Have you written a song recently?

Subject: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST,David
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 04:14 PM

I am interested to hear if anyone has written a song recently ...and if so what is it about and are there any obvious or not so obvious influences on the songwriting or the song itself.
David

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 04:23 PM

If I don't write a song, at least once a month, I'd probably want to cut my wrists. LOL...in saying that, my songs are sometimes about daily frustrations...worldly and more of the home grown variety....love, lack of, humanity, lack of, sameness and opposites...sure..the usual.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 04:45 PM

I tend to write songs in the traditional style and on traditional subjects in general but I have entered the "Write a folksong for Lincolnshire" competition and had to adapt my subjects to something which concerns Lincolnshire!

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 04:54 PM

Hey Georgian! My granny was from Lincolnshire. Small world. Know very little about her but are you familiar with a family name there of "Mee"???

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Deckman
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 05:02 PM

Why ... yes I have ... thanks for asking!

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 05:02 PM

and why am I showing up as a guest?! erinmaidin here...at aol.com

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: erinmaidin
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 05:03 PM

ahhhh.that's much better

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Alan Day
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 06:21 PM

Writing songs is OK if you hit upon a subject to write about and the same goes for poems.I actually have only ever written one song and did it over twenty five years ago. The subject Janet Forsyth "The Storm Witch" from Orkney. I found this story whilst walking around a castle in
Inverness. Worth a look on the Orkney Archive website, a fascinating story. At the time of writing I could not put a tune to it, but recently managed it. On the first night I sang it I was approached by a professional singer to ask if he could use it.After twenty five years plus I wonder if I shall ever write another.
Al

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: mg
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 06:36 PM

I wrote one in time for Fisher Poets in February about the crab shakers..generic Cajun-type tune.

They are doing work I had never heard of..thought it was mostly women but men do it too...very painful after a while...anyway, I am glad they have a song now although I would be hard pressed to remember it. mg

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 07:05 PM

For you Erinmaidin...not a recent one but this did get on stage in the final ten of the competition.
            
          LINCOLNSHIRE WINDMILLS.

In the lowlands of Lincolnshire old windmills still stand.
Built by our ancestors to harvest the land.
Great buildings of grace made with purpose and power.
To grind the good corn from our fields into flour.

Chorus
Progress won't wait it just keeps moving on,
With much of our heritage ruined or gone!
Ruined or gone, ruined or gone,
With much of our heritage ruined or gone.

At Boston and Wainfleet at Alford and Burgh.
You can see five sailed windmills that will make your heart stir.
At Lincoln and Wrawby only four sails to creak.
An eight sailed at Heckington makes it unique.

Chorus

One hundred and thirty in the County remain.
As a great testimony to the grinding of grain.
A part of our heritage worthy of praise.
Great buildings of beauty that have seen better days.

Chorus

New structures are coming to the County we're told.
Which in no way resemble the windmills of old.
Long slender bodies with three giant arms.
Arriving in multitudes known as wind farms.

Chorus

Some folk sing their praises as sources of power.
Some give them odd names like the ivory towers.
But some say our land will be subject to rape.
As the giant new windmills obscure our landscape.

Chorus (x2)

Mike Hill
(31st July 2004)

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 07:14 PM

Last week I set out to write a protest song in the style of Jackson C Frank (no pressure, eh!). The tune is very 70s too. I have trouble with a title, so any ideas welcome:

I've seen the light go out from lovers' eyes
As daily care would take its toll
I've seen the heroes climb the pedestal
Only to stumble and to fall
I wasted so much time
Looking for answers on the breeze
Now I know better,
I don't want any part of this.

I've seen the horror on a mother's face
Holding a bloated hungry child
It seemed another time, another place
And yet I felt myself defiled
I wasted so much time
Missing the wood for all the trees
If this is progress
I don't want any part of this.

(by way of a middle eight)
And good intentions I have had a few
To make the world a better place
But though I shared the dream with others, too
We thought we could control the pace
But lost each other in the race

I've seen the face behind the razor wire
Accused for accident of birth
And those who put them there around a fire
Swapping their stories full of mirth
I wasted so much time
Turning the cheek and saying "please"
If this is justice
I don't want any part of this.

I've seen the rubble and the towers fall
I felt the anger and the pain
And I have heard the patriotic call
Wanting to do the same again
I wasted so much time
Trusting the ones who held the keys
If this is freedom
I don't want any part of this.

And good intentions I have had a few
To make the world a better place
But though I shared the dream with others, too
We thought we could control the pace
But lost each other in the race

I've seen the dark and dingy alleyways
Selling the needlefuls of hope
I rode with joy down countless motorways
That only steeper make the slope
I wasted so much time
Believing ignorance was bliss
If this is the future
I don't want any part of this.

So for tomorrow let this be your guide
One thing to learn from this old fool
The things you need you'll find them all inside
No need to be some other's tool
I wasted so much time
Thinking to teach when I should learn
Now you know better
Your rights are only what you earn.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 07:22 PM

Love your songs George...especially "With Friends Like These"
Look forward to seeing you again before long.
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Genie
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 08:12 PM

Alan Day said [[[
Writing songs is OK if you hit upon a subject to write about and the same goes for poems.]]]

