Uncompleted songs and lyrics by Martin Leedham

What follows is a selection of unfinished songs from the last thirty years or so in lyric form that used to live on my publishers website in the Netherlands. That has closed down now so they need a new home. The majority of them are from the Bad In Albania project but some go right back to the Mandrake and Mandrake Root days. One or two are even newer than that. Temporarily at least here is as good a place as any for them to rest awhile and anyone who wants to cast a critical eye over them is more than welcome …………..

Tortured Soul

There is a movement in the shadows, he knows the time is near
So now his heart it beats faster, but he won’t give in to the fear
He stay still as a mouse now, loaded gun in his hand
This war isn’t his battle, but it was his fathers land

And he’s a tortured soul, it’s battered and beaten
A tortured soul
Got nowhere to run, no place to hide, nowhere to go
Just a tortured soul

Not a sound in the farmhouse, just the light of the moon
He moves swiftly through the shadows don’t want to strike too soon
Sees him hiding still as a mouse now, though he once was a friend
They said kill him for your country, then his land you can tend

But he’s a tortured soul, it’s battered and beaten
A tortured soul
Got nowhere to run, no place to hide, nowhere to go
Just a tortured soul

She’s been alone for so long now, without a hand to hold
Except for those of her children, they stop her heart growing cold
But they all sit around the table, hungry mouths to feed
So she stands on the corner, to get what they need

Because she’s a tortured soul, it’s battered and beaten
A tortured soul
Got nowhere to run, no place to hide, nowhere to go
Just a tortured soul

He drives slowly around the corner, until he catches her eye
She smiles at him so sweetly, it makes his heart want to cry
He vows today he must tell her, for he senses she must have a clue
But his resolve will desert him, just like she knew it would do

And they’re tortured souls, they’re battered and beaten
Tortured souls
Got nowhere to run, no place to hide, nowhere to go
Just tortured souls

Now we all have our fears, and we all have our dreams
We want something to be realised, and something never to have been
But we can’t all get what we pray for, that should be easy to see
Because what gives freedom to the chained, might chain the free

That’s why we’re tortured souls, we’re battered and beaten
We’re all tortured souls
Nowhere to run, no place to hide, nowhere to go
Just tortured souls

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Composer Notes

I wrote this on one summer afternoon and picture it as a Joe Cocker, Michael Bolton or possibly even Bad Company type track. I can imagine the chorus being belted out by a good singer with a strong bluesy voice. Lyrically it’s all about seeing things from different perspectives. What’s good for one is bad for another etc

Can’t Find A Way

It was a cold and rainy winters night
With just one look from you I knew it was right
I asked when you’d be ready for love
You said I’m ready now
You looked so perfect in the cool moonlight
Your smile set my heart alight
It was burning like the strongest flame
But just look at me now

I’m up all night just walking around
Even the light of the moon has started to get me down
Can’t find a way to get you off my mind
Can’t find a way to get you off my mind

When I took you to my lonely room
The scent of you it lifted the gloom
I was flying on the wings of love
But they soon let me down
Before the morning you had left me alone
My burning heart turned colder than stone
All you left were broken dreams
Look what you’ve done to me now

I’m up all night just walking around
Even the light of the moon has started to get me down
Can’t find a way to get you off my mind
Can’t find a way to get you off my mind

Now I just don’t know what to do
I can’t find a way to get my mind off you

I’m left standing in this valley of fears
Waiting to drown in a river of tears
If there’s a place in your heart for my love
Let me know it now
Because I’d give you everything that I’ve got
Even though it isn’t maybe a lot
The thought of you is driving me mad
Just take a look at me now

I’m up all night just walking around
Even the light of the moon has started to get me down
Can’t find a way to get you off my mind
Can’t find a way to get you off my mind

Composer Notes:

This started with the line “I’m up all night just walking around” which partially came from a line in a Frankie Miller song and I just couldn’t get it out of my head or out of my mind even. It could just as easily be called “Look At Me Now”. It needs to be a mid paced soulful bluesy thing I think ….. in the style of Frankie Miller obviously. Tells the sad tale of love’s initial enthusiasm disappearing in the cold light of day.

