Down in the valley
Where the sun don’t shine
There’s a wasteland minstrel
He’s almost blind
Singing summer girl and drinking toxic wine
There’s a king in his orbit
Who plays with no doubt
But there’s no one left
Who can twist and shout
All the young dudes snorting
Through their gold privileged snouts
And his friends don’t care
For they’ve found some beer
Fighting over rounds
And missing out fear
Waiting for the ferry men
With coins wedged in their eyes

Won’t you sit with me, my darling
Let us sing of love
Wont you call with me for rescue
Hope there’s gods above

I’m the minstrel of the wasteland
The land is washed by the lies of the rich
And the truth that was there Runs down to the ditch
The plastic so fantastic Is spread on the poisoned ground
There are fears, there are tears but still there are beers
The football commentators sound like prophets and seers
And the opium of the masses is tasting really sound
But my friend don’t care for he’s got no hair
Charming all the ladies with his charismatic flair
Rubbing on his belly eating 15 porky pies

Won’t you sit with me, my darling
Let us sing of love
Wont you call with me for rescue
Hope there’s gods above

I don’t want a witness
don’t want a dreamer
A viewer of views
Or a countrywide schemer
A politician a merry shrink
A doctor or a nurse
A prophet or a carer
Or a caster of a curse
I want me a salesman
Who can sell me my end
A thousand powered motorbike
A mechanised friend.
That drive me to the wall
Drive me to the fall
That finish off the job
The final page recall
I’m finished with the tears
Finished with the joy
Sick of saying I was lucky
Sickened by the ploy
That says that if you still survive
Then everything’s ok
You open up your bleeding eyes
And fine the sky is grey
And weeping and the pain keeps seeping
The clouds are grieving
Right over your life
I’m going to rev the engine up
And move towards the brick
I’m going to power drive with force
Release the motion quick
But this time I’ll be so damn lucky
Precisely reckless, fast
Ambulances racing there
Will never reach the task

For I don’t want to ride this bike no more
Don’t want to ride this bike no more
Don’t want to ride this bike no more

Trying to see through
The dark space, the lean to
Of the shack of your life
The shame and the strife
The memories sharp
That slice through your life
It’s easy to say that the pain goes
And just for a moment it will go astray
But it wanders on back
Like a dog with a bite
It chews through your day
And leaves only night.

For I don’t want to ride this bike no more
Don’t want to ride this bike no more
Don’t want to ride this bike no more

Sitting on a plane
Trying to find a way
Avoiding golf each day
We’re not going to play.
My friends
We will take the path
Where we can have a laugh
Let’s greet this day.

The sun is shining
Mesmerising
Golfers toiling, so far away
The drinks are flowing
The seeds we’re sowing
Of memories
For future days

So raise
Raise a glass with me
Who knows where we’ll be this time next year

My friends
We can tell our tales
Of wins, forgotten fails
When we were young
My friends
Time so relentlessly
Grinds fate and destiny
To empty ends

The sun is shining
Mesmerising
Golfers curse, bad scores bemoan
But you are smiling
Stories compiling
Tales to tell in the nursing home.

So raise
Raise a glass with me
Who knows where we’ll be this time next year
So raise
Raise a glass with me
Who knows where we’ll be
And life is dear

Will you hear my speech miss Samantha McCann
I wonder if you’d listen to me
I’ve a real nice house
A filled up pension plan
And your father says that you are free

But you are old
And I am young
My world is wide and new
My fire burns bright
Your hearth is cold
I cannot be with you
For I want love
Soul bursting love
he kind that tears your heart

Please don’t turn away
Miss Samantha McCann
My proposition makes such sense
Treat you like a queen
Like the treasure you
Please don’t you take offence

But you are old
And I am young
My world is wide and new
My fire burns bright
Your hearth is cold
I cannot be with you
For I want love
Soul bursting love
The kind that tears your heart

Tell me the reason why it’s so cold
The summer of love slipped away
I’m down in the valley where the sun never shines
Cloud takes command of the day
Oh summer I wish that you were still my girl
Oh summer come back, I miss you so much brighten up my world

For I remember golden skies
Singing roses growing wild
Soaring birdsong filled the air
Oh summer come back
I miss you so much
Show me you still care

I was a tourist on the shoreline of love
The waves of your light warmed the sand
But you went away for 9 months and a day
Discarded me out of hand

Oh summer I wish that you were still my girl
Oh summer come back I miss your warm love brighten up my world

Sun stalks the barren ground
The arid wind the only sound
In the distant aldea
A Musico he plays
Violin and guitar sing
Of frozen hearts
And warming springs
Of passion and immortal love
Carnations red and bold

And we will be together
And we will be so free
Happy whatever weather
As long as you’re with me
Wait for the cooling rains to come
Spanish sun