That's kind of the way I am too. Oh, sure, in a songwriting workshop I can take just about any concept or phrase and write a song about it.   (I used to do that a lot with the Mudcat Song Challenge!s, though those were pretty much all parodies -- theme-based lyrics set to older songs, usually playing off the original song lyrics.)   And I can make myself write a song just to keep my hand in (though I don't do it often, the way I should). And occasionally a song will sort of pop into my head, usually while I'm driving or doing housework and just kind of singing to myself - but more often than not, those song starts don't develop into full-fledged songs.

The two real songs I've written in the past 6 months were both composed for a specific purpose. The last one was a Gospel song I wrote based mostly on Psalm 41, and I wrote it because I was asked to do the offertory for my church and that was the text for the pastor's sermon that day.    (As for the "influences" for that one, I wasn't much aware of them, except that parts of my tune sort of sounded familiar - though the overall tune didn't.   Upon much post-mortem reflection, I realized that I had piggybacked off melodic phrases from the following: Bad, Bad Leroy Brown; Loves Me Like A Rock (Paul Simon); Put Your Hand In The Hand Of The Man Who Stills The Water; and Say You Love Me (Fleetwood Mac) and pieced the various bits together, along with one other melodic phrase that sounds vaguely familiar (generic?) but I can't place. LOL    The song is titled "A New Song In My Heart."
Nothing in that was consciously borrowed, but it can be hard imagining tunes that don't resemble parts you've heard elsewhere, at least in certain portions.

The other is a song I wrote as a tribute to my dad shortly after he died (at age 91). It is a Gospel-flavored country-folk style song, sung from the standpoint of my dad himself, as though he were saying the words. Partly a sort of biography, partly a song of thanksgiving for a rich and blessed life, and partly a "homecoming song."   It's called "Lord, Help Me Fly."

Obviously, that one was influenced by the Gospel tradition. The tune and chord pattern are unusual enough that similarities to other songs aren't obvious.   I think the song was partly inspired by Terry Pinnegar's song "Flyin' Shoes" as well as other "crossing over" songs such as Rick Fielding's "Sing With The Angels" and older songs like "Deep River," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "I'll Fly Away," etc.   But it doesn't sound like any of them.
The only part of the song that echoes any musical phrase is a couple bars of the chorus that sound kind of like the beginning of "I Hear You Knockin'" - but in a different tempo and with a different feel.

Sometimes I think I need to fall in love and get my heart broken again. I used to get lots of songs out of times like that - some of my best songs, in fact. *g*

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Ebbie
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 08:31 PM

George, halfway through your song, I was already calling it 'If This be Freedom' but whatever you end up calling it- it is a fantastic song. I'm afraid I would cry if I heard you sing it though . Or take to the streets. Sometimes I think that if we who have the insight and the anger and the courage and the time would stomp the streets of our cities and towns something might get done.

At our Folk Festial that ended last night I went to a songwriting workshop that was inspiring. I would love to have a songwriting camp get started in Juneau; we don't have anything of the sort. Three years ago we started a monthly folk club and have talked about exploring the crafts of songwriting and harmonies. I'd be first in line.

I haven't written a song but did come up with a tune recently that I may put words to.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: SouthernCelt
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 08:42 PM

I typically have a flurry of inspiration and then long periods of staleness. I recently wrote 3 different songs all prompted by the recent death of my sister. A friend is putting together a concert and CD of original songs in memory of my sister to use as a fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society which was her choice for memorial donations. He asked me to contribute so I was "assigned" to write something. One is a somewhat melancholy piece that uses some imagery from the Mississippi Gulf Coast where she lived. Another is almost a novelty song about an oft-repeated trick she used to tease me with when we were kids. The third is a bluesy piece about our favorite swimming hole near our home when we were kids. I've also done a rewrite on the reggae pop song "I Can See Clearly Now" to apply it to my sister now that she's passed on from her disease. I chose that one because the lyrics fit so well and such tropical-flavored music was her favorite genre.

SC

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Mooh
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 08:58 PM

No songs lately, though there have been many cool chord progressions used for accompanying improvisation lessons. I have been concentrating on tunes lately though, and I banged one out on Saturday during the rain. Nothing particularly trad, folk, or blues about it, more like a choir anthem, mostly for two parts, so I might find words for it later.

Songs like "All The Day" from the Mudcat CD are waiting in the back of my brain to expose themselves when I least expect them.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Bert
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 09:27 PM

I don't know if you'd really call it writing a song, but I was singing the granddaughter to sleep the other night and she started nodding off during Ranzo, Ranzo.

Not wanting to change the tune I just kept making up words.

Ever see a grumpy baby, crying in the corner
baby, baby, go to sleep
Ever see a grumpy baby, crying in the corner
baby, baby, go to sleep

Ever see a happy baby, smiling for her grandma...

Ever see pretty baby, flirting with her grandpa...

Ever see a tired baby, sleeping on her pillow...



Just make up your own 'till the little buggers fall asleep.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: quokka
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 09:49 PM

hey Bert, is your 'Ranzo' the same song as Kate Rusby's 'Wild Goose'?

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Suffet
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 11:27 PM

Greetings:

I had read that when Tom Paxton was starting out, he set himself to the task of writing a song a day for a year. He was successful, and one year later had written 365 songs. Many were crap, but among the keepers were I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound, Rambling Boy, Bottle of Wine, and Last Thing On My Mind. Not bad!

