Four years after the release of the much-loved debut album 'Songs for a Sunday', Will Cookson's second album 'The Geometry of Dreams' ventures into more ethereal, expansive and, well, dreamier territory. Dexterous finger-picking combines with hushed vocals, piano and organ to create songs that transport the listener away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. At the heart of it all, however, lies Will's inimitable songwriting style and an honesty that is as refreshing as it is disarming.

Buy from iTunes

The Geometry of Dreams

A collection of songs written around 2006 but never officially released - maybe one day!

Early work

Buy CD & vinyl from Bandcamp (includes digital download): 

https://willcooksonmusic.bandcamp.com/album/ghosts-of-the-morning-sun 

Listen on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/album/3sAg9MGu4ISHNkx84OFUnB

Recorded in rural Herefordshire (UK) and with support from several highly talented musicians, the new album features guitar, piano and cello delicately woven around an array of intimate lyrical themes.  For those in need of an escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life, 'Ghosts of the Morning Sun' provides a portal into the deep and intangible seas of thought, dream and imagination.

Ghosts of the Morning Sun

Recorded in an empty house in the depths of the winter of 2007 and released to some acclaim the following year, 'Songs for a Sunday' has steadily built up a cult following ever since. Echoing shades of Jackson C Frank, Nick Drake and Elliott Smith, the album constitutes a pastoral blend of melody, heartfelt lyrics and intricate fingerpicking, and is for anybody who appreciates intimacy and honesty in their listening experience. 

Reviews: 

“each album of the track is a glory in its own right” – The Music Magazine 

“simple and effortless, Songs for a Sunday is a treasure” – Music OMH 

“ten very beautiful lullabies to soothe the most tense among us” – Subba Culture 

“an endearing and enriching work that’s pretty much as good as it gets – a brilliant album” – Toxic Pete

Songs for a Sunday

An EP of intimate piano ballads with string orchestra.

Also available on Spotify & iTunes:

Spotify:  http://open.spotify.com/album/29u0VC8pKt78b8HkK4MHo5 

iTunes:   https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/about-love-ep/id1241438399?ls=1&app=itunes

Apple Music:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/about-love-ep/id1241438399?ls=1

About Love

Which Will - Nick Drake

LYRICS

from a cairn release my soul out across the ocean
and with the wind I’ll share the sigh of all the words ever spoken

through the fog retrace our dreams when the dark skies deepen
in the ruins beside the sea lay me down with the sleeping

in the rock pools along the shore where the bright stars shiver
we shared our secrets with the sea as the moon lit the river

and in my dreams I’ll visit oft and wander through the gloaming
and you my love will be the sea and the summer winds blowing

Solstice

LYRICS

the moon was hiding in the trees
the stars were drowning in the sea
and all our memories were dreams
and all our tragedies just scenes performed a thousand times before.

of all the paths that led to now
so many angles would show us how
this geometry has shaped our minds
where all the numbers will combine to prove that I’m the same as you

so many paths have led to now

Prelude

What A Lovely Day (demo)

LYRICS

bare bound the wolves gathered round as on the forest floor in leaves she lay
her skin pale her fingers frail as in the arms of the night we made her stay

dark now the candle’s gone out but in these dreams you get burned just the same
and you feel scared and so unprepared for the role that you’re playing in this game

and it’s so hard I know to keep on with the show when you feel just like hiding in a cave
but nothing in the dark can grow so give it just one more time we won’t solve our woes by flying away

so quiet now the stars have come out these constellations have led so many home
but they’re light years away from our fears the dark inky seas we sail alone

over the sea and foam bright lights will call us home as the heart longs for the scenes of yesterday
when under the waves we go some of the dreams that we leave behind might float and help the lost to find their way

when all the stars implode and all these dreams erode who knows what’ll remain without the light
but now that we’re here I hope that the sun might heal our scars and help to ease our fear of the night

and though we might still be scared of the night
we’ll be safe in each other’s arms until morning light

