Lemon Yellow Curtains
I’m off to Jury service today. That must have been on my mind yesterday, when writing this lyric below for another song, after a very fruitful weekend of writing in general.
For songwriters I would highly recommend the online work of Rosie Bans and her Radical Songwriting. She produces free songwriting challenges, as well as paid stuff that is also very reasonable compared to most others. Her approach is very holistic and empathetic, and gave me the spark I needed to restart my own songwriting engine again. Very, very good.
Lemon Yellow Curtains
The lemon yellow curtains
At the window
Are cold, just like the winters day
They guide my eyes
Beyond all of this clutter
To the world outside
And the world outside
Has something to say
Look to the sky
The sky It lasts forever
Walk in the woods
Where you can be alone
Don’t be the judge
Don’t even be the jury
Coz the world is what it is
And that’s OK.
The world is what it is
And that’s OK.
The lemon yellow curtains
At the window
Are warm when summer comes to stay
They warm my soul
And lead my feet to wander
To the world outside
And the world outside
Has something to say
Look to the hills
Where giants lay to rest
Walk by the seashore
Where mighty monsters swim
Don’t be afraid
When the picture starts to change
The world is always new
And that’s OK.
The world is always new
And that’s OK.
The lemon yellow curtains
At the window
Are fading like the softest evening rays
They whisper to me
“Life is full of glory
And the world outside
Yes the world outside
Has something to say
Look to your heart
The tears and laughter dancing
Look to your side
To the ones you want to love
They call it life
And life comes with a partner
It’s the world outside
And that’s Ok
It’s the world’s outside
And that’s OK.
Well the world’s outside
And that’s OK.
Nothing To Lose
Time is of the essence, as I’m on a short but very busy online songwriting course. Here’s a lyric to a song I wrote yesterday. It’s a band song I think. And a work in progress. But, as always there is…
Nothing To Lose
The sky falls out of
Your universe
And you hug your heart
But it still hurts
The cool aid never seems to work
You go to school
But you never learn
That there’s nothing
Nothing to Lose
What did you have when you came here
Nothing
N-O-T-H-I-N-G
Nothing
You’ve got nothing to lose
So the music plays
And you start to sing
Just the one note
Like the way a bell rings
Do you feel the sound
Of the thunder peeling
You’ve been hit
Been hit by lightening
Nothing
Nothing to lose
What did you have when you came here
Nothing
N-O-T-H-I-N-G
Nothing
You’ve got nothing to lose
One day we’ll all be nothing
In a beautiful place
And you and I can dance
Among the stars
For now we’ve got this privilege
There’s something to chose
But there’s nothing
There’s nothing
To lose
Nothing to lose
Nothing to lose
Come On The Internet!
Yesterday I wrote a song with a complete stranger from (and in) a far off land. It was her second song ever, and somewhere in the region of my billionth.
Beautiful.
This is the kind of thing that restores the reputation of Ye World Wide Web. This is what it was made for. A modern day miracle, that a person from Medieval times (the 1980’s) would find hard to believe possible.
So, though I’m quick to jump on the faults and problems with our increasingly digital lives, I have to say that moments like this are magical.
World wide co-operation, friendship, creativity. What’s not to like?
Come On The Internet!
It’s Time To Dream Again
I had a dream. But I don’t remember what it was.
I know I had one, or several, because my new watch measures my R.E.M. The rapid eye movement that occurs when we are in the dream state.
Perhaps our nightbird dreams help us sort through the muddled thinking processes that occur during our day time consciousness.
And perhaps our day dreams help to reveal our true desires.
Who knows? I don’t. A lot of everything we think we know about these things is just a stab in the dark. Even those scientist geezers, especially those scientist geezers, admit that there is far, far more that we don’t know. About dreams. About everything.
I don’t know why I write songs.
But I suspect it’s all connected with The Dreams, in some way. And I know it’s important that I do it.
It’s Time To Dream Again, I think.
Read All About It
-Seriously frivolous.
-Frivolously serious.
-The sense that everything matters, but nothing really matters.
-This is important stuff. We should completely ignore it.
And other brain fryingly wondrous insights.
Read All About It!
Here on an almost, but not quite, daily basis.
by D.R.Fee, MaD
This Exercise Malarkey
It’s not too late in my humble opinion. For anybody.
For instance, I didn’t start treating my body and its physical needs seriously until the last few years.