Killing Myself To Live

There’s a crack in the mirror
I’m looking into my eyes trying to search for the very depths of my soul
My whole body’s aching and my will is breaking
Is it time for letting go

This world is tearing out my heart
Stealing pieces of my soul
It’s tearing out my heart
There’s got to be a better way
Feel like I’m just killing myself to live

Now the sun’s stopped shining
The rain inside my heart it hammers down so hard and so cold
Maybe my world has just stopped turning
But I’m left standing here feeling so alone and so old

This world is tearing out my heart
Stealing pieces of my soul
It’s tearing out my heart
There’s got to be a better way
Feel like I’m just killing myself to live

These days they are growing longer
And when the night falls, sleep it only seems to come and to go
The starlight has lost its wonder
And the moon just no longer seems to glow

This world is tearing out my heart
Stealing pieces of my soul
It’s tearing out my heart
There’s got to be a better way
Feel like I’m just killing myself to live

Won’t someone tell me what I’m supposed to do
This isn’t meant to be my time for dying
Someone help me to make it through
Help me make it through this crying
Because there’s so many things that I just don’t want to let go

But this world keeps tearing out my heart
Stealing pieces of my soul
It’s tearing out my heart
There’s got to be a better way
Feel like I’m just killing myself to live

Composer Notes :

Is it allowed to have a favourite of your own lyrics ….. if it then this would probably be one of mine. Slow bluesy and with a sad tone to begin with but with the chorus getting more and more passionate as the song progresses. I could imagine this building up into a great melancholy dramatic track that brings a lump to your throat. An obscure Jess Roden song gave me the initial idea and I had totally forgotten about the titles similarity to a Black Sabbath track. I don’t picture this in any way similar to that at all.

Unconditional Love

She brings to me a little sunshine on a rainy morning
Chase away the clouds and leave me with a sky of blue
Turn my life around make it nothing other than better
There’s only selflessness in everything that she can do

And she don’t need diamonds just my time
No need for silver on her shoulder
She’s got a heart that’s made of gold
Like a guiding light burning ever brighter
She gives me an unconditional love
Means more than anything money can buy
She gives me an unconditional love
And it will always be mine until the day I die

She makes the stars shine brighter in the darkened night sky
Moonbeams dance like angels sent from heaven above
Makes me strong when she holds me in the midnight hour
Takes my heart and fills it full of only love

She turns the tides brings calm unto the raging ocean
Warms the rain and makes a rainbow in a sky of grey
Gives me strength to climb a mountain ever higher
She brings me love, means more to me than words can say

Composer Notes

What we are all looking for … and probably something that doesn’t exist. Wouldn’t life be perfect if you found someone like this. The chorus part of this was loosely inspired melody wise by the Tommy Bolin track Lotus. The verse part though needs more of a rockier edge to it with a soul/motown type vocal over the top in a Paul Rodgers, Michael Bolton or even Paul Young type of way. Sounds a weird mix but unusually I do have a fairly formulated idea of what this song should sound like in completed form.

Cradle To The Grave

Tears on a gravestone they won’t change a thing
All the crying in the world isn’t going to bring
A return to the mortal from the place that they now dwell
Just believe they’ve found their heaven and not their hell

Because it’s a long hard road from the cradle to the grave
There are many ways to travel many ways to behave
But we’re all born naked in need of a mothers love
And we all die praying that there’s something up above

Now your days are filled with sadness for a wasted life
Learn from this a lesson and put things right
Take every chance to smell the flowers don’t let life pass you by
Because we all control our destiny and we all are born to die

And it’s a long hard road from the cradle to the grave
There are many ways to travel many ways to behave
But we’re all born naked in need of a mothers love
And we all die praying that there’s something up above

Time they say is a healer and that you must believe
To face every day to live and love and breathe
Soon the sun will come out shining but now and again the rain will fall
Let your tears flow with the water no one will mind at all

Composer Notes:

The idea for this came from watching some peoples reaction to a death. The tears are quite often not for the deceased but for the person doing the crying. Tears of guilt usually, for not caring enough when the person was alive. It’s easy to attend a funeral but would you rather someone came to your funeral or came to visit you while you were still alive. Music wise it can be anything. The lyric just came to me because I was struggling dealing with some peoples reaction to a death. It was obvious that their tears were of guilt and not grief. Eventually it came out kinder than the initial intention ….. which is good.

