It’s Pool Night, it’s Pool Night
The cue tips old, but it feels all right
Yeah, it’s Pool Night, it’s Pool Night 
It’s Pool Night, it’s Pool Night fever
Friday night Pool Night!

I put some back spin on the white ball
To hit the black, but not follow in
Sadly, it hit it badly, shot off the table into the bin!
Needless to say we didn’t win!

It’s Pool Night at Steve’s
And Smokin’ Jeff’s been crowned the King
We’ll all be back again next week
But another week won’t change a thing!

Still, it’s Pool Night, hit it it right
Knock it in the hole and away you go
It’s Pool Night, Jeff strikes a light
Takes a real long drag then he steals the show
It’s Pool Night, it’s Pool Night
The eyes are shot, but the grip is tight
Yeah, it’s Pool Night, it’s Pool Night
It’s Pool Night, it’s Pool Night fever"
Friday night Pool Night!

Pool Night Fever

Pool Night Fever (Lo-fi Bonus track)

A dystopian scenario! There has been drought for many decades. A generation or more has only experienced rain in old movies on the TV. Enter the Rain Dreamers, mystics with the power to induce mass hallucinations of heavy life-giving rain. Do they bring hope, or is it just a dream? One way, perhaps rather fancifully, I've imagined climate change may play out.

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.
― Paul Valery (French poet and essayist)

Climate change is the greatest threat to humanity, perhaps ever. Global temperatures are rising at an unprecedented rate, causing drought and forest fires and impacting human health.
― Cary Kennedy (Democratic politician)

Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness.
― Isaiah 45:8 New King James Version

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.
― John Updike (Author)

Lyrics
The blinds are closed, the A/C’s on
It’s burning up outside
The streets are empty, no one’s there
We’ve all been told to hide
It hasn’t rained in many years, the land’s a dusty haze
Nothing there to tell you it’s
Where cattle used to graze

You love the sound of heavy rain
Pouring down to flood the street
But you’ve only seen it on TV
When divided lovers finally get to meet … Love, sweet love!

But I can help you … cos I’m a rain dreamer
Yes, I can help you … cos I’m a rain dreamer
I’ll dream up some rain for you
Out of a sky of cloudless blue (sky of cloudless blue)

I’m going north, they'd like some rain
They want me there they say
They wanna feel it trickle down their backs
Like a streamlet on its way
To feed a river heading down
To join a sea they’ve never seen
And they’ll pay me well for my mystic spell
Even if it’s just a dream!

They love … They love the sound of heavy rain
Tipping down to flood the ground
But they’ve only seen it on TV
When the hero saves his girl from being drowned … Go, man, go!

But I can help you … cos I’m a rain dreamer
Yes, I can help you … cos I’m a rain dreamer
I’ll dream up some rain for you
Out of a sky of cloudless blue (sky of cloudless blue)
I’m a rain dreamer, I’m a rain dreamer, I’m a rain dreamer
I’m a rain dreamer, I’m a rain dreamer, dream, dream, dream . . .
. . . Rain! Rain! Rain!

Track credits
Music: Michael Sellers & Sergio Aguilar
Lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers & Chris Curtis
Guitars & bass, keyboards: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Juan Herrea
Production, musical arrangement, mixing & mastering: Sergio Aguilar
Cover design: Michael Sellers
Cover photo: Image from Pixabay

Rain Dreamers

Rain Dreamers ft Chris Curtis

Facing the death of a once loving relationship, our "hero" imagines a confession to a man with deep knowledge and wisdom concerning problems of the heart and betrayal. A song about remorse and regret and the hope a relationship can be saved, resurrected even. And does he deserve it to be saved?