I don’t regret a moment of the effort put in to doing that. And the more I do, generally the better I feel. Mainly because I do things for a purpose, and I do exercise that I enjoy (usually). And, as with everything, a little bit regularly and consistently is far better than short bouts of intensity. And certainly better than doing hardly anything at all.
I can’t change the past and, in an ideal world…the one that doesn’t and never will exist…I would have started This Exercise Malarkey a lot sooner. But I didn’t. And yet I’ve still managed to see what looks to my eyes like a transformation in how I feel physically.
I go on about this thing to friends because…well, it would be nice if we all hung around as long as possible, and felt as good as possible while we do. Totally selfish I know.
But hey, just the one life, and all that.
It’s Not All About Me
If you’re a performer, remember:
People have problems and joys that you don’t know about - secret pains, relationships, memories, hobbies, pets, deaths, jokes, appetites and friends - all of which may well be more important to them than this moment right now - the one in which they are listening to you sing.
It’s Not All About Me.
People forget. We forget the good things and the bad things. If you’re unlucky and make a mess of your song, people will forget. If you “hit it out the ballpark” and etch emotional tattoos upon some secret part of their vulnerable hearts, they will still forget. There lives will continue when you are not there. They don’t necessarily care that you are there. It’s not personal.
It’s Not All About Me.
It’s only a song. It’s a moment in time. Give it everything you’ve got. Then move on to the next moment in time.
Because It’s Not All About Me.
The First Time
Today,
I opened my eyes
As though for The First Time.
The light poured in, and I could see
Everything, that I could see.
And everything was quite beautiful.
Then I shut them again.
As though for the first time.
And the universal sky
Behind my eyes
Revealed itself.
A tapestry, not of darkness
But of shade and contours and shooting stars.
I opened my eyes. Again.
Wanting to feel that first time. Again.
There was nothing to stop me.
Nobody to make it NOT happen.
No law to say: The First Time Is Off Limits. Do Not Enter.
No Ministry Of Experience ordering me how to feel.
It turns out that The First Time
Is a repeatable experiment.
So I shut my eyes.
Of Course
I’ve signed up for a songwriting course.
Because, Of Course, there is always something new to learn.
Whether you’ve just started, or you’re a long in the tooth, been around the block, never-has-been.
I’m one of those, that’s for sure.
Being In A Band
Sharing the journey.
I’m piping on about that subject a lot I think. I’ve realised how important it has become to me.
Because though I am happy in my own company, I am recognising a part of myself that wants to know my experiences…to share my experiences….not all of them, but many of them, with others.
This is a personal realisation. I’ve got a lot of memories of being alone as a child and as a young person that aren’t always positive. Some are the definition of lonely memories. And I have sometimes, although less so recently, avoided “sharing”, or trying to find a shared experience, out of some fear of loneliness and rejection.
Despite this I’ve been fortunate to find friendship and to have some shared experiences, at least intermittently or from a distance.
But as the archetypal “lonesome troubadour” performer, I’m suddenly wanting to share THAT particularly experience…the one of being on a stage…with somebody, or somebodies.
Being In A Band is suddenly looking like an attractive proposition.
Neither Can We
I watch the waves. They come and go in their own way.
Patterns and irregularities. Beauty, power, mystery, history, presence, colour, smell, movement, drama, endings.
They exist and I watch.
I don’t judge. Because they can’t change anything that has happened.
And Neither Can We.
All Aboard
Life is waiting for us.
This is true whether we’re aware of it or not. It’s a constant. Not just at the start of a new year, but every second of every day.
And so another moment just slipped by. But while we have breath there is always a new one to be embraced.
What’s even better…and this becomes so much more apparent to me as I get older…is the pleasure and joy to be had when we climb All Aboard to experience these moments with other people. Friends and family, and even sometimes with the people who we don’t like.
We live life alone. But it doesn’t have to be lonely.
#LongLivePidgeMoon
A Good New Year To You
Here in Campbeltown a lot of folk wish each other a “Good New Year” in early January.
I like that. Happy New Year is a nice greeting too. It’s just that “Happy” is such a fickle and fleeting condition. If you’ve ever gone chasing after “Happy” you’ll find that it often simply flits away like some demonic butterfly, always a flower away, always just out of reach of the net.
And, meanwhile, you end up missing the beauty and glory of the meadow that you were running around in. It’s a shame.
