poetry
The Words vs The Sounds
Thursday 02 July 2015 LyricsBlog
When I was younger, and I first started out writing songs, I never cared about the lyrics.
I wrote, experimenting with music and songwriting, and filled the lines with school-girl poetry. Not surprisingly, my first songs were almost laughable subject matter. I remember, at the age of 13, writing a song with my best friend that started with the lines:
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Lyrics - The Pioneers
Friday 29 May 2015 LyricsLyrics
As we have been driving down the East coast of the USA, I have been struck by what it must have been like to be among the explorers who first came across this land. The joy, the fear, the unknowns as they landed on her shores and started to chart out the land, started to build roads, not knowing how far or long or wide this land was. This song is about a young man on the ship.
Light comes to us, it lifts our heads.
We’re awake, we are ready, the waves are calm and steady.
But on this fair morning there’s a difference
Land ahoy, oh what inexplicable joy.
Land ahead, so they’re true - all the legends they said.
No port at which to land, our boots are wet with salty sand, there’s a newness to the pebbles.
Deserted to our eyes, but rich in all between the sea and sky.
And what lies inside?
We made it, we made it here.
There’s far to walk, but the seas are conquered.
Now mount your horse, go forth.
We set our compass, heading West.
How far could it be until we reach the Eastern edge?
I walk where no man has ever walked before.
Breathe the air, how it whispers through my hair,
Breathe it in deep, expectation in my feet.
No road for us to follow, we’re forgers blazing a hopeful trail, long and quiet and strong.
How could this land be here, waiting for us for all these years,
And what lies beneath?
We made it, we made it here.
There’s far to walk, but the seas are conquered,
Now mouth your horse, go forth.
Dare I go, dare I connect my soul with yours?
Dare I land upon the banks of your foreign shores?
For I am ill equipped, afraid, perhaps ashamed that you might not let me through your door,
And I’ll be left here in the wasteland,
But I long to cross your threshold,
Could I ever be so near, so bold?
Light comes to us, it lifts our heads.
We’re awake, we are ready, the waves are calm and steady.
But on this fair morning there’s a difference
Land ahoy, oh what inexplicable joy.
Land ahead, so they’re true - all the legends they said.
No port at which to land, our boots are wet with salty sand, there’s a newness to the pebbles.
Deserted to our eyes, but rich in all between the sea and sky.
And what lies inside?
We made it, we made it here.
There’s far to walk, but the seas are conquered.
Now mount your horse, go forth.
We set our compass, heading West.
How far could it be until we reach the Eastern edge?
I walk where no man has ever walked before.
Breathe the air, how it whispers through my hair,
Breathe it in deep, expectation in my feet.
No road for us to follow, we’re forgers blazing a hopeful trail, long and quiet and strong.
How could this land be here, waiting for us for all these years,
And what lies beneath?
We made it, we made it here.
There’s far to walk, but the seas are conquered,
Now mouth your horse, go forth.
Dare I go, dare I connect my soul with yours?
Dare I land upon the banks of your foreign shores?
For I am ill equipped, afraid, perhaps ashamed that you might not let me through your door,
And I’ll be left here in the wasteland,
But I long to cross your threshold,
Could I ever be so near, so bold?
Lyrics - Make It Right
Friday 01 May 2015 LyricsLyrics
“Make It Right” is the song from the album that I had never played to an audience before! It was a gamble as to whether I should include it on the album since it was so fresh to me and I felt like I was still getting to know it. But now I am so glad that I did.
I wrote the first part of the lyrics for this in January 2014 when we were in the mountains in Poland and were walking by the light of the moon, along the crest of a mountain between Poland and the Czech Republic. I had never known the moon to be so bright; it created the perfect light for our midnight walk and set the scene for a song that I would write months later. This song is about a couple who are fighting to save their relationship...
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I wrote the first part of the lyrics for this in January 2014 when we were in the mountains in Poland and were walking by the light of the moon, along the crest of a mountain between Poland and the Czech Republic. I had never known the moon to be so bright; it created the perfect light for our midnight walk and set the scene for a song that I would write months later. This song is about a couple who are fighting to save their relationship...
