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INTERVIEW WITH JEFF SCOTT # 10 ( 2024 )

“I’ve struggled a lot this year, I can’t deny that, but every time I do this I think it helps me figure myself out just a little bit more.”

James Ellis travels through a rain lashed early September morning to talk about his fourth new lyric collection in two years, trying new things, fulfilling old ideas, dealing with loss and re-evaluating his previous work. “I’m proud of it all,” he tells Jeff Scott, “but recently I’ve been re-evaluating a lot of stuff.”

THE RAIN, WHICH came early and heavy, has thankfully subsided, a damp freshness lingering in the air as clouds still hover menacingly between the first beams of sunlight. It feels like perfect timing as we sit outside Beach Cliff Fish & Chips, located on Penarth’s esplanade and a stones throw away from it’s art deco pier pavilion which overlooks the pebble beach and views of the Severn Estuary across to England.

This place was once known as the garden by the sea and as autumn seeps in that feels particularly apt. I’m sat across from James Ellis, who’s chosen this idyllic locale to talk about his latest lyric collection ‘The Saviours & The Songs,’ written over the course of summer just past.

As far as the lyric side of things go this is the tenth time we’ve done this over the past 12 years. Of course we’ve actually done this dozens of times if you include the books and the comics too ( and the memoirs we collaborated on, ‘The Art Of Over Thinking.’ ) Every time a project is signed off on I get the low down from Ellis on how it came about.

With drinks in tow (coke zero and tea if you’re wondering ) and getting caught up on all that life stuff we soon get down to the nitty gritty.

Ellis says he hadn’t really planned on writing a new collection this year. “I’d written three collections in just over a year or so, which I was satisfied with, so I was perfectly happy if nothing came this year. Also, I’d just finished two books, did the marketing, released them, and was feeling a bit burned out on the creative side, much as I love it.”

He wasn’t interested in going over old ground either. “These days if I’m not doing something new, some new style or genre I haven’t tried before then it doesn’t feel worth the effort, I need that challenge, that spark.”

There were a couple of ideas that fell by the wayside. The first was a possible follow up to ‘On The Outside Looking In,’ “a more introspective thing but I wasn’t really in that head space.” He also toyed with the idea of continuing the folk, Celtic style of ‘All Those Years Between Us’ but felt he had nothing new in the tank in that regard.

“Coincidentally around that time I was listening to a lot of blue collar rock, Springsteen, Petty, and others like The Gaslight Anthem and Dave Hause. I’ve touched on that style before, that kind of story based and character led stuff but I’ve never pushed it harder to see where it would take me. Back in the day the aborted collection ‘Kingdom Road’ was almost that and it’s always bugged me that that never worked out.”

Q. If you‘re happy to I‘d like to name the songs on ‘The Saviours & The Songs,’ perhaps in the order they were written, and get your response. ‘American Pilgrim’ was the first off the starting block, yes?

Yeah. That was the breakthrough one this time around. After those various false starts it just flowed out one night and I knew I’d found something new to explore and it went from there. Apart from a few alterations it came out pretty much fully formed. By the way, I overheard the name Jenny Bags spoken by two people drinking on the street as I passed by and ‘American Pilgrim’ was almost the title of the collection.

Q. And the next day that flowed straight into ‘The Punks & The Preachers.’

Yep, if ‘American Pilgrim’ was an introduction of sorts then I think ‘Punks …’ is more of an overview of what’s to follow. It’s snapshots really of different lives and some of the names turn up again in later songs. Like ‘American Pilgrim’ it came fast, in fact, the first five I wrote through June came pretty fast, once the damn broke it broke big ( laughs. )

Q. ‘The Modern Saints Of Babylon,’ I thought that was an interesting title.’

I have no idea where that came from, I just liked the sound of it. I don’t often do that but this time I just went with it. I have absolutely no idea what it means. ( laughs )

This one is about how much we sacrifice for family, about how far we’re willing to go and how we judge ourselves with the choices we make.

Q. ‘Across The Bridge,’ ‘Old Haunts & Memories,’ ‘Here By The Grace Of God,’ ‘Burned Out Cars’ and ‘Kings & Queens’ all share themes of looking back at younger days, that kind of idyllic view of life and how our friendships change as we grow older and life pulls us apart.

