Original Song Lyrics, The Cat

 

Something I have intended to do for ages, is to transcribe my song writing notebooks on to the computer. Simply so that if the old books hand written books fall apart, I have a usable copy of the lyrics of some 250-300 songs and which I can properly archive.

Whilst an enforced period without the uke is in operation, I have actually gotten around to exercising my typing skills. Last night I came to the end of creating a first volume of my lyrics with 50 songs mostly dated from the seventies. I hope to be able to add chords to the lyrics but again all you need is time; close to a cue for a song but would that be a step too far.

Most of the songs have been almost forgotten, I had revived about a dozen for use with my ukulele, but although being able to sing the rest, I would need to work out some chords. Especially as they are for a different instrument to that which they were written on.

Although people often ask which comes first, the lyric of the melody, I have to say that with me it was usually both at once. So whilst I can sing them (almost?) Remembering how I played them is not possible.

So some of the songs are ones I still play, some I have forgotten, some have cheesy lyrics (as my son calls them), some are clever (well... ?). and some are just strange. Oh yes, and some were written in answer to the punk revolution so are impossible to categorise. But they all have some sort of memories for me, even if it was just singing them with relief when they were finished. Assuming of course that they were finished. I was still editing and changing the lyrics as I typed them into the laptop.

Here is one example of a "strange" lyric, I remember writing this one after watching a TV program with David Bowie talking about his songwriting. He used to collect newspaper head lines and then use them to create the lyrics of some of his (earlier?) songs. I tried this method but was always a bit suspicious of the results and maybe three or four survived my regular culls.

This one is called "THE CAT"

Let me tell you about that curious character called The Cat
He’s a man who’ll tell you that he knows where it’s happening & where it’s really at
But beware, take care he’s having you on and dragging you down
It’s your turn this time, if you don’t turn around and forget him

There’s a lot to be said, better get it straight; keep yourself on the ball
Though everyone’s going, an invitation to his pad leads to a fall
Look out girl, keep on rolling, take a bow show him a vanishing trick
A touch of magic is all it needs, are you good enough

Take a trip to the U.S. of A. leave the winter behind you
He won’t forgive or forget what you did he don’t like taking a fall
Steal the show, see and be seen, strike it lucky There’s a rough road ahead
And it’s safer the second time around When escaping to nowhere,

Original Song Lyric: My Love

Unfortunately, I never dated any of my early songs; I simply scribbled them out onto any handy scraps of paper - I was usually in a hurry to record them before they were forgotten. Once I was satisfied with the lyric, and that usually meant with the melody as they often came out of my head (?) together, I carefully copied them out into a hard-backed note book using a fountain pen (remember those?) and in my best writing. I reckon I could have been a doctor with that skill level.

The same  applied to the guitar accompaniments really, in fact the chord structure often suggested how the melody progressed. However, in this case I rarely bothered to make a note of the chords and any instrumental flourishes. I never developed longer instro pieces because it was all about the songs at the time. Surprising, you may think since my main inspiration was Hank Marvin and The Shadows. But both sides of my music were kept apart and never the twain did meet. But I digress ...

Over the years, I must have written hundreds of songs, a lot were never written into the notebooks because they were inferior for one reason or another or reminded me of another song which I may have heard on the radio or TV. I was scrupulous about that. But certainly not all survived to find favour by winning a place in my notebooks. I now have to rely on events, people and places to try and date the songs, that is why the dates I quote, when I do, are so loosely defined. Nowadays I write song much less frequently, and they are immediately typed into the computer where I keep a journal since they can be easily edited. I am also adding my older songs to this journal slowly but surely. Which is what sparked the idea for this whole project.

But for now, here is another of those very early songs, I have no memories of any sort about this song; why, when or where it came from. It is entitled, "My Love":-

MY LOVE

My Love, 

What have I done to hurt you, won't you tell me?

What have I done to make you turn against me?

oh my Love, Oh my Love

My Love, 

Did you really mean those things that you said to me?

Did you realise how those things cut right through me?

And hurt me, deep inside

(bridge)

Won't you give me another little chance?

Tell me where I went wrong.

I'm ready to take all of the blame,

If you tell me where I went wrong.

My Love,

What's it gonna take to get us back together?

There's really such a lot could hold us two together.

Oh my Love, stay my Love

Oh my Love, stay my Love ….

Hear the song on my blog, Guitar Bashin' or maybe on the musical story A Ukulele Journey. It may take a little while to post to both sites as it is now past my bedtime, well I am getting on a bit. Back with more on this project and more original lyrics soon,

Original Song - Only A Fool

It looks as if I will be including more of my song lyrics in the future, I guess that there is only a difference in perspective between my poetry and the lyrics and I am not really writing much "poetry" at the moment. Also I will be trying to find a home for the lyrics (which I will be typing up) from songs written by myself over the past 60 years. Yep that was no typo, I have been writing songs since I was 120 years old. Some times in my life have been more productive than others but I have been at it for over 60 years.

This song was written, as I say when I was about 12-14; I was never very good at keeping a record of dates for most of the time and I can only date the songs from other memories of my life. I remember writing this and about half a dozen more whilst keeping a rythm going with a home made drum kit. The kit consisted of cardboard boxes, biscuit tin lids (the round ones, sometimes with nails drilled thru them to give a lovely swishing sound) and a couple of drums from an old toy set. Those did have skins however. Anyway, the lyrics:-

Title: Only A Fool 

written by John Dyhouse (1958/9)

You treated me bad

And put me down.

Then played around with other guys,

Out on the town.

But I still Love you,

I'm only a fool.

Won’t you please come back to me?

Stop being so cruel.

(Bridge) How could you hurt anyone so?

I really don’t know.

I’ll ask again, comeback,

‘Cause I love you so

If you still love me

Don’t be so cruel

Because I still love you so,

I’m only a Fool.

... Only a fool,

... Only a fool.

Notice that last stanza, in the song it would be called a coda ( or an outro in modern
parlance) but would probably have no place in a poem - or would it? Also would a
poem have a bridge?

If you would like to hear this, sung with a ukulele baking, you will find it here on
my music pages.