Down where the roads they meet
The clap of hands
The stamp of feet
The old flamenco heals the rhythm
Of my broken heart
Hey conchita
Won’t you kiss me, won’t you place your hands in mine
And we will dance the dance together
Yes I will make you mine

And we will be together
And we will be so free
Happy whatever weather
As long as you’re with me
Waiting for the cooling rains to come
Spanish sun

I’ve found my door
3 meters wide
The concretes cold
The floors not dry
Hunger bites deep
I will not sleep

I’m a long way from heaven
I’m a long way from home
And my world is in turmoil
Like the last days of Rome
I’m a long way from safety
I’m a long way from peace.
Sister could you help bring me
Sweet release

I’m always scared
The lamplight glares
Men take from me
Without a care
Self medicate
My mind escapes

I’m a long way from heaven
I’m a long way from home
And my world is in turmoil
Like the last days of Rome
I’m a long way from safety
I’m a long way from peace.
Brother could you help bring me
Sweet release

Wake up my sweet friend
You love’s calling you from so far away
She misses your kisses
She needs to know
That you are on your way
In the time that I’ve known you
I’ve realised that your heart is good
I’d travel the world with you
Playing our guitars
If only we could

Knowing you
Has made me smile
Think of all the laughter, music, the good times
Knowing you has made me smile

Your old friend
Cool John well he welled up when he said you’re going away
He’s known you so long
And he wishes you well but would love you to stay

Knowing you
Has made him smile
Think of all the laughter, music, the good times
Knowing you has made him smile

I was sitting in a desolate bar
A woman sat close by
Asked if I needed some company
I said “lady I’m so broken, there’s no repairing me but if you have the time I’ll tell you my bleak story”
I told her that my mother was too busy
And that my father, well he never took to me
In my sorrow I ran wild around the city
She then whispered in my ear

I wonder if you ever felt loved, wonder if you ever felt true love

I told her tales of violence and how I’d made my mark
Of open wounds and memories locked away
Scarred by scars I gave to others hidden in the dark
Of moral paths away from I would stray

My teachers never taught me the might of pens
I learnt from them the power of the sword
Strapped each day for things I could not control
She then stopped me and she asked

I wonder if you ever felt loved, wonder if you ever felt true love

As a Venus fly trap scheming knows the time to close
I asked her if she understood my bind
That all I really needed was a woman with a heart
A giving soul, compassionate and kind
She said “boy I see you haven’t got a conscience, consequences blind and rotten to the core
A psychopath dressed as a saint you spun your tale and now you target me

You don’t deserve to feel the warmth of
Don’t deserve to feel the warmth of love

You don’t deserve to feel the warmth of
Don’t deserve to feel the warmth of love

I don’t deserve to feel the warmth of
Don’t deserve to feel the warmth of love

Come baby sing
Sit yourself beside me
On this sun blessed grass
And sing
Come baby lay
Daisies crowned
Forget that frown
And Lay next to me
And sing

You are my sweetheart
My memory’s prize
You are my darling
Delight to my eyes
When I first saw your sweet face
Your elegance your grace
Dressed in a summer dress of gentle powder blue

Come baby sing
Sit yourself beside me
On this sun blessed grass
And sing

You brought me passion
Your smile lit a spark
Drove away shadows
Released me from dark.

When I first saw your brown skin
The golden soul within
The chance of love it flowered and it grew
I found my heart was racing
The future I was facing
You were the only one for me
I just knew

Come baby sing
Sit yourself beside me
On this sun blessed grass
And sing
Come baby lay
Daisies crowned
Forget that frown
And Lay next to me
And sing

Going to work so hard and save my dough
Take a jet plane down to Mexico
See the temples where the Aztec’s tried to save their world with blood
Buy a motorbike and ride all day
Down the Pan-American highway
Down to Rio where the samba bands still play

For I
Don’t need
This grey world no more
I’m
Going to leave
Going to walk out that door
Out your door

Going to find myself a Conchita
Win her love and then I’ll marry her
Drink tequila as the sun it sets on the happiness I’ve found

For I
Don’t need
This grey world no more
I’m
Going to leave
Going to walk out that door
Out your door

There’s a man in our street
Not too good on his feet
He’s seen battles
His bones have been cracked
By so many attacks through the years
The legends tell tales
Of a left hook that sailed
Fast as lightening
Of fights on the cobbles
And losers who hobbled
In tears
He says
It’s easy to see time is tougher than me
It’s relentless
It shows no remorse as it uses its force to destroy
And though I was fast time will always laugh last
It’s a tyrant
Takes what it needs, on our youth it will feed
Can’t you see
Time is quicker than me

That old man is proud
No concern he allows
From his loved ones
He rails at the gods as the pavement he plods, filled with pain
Remembers the times when his fists moved sublime
To their target
Then buy all a drink
The resentment would sink deep below