Nothing is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of guilt.”
― Plautus (Roman playwright)

“Regret is a tough but fair teacher. To live without regret is to believe you have nothing to learn, no amends to make, and no opportunity to be braver with your life.”
― Brené Brown (Author)

"... I walk the line."
― Johnny Cash (Singer)

"I will let you down I will make you hurt.”
― from "Hurt" by Trent Reznor

Lyrics:
O, you were there before me Johnny
And witnessed hearts that failed to mend
I fell as low as I could get to
And cut her heart up into ten

You walked the line, I know that Johnny
You fell, but found the way back once again
My cheating ways burst all upon her
And cut her heart up into ten

I cut her heart up into ten
Ten pieces

I lie, I lie, I lie, I lie
I’ve lied to all since God knows when
Yes Johnny, I’m the stone-cold bastard
Who cut her heart up into ten

I cut her heart up into ten
Ten pieces

Ten pieces lying on the floor
Dead man walking to the door
He’s in hell but cold to touch
A sightless fool, a broken crutch
She’ll love once more, you don’t know when
You cut her heart up into ten …
Ten pieces

You cut her heart up into ten pieces

Credits
from One Singer Left to Mourn, track released September 17, 2024
Music: Michael Sellers & Sergio Aguilar
Lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Guitars & bass, keyboards: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Frank Guerrero
Production, musical arrangement, mixing & mastering: Sergio Aguilar
Cover design: Michael Sellers
Track cover photo: Image by Julius H. from Pixabay

TEN PIECES

“What you leave as a legacy is not what is etched in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”
— Anonymous
"So many who were remembered already forgotten, and those who remembered them long gone." 
— Marcus Aurelius (Roman emperor and a Stoic philosopher)

This reflection on the sobering fact that our time on earth for most of us will not impinge upon the memories or future historical knowledge of generations to come, was inspired by a chance remark by my grandson who described an old photo of his younger self as not looking like him at all, and that he suspected his parents had just hung up a photo on the wall of some random boy. He was speaking in jest of course, but what we say can have consequences, and this song is one!

Lyrics:
He was just a random boy in a picture on the wall
No one claimed to know him, or if he was real at all
He was just a random choice to put in that wooden frame
And one day he’ll be replaced by another with another no name

Oh, just a random boy! Just a random boy!
From here or some distant place
But maybe somewhere, maybe sometime
He was more than just a face

Will there ever be some random picture of me on somebody’s wall as well?
Will they dine & drink, make love, take drugs, while I stare, stare but never tell?
I have a name and I have a life, but if they should glance at me
They’ll think I’m just a random boy, there’ll be nothing, nothing else to see

Oh, just a random boy! Just a random boy!
From here or some distant place
But I know somewhere, I know sometime
I was more than just a …

(Random boy) Oblivious (A random boy) Indifferent
(Just a random boy) You stand in a world of your own
But the random boy staring back at you was cast . . .
in flesh and blood and bone ……
In flesh and blood and bone ……
In flesh and blood and ……

Credits:
Music, lyrics & vocals: Michael Sellers 
Guitars & bass; keyboards; drums: Sergio Aguilar
Production, musical arrangement, mixing & mastering: Sergio Aguilar
Cover design: Michael Sellers
Track cover photo: Gabriel Moreno Fortuny

One Singer Left To Mourn

Random Boy

“You endure what is unbearable, and you bear it. That is all.”
― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess

“Cancer is a word, not a sentence.”
― John Diamond: Journalist and commentator

A song inspired by a phrase that popped out of my oldest granddaughter's mouth, and which subsequently became the title; and by the recent death of an old school friend. He is the first of that particular group of friends to pass away, which no doubt forces those friends still alive to face up to their own mortality. This is my response . . .