Another Space In Time

Here I am
Standing at your door
I found the way
Feel like I’ve been here before
It’s like déjà vu baby .….
Or some mystical sign
When I close my eyes
I see you every time

I’ve searched a hundred highways
Trawled as many seas
Been looking so hard
It nearly brought me to my knees
And now I’ve found you again
After all this time
A thousand years
Have passed since you were mine

We’re lovers from another space in time
We’ll be lovers again
When you read all the signs
Lovers from another space in time

You’re the Guinevere
In my Arthurian dream
You’re the fade out kiss
In every Hollywood scene
It’s like kismet baby …….
Or some cosmic sign
And when you open the door
Everything will be just fine

When I look in your eyes
I will see inside your soul
To find you again
Has been my only goal
Once again you’ll be mine
After all of this time
You’re the tune in the song
The words to every rhyme

We’re lovers from another space in time
We’ll be lovers again
When you read all the signs
Lovers from another space in time

Composer Notes:

This is the newest lyric here and I was inspired to write it after hearing the Frankie Miller song Guilty of the Crime …….. in fact the lyric would probably fit that song quite well. It is one for all those people who believe in fate and that we have all walked this earth before. Sometimes we find the right one and live happily ever after ….. and sometimes we don’t …….. but we always meet every time. Just sometimes we don’t get it right …… but sometimes we do. That’s what I think anyway.

Echoes In Eternity

Can’t sleep when I close my eyes
All I see is your face comes as no surprise
Every night always seems the same
No one there when I’m calling out your name

All I hear are the echoes in eternity
Ghostly voices in my mind are haunting me
Whispering in a broken down harmony
Just the sound of the echoes in eternity

Can’t eat when I break my daily bread
Words you said keep going round my head
Been the same since you left me all alone
No reply when I call you on the phone

All I hear are the echoes in eternity
Ghostly voices in my mind are haunting me
Whispering in a broken down harmony
Just the sound of the echoes in eternity

Can’t dance when the music’s playing out
Try to sing I can only scream and shout
Tune is gone since the day you went away
Took my blues and turned them shades of grey

All I hear are the echoes in eternity
Ghostly voices in my mind are haunting me
Whispering in a broken down harmony
Just the sound of the echoes in eternity

And I just can’t seem to find any peace of mind
Feels like the sands of time are slipping away
And your love has left me blind

All I hear are the echoes in eternity
Ghostly voices in my mind are haunting me
Whispering in a broken down harmony
Just the sound of the echoes in eternity

Composer Notes:

The title of this came from the name of a racehorse. I see it as a fairly light but slightly jaunty thing certainly vocal melody wise anyway. Maybe keyboards or even a synth type sound rather than guitars ….. but that is in no way set in stone

L.E.L (For A Little Love)

She sits in the corner and nobody cares
The candlelight flickers but there’s nobody there
All she has are her poems all written in tunes
No laughter to echo around in her rooms
So she turns to the wall and patiently waits
The silence not broken by the tears on her face

And her heart is breaking for a little love,
Yes her heart is breaking for a little love
She was sent like an angel from heaven above,
But her heart it is breaking for a little love
The wind in the trees whisper her pleas
For a little love, for a little love
The sun in the sky wondering why she still cries
For a little love, for a little love

She walks in the garden for long lonely hours
The emptiness filled by the scent of the flowers
And she wanders alone down the long leafy lane
Her only companions the hurt and the pain
For her heart it beats heavy she’s been waiting so long
She hears only sorrow in every birds song

She goes to the city and everyone stares
They whisper in huddles about her private affairs
They can’t cope with her wisdom, witty repartee
Won’t leave her in peace to be happy and free
So she forms a liaison with an unkindly man
And with him she leaves for a faraway land

But her heart is breaking for a little love,
Yes her heart is breaking for a little love
She was sent like an angel from heaven above,
But her heart it is breaking for a little love
The wind in the trees whisper her pleas
For a little love, for a little love
The sun in the sky wondering why she still cries
For a little love, for a little love

Now she lies in a grave in that faraway land
Some say she was put there by her own fair hand
Others they whisper and say it was he
Who just couldn’t cope with the jealousy
She may have gone but she left much behind
So many fine words to open your mind