The Night

LYRICS

got the mobile spinning from the ceiling 
and the moon's making patterns on the wall 
reflected from the spires and the midnight briers 
where the owls start the call 

goodnight to the shadows climbing up the door 
goodnight to the scary clothes heap 
you kiss goodnight the ghosts underneath the bed 
before you fall asleep 

and your mind's spinning through all the day's scenes 
as your heart beats loud in your ear 
apparently surprised now you've closed your eyes 
to find your troubles are still here 

and you're trying hard to distract yourself 
but now you've run out of sheep
and then you get the whole world inside your brain 
just because you can't sleep

bring out a drum for the hiding sun
pull out the heart from your ear 
just a little reminder that you're still alive 
before your wits disappear

leave the moon to the ghouls and the midnight pools 
and the vampires too tired to sleep 
and don't let the world occupy your brain
just because there are no more sheep

and hug all the monsters underneath your bed 
before you go to sleep

Bedtime Charm

LYRICS

ferris wheel turning slow
waving at mother below
yes i'll try my best mum not to let go

picture a long summer night
watching the comets burn bright
and we'd sit for hours bathed in the moonlight
let's throw sticks in the park
and try teach the dog not to bark
and i'll try not to be scared mum when it gets dark.

oh river run true
driftwood i'll follow you
'til eddies swirl me around deep in the dark blue

now it's getting time to move on
they've faded the stars that once shone
and i'll try not to be sad mum when they're all gone

Ferris Wheel

LYRICS

frost in the morning in blankets on the fields where the birds sing hallelujah
and bring the dawn in before the church bells peel and the choir sings hallelujah

ice in the window and on the window sill where the sun gleams oh how the sun gleams
as in a hollow the morning mist hangs still and the birds fly through the light beams 

and the dreams that we left outside have thawed out and turned out alright
like the nightmares we had last night have gone now the morning’s light

oh sweet babe we’ll keep you warm safe in our hearts evermore
and the winter will turn to spring as sure as the robins sing

from the hedgerows and all the naked fields in this quiet vale where the clouds sail
over the white hills to where the rivers freeze and the snow falls and the wind calls

hallelujah

Winter Morning

LYRICS

soft fragile eyes reflex smile white sheets enfold you
so new to this world where have you been for so long

birds on the wing hear them singing for the first time
stars in the sky shine so bright shine so high

the silver moon on ancient boughs in quiet lanes waits for you
to open up you fragile eyes your tender mind your innocent tune

and though the road may be long and the markings unclear
we can follow the stars and we’ve no need to fear

for all the ghosts in the fields and the forest as night
will help show us the way and we’ll be home by first light

First Light

LYRICS

we speed through our own ways through our own time that won’t turn back
and we fall to our futures like the leaves fall on the track

the rain beats the window as we whistle through the moor
and spires hide behind hills that roll like waves upon the shore

the trees make you wonder how the birds know where to fly
and the streams will carry water until the oceans run dry

the wind moves the wheat fields as the houses hurry by
and wires thread the pylons to feed the cities down the line

the train makes its own way through the valleys of weathered stone
and I’ll run alongside forever until I find my way home

Dream On The GNER

LYRICS

falling asleep under an apple tree
my thoughts fly away over the southern seas
as the shadow of the church tower dims
to the murmur of the evening hymns

in another land the princess in her castle dreams
of all the other things that once upon a time she could have been
she sends a prayer to the distant stars 
puts her forehead on the window bars 

and a sliver of the moon lies sleeping on the dew 
as winter waits for the summer nights to darken 
and the ancient fountain fills from silver-threaded rills 
as the owl cries echo in the garden 

shadows on the lawn dancing as the night wind blows 
now the revellers have gone leaving us to waltz alone 
through the hallways of elusive dream
until the morning takes you from me 

but now the sun is in the air and there’s humming everywhere 
in the meadow grass that soon the frost will harden 
and though the world’s left you behind I’ve kept you in my mind 
as I lie here with the statues in your garden 

and the dawn is only a few hours away 
and when I’m gone the memory will fade away 
when I’m gone far away 
when I’m gone

