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Songs with videos can be seen using the YouTube player: scroll down the page and click on the players.
These songs are high quality MP3 files with embedded lyrics and images by Paddy. The song files are not protected or hidden; simply download them and listen for free. If you enjoy them, why not make a PayPal donation (minimum of 20 UK pence) to encourage me to record more? If you don’t have a PayPal account, you can pay via PayPal with a card.
Click the links below to listen. Right-click on the links and choose Save As to download. If you enjoy the songs, why not make a donation?
Bliss (instrumental), All Fall Down, The Same As All Of The Rest, 11th Hour, 11th Day, The Wonder Of It All, Believe, Fever, A Whole New Universe, The Man Who Planted Trees, Live it Up, Never Walk Alone, Repercussions.
A song for all victims of war, inspired by Armistice Day and released at 11am, 11/11/2011
1899,
6 days early.
1st light of dawn,
7.30.
Opens his eyes for the first time;
Breathing in the air.
First steps to see what may be.
They cheered when he left,
The white cliffs of Dover.
And they welcomed him home,
When the war was over.
Over the top under fire,
Choking up the air.
What d’you do there,
First World War hero?
We kicked a ball between the lines.
I took his picture,
He took mine.
And just for a moment it felt like,
We breathed the self same air;
The war was never there;
We could be anywhere;
If God is on our side,
Smile smile smile.
He still dreams of November,
And a photograph on Christmas day.
He can remember,
11th hour, 11th day.
“Peace in our time,”
1940.
He’s back over the lines,
For his country.
Working the hands he commands,
And death falls from the air.
He’s wondering where,
It is falling.
Now he rocks in his chair,
Like a baby.
And the legends and scars,
Have gone hazy.
Torn fields return to the flowers,
And birds sing in the air.
And sense never dares,
To question history,
Stupid history,
History,
Yeah…
A song for the lonely and afraid…
I only sing ‘cos I can’t speak.
My blood is tired, my body’s weak.
The guilty feelings come without warning.
Was it so wrong to turn over and sleep ‘til morning?
Oh did you hear the noise last night?
We covered up our ears and shut our eyes so tight.
Only praying someone somewhere holds a light,
For those in peril in the night.
If you don’t mind kindly stop the world and let me rest.
I wish I was the same as all of the rest.
It turned out to be the hardest master.
We’re fleeing fast; the fear follows faster.
Terror twists the tongue and tangles tired tracks.
And then it trashes truth by crossing friendly fingers behind backs.
Only the loney understand.
Oh how you are beat and broken by your own hand.
Oh how your feet slowly sink in to the quick sands.
And all the things you though you’d do you never can.
And my heart was far from cold that day.
I was only too afraid to say.
I turned my back like everybody else.
I guess it doesn’t help to know how very much I hate myself.
“There must be some way out of here;”
Said the joker to the thief.
“There’s too much confusion,
I can’t get no relief.
Businessmen they drink my wine,
Ploughmen dig my earth.
None of them along the line,
Know what any of this is worth.”
All along the watchtower,
Princes took their view.
While the women came and went.
Bare-foot servants too.
Outside in the distance,
A wildcat did growl.
Two riders were approaching,
And the wind began to howl.
“No reason to get excited,”
The thief he calmly spoke.
“There are many here among us who think,
Lif is but a joke.
But you and I we’ve been through that,
And that is not our fate.
So let us not talk falsely,
For the hour is getting late.”
The first rider took out his scroll,
And hurled it in the sea.
Satellites were spinning round,
Sky full of electricity.
The watchers in the darkness,
Were counting out their days.
“Some of them will understand,
But who will show the way?”
A song for sycophants, fair-weather friends and people who make money out of the false hopes and dreams of others.
They only meant well.
Because they’ve walked in those shoes.
Everyone must have prizes
And no one likes to lose
’cos if you ever choose the few,
Those jealous little things,
Will stand outside the ring,
But who’ll come to the coronation,
When everyone is king?
So it’s all fine
And everybody knows that
You only have to try.
So what makes you think you’re so special?
All fall down,
We’ve made too many compromises
To play the game without the prizes.
All fall down,
So we can take the stakes from saints and sinners.
Turn the losers into winners.
All fall down,
We were victims all of circumstances
Waiting for our second chances
But until it all comes round,
We’ll join the losers and the failures
Bow before these lying saviours.
So everybody’s won,
Before the game’s begun.
(and) everybody says you’re so wonderful,
So why are you so glum?
We couldn’t quite disquise
Our whitest whitest lies,
We kept our fingers crossed behind.
We didn’t want to seem unkind.
So now you’ve spoilt the fun
And fun is all we’ve done.
We only meant to please,
And make believe that we’re so special
We wasted so much time,
Trying and trying.
You said we were fine.
Turns out you were lying.
Will we ever get what we deserve?
Will it be heaven or a hell or something worse?
Will we ever get what we deserve?
What makes you think you’re so special?