I decided to set a more modest goal for my own self. Instead of writing a song a day for a year, I would aim for one a day for a month. Since the month I chose was December, I would need to write 31 songs. I failed, and by midnight New Year's Eve, I had completed just 18 songs. However, half of them proved to be worthy enough to be on my next CD.

Here's one example, a blues ballad based on a real life incident. Jake and Joe Tobler, then age 21 and 18, robbed and murdered two men in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in 1885. US Marshal Jack Stillwell eventually tracked them down and brought them to the nearest federal court, which was in Wichita, Kansas. That's where they were tried and convicted, and in 1888 they were hanged.


The Tobler Brothers
by Steve Suffet © 2008
Key of C in Dorian mode (major with flatted 3rd and 7th)
Raggedy 4/4

C(7)                     F       G7             C(7)
Out in the Indian Terri-tory, a long long time ago,

                         F       G7             C(7)
Out in the Indian Terri-tory, a long long time ago,

      G7                                           C
Jake Tobler went a-ridin' with his little brother Joe.

Out in the Indian Territory, a long long time ago,
Out in the Indian Territory, a long long time ago,
Jake Tobler went a-ridin' with his little brother Joe.

Jake said to his brother, "Better take your forty-four,"
Jake said to his brother, "Better take your forty-four,
A load of gold is comin' to the reservation store."

Jake rode to the campsite, and Joe was close behind,
Jake rode to the campsite, and Joe was close behind,
They shot two Indian agents, they left them there to die.

One hundred double eagles, all made of shiny gold,
One hundred double eagles, all made of shiny gold,
They put them in their satchels, left the agents lyin' cold.

U.S. Marshal Stillwell, hot on the brothers' trail,
U.S. Marshal Stillwell, hot on the brothers' trail,
He put them Tobler Brothers, into the Wichita jail.

The judge he read the verdict, he said what gotta be done,
The judge he read the verdict, he said what gotta be done,
The judge said to the marshal, "These brothers gotta be hung."

Jake said to the marshal, "Please let my brother go."
Jake said to the marshal, "Please let my brother go."
"You can hang me from the gallows pole, don't kill my brother Joe."

But ten o'clock they killed them, both on the scaffold high,
Ten o'clock they killed them, both on the scaffold high,
And many a brown eyed girl, hung down her head to cry.

Enjoy!

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Bert
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 12:13 AM

I've not heard Kate's version quokka.
This is the version that I know.

It works great as a lullabye.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Darowyn
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 02:47 AM

I don't know why, but I go for months without writing anything, then, like buses, three or four come along at once.
In the most recent batch:-
Betrayed - a response to a friend's marriage break up
The Fan's Song - a song about obsessive fandon
Pandora - reflection on the Classical legend
If you can see any connection between those, you can do something I can't!
Cheers
Dave

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 03:29 AM

Ditto here, Darowyn. It is as if there are periods when the mind is more receptive to ideas, or circumstances more conducive for writing. I am envious of Tom Paxton's discipline.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: theleveller
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 03:42 AM

I mainly write songs based around the history, legends and events from the East Riding of Yorkshire, but this is one that I wrote shortly after the death of my old friend, Roger Deakin. Roger was a great environmentalist who loved the British countryside (he was one of the founders of ommon Ground) and the author of Waterlog, an account of 'wild swimming' around the British Isles, so the song is called, appropriately, The Swimmer. The problem is, I can't sing it without crying:

The Swimmer

It was one of those moments when you feel the earth turning.
A three-quarter moon in a clear autumn sky
Brought into my heart a curious yearning
For things that have passed and have yet to pass by;
For friends who have gone and those still remaining;
While the river of life still winds through the land,
Whose secrets, revealed by the long years' waning,
Can slip through your fingers or be grasped in your hand.

There's a feeling that time is not of the essence;
Not a fear of the future or delight in the past,
Just the space that is filled by a friend when his presence,
Is replaced by the pleasure of what he has left.
Now the spirits of the earth rise to embrace the giver
Like the low-lying mist of a soft autumn dawn
And the swimmer goes down once again to the river,
Where, as sun glints on water, the dream is reborn.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Barry Finn
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 03:45 AM

Just finished one, actually it's a parody rewrite of the parody Salonika. Salonika's about two wifes, one a slacker's wife the other a soldier's wife. They're insulting each other on behalf/benifit of their husbands. I reworked it cause even as the original it would make a great sea song but thought it would make a better sea song if the words were "salted up" a bit.

Sorry George, I know you're not fond of the song Salonika, maybe this verion will taste a little better after it's been Greeced & Salted.

Salonika Parody (tune: Salonika, new words by Barry Finn)

My husband's he a whaler, he sails the seven seas
I wonder while he's whaling, does he ever think of me

Chorus:
So haul away, so haul away
So haul away me sailor, haul away me sailor boy

Your husband he's a whaler, when he gets home you'll soon be dead
I wonder if he knows he's got a kid whose hair is red

Go off & picnic with your tailors, they just lays you on the grass
Then they put you in the family way & leaves you on your ass

Oh when his whaling's done, what will your sailor do
He'll be a few fingers fewer & a little light handed too

You've a sailor in the bedroom, one in the parlor too
There's another in the kitchen and they don't get paid as well as you

When his voyage it is over, what will the tailors do
They'll all be around the whaler bumming a buck or two

Now that your tailor's gone off to sea, tell me what ya gonna do
When the next ship hits the pierside, I'll find you a mate or two


Barry

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 04:02 AM

Good treatment Barry!