Lyrics:
I hear her weeping when she thinks that I am fast asleep
That’s when I know she’s hurting, although it’s hidden deep
In some ways I’m better off than her as drugs, drugs can mask my pain
You see, I’m like a long-running TV show they won’t renew again
I heard somewhere there’s many ways to live within a tragedy
I’m praying to whatever god there is, it’s not some fallacy

I’ve never been called sexy, no one’s ever said I’m cool
I’ve always been the shortest; to be accepted, sometimes I’d play the fool
I remember us lads, drinking pint after pint, way back, way back in our youthful days
I love to reminisce with you and laugh at our wild & drunken ways
The wife is calling out to me that I should really, really try to eat
I swallow some, but all I taste is metal … and defeat

It’s been so long since we spoke to each other, I wish, I wish that I could stay
I’d love to reminisce with you & laugh at those crazy, long-gone days
But I can barely speak right now, I’m bombed out up to the eyes
So, phone me back tomorrow, just hope I’m still alive!
credits

from One Singer Left to Mourn, track released May 31, 2025
Music, lyrics & vocals: Michael Sellers
Guitars & bass; keyboards; percussion: Sergio Aguilar
Bugle: Franklyn Brooks
Production, musical arrangement, mixing & mastering: Sergio Aguilar
Cover design: Michael Sellers
Track cover photo: Image by Roman Ska from Pexels

The Taste of Metal & Defeat

Hear more on https://michaelfirthsellers.bandcamp.com/
#PowerPop #IndieRock

Last song in the Jukebox Cloister Song Cycle. Beach Boys meet U2 could be the vibe of this song!

"When your sanity’s assailed ...", what can you do?

The protagonists of the previous 4 songs have each in their own way sought to avoid the reality of the situation (in Take me to the Ocean, the singer seeks spiritual salvation, in All I Have, alcoholic oblivion) in order to cope with the problems of 2020.

But is going to the beach also just a short-lived panacea, not a realistic solution to the existential problems afflicting humanity in the wake of a world-wide pandemic and economic, political, and social upheaval?

Then again, if a break, however short, is all we can get, maybe our sanity depends on taking these opportunities!

My thanks to Erik Veira for inspiring the first line of the song, which helped me get the ball rolling.

Lyrics
Forget that bonfire in the rain
The soggy canapés, the flat champagne
Don’t be buffaloed, come and hit the road
Make your way to where fine things align

To Sunset & Wine

Forget the circus at sunrise
The manic ringmasters, their endless lies
When your sanity’s assailed
It’s time that you hightailed
Out of here to where good things combine

To Sunset & Wine
Sunset & Wine
Blood-red skyline
Down on Sunset & Wine

No, don’t be circumspect, time to reconnect
With the place that needs no redesign

On Sunset & Wine
Sunset & Wine
Blood-red skyline
Down on Sunset & Wine x3

Coda
Sunset & Wine, Sunset & Wine
Tranquility down by the shoreline
Sunset & Wine, Sunset & Wine
Cool breeze divine on through the nighttime

Sunset … Sunset … & Wine
Sunset & Wine

Jukebox Cloister Song Cycle

Sunset & Wine #1 (white wine version)

Sunset And Wine #1 (White Wine Version)

Hear more on https://michaelfirthsellers.bandcamp.com/
When you are confined to your home, unable to see anyone, especially the one (or ones!) you love, things can get a little bit frustrating! A theme very much influenced by successive Covid-19 lockdowns during 2020. 

lyrics
Rainy day, hey but I’m dry
Shoes unused, gather dust where they lie
Stuck inside 40 days and nights
One step outside would set me to rights! But there’s a …

Chorus
Glass window between me and you
‘tween a walk together in the morning dew
or your company in a café bijou
Glass window between me and you

Bored with eating mince and mash
Could do with a spliff, where’d I hide my stash?
Stuck inside 40 days and nights
Nothing better to do but be high as a kite! But there’s a …

Chorus
Glass window between you and me
‘tween holding hands as we stroll by the sea
or kissing to the love songs of Katy Perry
Glass window between you and me
A glass window between you and me

Bridge
Glass window’s getting dirty
Just picking at my acne
Missed out on the last love boat
So watching reruns of “Murder She Wrote”!