The Garden

LYRICS

hey bluebell don’t hang your head low 
it was just fate this chance to grow 
through tired eyes you watch the passers-by 
holding thoughts only you can know 

as you pray by streams in your pale blue dreams 
for the season to come again 
where once we stood in a bluebell wood 
and turned our faces to the rain 

hey bluebell we keep spinning round 
and your children will blossom one day 
but the leaves of time are fast falling down
and there’s no way that I can make you stay 

for the old oak tree will lose its leaves 
while its shadow still remains 
but for you brief flower you live a month in an hour 
and make your whole world this quiet lane 

so long bluebell now you’ve had your time 
I’ll remember you until I’ve had mine 
but there it ends a rut on a railway line 
the impassive intercity of time 

and with the memory gone and the world moved on 
we won’t be looked for amongst the stars 
but as new flowers spring let the dawn birds sing 
about a moment that once was ours

So Long, Bluebell

LYRICS

we’ve got a lot of memories left out in the cold 
one to many deckchairs that we couldn’t unfold 
and I tried to tell a story in the failing light 
but I couldn’t find the words or get the ending right 

and we had a lot of dreams that we couldn’t explain 
an awful lot of tears mixed up in the rain 
and we tried to read a poem by the harbour lights 
but we fell into the crosshairs of our own skewed sights 
and I spent last night by candle light 
with an ache and a broken pen 
but as the feeling grows my energy goes 
and I just want to come home again 

we had a lot of feelings that we didn’t dare expose 
we hid a lot of truths beneath those colourful clothes 
and I tried to paint a picture of what’s going on in my mind 
but it came out all wrong because I was working blind 

and I spent last night by candle light 
with this ache and a broken pen 
but to see your face sets it all in place 
and I just want to come home again 

and I’ll wait with the stars for you 
and carry these scars for two 
a home amongst the stars with you 
forgotten by their scars 

I spent last night by starlight 
with the same old fears again 
but when I join your dreams I shake off these scenes 
and set aside my broken pen

Unwritten Lullaby

LYRICS

on an evening in the spare room with the lamps turned down 
your sunday heart weighs heavy now 
just you and the relics of your golden past 
some dreams weren’t built to last 

the postcards of the places you’ve never been 
peel from the window and let the moonlight stream 
in shafts through the hallway to beneath the stairs 
but you won’t find many answers there 

sifting through an old box as you wonder how 
all your once favourite toys can mean nothing now 
pictures of a young boy that you didn’t draw 
sights that you never saw 

in the hard truth reminders of that empty bed 
lives that just exist now inside your head 
with the burden of a future that was always known 
and all the love that you still owe 

so put off tomorrow for another day 
by the quiet of tonight you would forever stay 
in the safety of the spare room with the lamps turned down 
but the clock sends you back to town 

and by the moon you drive back to town

On A Sunday Evening In The Spare Room

LYRICS

I have a dream back when the day would break and then 
sunday bells would chime 
for the places I have been all come to me in dreams 
but I forget them every time 

my eyes up at the clouds my feet stuck to the ground 
caught by summer rain 
for a safety line may break and a happy heart can ache 
while the seasons stay the same 

and a staying thought is hard to find 
choose a better way to live next time 
but for now I’ll dwell too long on the things that I got wrong 
while all the positives slip my mind 

the voices on the breeze from faded memories 
sing about the day 
when the scenes they were for real and the time was ours to steal 
before a new dawn took them away 
and a chemical lodged in my brain is the only proof that still remains 
for all of us it seems will be washed away in dreams 
and forgotten to the rain 

and when our day is done and we’re back where we begun 
the stars will be our eyes 
kept by the dream of you our echoes falling through 
as a new sun begins to rise

New Dawn

LYRICS

we looked back at the futures that were yet to unfold 
telling the tales that have all been told 

we sat on the walls so far from home 
and you picked the moss off that ancient stone 

and we fell asleep in pastures green 
and let go our grey-sky sisyphean scenes 

the rivers of our minds have been running for so long 
if only our fears were lost in their song 

oh let’s sail away to islands new 
much better a blue-sky sicily view 

sleep restlessly 
dream beneath the sea 
so hard to let you go 

but now the deed is done 
and all of my mind battles won

though it’s not the life that I would choose 
we still have our dreams syracuse

Syracuse

LYRICS

you can turn your back light on now everybody’s gone 
the spiders in the shed have been lonely too long 

in your garden in the rain trying to place a name 
on the dying bugs as they drown in your brain 

