Name: Bitterest Blue (WIP) by will riding
Duration: 4 min 56 s
Description: A story/song inspired part by a piece of driftwood that stands at the bottom of my garden, and part by the mythology of landlocked mermaids in Staffordshire at Blackmere. Version 2.

Nice one Will, enjoyed my listen, good story and guitar sounding well.

Memories of my birthplace in Blackhill, Consett, Co Durham and of our neighbour , the late Susan McKinney, Matron of Bridgend Maternity Hospital Corbridge, Northumberland, England.  A nostalgic song of childhood days, and of a later visit with my then very young niece Laura Bell, to our Blackhill neighbour, Matron Susan McKinney, a legendary midwife at Corbridge.   The slow worm was real, the only time I’ve ever seen one, the snakes imaginary - there to try to protect my sisters Eileen and Cecilia against sour apple tummy ache. The ’sedge’ was in fact a variegated grass under the apple tree.  I can’t remember how many babies Susan told us she’d delivered, but it was an awful lot.  The pigeon cree was behind Mr McKinney’s henhouse at 43 St Mary’s Crescent near the electric substation.  We lived at no 41.  Susan is the nurse on the on the right of the picture.

Susan Of St Mary's Crescent

Melodic synth-pop with vocoder.
Live synths and keys played over programmed beats and sequences.
Mastered by Ed DMX ~ https://soundcloud.com/edmx

Image created by Sebald Beham ~ 1541 AD ~ Not full image (Unfortunately)

Fortuna Smiles

A song about liars.
===
I came to ask the horses mouth 
Once and for all let’s have it out
Off the record if you must
Redacted and anonymous

Do you believe the lies you spin?
Delivered with a rictus grin
I’m glad you see the funny side
Dishonour is a badge of pride

Guilty parties get away
With secrecy and NDAs
Money pays for loyalty 
When you’re as rich as royalty 

The public interest won’t be served
By the legal teams who groom your words
Manufactured get out clauses
Sponsored by unworthy causes

So guilty parties get away
With secrecy and NDAs
Money pays for loyalty 
When you’re as rich as royalty 

I’d like to think there’ll come a day
When moral debt will be repaid
But lying with authority 
Is credited as honesty

I came to ask the horses mouth 
Once and for all without a doubt 
A broken record we can’t trust
Corrupted and preposterous 

The public interest won’t be served 
By journalists who mince their words 
You can’t believe they’re on your side
Dishonour is a badge of pride 

©Jim Pearson 2022

The Horses Mouth (Radio Edit)

Elves and The Shoemaker

Elves And The Shoemaker

In 1771 in the fens of Cambridgeshire a miller manages to escape the smoking paws of Black Shuck , but at what cost ? If anyone could bluff Shuck it be a miller I suppose. Cautionary note , this is a true story.
https://youtu.be/j54v4pA5sPg

A Brush with Black Shuck (Video on You Tube)

Demo of a song a song about about two kids riding their bikes...

Kings Of Clieve's Hill (Demo)

Portable recording of a song written in a field in Rhayader, mid Wales and based on a contra dance, Devil's dream, it's joy to behold, in full flight when my two left feet aren't messing it up..
A room full of people busting some nifty moves to a fast American reel, working together to hold it together... made me think, life could be like that...
Big thanks to Folk Camps and Barry Pollard for use of his catchphrase :-)

A Bit Like Devil's Dream...(Portable Recording)

Another quick mobile phone recording of one of my songs....

Ian Roberts ~ Ramshackled Empty Space (searching for love) ~ (mobile phone recording)

A story/song inspired part by a piece of driftwood that stands at the bottom of my garden, and part by the mythology of landlocked mermaids in Staffordshire at Blackmere. Version 2.

Bitterest Blue (WIP)

Written about an off-the-cuff comment that was made to me and I wrote an entire song around it!
I love the sound of Dave Guild's solo guitar on this song.

Two Years Down The Line

Everything you worry about in that big bad world is real. Its just how you cope with it that counts.

Next Big Thing

Lancashire born Will Riding, now based in Chester, is an acoustic guitarist and songwriter, his honest and occasionally playful songs reflect the common experiences we all share from childhood onwards.
He started writing his own songs to go with the folk standards he’d sing in and around Chester. Encouraged by the reception they received, he continues to write and is getting them out to a wider audience. Amongst other things, he has supported the late Julie Felix, Harp and A Monkey, Emma Stevens and Mark Radcliffe’s Galleon Blast as well as playing several songwriting showcases for Pete Morton.
Music can be found on the usual streaming sites and on his BandCamp page.


Bitterest Blue (WIP)

will riding

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Dave Atkinson, Songmaker

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