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 04:41 AM

O.K so do you want some bad treatment...This is what I did to "The Sally Gardens" and was jeered at when I sung it in the presence of a lover of the song.


It was down by the Sadly Gardens, my love and I did meet,
As she crossed the Sadly Gardens, with bad breath- and smelly feet.
The odour was so ran--cid, I could smell her from the pa--rk bench,
Her best friend never told her, she had such an awful stench.

In a field down by the river, my fat love raised her arms,
Three inches of hair in her armpits, did not add to her charms.
Tattoos all over her body, made her look much worse than weird,
And the warts on her nose and earlobes, drew my eyes from off her beard.

It was down by the Sadly Gardens, my love and I did meet,
As she crossed the Sadly Gardens, with bad breath- and smelly feet.
I would not want any another, so no oth--er wi-ll I find,
She is hairy and smelly and ugly, but we all know love is blind.

Version by Mike Hill Nov 2006

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Acorn4
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 05:24 AM

A songwriter called Micky Newberry, recently passed on, who wrote mainly songs with a country flavour said you should carry on writing even when you get those periods when you don't seem to have any inspiration -you'll eventually come out on the other side and shake off the "writer's block".

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 05:25 AM

Just added a song I wrote last year to the GEFF thread if anyone is interested.
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Rapunzel
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 07:45 AM

Well since you asked...

I used to write loads of songs (perhaps too many), but nowadays maybe a only couple a year. As luck would have it though I wrote this last week.

The Wreck of The Riverdance

Stranded on the shore I lie abandoned and alone
Never reached my destination and I'm never going home
I curse the wave that left me here on that fateful stormy night
I've tried in vain to float again, but I can no longer fight

So many tides have come and gone since I've been waiting here
The days turn into weeks and now the months move through the year
Thousands came to marvel at the beauty on the beach
But visitors are fewer now and hope seems out of reach

These sands have been the death of many greater ships than I
What dignity is left for me? Just break me where I lie
Still I dream of better times and the memories remain
Can't keep the deep beneath my feet and I'll never dance again

As the title suggests it was inspired by the wrecked ship the Riverdance which has lain on Anchorsholme sands since 31st January. Later the same day I wrote it they announced that she would indeed be broken on the sands, having tried and failed to refloat.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: quokka
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 07:54 AM

Thanks, Bert, that's the one - although I have heard 'Ranzo' sung very differently...as in murdered! Kate's version is lovely.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Mr Red
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 07:55 AM

Not recently not since I met Joy but the biggest influence was originally divorce. It could have been grief or jobless or new territory or anything that gives you mindspace.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST,Henryp
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 07:57 AM

On the fourth of July there will be the annual protest meeting outside the American electronic espionage base - the biggest in the world - at Menwith Hill in Yorkshire. The meeting relies upon the cooperation of the North Yorkshire Police who last year refused permission for a march around the perimeter of the base.

The American bases in England proudly boast of Ensuring Freedom's Future, but in England itself we are denied the freedom to walk peacefully outside the bases.

These verses show the need for democracy and greater accountability. By great good fortune, they fit to the tune of The Calico Printer's Clerk composed by Nic Jones and Dave Moran.

The satellite above us stares down at me and you
Someone somewhere is worrying just what we're going to do
They think we must be plotting how to rock their little boat
But we are simply wondering how we should cast our vote

Chorus; Instead of being the eyes and ears of the United States
We should be responsible for settling our own fate

Monitors are listening to every word we say
Our deepest secrets are despatched straight to the USA
The President is reading what you just said to me
I hope your recipe for jam will please the First Lady

They intercept your emails and they eavesdrop on your calls
They log the contact that you make with anyone at all
They know your name and number so you must be on your guard
And though they know your birthday too you can't expect a card

If they don't like your looks they'll send you to Guantanamo
If they don't like your leaders next it's regime change you know
We're tired of their attention and we want to be alone
It's time our trans-Atlantic friends packed up and went back home

Henry Peacock

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: theleveller
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 08:30 AM

Well, Henryp, sympathise with my dilemma - my son is one of the policemen who often has to 'guard' Menwith; I'm one of the people who wants to protest there. Suppose that's a sort of demonstration of democracy.

Oh, and to Bush, if you're really listening: you're a shit!

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST,John from Elsie`s Band
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 09:02 AM

Bert, nice one.
This is not recent but one of many. Obviously using "Ranzo" as the theme.

Have you ever seen a wild goose sailing over the ocean?
Ranzo, Ranzo, whey hey.
Its just like a pretty girl when she gets the notion.
Ranzo, Ranzo, whey hey.

Young rambler home from three years a-sailing.
Ranzo .............
He spied his true love in despair and crying.
Ranzo .................

"How goes my love these three years through?".
Ranzo ..........
She said "None the better for the seeing of you".
Ranzo ..........

"For three long years I`ve been here a-waiting".
Ranzo ...........
"While you`ve been out upon the seas a-straying".
Ranzo ............