where the sun is high 
with the birds in the sky 
and you won’t leave your chair 
because you don’t know how to fly 

but we won’t grow wings if we don’t even try 

soon autumn leaves will fall but we can’t cry for them all 
and there’s a dying bird behind a concrete wall 

now you’ve sent the blues away the yellows have come to stay 
and though you don’t look scared it doesn’t feel that way 

if you die in your dream 
tell me how does it seem 
to have to relive the pain 
that’s already been 
though it may hurt now time will wash the slate clean 

as the time starts to drag 
all your pretty flowers sag 
and your hobo boots 
poke through their plastic bag 

did you think you could wipe them off with a back garden rag

Back Garden Rag

LYRICS

Well now we’ve hit a wall 
And made the world seem so small
Let’s ease our troubled minds
Leave all the bad dreams behind

We’ve been growing old
Too young too young
And it’s getting cold
In the sun in the sun

And in green fields we’ll lie
The summer breezes our song
And the night will see us home
And by the dawn we’ll be gone

We’ve been growing old
Too soon too soon
I couldn’t keep a hold
A hold of you

And I want to die
With my head in your arms
And with your daydreams lie
In the light of the stars

In The Light Of The Stars

LYRICS

I hear the seagulls crying in my dreams 
Over ice cream cones dropped in the sand
And all the castles that we made for the tide to wash away
Have gone the same way as the boy now he’s a man

Down by the sea all those clouded memories
Of caramacs and penny arcades on the pier
And the liners in the mist and a longing that persists 
Like an echo in my mind over the years

And I’m trapped in a dream like a ghost beside the sea
Forever wandering the surf in search of home
And then I’m back at the start where we played murder in the dark
And built a treehouse in the garden in the snow

Oh rocking horse in the spare room in the dark
That little girl that used to love you now has gone
Over hills you would glide and through haunted forests fly
As you outran the past but now your future’s done

And on Worthing Beach there’s a tide that’s out of reach
Whispers still of dreams forgotten long ago
Oh let the sirens sing of ferris wheels and all the things
We used to love as kids but then had to let go

And on that wheel we will spin back to where it all begins
And the sand castles return into the sea
And the names that we drew into the sand will be lost too
Within the oceans of our minds just like a dream

Worthing Beach

LYRICS

There’s something burning in your chest
Hand on the knife when there’s nothing left
For you to aim for but your heart

And through the dark I’ll search for you
And in the twilight watch the moon
Still shining on, still shining on

Broken ice on an empty sea
The haunted souls wait there for me
In the darkness of my dreams

Frozen sky and scattered hope
You tie your arms around the rope
And hoist the sail to pull you on

Ooooo pitseleh where have you gone?
Ooooo where did you leave your haystack charm?

Hidden cracks in your head
Tightrope walk across the web
And do your best to carry on

And though I’ll never know you now
I’m gonna love you anyhow
And I’ll find my peace within your song

Ooooo pitseleh where have you gone?
Ooooo where did you leave your haystack charm?

As The Devil Pleases

LYRICS

Time take me back through carousel dreams and zoetrope scenes 
She stood in the rain beside the ghost train 
Lost in the steam so I couldn’t quite see her

Love let me go from candyfloss eyes and bumper car rides 
Under flickering lights and teenage delight 
As big-dipper cries drift over the pier
Her arms drew me near

And through the fading light we wandered the empty roads
As I rolled out a thread so we could find our way home

Hope fly away from harbour light skies and Wurlitzer sighs 
As the marching band slows and the gas lamps glow 
The old couples glide away from their years

Fear release my soul as the acrobats swing from highwire rings 
We’ll fall through the night our fortunes bright 
As the fat lady sings and the thinning crowd cheers
We’ll laugh through our tears

And into the swirling mists we’ll waltz the endless road
As I let go the thread so we can find our way home

Ariadne's Waltz

LYRICS

Been staring at the void too long
my blue skies have turned black
and the creepers that you cut down
from my walls have all grown back

Tomorrow runs ahead just like
an old way through the wood
been trodden many times before
but it’s no clearer understood

Where on earth it’s taking us
and how we’re meant to choose
when it forks around the bend 
and either way we lose 

In my head I played the part
of the lover who was stung
an innocent abandoned 
in the dark when he was young