“Good” seems to me to be a lot more of a solid, achievable, and worthwhile goal. It’s not dependent on the circumstances that arise, but depends far more upon us making the most of them when they do arise.
So personally the only resolution is to try and make this a good year, whatever happens. And I would like to wish A Good New Year To You too.
I do hope we all get some great moments of Happy along the way though.
Why Worry About Tomorrow?
A busy few days. A busy year.
Busy can be stressful. But this kind of busy has been joyful and relaxing. Family weddings. The birth of our new Granddaughter, Caya. Visiting new countries. And much more.
Rich experiences that we never planned, but that have all happened because of choices and decisions we and others made many years ago. We are so grateful for the road that has revealed itself, the good and the bad. What a privilege.
Things will happen next year too. Based upon recent and ancient choices and decisions. And new choices and decisions will be made.
Despite dates already in the calendar, I can’t predict with certainty anything that is going to happen.
But hey, Why Worry About Tomorrow, when today has only just begun.
Happy Christmas
A very Happy Christmas to you.
I wish you a place that you can always call Home. And a Song in your heart through all the experiences of this day and the coming year.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate it.
love
David
The Season To Be Revengeful…
One of my sons (Michael, age 32 and a half) just poured a cup of water over my head.
No warning. No reason.
Honestly, you spend a lifetime of blood, sweat and tears bringing them up to be good, respectful boys, and then this.
Thankfully, though, it is the season to be revengeful!
So somebody is not going to be getting a visit from Santa this year! No matter how much Whisky and mince pies get left by the fireplace.
HaHa!
And Humbug!
And could somebody fetch me a towel, please.
Fake News
Apparently our sense of smell is the most primal of our senses. The one that is quickest to be triggered. The one that is least dependent upon logic or reason.
So when you’re spraying on ya Lynx or ya L’Oreal you are carrying out an act of deceit. Trying to tell people that you are something different, something better, than you actually are.
What a nerve!
We all do it though. We all try to improve our standing in the eyes (and noses) of others.
But it’s good to bear all of that in mind when we’re trying to work out the people and the information in which to trust. Especially in this day and age, where the possibilities for fabrication are becoming more extensive by the day.
The “News” that The News is Fake, is often itself Fake News these days.
Personally, I’m of the opinion that lessons in learning what and whom to trust should be the biggest focus in today’s curriculum, for our children and young people. Because it’s getting harder, and therefore far more important, to filter the truth from the lies. And we really don’t need MORE information.
But we do all probably need to develop a cerebral sense of smell, the skill and understanding, to reveal the sweet smell of truth. And the stink of deception.
The Queen’s English
Road Trip!
The really nice kind. Going to pick one of the far flung offspring up from the airport. Then we’ll be driving home for Christmas.
There’s a lyric for everything if you’re prepared to look. No words or expressions out there that need to be wasted. It’s all grist to the mill…which is an expression that I’m using without really knowing what the meaning is…yet I still know that this is the right place to use it. Blimey. What’s that all about?
Some people out there will suggest that some words and expressions are inappropriate or offensive. Which is complete bollocks!
It’s the attitude behind the words that matters. You can speak The Queen’s English (is it The King’s English now…who cares really?) and ne’er a bad word use, but be a judgemental and sanctimonious hypocrite. And many an angel uses the bluest language.
Any old language can be creative, and loving, and beautiful. Don’t let any old thief in sheep’s clothing steal your words away, or try to pretend that they are the guardians of grammar and good taste.
Go Us!
It’s the 36th anniversary of my wedding to a lady from the Netherlands today. It took quite a bit of time to get here…36 years in fact…but we made it!
Everything worthwhile take time. Everything worthwhile involves failures along the way. That’s a given.
And not everything succeeds to reach the intended destination. So we should definitely celebrate when it does.
Go Us!
And thank you to Ineke for for her part in this journey.
The Ordinary Cup Finals
Everybody who likes football is saying it. The script went perfectly for The Final last night. Lionel Messi, probably the greatest player ever, finally won the football World Cup with Argentina, and in a beautifully dramatic fashion.
It did feel like that.
But in truth life very rarely fits our script. Our version of how things should be.
Life is an unpredictable story, and living a good life is simply about becoming adaptable and resilient to whatever That Script throws up. Developing the ability to ad lib and improvise . Whether on a football pitch in a World Cup final or in The Ordinary Cup Finals of day to day life.