"And who should say these false things of me?"
Ranzo ...........
"Some sailors who with you did go to sea"
Ranzo ...............

"They speak in envy of our true hearts".
Ranzo .............
"And would see us cruelly torn apart".
Ranzo .............

"If I have strayed just one time only".
Ranzo ...............
"May God dispatch me and destroy my body".
Ranzo ..............

She saw salt tears in his eyes a-welling.
Ranzo ...........
She knew it was the truth that he was a-telling.
Ranzo ...............

And now they lives their lives together.
Ranzo ...............
And they will thrive, come fine or stormy weather.
Ranzo ................

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST,Jim Knowledge
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 09:09 AM

I `ad that Tony Deane in my cab once. I said "When you wrote "Following the Old`Oss" was you inspired by all that goings on in Padstow on May Day?" `e said "Nah, it was chasing the old woman up `ill and down dale in TESCO`S!!"

What am I like??

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: matt milton
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 09:31 AM

can't write a song? buy yourself a ukulele. works for me.

I've found that on the occasions I've treated myself to a new instrument – like when I fancied having a go at the mandolin, putting fingers used to a guitar onto a mandolin, with its different tuning, suggested a whole heap of new chords and melodies immediately.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Scorpio
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 11:14 AM

Try this for size:

FREEDOM TRAIN

Bend down and spread 'em folks,
here comes freedom.
Drink your Coca-cola
and don't complain.
It takes a lot of cash
to lift the white man's burden.
So clear the tracks
for the freedom train.
All aboard!

You can pay us in body bags,
or burger bars, or boot camps.
We can move your heroin,
connive at your cocaine.
We don't give a fuck
how a man makes a buck.
Oh, we're very broad-minded
on the freedom train.
All aboard!

Don't tell me
that you're choking on the fumes
keep your eyes on the road ahead.
Don't let yourself
stand in the way of progress,
with this pettyfogging counting of the dead.
It's a small sacrifice to make.
for the greater good of all
keep your hands off the brake.

Suharto and Salazar,
Batista and Somoza,
Marcos and Pinochet,
Mobutu and Hussein,
Pol Pot and Papa Doc,
Amin and Noriega,
rode first-class
on the freedom train.
All aboard!

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST,John from Kemsing
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 11:24 AM

Yes, I`ve just written one for the "Once there was a man in China" thread.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Bert
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 01:14 PM

Nice songs folks,

To Theleveller, I don't think I've heard anyone use "Three quarter moon" in a song before.

Barry, I've just gotta hear you sing that.

Georgiansilver, I love it.

Rapunzel, Beautiful.

...Monitors are listening to every word we say...

Henry, let's hope they go through every word on Mudcat. That'll get 'em really confused.

Scorpio, A little austere for my taste but I'd like to hear it sung.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Mrs Scarecrow
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 01:43 PM

Last one I wrote about a month ago, title and sublect 'Glad that winter is over'. How wrong could I get.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST,Mary Paul
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 02:58 PM

My song has a cajun sound and tells the story of a Louisiana codger going noodling - that's the old (and in some states, illegal) sport of fishing for flathead catfish using your fist for bait. I've had it recorded to CD...it's a totally fun song.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 09:01 PM

Earlier we talked about where inspiration comes from (answer: dunno). Well, the heated conversation on the "English National Instrument" thread triggered a thought and resulted in the following:

When England wants to play a tune of which she can be proud,
she needs an instrument to hand that is both shrill and loud.
The concertina is no good, the fiddle is too frail
bodhran and harp are foreign, the melodeon's gone stale.
Guitars are ten a penny, the piano is too grand,
you need something that plays classic, folk, pop and brass band.
The answer is so obvious, on this I'll no more drone:
The English National Instrument is the Mobile Phone!

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: erinmaidin
Date: 16 Apr 08 - 06:28 AM

Georgian...thanks for the sharing....lovely song, altho' I don't entirely agree with the sentiment. I have a tendency to be a proponent for wind power and find the new wind farms strangely soothing.
Scorpio, as I mentioned "privately" ...very Woody Guthrie and can't think of higher praise.
Was thinking of sharing one or two of my own but modesty prevents...sure wouldn't I blow you all away ...giggle.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 16 Apr 08 - 06:40 AM

Thanks erinmaidin...the sentiment for the song came from an article in the Western Morning News some years ago where it was claimed that the windfarms in Holland and Germany had failed to live up to expectations as to cost and power production...and went on to say....We are buying these great turbines from Holland!....whether there was strictly any truth in it I am not sure but there was also a dispute raging in Lincolnshire over a proposed site near Laughton Forest...which I still don't think has been resolved.
I guess if they wanted to put one near my house...I would be likely to object but we all have our own opinions eh?
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: theleveller
Date: 16 Apr 08 - 08:25 AM

I love wind turbines. They put two near my house. I can see them from my kitchen window. As a background they have Drax power station. Now which would I rather have.......? I wonder if people used to object to windmills in the same way - there's one of those at the farm opposite, as well.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: jeffp
Date: 16 Apr 08 - 09:01 AM

I wrote one last month after a trip to Chicago. This was inspired by, but not directly based on, that trip.


Luggage Tag
© 2008 Jeff Porterfield

I went down to the airport;
Checked in with all of my stuff.
It started out quite easy,
But soon it got pretty rough.
I got to my destination,
And I headed for Baggage Claim.
But the folks there didn't have my bag;
They didn't even know my name.

