Song

Hedgerow in Wales

May 31, 2021 16 Comments

There’s a stretch of road between Talog and Meidrim where the verge and hedgerow is quite overwhelming in its richness and beauty. I don’t go that way too often but over the years this song – about Spring in Wales – has gradually emerged.

Special thanks to David Thomas for help with the welsh bit which was both daunting and exciting to do, and also to Caerthan for helping with the mix, which my deaf ears can’t quite manage on their own.

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Hedgerow in Wales - Lyrics

Slow down, I slow down, see the cow parsley blowing in the breeze
Little white flowers, snowy umbrellas, branching out like tiny trees

I slow down, I see the bluebells, It’s my last chance for another year
They’ll be gone soon, making way for June
But I can always hear the colour blue ringing in my ears

It’s a hedgerow in May, in Wales, in May

And the meadowsweet’s coming soon!
And the meadowsweet’s coming soon!
And the meadowsweet’s coming soon!
And the meadowsweet’s coming for the end of June!

I turn my face to the wind, I take in the scent of everything growing
Light reflects in the dew on a spiders web in the grass
Now is the vetch, now is the stitchwort
And I’m counting petals by the side of the road
There’s nothing as sublime as spring in Wales

And the pink red campion is ready to dance with the buzz of the bee
As the fresh-faced King of May is ready to dance with me
If I can slow it down and breathe the magic of the month of May
The air is clear on the road to Meidrim on a sunny sweet spring day

It’s a hedgerow in May, in Wales, in May

Yn ystod y gwanwyn, yng Nghymru, yng Nghymru
Blodau tlws a clawdd, yn mis Mai, yng Nghymru
Diwrnod mis Mai melys, yng Nghymru, yng Nghymru
Blodau yn y lôn, yn mis Mai, yng Nghymru
Blodau yn y gwanwyn, yng Nghymru, yng Nghymru
Yn ystod y gwanwyn, yng Nghymru, yng Nghymru
Blodau yn y gwanwyn, yng Nghymru, yng Nghymru

Mae’r erwain yn dod yn fuan
Mae Mehefin yn dod yn fuan
Mae’r haf yn dod yn fuan
Yng Nghymru, yng Nghymru
Arafwch!

Music for the Hard of Hearing

Cherry Blossom

May 9, 2020 5 Comments

So I felt I needed to capture the moment. It was the end of March 2020, and the country had just gone into lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic …
The tune is one I have used before (well why not?), but the lyrics are pretty much spur of the moment – the stuff that was going through my head at that time. Lockdown here has not been hard – we have a field and a bit of woodland to walk in. I’ve never taken them for granted, but right now they seem like sheer magic.
I had thought my singing(?) days were over – it’s just so hard trying to mix music when you’re half deaf, and vocal tracks really stretch me at the best of times, but hey ho, this song needed it, so I bite the bullet …

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Cherry Blossom - Lyrics

It’s hard to say the things I want to say, so I don’t say much at all
They say that silence is consent but I think it’s more than that
Time is running out before I stumble and I fall

Up in the field – Hey Blanco! I hope you’re on the mend
Talog is sleeping I look across the rooftops of my friends
And Helen – she takes photographs down by the sea, she’s good at capturing the light
And there’s cherry blossom in the wood and the sky is filled with stars at night

The wood is all done now – the sun and the wind will wear it well
And over the valley the boys are bottling up the gin and the hand gel
Simon – well he’ll be doing something, it would be good to hear his voice for a little while
And Gwen – she’ll bark at Mark the postman
And the cherry blossom in the wood – it makes me smile

The day is too quiet, the crows are circling in the sky
Caerthan is mixing colour and making scents to keep us all alive

And three sisters – they paint their world in pictures, the wisdom of the family
And standing in the wind, Mike and Suzy watch the tide, breathing in the sea
And far far away, Kate and Nell are playing safely with their mum and dad
And life goes on all around me, the bigger picture says it’s not so bad
And Rachel – she knows she has to lie low, I know she’ll stay okay
And the wind in the wood is picking up, lifts the cherry blossom off the tree
Up and away

Music for the Hard of Hearing

Do you still walk? (2012)

October 11, 2016 Leave a Comment

Bench made from wood from St Peter's Church bell tower in Wisbech

Written in the months after my mother’s death. I haven’t created much since we moved here, but sometimes things need to be written, so it was back to the computer and keyboard.