Run out of beer, last can in the bin
Glass window in the way of sin
Stuck inside 40 days and nights
Will she, my love, still requite? But there’s a …

Chorus
Glass window between me and the world
I’m hugging a cushion, not my sweet girl
I want to count the stars as her hair uncurls
Glass window between me and the world
A glass window between me and the world
A glass window between me and my girl

Credits
Music and lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Guitars, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Rodrigo Uribe
Cover design: Loretta Sellers Fortuny
Track cover photo: Ishbel Alderman
Extra lyric advice & comment: Jan Alderman, Gerry Verdier

Glass Window

First song in the Covid-19 inspired Jukebox Cloister Song Cycle. A soul-inspired song with a cry for personal redemption in the face of personal loss and crisis amid mass societal quarantine.

lyrics
Locked down in a motel
Nothin’ much to do
Gone through all of Netflix
Yeah … YouTube too

Chorus
Take me to a canyon
Leave me on a hill
Let me plunge into the jungles
Of Thailand or Brazil

Take me to a river
Lead me to a lake
I’ll swim in gin-cold waters
Feel my spirit reawake

Talked to Mom the other night
She said Father passed away
Couldn’t make it to the funeral
No farewells to mark the day
Drinking 24 hours plus
TV, porn, junk food
Oh God! Here comes the misery
Of a howling, black-dog mood

Chorus
Take me to the mountain
Roll me down the slope
Stone me to oblivion
Or let me live in hope

Take me to the desert
Set me down and let me roam
Then take me over Jordan
So I’ll know I’m going home

Bridge
Her face shone like the sun
Her clothes were white as light
She moved about the ocean
From the dawn until midnight
You gotta, gotta, gotta …

Chorus
Take me to the ocean
Cast me in the sea
Strip me of my raiments
Let the waves roll over me

Take me to the ocean
Let me glimpse the Seven Seas
I will cleanse my tainted body
Be renewed upon the breeze

Take me to the ocean
Cast me in the sea
Leave me with my vision
Let the waves envelop me

Music & Lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Instrumentation, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Photograph: Ana Paula Castro
Cover design; Loretta Sellers Fortuny

Take me to the Ocean

Take Me To The Ocean (Semi-finalist, Crisis Song Category, in the 2021 UK Songwriting Contest)

Misty Liar is on YouTube at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e5v1bsXZOk&list=OLAK5uy_lC-6SslueG1-OFVI5MdH7hjpw5CBSIJac

"He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition burns a picture to obtain the ashes." Chinese Proverb

Lyrics
Misty Liar … Misty Liar
Prowling through the corridors of power
Misty Liar … Misty Liar
Moving ever upwards hour by hour
Oh Misty Liar
… sweet and sour

Misty Liar … Misty Liar
Happy lying back, but also on all fours
Misty Liar … Misty Liar
Long as it can open up those all-important doors
Oh Misty Liar
… conquistador

Chorus
Misty Liar … Misty Liar … Misty … Misty

Misty Liar … Misty Liar
Ready with a smile, but mostly with a fib
Misty Liar … Misty Liar
Pandering with praise both smooth and glib
Oh Misty Liar
… gotta cool adlib

Bridge
No one's ever going to win your love
And surely they’ve had enough
Of all the many cruel deceptions
The easy, trite confessions
But they’re stuck in the barbwire
Of the beguiling Misty Liar

Misty Liar … Misty Liar
Sniffing for a chance to be the tops
Misty Liar … Misty Liar
And in your wake a thousand or more teardrops
Oh Misty Liar
… a bitter lollypop

Chorus
Misty Liar … Misty Liar … Misty … Misty

from Stranger in your own land, released December 30, 2020
Music and lyrics: Michael Sellers
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Instrumentation: Sergio Aguilar (guitars, bass, & electronic keyboard); Rodrigo Uribe (drums)
Musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Cover photo & design: Loretta Sellers Fortuny

Misty Liar

Misty Liar 5 Stars/Commended rating in the UK Songwriting Contest, 2022

See the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc0gM7vdg1U

“Some families are so sick, so twisted, the only way out is for someone to die.”
― Ottessa Moshfegh; "Eileen"

"Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished."
― Proverbs 16:5; The Holy Bible, English Standard Version

