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.

Still Writing ...

Some time since my last post - again;I seem to be writing in fits and starts these days. And doing far more reading. Maybe I am getting old, or maybe I am just too busy. However, I suddenly had an urge to write again last night. An urge which was generated by the purchase of a new ukulele of all things. It is actually a Cordoba branded instrument and I absolutely love the sound. (Note : the link is to the actual uke which I purchased but there is no association between myself and the company concerned)

I had been playing some of my old songs and wondering why I had stopped writing songs. The answer is guessed was because I had started writing poetry. Not a very satisfying answer because I have not written any poetry for a while. I think it had something to do with being able to express myself as a writer much better with simple lyrics than with the poetry. I decided to put this to the test and sat down to write a song using the methods I would use to write poetry. If that makes sense?

With songs, I used to play a few chord riffs until a melody came into my head. I would use simple lyrics as a "place marker" for the finished article, however much of that simple lyric often remained.

I thought what if I wrote the lyric first, and in fact I managed to put something together and when I felt ready (the lyric was not complete) I picked up the uke and started to play and sing. At some point I felt that both aspects gelled and was quite happy with the whole and managed to record a first take using my PC's built in camera.

This showed a few inconsistencies but meant I would not have to try to remember the melody / timing and then find if I did not get back to it for a few days I would need to repeat the second part of the process, i.e. the melody.

Here is a copy of the lyric with a few chord names (tentative at this stage) added for my convenience. The chords are written as capitals in square brackets, e.g. [C], [G7], etc.

BIttersweet Memories

INTRO

[C][F][C][G*][G7*]

Verse1

-tacit-

My em[C]otions are all in a mess

Should be pulling myself [F]together, I guess

Let me tell you, I want to explain

You're the [G7]reason I'm in so much [C]pain

V2

I can't see a future that's clear

The options I have bring me nothing but fear

A fear that you're leaving me soon

the sky will fall with visions of doom [C*][CM7*][C7*]

BRIDGE

[F]Memories, bIttersweet [C]memories

You [F]fill my heart with images of [C]joy [C*][CM7*][C7*]

But you [F]cut the chains,

and you [C]loose the reins

And [F]cast me down just like some broken [C]toy

V3

I just never know what to expect

Whatever I do for you, is never correct

As close as you and I have been

Anytime at all you can erect that screen

Not quite poetry but maybe poetic? I will be posting a video on line when I have got a "clean and finished copy for anyone interested. I will edit the post when it is ready.