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do_you_still_walk.mp3 (4 MB)

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Do you still walk? - Lyrics

Do you still walk?
And if you do do you think about us?
The way I think of you when I’m walking every day
Through the woods, me and Gwen
I think you’d like the way she’s turned out
A little wild and full of life, but oh, so gentle
Throw a stick, catch a glance
Sometimes she goes a bit too far
She could use your woman’s touch, and I could use your wisdom

Can you see her joy through my eyes?
Can you see her joy through my eyes?
Do you feel her love through my skin?
Do you feel her love through my skin?

I climb the bank
We climb the steep muddy bank through the leaves
Could be the three of us – I’d help you if you’d come
At the top on the bench
From the bell tower of St Peter’s Church
I’m glad you’ve made it up here
Glad you’ve seen what I see every day
Looking down over Talog
People getting ready for the day to come
Th sights and sounds of life on a hillside
The sun burns through the morning mist

Can you feel the light on my skin?
Can you feel the light on my skin?
Do you see the world through my eyes?
Do you see the world through my eyes?

Do you still laugh?
Do you still cry?
I only ever saw you cry once
But you could laugh
I still enjoy your laugh

Does a mother ever leave her child?
Does a mother ever leave her child?

Once a Boy (1990)

June 13, 2021 Leave a Comment

I regard this as probably my best song, although it is a little painful for me to listen to. At the end of the 80s we were just starting to recognise the extent in our communities of child sexual and physical abuse. This song is based on no one person in particular – but my own memories, and incidents and events from the lives of children I was working with at the time. I was seeing firsthand the damage and ripple effects it could cause at the same time as seeking to understand how growing up gay in a homophobic environment had directed and coloured my own life. I hadn’t hurt people in the overt way of the children in my care, but in other ways? I wasn’t so sure.

Listening back at the song, I feel it is technically quite impressive. I can remember the care and precision that went into the writing, and for once I am happy with my vocal performance. The production, as ever, is limited by experience and equipment, but it achieves its goals. As you can probably tell I am proud of this one!

Download ‘Once a Boy’ 02-Once-a-Boy.mp3 (7 MB)

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Once a Boy - Lyrics

Once a boy heard a noise and suddenly came curiosity
And out of the dark as a knife leaves its mark
Innocence, innocence turns and betrays him

And the boy turned out to be someone to stand in this world
Of loneliness, in fear of someone no longer there
And the boy turned out to be someone who’s less than one part of me
But nonetheless someone could see
And if god should judge me then innocence must be my plea

I dreamed someone who loved me opened up my eyes to things I did not want to know
Could not understand
I dreamed someone who loved me carried me away somewhere I did not want to go
I know it was not planned
That I should not forget the names and faces
Should not forget forbidden places
And not forget confusion as love turns to fear
And if we carry the torch of the sins of our fathers we never will be free

And the boy turned out to be a man with faith in the world
A world that would not harm a foolish man who means no ill
But in time this foolish man could see he’s still just an angry child
Who hasn’t learned to take some bitter pill

Pictures of childhood return as I sleep in your arms
Once a boy heard a noise and suddenly came curiosity

The Rain Song (2015)

October 13, 2016 Leave a Comment

This is the Rain Song, created at the beginning of the year when it was raining … a LOT. Actually I dreamed it – woke up with it rattling round my head.

I actually don’t mind the rain, although some times it can be pretty relentless around here. That said, being on the side of a hill we do get off lightly, however hard it rains, unlike other parts of the UK. January and February 2014 were a particular nightmare for some folks. Despite the flippant tone of The Rain Song we’re not forgetting that here.

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the_rain_song.mp3 (4 MB)

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Song

Hedgerow in Wales

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Hedgerow in Wales - Lyrics

Music for the Hard of Hearing

Cherry Blossom

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Cherry Blossom - Lyrics

Music for the Hard of Hearing

Do you still walk? (2012)

Download Do you still walk?

Do you still walk? - Lyrics

Once a Boy (1990)

Once a Boy - Lyrics

The Rain Song (2015)

Download ‘The rain song’

The Rain Song - Lyrics

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Download ‘Hedgerow in Wales’

Hedgerow in Wales - Lyrics

Music for the Hard of Hearing

Download ‘Cherry Blossom’

Cherry Blossom - Lyrics

Music for the Hard of Hearing

Download Do you still walk?

Do you still walk? - Lyrics

Once a Boy - Lyrics

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The Rain Song - Lyrics

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