Lyrics
Papa’s got a dark side, just like the moon
Reminds me of an old guitar that’s way, way out of tune
Yeah, Papa’s got a dark side, it can empty out a room
It’s darker than my black thoughts, darker than a tomb

Papa’s got a dark side and he can turn on you
Things can get real ugly, leave your ego black and blue
When Papa’s lost in his dark side, he’s down with Lucifer’s crew
And God and the guardian angels go hide out in Timbuktu

Papa’s got a dark side, Papa’s got a dark side
Remember your blood-red backside?
It was thanks to Papa’s dark side

Papa’s got a dark side, Papa’s got a dark side
Remember when you were last hogtied?
It was thanks to Papa’s dark side … all down to Papa’s …
Dark Side … walking on the dark side

Little Joe lit out for Afghanistan, he said Papa didn’t make him feel safe
He realized, pretty damn quick, Kabul was a Hell of a place
But when the troops returned, of Little Joe there wasn’t a trace!

He was on the …
Dark Side … walking on the dark side

True, Papa’s got a sweet side, like honey from a bee
It can cover you from head to toe in a sticky consistency
Yeah, Papa’s got a sweet side, makes you happy, keen and free
‘Till his dark side rears its fearsome head, wipes out all empathy!

Papa’s got a dark side, Papa’s got a dark side
Do you still dream of patricide?
Well, it’s all thanks to Papa’s dark side … all down to Papa’s …

Dark Side … walking on the dark side

Epilogue
Papa had a dark side, just like the moon
But now we strum our own guitars, sing a different tune …

from Stranger in your own land, released December 30, 2020
Music and lyrics, vocals & acoustic guitar: Michael Sellers
Acoustic & electric guitars, bass guitar, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Drums: Juan Herrera
Harmonica: Edgar Ibarra
Cover design: Loretta Sellers Fortuny
Track cover photo: Image by Republica from Pixabay

Walking on the Darkside

Walking On The Dark Side 5 Stars/Commended rating in the UK Songwriting Contest, 2021

How the fear of Covid-19 can affect relationships

I’ve seen you
Stark naked
Now you just walk on by
No eyeballing
No sweet talking
And a face that could petrify!

Chorus
But I don’t care, no
No I don’t care, no
No I don’t care, anymore
But I don’t care, no
No I don’t care, no, guess it’s all fair in love and war!

You’ve seen me
Butt naked
So why your eyes just vacant lots?
No hand holding
Keep on walking
You act like it’s the plague I’ve got!
A cold, cold comfort forget-me-not!

Chorus
But I don’t care, no
No I don’t care, no
No I don’t care, very much
But I don’t care, no
No I don’t care, no, if you think that mine’s a lethal touch!

Bridge
Though I never needed you as some kind of crutch
We could’ve been friends, maybe stayed lovers
But you just walk by me like an agent undercover
Why is mine a lethal touch?!

Chorus
But I don’t care, no
No I don’t care, no
No I don’t care, all that much
But I don’t care, no
No I don’t care, no, if you think that I’ve a lethal touch!

Chorus
I shouldn’t worry, no
I shouldn’t worry, no
You're not my Juliet as such
I shouldn’t worry, no
I shouldn’t worry, no,
Cos you think that I’ve a lethal touch!

I mustn’t worry, no
I mustn’t worry, no
I’m not your Romeo as such
I mustn’t worry, no
I mustn’t worry, no
Cos you think that mine’s a lethal touch!
Though it hits me like a boxer's punch!

credits
from Jukebox Cloister Song Cycle, released October 10, 2020
Music: Michael Sellers
Lyrics: Michael Sellers & Gerry Verdier
Vocals: Michael Sellers
Instrumentation, musical arrangement, & production: Sergio Aguilar
Photo: Michael Sellers
Cover design; Loretta Sellers Fortuny

Lethal Touch

Michael Sellers is a guitar playing singer-songwriter from England, now living and recording songs in Merida, Mexico. 

Landing page: https://linktr.ee/michaelfirthsellers

Michael Sellers

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