Refrain:
You're halfway across the country
And you're searching for your bag.
It's a brand-new game the airlines play
And they call it Luggage Tag


You start out in Chicago
And you're headed for Baltimore
You check your bag, get on the plane,
And they close and lock the door.
You change planes in Atlanta
While your luggage goes on ahead.
But when you land in Maryland
Your stuff's in Detroit instead.
(Refrain)


The rules of this game are simple
I'll tell them to you, my friend.
You give them all your luggage
And you never see it again.
You'll know it's out there somewhere
You may get a glimpse or two.
But you're never gonna find it
And it's sure never gonna find you.
(Refrain)


So next time that you're flying
Just follow this simple rule.
It isn't written anywhere
And it isn't taught in school.
If anything is important,
Take it in carry-on.
Cause if you let them have it
You know it will be gone.

And you'll be halfway across the country
You'll be searching for your bag.
It's a brand-new game the airlines play
And they call it Luggage Tag

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Flashmeister
Date: 16 Apr 08 - 09:03 AM

I tend to write songs that are stories or based upon things I've seen or that have started the little cogs in the old brain working! It's true though about inspiration coming in waves, sometimes you can be v prolific, other times nothing!!
Some lovely lyric up here though!
One quite recent song I wrote and performed in a fabulously rowdy jam session called 'Hollywood' has been immortalised on that great archive of drunken shame youtube if anyone fancies a look...saves descrbing it!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RS1Ahaa89QI

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Barry Finn
Date: 16 Apr 08 - 10:28 AM

jeffp, your song (I like it) reminded me of a joke

Guy walks up to the airline ticket counter & requests a ticket to Boston but wants his tennis racket & skis to go to LA, his duffle bag needs to go to NYC & his 2 bags of luggage ,,,, 1 needs to go to Detroit & the other, doesn't matter which one needs to go to Dallas.

Woman behind the couter said that's impossible", she's sorry, "no way, we can't do that, beside's it would cost way to much"
He says "you had no problem last time I flew with you & it cost me nothing extra either.

Barry

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST,Huw..Shipbreakers
Date: 16 Apr 08 - 12:15 PM

I wrote this song last week with Chris Hastings my songwriting partner.Its called "Shipbreakers" and is based on the shipbreaking wharf at Briton Ferry near Neath in South Wales


                   SHIPBREAKING
The river runs down
To the vast endless ocean
Its quiet this morning
But I can recall
When frigates and freighters
Were lined up on the dockside
To be broken for scrap
And scavenged by all
The big old ships used to sail up the river
They'd cross the wild ocean
From the New Jersey shore
To the Giant's Grave wharfside
Where the breakers were waiting
To open each vessel
To its skeleton core.

And me and my old pals
With screwdrivers and spanners
We dismantle the fittings
Then salvage the scrap
One rustbucket butting
Its way up from Luanda
Almost sank off Gibralter
She was a death trap
The big old ships used to sail up the river
We called it the river-of no return
From Lisbon and Lagos
From Belfast and Boston
We tore out their innards
From the bow to the stern.

We were the shipbreakers
Spent our lives in the dockyard
Then the contracts dried up
The ships failed to arrive
We were all laid off
And soon we were paid off
The young ones moved elsewhere
They had to survive
The boats are now broken
On some Bangladesh sandbank
The river a reminder
For us in these parts
The town is so humdrum
The shops all rundown
We no longer break old ships
They just old hearts.

CHORUS
Where the gulls made a din
The ships once sailed in
Now there's an empty sea and the sky

Written by
Huw Pudner and Chris Hastings

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: theleveller
Date: 17 Apr 08 - 03:27 AM

Huw, I love your song. I get a similar feeling when I go past Gasgoigne Wood colliery on the train every day and watch them tearing down what was once the heart of the Selby coalfield and the site of a famous 'battle' during the miners' strike. You've just given me the inspiration to write a song about it.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: glueman
Date: 17 Apr 08 - 05:44 AM

My mother came from a very rural English community and the family were old catholic. That gave a mix of religion and animism that she passed on to me I suppose. Everything living or inanimate had meaning of some kind. Here's one I wrote for the kids with a banjo accompaniment. She called reflections Jack o' Dandies.

The Jack O' Dandy

The spoon was in reflective mood
Newly washed from scooping food
When he let loose a sudden beam
Perhaps to let off excess steam

A shiny orb traversed the room
A second sun, a captive moon
It danced on Frank and Aunty Mable's
Much prized occasional table

It leapt from Father's comfy chair
To Rover's unhygienic lair
But then grew week as afternoon
Welcomed evening much too soon

As Jack resigned himself
To dying on a dusty shelf
The setting sun had one last go
To stage a most spectacular show

From watches and cups, from knives and forks
A Host of Dandies went for walks
Or pranced drunkenly before
The mirror on the chest of drawers

The jealous moon had seen enough
And rose in something of a huff
She knew in truth she was herself
A dull reflection of something else

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST,huw
Date: 17 Apr 08 - 12:39 PM

To Leveller
Thanks for the kind comments!!!
Chris and I got together last night and we are reworking the song to make it a bit tighter and to change the chorus..then it will be unleashed on that part of the world we call our local folk club!!!!Good luck with your own song!
Huw

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: the lemonade lady
Date: 17 Apr 08 - 05:51 PM

I wrote one within the last few years... my only one so far but it works. This is the first verse...