All fall down
We make so many compromises:
There’s no game and there’s no prizes.
All fall down.
Take the stakes from saints and sinners.
No more losers, no more winners
All fall down.
And because it all goes round.
Join the failures and the losers,
Running from these fakes and users.
What do you think? You’re so special.
Don’t look if you are easily blinded.
Don’t listen if you’re needlesly reminded.
Don’t say a word,
Until you’ve been there.
Don’t stop travelling;
You are wanderlust,
You’re the one you lost.
Wait... til you’re completely grounded.
Did you know that you’re ultimately surrounded?
So many galaxies: tell me you’ve found it.
The sweat of your brow:
You made every drop,
A sea and an ocean,
Your mind in the motion.
But every time you make up your mind,
Take good care.
And every time you open your eyes,
Look for something there.
And if you were looking for hope or for freedom,
Don’t wonder where.
And when you reach the end of your journey,
Be aware,
That there’s a whole new universe out there.
So to the end:
Shattered illusions,
Are you drawing conclusions?
Life - it all depends:
Happily poor or miserably wanting it all.
You’re nothing much but your mind makes you tall.
You’ve finally made it.
This one is for frogs, youngest sons, ugly sisters, gamblers, terrorists… It’s about “wishing on a star and all your dreams coming true.”. Does the world really work like it does in fairy tales? The video is from a gig at Mr Wolf’s in November 2008.
Dreaming of princes…
Once upon a time.
(The) last of three wishes
And castles in the sky.
The prettiest of lies-es,
Are coming in your sizes but it doesn’t make them true.
The ink upon the pages,
Doesn’t show up all the greys-es,
But what else can you do?
Believe.
Because maybe it’s true,
And though we all know better
(We’re all grown up now)
We do.
So you take the narrow pathways when you can,
Because you heard the one about the easy way.
And it’s maybe rags to riches every day, Cross your fingers
The glass shoe, it always “could be you”, they say.
But Cinderella’s sisters,
And the ones who got no wishes,
The ones who didn’t rub the lamp
And the frogs who missed the kisses.
And the ones who give their lives away,
For the vilest of pretences,
And the ones who’ll never let you down,
Never mind the consequences…
Believe,
‘cause if it’s not true,
Then what is the use?
(Just who’s in charge here?)
But what if we made up the stories and we made up the roles.
What if we invented heaven, and we invented souls.
And when we shared our hopes and dreams were we really just pretending?
What if we invented innocence and all those happy endings?
Then the wickedest of witches has nothing on us.
Never know how much I love you, never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that’s so hard to bear
You give me fever - when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight
Fever - in the the morning, fever all through the night.
Sun lights up the daytime, moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name, and you know I’m gonna treat you right
Everybody’s got the fever, that is something you all know
Fever isn’t such a new thing, fever started long ago.
Romeo loved Juliet, Juliet she felt the same
When he put his arms around her, he said “Julie baby you’re my flame”
Thou givest fever, when we kisseth, fever with thy flaming youth
Fever - I’m afire, fever yea I burn forsooth.
Captain Smith and Pocahontas had a very mad affair
When her daddy tried to kill him, she said “Daddy-O don’t you dare.
He gives me fever - with his kisses, fever when he holds me tight
Fever - I’m his missus, Daddy won’t you treat him right?”
Now you’ve listened to my story, here’s the point I have made:
Chicks were born to give you fever, be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade
They give you fever - when you kiss them, fever if you live and learn
Fever - till you sizzle, what a lovely way to burn.
I thought that there was a lack of songs about the ubiquitous mobile phone. At the time of writing, there probably was! The song’s taken this long to reach the open air. At school, people should be taught how to speak on the phone without shouting,and also how to use them efficiently and effectively, unlike the person in this song!
Hello,
Can you hear me?
You know I’ll be there with you soon.
Oh?
Oh really?
I’m nearly,
Somewhere near the bar.
Breaking up the signal’s
Raking in my credit.
Battery is fading,
Only one bar left to
Go all the way,
Down to the station.
Our communication’s
Hanging in the air.
Time?
It’s tomorrow.
You haven’t called me since today.
No.
It’s nearly two.
We’ll wait another twenty anyway.
OK,
You’re nearly there.
I know you’ll be here with me soon.
First right,
Then carry on,
Then
[bleeee]
Hello?
Hello?
The stars came out tonight,
Just like I thought they might.
Empty and cold,
Just like we’ve all been told.
Touching my heart,
You make it fall apart.
Shouldering the blame,
Tomorrow’s just just the same.
So live it up
Laughing and joking
Screaming and choking
Live it up,
’cos we’ll never live this down.
My stars came out too late,
And I just sit and wait.
Smouldering the flame.
Tommorrow’s just the same.
If I could I would,
And if I would I could.
These words so hard to tame.
But don’t ever call it a game.