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Lyrics - Is It OK?
Thursday 23 April 2015 LyricsLyrics
I have had a few people ask me for the lyrics for the songs on the album - so I’ll post them one by one over the next couple of weeks. Let me know your thoughts and which parts of the different songs speak to you.
I’ll start with “Is It OK?” - a deeply painful and personal song for me, about dreams and gifts and what they’re for and what responsibility I have. I wrote this song over a long period of time, which is quite unusual for me; usually songs come quickly. But this one was a long process, and I think it has a depth that is more evident than in my other work:
So much tension in the air some days,
So many avenues that I could walk down to bring around some change,
So I look myself right in the back of the black of the darkness of my eye,
And question myself to find what lies beneath the most telling of my smiles.
Is it OK to retain such a precious amount of gold and hold it in your hands for so long without letting go?
Is it OK to resist its light?
Does it make it beautiful?
Oh I struggle to live out my numbered days with a cause,
So many questions getting thrown up in the face of everything I thought I had been taught,
So many weeks and oh through the months and on and on I slowly persevere with my song,
Without and ounce of certainty that I'm the one to whom it truly should belong,
Is it OK to be scared of the very thing that makes your fragile little heart expand and leap and start to sing?
Is it OK to resist its light?
Does it make it beautiful?
Because you are more than I could ever be,
Your allure and attraction are a source of danger and struggle to me,
You are always out reach, just beyond my touch, you're a little out of sight,
You're a turmoil, a weight, a taunt always bringing darkness over light,
Oh the temptation that you bring, the silver web you slowly spin,
You grab a hold of me and you slowly squeeze until I can hardly breathe,
And you're all I see.
Is it OK to covet you? To want you more than I thought any human heart could ever want.
Is it OK to dream of you? To add the colour to our scenes and the sights and the smells and all the beautiful things that we would see.
Is it OK to believe in you, to believe in you?
Does it make you real?
No.
I’ll start with “Is It OK?” - a deeply painful and personal song for me, about dreams and gifts and what they’re for and what responsibility I have. I wrote this song over a long period of time, which is quite unusual for me; usually songs come quickly. But this one was a long process, and I think it has a depth that is more evident than in my other work:
So much tension in the air some days,
So many avenues that I could walk down to bring around some change,
So I look myself right in the back of the black of the darkness of my eye,
And question myself to find what lies beneath the most telling of my smiles.
Is it OK to retain such a precious amount of gold and hold it in your hands for so long without letting go?
Is it OK to resist its light?
Does it make it beautiful?
Oh I struggle to live out my numbered days with a cause,
So many questions getting thrown up in the face of everything I thought I had been taught,
So many weeks and oh through the months and on and on I slowly persevere with my song,
Without and ounce of certainty that I'm the one to whom it truly should belong,
Is it OK to be scared of the very thing that makes your fragile little heart expand and leap and start to sing?
Is it OK to resist its light?
Does it make it beautiful?
Because you are more than I could ever be,
Your allure and attraction are a source of danger and struggle to me,
You are always out reach, just beyond my touch, you're a little out of sight,
You're a turmoil, a weight, a taunt always bringing darkness over light,
Oh the temptation that you bring, the silver web you slowly spin,
You grab a hold of me and you slowly squeeze until I can hardly breathe,
And you're all I see.
Is it OK to covet you? To want you more than I thought any human heart could ever want.
Is it OK to dream of you? To add the colour to our scenes and the sights and the smells and all the beautiful things that we would see.
Is it OK to believe in you, to believe in you?
Does it make you real?
No.
Lyrics - Slow Down in Hong Kong
Wednesday 15 April 2015 LyricsLyrics
The dust settles, the dry air clears.
After months of stirring, we’re unfurling here.
The dust settles, I am still.
I am still in turmoil every second that passes my windowsill...
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After months of stirring, we’re unfurling here.
The dust settles, I am still.
I am still in turmoil every second that passes my windowsill...
Read More...