But when I see more clearly 
through the lies of my little play
I was just as much the wolf
out hunting for its prey

Oh love I know I’ve let you down
and all the promises I made
and with all that anger
I’ll go to my grave

I’ve travelled far off countries
I’ve seen many far out things
but I’ve never left this man-shaped cage
or shaken off this skin

Got a picture of the little boy
as he reached towards the sun
but now more sand’s gone through the glass 
than there’s still left to run

And when the lamp is burning low
and the stitches slip their seams
into that darkness 
we’ll go with our dreams

Into That Darkness

LYRICS

Through water she runs, runs by the sea, 
Just like the old willow said she would in her dreams

As onto the sand bare-footed she strides
Leaving her footprints in a trail for the tide

Cold river run from the snow
Into the lines of white horses as they carry you home

Dream-giver, give me a sign
That I’m not just a spare and I’m not just wasting your time

In darkness she swims, swims through the night
Collecting the stars where they fell down from the sky

And into the deep she’ll sink with her soul
And she’ll hide in the blackness at the bottom of it all

Dark angel fly into the dawn
And carry our dreams into the sun to stay warm

Stormbringer let sleeping dogs lie
And shine like the sun into another dark sky

Dark angel fly into the night
Carry our prayers into the waning moonlight

Dreambringer we’ll never know why
You shine like the stars over another dark sky

White Horses

LYRICS

Oil and resin like blood on the floor
Flowers and feathers strung up on the wall
Another white canvas stretched to the frame
Did the fear of failure haunt you the same?

Toronto to London your paints in your arm
Came out with a medal and your scars from the war
Would you switch it for all the success of your peers?
Oh where are you now got lost to the years

Oooooo…

Sun on the water, another red dawn
Was the mist around Hammersmith Bridge getting worn?
When the colours were fading under the stars
Were you still trying to paint that ache in your heart?

Ooooo…

Still Life

LYRICS

Timbuktu, she smiled and said I’m off and I won’t be back anytime soon
And she made a boat of pillows on the duvet sea as she set sail across the room

Oh mum, she said, don’t worry about me I know it’s a scary world, but I’ll be ok
Oh daddy don’t you lose no sleep, I’ll still be your little girl when I’m old and grey

Now she sits alone on a sofa in the sun and wonders where on earth it all did go
That little girl had made her oh so many plans but they weren’t to be, still life goes on

And oh daughter, she says, don’t forget about me, I know that my day is done but I’ve still got time
And oh son won’t you go out and seek a better life than I could find

Grandmother’s ghost in the hall, she haunts my dreams, oh I miss you
Grandmother’s ghost oh she came into your room last night and kissed you

Grandmother's Ghost

LYRICS

Pale sun on an August sea
Now the picture’s fading from your bedroom wall
Black mirror watches while you sleep
Yellow dress on the floor

Cold nights are drawing in again
Another future’s left with the summer it seems
Dark clouds still haunt the little boy
In the quiet of his dreams

Oh I know that your lover broke your heart
Oh I know that you feel all alone
And I know that the world’s got no use for us
And that all this’ll go

Don’t walk, don’t walk the red man’s flashing still
Cold rain runs in rivers down your neck
Dead leaves, dead leaves choke the iron grills
That summer’s never coming back

Dead Leaves

LYRICS

I’ll have a dream where I’m sailing on a white ship in the sky
and I’m not back at school or drowning or being chased by anyone

And we’ll lie in bed and let the light beams kiss our weary eyes
and watch as the tiny particles of dust dance in the sun

And on the radio they’ll play a song we’ve not heard in years
and it’ll be almost as if we could inhabit the thoughts of our former selves

And I’ll read some poetry from a leather-bound anthology
that I borrowed indefinitely from my grandmother’s old wooden shelves

Hmmm what a lovely day
Hmmm why don’t you stay
Hmmm please won’t you stay

We’ll take a stroll through town and kick the leaves that line the streets
and maybe have a coffee in a quirky independent café 

And you’ll read the papers and I’ll write a novel on my Macbook Air
about the adventures of a young man living in the USA

And though there’s a famine in Darfur and a civil war in Chad
The music in the background’ll let us know it’s really all ok