But her heart was breaking for a little love,
Yes her heart it was breaking for a little love
She was sent like an angel from heaven above,
But her heart it was breaking for a little love
The wind in the trees whispered her pleas
For a little love, for a little love
The sun in the sky wondered why she still cried
For a little love, for a little love
(L.E.L – Letitia Elizabeth Landon 1802-1838 Poet)

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Composer Notes

This song is based on the life story of Letitia Elizabeth Landon, known simply as L.E.L. A Victorian Poet who has sadly never been held in as higher regard as the likes of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Christina Rossetti et al. One day in around 2001 whilst reading a book which I believe was called ‘Victorian Women Poets’ the biography of L.E.L which was a typical Victorian melodrama in itself inspired me to write the first verse. Some three years later I finally got around to finishing it. The verse is basically a simple standard folk song melody with the chorus a little more upbeat..

Kingdom Of Freedom

It was long ago in an ancient world, in a land ruled by a king
Where you lived by your word or died by the sword, as the heavenly angels would sing
That a boy was born on a winters morn, who was born to be the man
To lead them all make evil fall, and bring peace unto the land
The years passed he became of age, and he formed an iron will
He grew tall and broad learned how to use a sword, and he learned how to kill
Then it came to pass one hallows eve, that the time had come to go
He said its time to fight with all my might, to send evil back below

And he said
When I return here
I will bring you freedom you’ll never suffer again at the hands of kings and fools
When I return here
It will be a kingdom where peace and freedom rules
The kingdom of freedom
Castles full of music and magic will reign never again will we feel the pain
Of hunger and war with innocents slain when the kingdom of freedom rises again

So they gave him a charger of brilliant white, that stood higher than a hill
As his armour shone he was gone, said he wouldn’t be back until
The evil king was dead by the blade of his sword, and his castle lay in ruins
A thousand men decided to follow him then, in absolution of their sins
So they rode through the day and they rode through the night, over many a terrain
Through sun and snow they cried on we go, until the evil one is slain
Then they saw in the distance the castle walls, and in their hearts they felt the fear
They didn’t want to die at dawn on a frosty morn, without a loved one near

But they cried
When we return from here
We will bring you freedom you’ll never suffer again at the hands of kings and fools
When we return from here
It will be a kingdom where peace and freedom rules
The kingdom of freedom
Castles full of music and magic will reign never again will we feel the pain
Of hunger and war with innocents slain when the kingdom of freedom rises again

When the day was done there were many who’d gone
To meet their maker in the sky
But the king was one he’d become undone
He heard them say as he did die

When we return from here
We will bring you freedom you’ll never suffer again at the hands of kings and fools
When we return from here
It will be a kingdom where peace and freedom rules
The kingdom of freedom
Castles full of music and magic will reign never again will we feel the pain
Of hunger and war with innocents slain when the kingdom of freedom rises again

Composer Notes:

This is my tribute to Ronnie James Dio lyric. All mediaeval chivalry and magnificence from a bygone age. Musically I hear a really heavy rock song. Think Stargazer from Rainbow or Dio’s Holy Diver. The vocal melody I came up with is slightly similar to Dio’s Invisible.

She’ll Be Home

As I look out across the water
There’s a light hanging low in the sky
It’s just a flicker on the distant horizon
But it sure makes me happy tonight

My girl is riding on that steamer
As it travels from the east to the west
It’s been so long since I’ve seen her
Soon all my troubles I can put them to rest

I’ve just been sitting beneath the moon and stars glow
Watching the tides as they ebb and they flow
But by tomorrow I’ll be happy I know
She’ll be home

She’s been gone for so long across that water
Sometimes I felt like my heart it would die
Been so lonely here living without her
I need her like the sun needs the sky

There’s a chill in the air in the summer
When she’s not here by my side
But there’s a warmth in the rain in the winter
When she’s here my love I can’t hide

She’s my oasis in a desert of despair
A gentle breeze in the warm summer air
By tomorrow I won’t have a care
She’ll be home

Composer Notes:

This is in the style of a blue eyed soul or bluesy type thing . Jess Roden is who I had in mind when I wrote it. It has the feel of his first solo album in my mind. Laid back and with a touch of Allen Toussaint.