This song was inspired by Jean Giono’s story The Man Who Planted Trees. Look it up online if you can find it, or read the book, with its lovely illustrations. It took ages to programme and record!
A man on a journey,
Takes his time,
Appreciation.
He knows it is early;
Cool reflection,
Feels the eyes of a friend.
Silently they work the land.
A seed in his hand.
A seed in the ground.
“I returned, years gone by,
of freedom and genocide
To see,
Recognize,
Reality and memory,
And cut the ties.
All the things we have done:
Fragile earth
So easily overcome.
Tell me why, in a lifetime,
So many things must die.
But there,
Forgotten for so long.
The old man still carries on,
And all around,
As far as I could see,
(were) The labours of,
The man who planted trees.”
Monster, isnʼt this fun?
Teeny tiny tiny teeny,
Thatʼs the way the monster comes.
Monster, isnʼt it neat?
The preacher tells you infidels are living at the end of your street.
Monster, what have you done?
So sure? Youʼre the one.
Midnight lights are flashing blue,
Itʼs come to what you surely knew
The victims didnʼt like the game
Now all the papers know your name.
Nah, nah nah, etc
One look, isnʼt that wrong?
A furtive glance,
A photograph,
Forbidden pages pull you along.
Download again and again,
The interNIC has chased your click: the latest greatest beast in the pen.
The monster is still hiding inside.
Just waiting until the right time.
And everyone with any sense is trying to find a way.
To keep the monster in and stop it coming out to play.
And who only knows just what we can do?
It wasn’t really me!
It wasn’t really you!
Monster,
What have you become?
More, more and more,
You’ll finish because you began.
Midnight’s flashing flashing blue,
The neighbours say they never knew.
The victims didn’t like the game,
Now all the papers know your name.
The wildest of all days,
And the world’s all out of focus in these rivers of rain.
A faceful of pain,
And did I need reminding why I’m travelling again?
Don’t ask me,
’cause all you’ll get is useless love and sympathy.
In this world you’re all alone,
But somebody who knows your name could be calling you home.
All you have to do,
Is struggle in the dark.
All you have to do,
Is watch it fall apart.
All you have to hold,
These empty broken hearts.
All you have is gone,
But you’ll never walk alone.
They’ll finally come for you,
Because of something you said,
Or didn’t say,
Or did,
Or didn’t do.
We’ll hear it on the news,
’til darkness shuts our eyes and we’ll dream until the dawn.
And I’m not exactly to blame
I just started calling evil by a pleasant sounding name.
Someone gave the call,
Their souls all flew like butterflies
They’d scratched on the wall.
All you have to do,
Is hidden at the start.
But all you have to prove,
Is hidden in your heart.
When everything is said,
And everything is done.
You’ll never be alone,
And you’re not the only one.
This is a bit of an old-skool dance/electro track. It was originally built around a collection of samples from a US American Cold War safety reel from the 1950s. I’m no longer using it in this re-recorded version (which has some real instrument in the form of a low tin whistle), but I still feel the cold war connection to it.
The title comes from the echoed bass drum, which was the basic inspiration behind the track.
A song about our seductive consumer culture and the damage it does to our health.
Smile like the sun,
You rise to the occasion.
Now it’s begun.
The grass is always greener…
Where were you going?
Did you “leap before you look?”
Tempt you,
Take you,
Lead you.
Like some carrot on a hook.
The line we follow,
And then we swallow.
Until it all goes down, yeah.
You’re feeling hollow?
Wait til tomorrow.
Burn like the sun.
I’m overcome.
I am not the,
Only one, wandering wondering;
Is it really better,
Yesterday tomorrow,
Not now?
Leave all the old queues,
And step out of tired shoes.
It really is that simple.
It really is that easy.
You try to tempt me.
So sad that they think it makes me happy.
I’ve changed my mind,
This time.
Now it’s done.
Pure resignation.
And everything is beautiful,
The meaner the better.
And I’ve been crying,
For the struggle and the waste and the race we run.
But now, somehow,
It’s the birds and the bees and the sun is shining! (for)
All these foolish stars I’ll follow,
Oh let me swallow.
Until it all goes down down/oh let me drown
It’s new today (and)
It’s new tomorrow.
Some people go to walk on holy ground
Some people stay, and nothing more is found
Some people see, and wonder if there’s more
Some people know the wonder of it all.
Now… Wondering
All I know: so far to go.
The truth is so elusive,
The mind so inconclusive but we
All have our uses, someday.
Find the door and live some more
Cast ashore: the fatal flaw,
Adrift in the ocean.
See... Understand,
Take my hand.
Step into the stars.
Some people do… nothing
Some people say… nothing
Some people take the time…
Some people smile.
After all that’s gone before,
With everything worth trying for,
I’m concluding less is more,
And living is better than dying for.
Set your store on sure as sure,
Or rest your oars on distant shores.
Your imagination… your destination
And when the doors open
Sometimes your heart’s broken
Sometimes you’re flying blind
Sometimes it’s fine.