I always thought I'd got it right,
There was no crying all through the night,
They drive me crazy,
they're bloody lazy,
I've got the worn out mama blues

Ta daa

Sal

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 17 Apr 08 - 06:12 PM

Jeffp - I was wondering when someone would write a Heathrow Terminal Five song.... I think you might have pre-empted them!

Kitty

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 17 Apr 08 - 06:15 PM

This one I wrote for last years "Write a Lincolnshire Folk Song" cvompetition but failed to make the final ten. It relates to the First World War and is called "Lincolnshire Lads Answer the Call"


Went down into Lincoln, my uniform shining,
A fiery young soldier, away to the war.
I said my goodbye to my dainty young sweetheart,
A knowin' I might never see her no more.
I marched far away' o'er the fens and to Grimsby,
And sailed far away 'cross the wild rolling sea.
I went with my regiment into the battle,
Not knowing my future and what was to be!

Two days without sleep, as we travelled the ocean,
The sickness it took us and turned us all green.
No food could we eat then, for none could we stomach,
We were looking much less than a fighting machine.
But we fought side by side, our bayonets thrusting,
The shots they rang out and so many men fell.
We moved on the enemy, killing and dying,
My legs disappeared, I was hit by a shell.

So many men died and more they were injured,
Back to Lincoln they brought those alive and in pain.
Now just half a man, I was vowing that I would
not ever be seein' my true love again.
But she being wilful, she made to my presence,
She held me so tight I could scarce catch the air.
She vowed that she loved me and would so for ever,
Her lifetime she now would devote to my care.

The war it was ended, with no side the winner,
But many sad losers confined to their beds
Some legs and arms missing all lost during combat,
Some mentally shot and some out of their heads.
'Twas so long ago I left Lincoln for battle,
A memory so distant but now after all.
I often look down for to see where my legs were,
They were lost to me only when I answered the call.

So to Lincolnshire men who are ready for fighting,
For all you young men who may choose to make war.
You may not come home whole of mind or of body,
And you may never see, your own homeland no more.

Mike Hill
(July 2007)

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 17 Apr 08 - 06:23 PM

Inspired by the current culture of corporations defending themselves from customers by the use of "Call centres".

Help line LAMENT.

1.        When calling up a helpline, you would be well advised,
If you have to wait an hour or two, not to be surprised,
'Cos you've just joined the tail end of an automated queue,
In a system that's designed so they don't have to talk to you.

Ch.        It's a Helpline you're connected to, you try to keep your cool,
        You have no choice, you hold the line, and stand there like a fool,
        You can bite your nails, or pick your nose, you've not much else to do,
        It's a premium line, they're getting all the cash they can from you.

2.        They'll play a little music, your frustrated mood to fix,
Mozart 40 played on dustbin lids, by chimpanzees with bricks,
And when you're semi-conscious, you'll find you've been put through,
To a pre-recorded message, that will tell you what to do.
Ch.

3.        "Thank you for calling helpline", says an electronic voice,
"To further your enquiry, you will have to make a choice,
If you want to pay us money, press button number two,
Any other button takes you back to the tail end of the queue".
Ch.

4.        The thing about this system, is that automation means,
That they need not permit you to converse with human bein's
Thus preventing you from finding out, they haven't got a clue,
About solving all the problems that their product's giving you.

Ch.

5.        "We're only here to help you", that's their regular refrain,
        "And at a quid a minute, we sure hope you'll ring again,
        Our products really don't make too much profit, sad but true,
        But the helpline's made us millionaires, and that's all thanks to you.
Ch.

                                        

Don T.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 17 Apr 08 - 06:26 PM

Apologies for the Formatting. MS Word let's me down yet again, but I don't think I'll ring them to ask for help. LOLOL

Don T.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 18 Apr 08 - 11:18 AM

Couldn't resist adding a song I have written to the "COME ON YOU MISERABLE LOT IN THE UK" thread in BS....It might give a few of you a laugh.
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: Lyr Add: SON OF DAVY (Bob Clayton)
From: GUEST,Songster Bob
Date: 18 Apr 08 - 11:35 AM

Amazingly enough, after a long dry spell, broken only by the occasional political screed, I've penned a few lyrics lately. The most recent came to me while walking to the Metro two mornings ago. I started singing "Clayton Boone," an American version of "Gypsy Davy," and pondering on what happens next, this took form:


Son of Davy

I am the son of a gypsy lad,
My mother was a lady,
My brother lives in a castle fine,
I'm called the Son of Davy.

I met my brother one fine day,
Along the road a riding.
He aboard a proud-cut-dun,
And me by the roadside striding.

"Good morn to you, kind sir," says I –
I own he did not know me.
"You look as though you've seen a ghost;
Whence comes that look you show me?"

"I beg your pardon," says he to me,
"And please excuse my staring,
But your looks are like a portrait fine –
It's my mother's face you're wearing."

"There is an inn close by," says I,
"Where we can take a rest.
We can discuss this odd event,
And their ale is of the best."