What Have You Done For Me Lately

There was a time you meant the world to me
Sweetest apple on a green apple tree
Now you leave me lonely and you leave me sad
Where’s the love that I once had
The blue in the sky is clouding over grey
Rain clouds chase the sun away
In my mind I start to wonder why
Then my heart begins to sigh

What have you done for me lately
Apart from break my heart
What have you done for me lately
But take my whole world apart
I don’t know

We used to see the world in similar ways
Through so many finer days
Now all I see is coldness in your eyes
And all I hear is lies
I’m still here but with no hand to hold
Just a heart that’s growing cold
So it’s an inner strength that I must find
But there’s still one thing on my mind

What have you done for me lately
Apart from break my heart
What have you done for me lately
But take my whole world apart
I don’t know

I guess its time for us to say goodbye
Up high on silver wings I’ll fly
They’ll take me some place far away and new
And I’ll no longer think of you
I won’t even sit and shed a tear
As I turn and walk away from here
Because I know now as I go away
That I can truly say

What have you done for me lately
Apart from break my heart
What have you done for me lately
But take my whole world apart
I don’t know

Composer Notes:

This is almost an amalgam of three songs in one. The opening lines I’d had kicking around for ages but couldn’t progress them at all. The second part of the first verse was initially the start of another song. The chorus came to me whilst watching an NFL game. The kicker missed a game winning kick and despite his good record the commentator said he would be cut because he’d done the same thing the week before. The other commentator argued that his previous record was good …… the first commentator said it will be a case of what have you done for me lately and he’ll be gone. I wrote the chorus there and then and eventually used it here. Music wise it cam be whatever anyone wants it to be.

Across The Land And The Sea

I thought we could shine like the stars in the night sky
Throwing our light across the land and the sea
I hoped we would stay wrapped up high in the heavens
My princess and me there for eternity
But now it seems that our light is already fading
And a darkness descends across the land and the sea
So must I take to the road in search of the answer
That will help us to shine on eternally

I walked through the forests and climbed every mountain
I strode and I swam across the land and the sea
Then on one sunny day I came to an old man
He said sit down and tell your story to me
So I told him the tale and spoke of my princess
And how I’d travelled so far across the land and the sea
He said haven’t you realised there isn’t an answer
Just what’s in your heart and that’s the way it should be

So I set off for home my heart beating heavy
Made light of the journey across the land and the sea
The old man had shown me the reason for loving
And now I knew we could shine on for eternity
But when I came to the place it was lonely and empty
My princess had gone across the land and the sea
She’d grown tired of waiting and needed the answer
So her love light could shine on eternally

I returned to the forests and scaled all the mountains
Searched high and searched low across the land and the sea
Then just like before I came to the old man
He said your princess was here quite recently
She’s on her way home and she knows there’s no answer
So move swiftly and safely across the land and the sea
Then your light it will shine like the stars in the night sky
Because of what’s in your hearts and that’s the way it should be

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Composer Notes

Lyrically this was loosely inspired by Free’s I’m A Mover. For some reason though I picture it in a more medieval setting and subsequently envisage a Blackmore’s Night type sound for the music. There is no chorus as such but the uniform use of the title line gives the verses an almost chorus like rhythm. For this reason I would suggest a longer than normal instrumental passage between the verses, especially two and three. It is almost a kind of roaming minstrel type song I have in mind, but where the instrumentalists have freedom to shine between a simple vocal.

Girl Of My Dreams

Once upon a time about a year ago, thought I was going crazy
Couldn’t get shot of my yesterdays, then it all changed when you came my way
I didn’t make it any mystery, the way I felt about you and me
You wanted time but I couldn’t see, now all I’ve done is make us history

Don’t you know you are the girl of my dreams
Put to shame all the beauty queens
Much better than the girls in the magazines
Baby you are the girl of my dreams

On a fine sunny day when the sky was so blue, that was when I fell in love with you
I bought you flowers I shared in your dreams, and for a while it was heaven for me
We couldn’t make it any mystery, the way we felt about you and me
We needed time but we couldn’t see, now all we’ve done is make us history

Don’t you know you are the girl of my dreams
Put to shame all the beauty queens
Much better than the girls in the magazines
Baby you are the girl of my dreams

One night when my heart was in misery, that was when you fell out of love with me
No promises of love faith and honesty, could ever put back the trust you’d lost in me
You didn’t make it any mystery, the way you felt about you and me
You needed time but I still couldn’t see, so all you could do was make us history

