The title track of a collection of songs I put together as Christmas presents to some of my closest friends. The songs on it were:
Lucky Thirteen. This was written for Sarah
Bolton at Rough Trade records. It was the first time that I'd ever received a
positive
response to a demo, and upon being asked to submit more material I found myself with
twelve songs that I felt suitable and three minutes of spare tape, so I wrote this to fill
the gap.
You Come Inside Me. Despite it's title,
this has little, if anything to do with sex. This is my tribute to Janis Joplin Hence
the references to Pearl, Tell Mama, Cry Baby etc.
Writing On The Wall. No more or less than a
love song.
It Doesn't Matter. Not exactly the happiest
song in the world, but where would we be without Bruce Springsteen?
I Saw God was written after a gig I did where at the back of
the room, sat alone, and saying not a word to anybody was a guy who looked just like the
average persons conception of what God would look like: beard, long hair, sandals, the
works. And it wasn't until I enquired about him that I learnt that he even had the
initials JC.
When The Whip Comes Down. was my reaction
to the videotographer at my brothers wedding who messed up the video. Da Vinci was the videotographer, Mona Lisa the bride, and
everybody else are the inevitable drunks and fools that always seem to congregate at such
events.
Venezuela. I put this together on a lazy
Sunday afternoon with a friend of mine called Mike Lezala (ex of Legend)
after I'd returned from a trip to.....I won't insult your intelligence
Bar Room Blues. This is the real world.
Everybody knows everybody in this one.
In A While. My version of the events when Margaret Thatcher met Michael
Gorbacev on his first trip to Britain. This is probably the only time in history that the
Iron Lady has been called "the lady with the enigmatic smile"
This Life's Too Big. So is the title. A
love song to the nth degree.
Overkill. This is especially close to my
heart as it's one of the umpteen songs I've written about my time in Rio with Ronnie Biggs. Every word of this
has great significance to me, though to the uninitiated I appreciate that it could be
somewhat vague.
White Dove was written for John and Mona,
two friends who left my home of Jersey to live in Dubai.
They both worked at the Jersey Zoo and
John's father was the Bishop of Liverpool. Hence the line "the primate looks across
the great divide."
Falling To Pieces. It makes sense to me.
Make of it as you will.
Big Book is a tribute to
a friend
who sadly died of an overdose twenty years or so ago. A few years ago I had a drink with
him. O.k. so own up, who is dead.
Last Stand. Well it's the story of somebody's life.
Return To Yesterday. I wrote a whole bunch
of songs with specific artistes in mind. This one I wrote for Tina Turner. O.k. so she didn't record it. It's
still a great song though.