"The sun is hot, the road is dust,
And a glass of ale could suit.
So to spite my father, I'll come along,
And I'll stand a round, to boot."

The day was gone and the hour late,
When talk turned to his mother –
"She left when I was but a babe,
And bitter grew my father."

"He married soon again – too soon –
To a greedy, wicked lady,
Who takes his gold and leaves him poor
As that long-gone gypsy, Davy."

"As for me," he said as he
Called for another round.
"I'm cast out now to make my way
And roam from town to town."

"Well met, well met, well met," says I,
"You cannot know how well!
But if you'll come with me tonight,
There's a story I can tell."

We rode up to the caravan,
Parked 'round the campfire gleaming,
And there we heard the sweet guitar,
And the voice of our mother singing.

"Come home, come home, you have, my son,
Come home to your mother.
Sit you down and meet your kin,
You were brought here by your brother."

In shock, he climbed down from his horse,
In shock he looked around him.
The very words he heard from her
Served only to astound him.

"How have you been all these long years?
Tell me of your father –
Does he still cast all blame on me,
Or does he even bother?"

"My father sits in golden rooms,
Which my step-mother rules.
She spends his gold as he grows old,
And calls him but a fool."

"Will you return to your own sweet bed,
In another mother's home,
Or will you join us on the road,
Along with us to roam?"

"I'll not return to my own sweet bed,
Nor to my father's hall.
He made the bed that he lies in,
So let him keep it all."


© 2008 Bob Clayton

You'll note that Davy himself is not spoken of. This kept me from having to invent a story for him as well as the others in the original. There's been a good song penned about a meeting a few years along, so I placed this story a decade or more later.

I'm sort of thrilled that this song came about. I have been in the longest dry spell you could ask for (and why would you ask for a dry spell? I hear you say -- well, that can be tomorrow's song topic, can't it?).

Bob

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 18 Apr 08 - 04:57 PM

Dry spells come and go...and sometimes can last for too long. Not always easy to get inspired or motivated. Good song though Bob.
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 18 Apr 08 - 09:52 PM

yes

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: GUEST,hg
Date: 19 Apr 08 - 01:22 AM

Ivory Bill Blues
by harpgirl and Stephen Brooke, (2007 copyright)

Ivory Bill, old Ivory Bill
Do you fly wild in Florida still?
You are the spirit of an age gone by
Before we banished you from woods and sky.

Lambent dreams of yesterday
Ancient dreams they've flown away;
Elusive shadow in the morning mist,
A love that fades yet still persists.

Oh Ivory Bill blues have bound my soul
I search for a ghost now legend of old,
A glimpse of white winged flashing flight,
The Lord God Bird black as starless night.

What doomed you ghost, what sealed your fate?
Rise up from the swamp before it's too late.
The Ivory Bill blues like a love long past
Fills my heart with longing, a die that's cast.

Each bend in the river upends memories,
As I glide beneath the mighty trees
And the morning whispers of all that's been lost
In a world we've built, but at what cost?

But I'll keep searching the swamps and the sloughs
Trying to cure my Ivory Bill blues;
I won't find peace till I know your plight,
Oh Lord God bird, black as starless night.

Some swear they've heard the beat of your drum
Among the tall pines and the old sweet gum,
Or the swamps where the mossy cypress grow
Along the dark Choctawhatchee's flow.

Others insist your time is all gone
You nest today where there is no dawn;
Did you fade away like the lover we lose?
I need a cure for my Ivory Bill blues!

Old Ivory Bill, old Ivory Bill,
Do you fly wild in Florida still?
Or like old love are you lost and gone
A memory fading in a misty dawn.



yeah, we know....it sounds like Gilligan's Island when you sing it...oh well...they hated it at Will McLean too....

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: alanabit
Date: 19 Apr 08 - 02:57 AM

I had this thing floating around in my head in the car and it would not leave me alone. It is not the sort of song, which I sing any more, so I had probably best leave it alone. Still, it's dead easy to play and I shall file it away somewhere!

                        When We Get To Heaven
When we get to Heaven we shall just be kind
Not demand our brethren are all of one mind
We shall heed no icon, have no holy cow
We shall do so many things we do not do now

When we get to Heaven we shall hear the birds
We will never drown their song with our shouted words
We shall hear the nightingale on the willow bough
We shall hear so many things we do not hear now

When we get to Heaven we shall feed the poor
We won't let them waste away outside our front door
We shall share the blessings of the wheel and plough
We shall share so many things we do not share now

When we get to Heaven we will not complain
Sorry, please and thanks are words we'll learn again
From the bright eyed child, from the furrowed brow
We shall say so many things we do not say now


When we get to Heaven we shall all forgive
Both ourselves and others – we'll live and let live
We shall live in harmony – we shall then know how
We will do so many things – why not do them now?

Alan Moorhouse
Copyright (probably irrelevant!) 19/4/2008

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 19 Apr 08 - 04:09 AM

Look forward to meeting you Alan...if not soon ..perhaps then.

Subject: RE: Have you written a song recently?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 19 Apr 08 - 06:54 AM

Until yesterday I would have said no - But last night I had some sort of mental version of a short circuit and here it is! If you follow the link in the first post this takes you to, you will find both the words and the story behind them. The tune is by someone far more famous than me but can I now put Polshaw/MacColl on the credits? :-D

Cheers

Dave