Don’t you know you are the girl of my dreams
Put to shame all the beauty queens
Much better than the girls in the magazines
Baby you are the girl of my dreams

Now in the evening rain when the sky is so grey, think I’m going crazy
Don’t want to get shot of my yesterdays, make it all change come back my way
I won’t make it any mystery, the way I still feel about you and me
We got enough time can’t I make you see, that we could still go down in history

Don’t you know you are the girl of my dreams
Put to shame all the beauty queens
Much better than the girls in the magazines
Baby you are the girl of my dreams
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Composer Notes

In my mind this a reasonably fast catchy pop song the sort people hum on the bus. It was one of those lyrics that virtually wrote itself once I got started. The second part of the verse, which repeats similarly throughout the song, is almost like a pre chorus and I imagine it slightly faster than the first part. As usual I have tried to give the lyric a beginning a middle and an end.

Red Wine And Roses

A photograph and some memories, is all I have left of you
Though you once were everything in my life
A lot of good days with love and harmony, nights were special too
Then you cut me deep just like a switchblade knife

Because one sad day you took your hand away, made me shed a tear
Told me that you never could be mine
The love was lost and the magic was gone, filled my heart with fear
Now I’m sitting here in misery crying all the time

Do you miss the red wine and roses, that I used to bring around
Like I miss your breath on my shoulder, whenever I’m in town
Do you miss the red wine and roses
Did you spill the wine, have the flowers died away

Then right out of the blue I got a call from you, sadness left my heart
Seemed like maybe I’d get another chance with you
We lazed in the sun loved in the corn, made a brand new start
And you told me there and then our love was true

You said you must go try to put things right, till then I mustn’t tell
So I sit here waiting each and every night
Days have passed I haven’t heard a thing, its like a living hell
And I just don’t know what to do to make it right

Why do you keep on haunting me, in the dead of night I wonder
Head is spinning turn me upside down, angels cry and the demons whisper
Find myself just walking round the town, up and down the streets I wander
Seems that I just can’t let you go, even though I’m better with another

Composer Notes

This lyric was based on one of those dreadful made for American TV movies that they put on in the afternoon. With an on/off romance that usually ends up with somebody getting killed or locked up. I can’t recall the name of the film or why it was on but the lyric was originally called Come Back To Me so that may be the title of the film. I wrote a new chorus so subsequently changed the title. Musically I see it as a blues/soul type verse with a catchy radio friendly chorus with the vocal bridge towards the end being done almost without accompaniment before a lengthy ad lib to end.

Misty,The Morning And The Sea

Misty came to me one summers day in June
The morning sun still rising in the sky
I first saw the beauty in her face
As the sunlight reflected in her eye
She spoke to me only with the softest words
And then she turned and walked away
I tried to call her back but she was gone
Nothing I could do to make her stay

All this world means to me
Is misty, the morning and the sea
The only things that set my spirit free
Are misty, the morning and the sea

I sailed the seas, I sailed the oceans
Through summer, winter, spring and fall
Raging seas and stormy weather
I hardly even noticed them at all
But nowhere I could sail took me to her
Never even found any kind of sign
My heart lay shipwrecked on the water
It seemed I was never gonna make her mine

All this world means to me
Is misty, the morning and the sea
The only things that set my spirit free
Are misty, the morning and the sea

I stepped out in the morning, of a dark winters day
All the cold snow lay frozen on the ground
But the air it hit me warm and soothing
Then I heard a heavenly sound
For she spoke to me only in the softest words
Took me by the hand and led me away
To my little boat out in the harbour
Said this is the place I’m gonna stay

All this world means to me
Is misty, the morning and the sea
The only things that set my spirit free
Are misty, the morning and the sea
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Composer Notes

This is one of those odd lyrics that just came out of nowhere. I have absolutely no recollection of how I came up with the title at all. This is actually the second version as I rewrote it after initially writing it a year or so earlier. It was initially about someone dreaming whilst on the beach. Unfortunately the lyric was very surreal and the melody almost unsingable so it was eventually consigned to the bin. However, I always liked the title so kept it in mind. Bizarrely its rebirth was brought about by someone talking about their dog and how the best part of their day was walking it early in the morning, especially when visiting the coast. This remark gave me the chorus, and after turning Misty from a golden retriever to a mysterious unattainable creature like one of those girls from the old Flake adverts the lyric was complete. Musically it is a blank sheet for someone to do with as they please.