And we’ll order cake because it’s Saturday and we deserve a treat
And what’s the point of living if you can’t have cake on a Saturday

Hmmm what a lovely day
Hmmm why don’t you stay
Hmmm please won’t you stay

What A Lovely Day

LYRICS

Had a dream last night 
that we were birds and we could fly 
above the bright white clouds 
in your felt-tip sky

And the fields far below
were gold and green as the sun sank low 
behind the zigzag mountains
that you drew in the snow

And we sat on the lollipop trees
kissed the summer breeze
blowing from the oceans far away
painted on the sand 
the universe held in your hands 
for the first time

If the colours in your pen 
could draw the world anew and then 
we could live there as stickpeople 
and feel whole again

We’d run into the streams 
swim through our dreams 
and we’d sail upon the oceans far away
build houses on the sand 
made of matchsticks in our hands 
for the first time

And I’ll meet you in my dreams 
your watercolour scenes
and we’ll fly above the houses 
far away

Stickfigure Dreams

LYRICS

It’s 5am and in an hour I’m gonna leave you babe
And the sparrows are singing on the garden shed
Seems nothing’s understood in this life but that the time it ticks on
And you don’t get it back, just got to get outta bed

Ooooo, oooooo, there’s something in my head or my heart
Think someone hid it there from the very start

Shadows on the sea I got a record in my brain that was broken long ago
It’s been skipping my whole life and now the needle’s come free
But the writing’s on the wall and I’ve got a devil in my soul that I need to excise
I’m becoming the man I never wanted to be

Ooooo, oooooo, and nothing’s gonna change but who we are
No nothing’s gonna change, just the sun and the stars

Something In My Head

Lonely Bird

I'm All at Sea

Hazel

Cordelia

Alone in the Dark

LYRICS

sunday morning she's still asleep and breathing soft
awoken by the kettle whistle
send from the distant moss-hung keep to the drowsy croft 
a prayer my flower won't become her thistle
as i train my fingers to the steel to bring us luck
and now she's found my weakness
she's in my heart and in my dreams and in my waking up
she's in the clay and the landscape drawing on my coffee cup

bleary-eyed the dawn birds sing their songs of love 
looking for someone to hold them
free from all our aimless thoughts they fly above
like us just doing as mother told them
in leaving footprints in the lawn when the dew drops freeze
while the world keeps spinning
she's in the keen touch of the frost and the wind that moves the trees
she's in the smoke from the bonfire burning up the autumn leaves

i numb my fingers in the steam watch the dog run away
from safe behind my window
i think up rhyme to keep us calm and fill the day
now she's in each vowel and consonant of every word i say

Autumn Song

LYRICS

when you've got a heavy heart
and everything around you is falling apart
you can pin it on a rotten day,
nothing that tomorrow won't blow away
or the hope you get every time you pray

i know we've got so many minds,
so many hidden meanings between the lines
and it seems such a simple thing 
not to worry what the winter wind'll bring
with the sad song that the robins sing
but when the puddles freeze it's time

to turn the heating on, dear, because the summer's over
instead of pinning our luck on a four-leaf clover
just give me a call and i'll come right over

and i know i've got a lot of faults 
and all those hidden futures locked in the vault
and only time can tell 
if we stay together and we both stay well
with a quiet place for our hearts to dwell
but the foghorns say you're mine

so put the kettle on, dear, now the battle's over
instead of pinning our luck on a four-leaf clover
just give me a call i'm coming over.

i got a call from you

Consolation #1

LYRICS

when you've been filed in the wrong category
and both your dog and your cat agree 
that you shouldn't be alone

take a leaf from a different tome
place a wreath on your empty home
and pick up the phone

just because i hold you dear
just because i need you here
just because i'm see-through
just because i miss you

from the clouds brewing over you
to the leaves rotting under you 
in the death-fed stew of life

from the mud fields of the steeplechase
to the bloodstains on my delsey case
i'm in this race

just because i hold you dear etc

from the bottles by the hedgerow
to the moss on my gravestone

from the dawn to the setting sun
from the end to when it all begun

from these pictures of ourselves
to the dust on these shelves

Will Cookson

Pinned to spotlight

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