Dying On the Inside

Janey goes off to work in the morning
Wearing a painted on smile
And she lies through the day faking happy
But she’s breaking her heart all the while
She dreams through the day chasing rainbows
Waiting for her train to arrive
Because she cried through the night counting heartaches
Searching for the strength to stay alive

Because she waiting for some kind of sign
Waiting for the light to help her shine
While she’s dying on the inside all the time
Yes she’s dying on the inside all the time

Johnny got a gun inside his jacket
And a mood to match his steely frown
Had a bad night on the bottle
Don’t the world kick a man when he’s down
But this world to him it once looked better
Wasn’t supposed to be this way
But he can’t find the will to pull the trigger
Got too many things he needs to say

‘Cos he’s still waiting for a chance to shine
Waiting like a diamond hidden in a mine
But he’s dying on the inside all the time
Yes he’s dying on the inside all the time

Janey finds him sitting in the corner
Of a lonely downtown bar
Johnny turns around and his eyes they flicker
How did they let things get this far
Janey takes his hand and presses harder
Than she’s ever done before
Johnny leaves his gun under the table
Before they head off through the door

Now she’s given him a chance to shine
And he’s given her a kind of sign
They shouldn’t be dying on the inside all the time
Shouldn’t be dying on the inside all the time
***********************

Composer Notes

I picture this as one of those Bad Company/ Foreigner / possibly Bon Jovi type American AOR songs with a story. Musically I envisage a strong catchy intro and a radio friendly guitar break and lots of electric piano/keyboards.

Everything’s Over

And now I know that it is true, now that I have lived with you
You tried to rule me all the time, even tried to kill my own free mind
Friends said to me you were no good, you’d bring me down you surely would
But the way they spoke it made me cry, because I thought it was all a lie

I gave to you my heart, let you cry on my shoulder
I gave to you my strength, it made you feel bolder
I gave to you the warmth, when your soul became colder
I gave to you the grace, showed you how to grow older
But now you take me apart, everything’s over
Now it’s over, over and over
Yes I gave you my heart, felt your tears on my shoulder
Now it’s over, over and over, everything’s over

Suddenly I can see the things you do, the evil ways you are into
Well now you are no friend of mine, just planning your misery all the time
You hid it all so well behind your smile, was it wickedness all the while
Maybe I’m the fool to wonder why, but didn’t I see you cry

I know I must travel far away, if I’m to see the dawning of a brighter day
Far from the sadness of your heart, and try to make a brand new start
But I still feel you’re in control, maybe your evil has got into my soul
And now and again in mind there’s a doubt, what if I had never found you out

Composer Notes

This was one of the first lyrics I came up with when starting to write again a few years ago. Part of the verses began life as a song called Black Widow in the early eighties. Lyrically it is your classic betrayal song but with the twist that it might not turn out to be such a bad thing after all. Musically I see it almost as two separate songs married together. For the verse I hear a strong rhythmical almost tribal drum beat behind a virtually spoken vocal and minimal instrumental accompaniment. For the chorus however I hear strong layered but almost acoustic sounding guitars with a powerful vocal building to a quite heavy sounding and heartfelt climax followed by an instant stop and return to the rhythm of the verse. A song that could have one of those endings that goes on and on.

Full Moon Rising

Fooling with the tarot on a wet and windy night
Hoping your luck’s gonna last
Dancing with the devil through the darkness and the light
Something is calling you into your past
Messing with the magic of a man you’ll never be
The spirit is making you high
You’ll keep searching for the spell that’ll set you free
Never find it till the day that you die

Full moon rising, you can’t run away
Full moon rising, the evil is making you stay

Mysterious and ageless he conjours his way through time
Magician’s magic is timeless puts illusions in your mind
Blurring fantasy and reality with every wave of his hand
Sending mystical sounds and visions all across this land

Full moon rising, you’ll never run away
Full moon rising, will hold you till your dying day

Hiding in the land of a long forgotten king
Being hunted by an ancient crowd
They’re killing for the king, you can hear bells ring
And now you’re screaming out loud
Find yourself gazing to the stars on a dark windy night
All the people are calling your name
You try to escape but the light is too bright
As the fire frames your face with the flame

Full moon rising, you can’t run away
Full moon rising, not till your dying day
***************************************

Composer Notes

This is by far the oldest lyric as it began life way back in 1981 whilst I was in a heavy rock band. At that point it did have music written for it because I remember performing it on a couple of occasions. However it was never recorded so is ready to begin a second life. I have changed the lyrics around slightly from the original and added a middle bridge which actually came from another uncompleted song from that time called Magic Circle. The original track I remember singing to a melody similar to No Time To Lose by Rainbow. I picture it now as heavy, fast and slightly menacing. With its medieval Ronnie James Dio type lyric it is could almost be a Rainbow tribute song.

Lost Without A Trace

Rising with the dawn, it’s a beautiful day
Though there’s a sadness and an aching in my heart
Many suns have set and risen again since I went away
But this emptiness is tearing me apart

Walking down this rocky road lonely like the wind
Rolling like the waves on the sea
No-one to guide me, no-one to find me
No-one to set my spirit free

Because I’m lost without a trace
Just a hiding my face
Living with the loneliness
Out here in the wilderness
I’m lost without a trace
And I know I can’t take another heartache
Lost without a trace

Laying under misty skies, another cold and sleepless night
Moonlight shadows never seem to comfort me
Can’t see it in the stars, they won’t give me a sign
Maybe I could just be too blind to see

I’m just a drifting dreamer on my own again
Searching for someone that I can call a friend
But my heart it won’t surrender, gives me only pain
Still I’ll keep on hoping till the very end

Composer Notes

Another one of my little boy lost type lyrics. I see it as a fairly slow acoustic opening building to a rockier chorus probably in the mould of an early Bad Company or Free type track.

Some Kind Of Woman

She has the look of a princess, flashing eyes of emerald green
The spirit of the hunter, the grace of the finest Queen
She has the smile of a child, fills my heart with love
The power of a goddess sent from up above

Some kind of woman, with the grace of a swan
Some kind of woman, to keep turning me on
Some kind of woman, never do me no wrong
Some kind of woman, love me all night long

She is as wild as the ocean, as calm as the mountain stream
The ways to turn a nightmare into the finest dream
She is as warm as the sunshine, as refreshing as the summer rain
The healing hands of kindness that take away the pain

Some kind of woman, with the grace of a swan
Some kind of woman, to keep turning me on
Some kind of woman, never do me no wrong
Some kind of woman, love me all night long

She has the strength of a woman, the weakness of a new born child
The passion of a lover, like a tigress untamed and wild
She has the heart of an angel, shines brighter than any star
The moonbeams chase her footsteps no matter where they are

Some kind of woman, with the grace of a swan
Some kind of woman, to keep turning me on
Some kind of woman, never do me no wrong
Some kind of woman, love me all night long

She is as pretty as a picture, sharper than any photograph
The ways to make you cry, the ways to make you laugh
She is as close as a heartbeat, as distant as the morning sun
The lady is my one true love until my life is done

Some kind of woman, with the grace of a swan
Some kind of woman, to keep turning me on
Some kind of woman, never do me no wrong
Some kind of woman, love me all night long
*************************************

Composer Notes

This is the lyric that started me writing again albeit in a slightly reworked form. It was originally called Lady but I was never comfortable with that as both Paul Rodgers and David Coverdale had written songs with the same title. Somehow in a pub one lunchtime the subject got around to writing songs and a debate began about whether it was something you could learn to do or whether you had to have a natural talent for it. Subsequently as a ‘former’ lyricist I was awarded the task of writing a lyric by that evening about anything at all. Returning to my office I recalled Christmas Eve of 1999 when I had gone out for a Christmas drinking session with friends. We went in a great number of pubs that day and almost everywhere we went across the other side of the room was this young woman with piercing green eyes just staring back at us. None of us ever spoke to her and we never even found out her name but the memory of the stare and the greenness of the eyes gave me the first lines and basically the lyric built up from there. The chorus was written a few years later. Music wise I have no firm ideas.

Someone Stole The Moon Out Of The Sky

Someone stole the moon out of the sky, someone stole the moon out of the sky
Don’t tell it to the stars, don’t tell it to the stars,