That was interesting, those common themes weren’t planned at all, it’s just the way they came out. I didn’t notice the overlap until later but I liked that they came out that way. I had another song called ‘When Were Young, When We Were Us,’ which when I looked at it wasn’t much of anything, it was just bare bones, you know, barely a sketch of a song. It had some good bits in it though which ended up in a few other songs so I guess it wasn’t a total wasted effort on my part ( laughs. )

Q. And then you switched it up a bit when you got to ‘Other Side Of The River’

One thing I noticed happening with these songs was that most of them were viewed by a narrator who’s observing others who are around them. We don’t even know who this narrator is. I didn’t intend it that way. It’s funny, I had no idea what I was going to write about with this one but once I got the first line I just knew it was about an ex - convict going home and trying to go straight and it just went from there.

Q. And the ‘The Saviours & The Songs’ shares it’s title with the collection.

One thing I knew I wanted to try when I first started dipping my toe into the whole blue collar rock side of things was to write a kind of classic anthem, well, the lyrics for one anyway ( laughs ) very much in the style of Springsteen, Petty, The Gaslight Anthem, you know, that kind of thing. Whether I was successful in that I’ll let others judge ( laughs ). I was always pretty sure it would end being the title of the collection.

Q. ‘A Poetry About These Streets and ‘Orphans & Priests’ feel like you were going for an almost cinematic feel. Would you say that’s fair?

Yeah, I guess, to a degree. I had in mind the idea that I’d like a few of the songs to have a bit more of an epic feel, something like those longer songs on Springsteen’s first few albums, with the snap shots of daily life and its colourful characters, yeah, almost a widescreen look at a kind of bygone ere. ‘Orphans & priests,’ I think, owes a particular debt to that style. ‘Poetry’ I always had in mind for the end of the collection right from the start. I’m not even really sure why that was, maybe it just felt right. Both were very long and got cut down, and I mean they really got cut down a lot. I made myself be more disciplined with the editing this time around, every line was refined to within an inch of its life. I was interested in seeing how much fat I could trim without losing the overall effect and feeling of what I was trying to convey.

Q. ‘The Contender ( ‘24 )’ wasn’t written in these recent sessions, was it?

No, it’s the oldest song here and the only one not fully written this year. It’s the only one too where the narrator is talking about himself and not simply being a bystander. ’The Contender’ goes way back to 2010 and the aborted ‘Kingdom Road’ collection. About six or seven songs from that ended up in the archive series of outtake lyrics, and for a long time I was happy with that but something about ‘The Contender’ kept nagging at me. It just felt like it hadn’t found its proper place. So, part way into this new batch of stuff I revisited it and it just seemed to fit. I’ve never revisited something in that way before so that’s new.

I think for a long time too I thought it veered a little too close to Springsteen’s ‘The Hitter’ which was the original inspiration for it, but over the years and after the rewrites I’ve seen it has its own merits.

Q. ‘Skin Of Our Teeth’

I think I was going for more of a harder edge on this one, a grittier take. It’s about how some of us just barely get through each day and it’s a small triumph when we do, without us giving into despair or turning to addiction or crime to do it. This was another one that grew out of just an opening line without me knowing where it was really going.

Q. ‘The Pauper & The Queen’

This one came out pretty late one night and is the only one that relates directly to my own life, though it can be seen more universally as well. I had the title for a while but it was going to be for something else entirely. Then, just as I was finishing writing ‘Burned Out Cars’ I found out through a friend that an old girlfriend had passed away. Well, more than a girlfriend, someone who’d been very special to me. It had been years since I’d seen her. So much time had passed but I was shocked how hard it hit me, especially as she pretty young as well.

I just needed to write down what I was feeling as any wrier does and the lyrics were pulled from that, edited and refined, but still, mostly intact.

Q. ‘Wooden Ships & Playgrounds’

It was the end of the summer when I wrote this, that feeling of summer winding down, and I was feeling wistful, and I think that seeped into the words. It’s someone talking to a loved one, a friend, a girlfriend, about how their parents suffered, about how their town is suffering, and they should do all they can not to get caught in the same old pattern. It’s about choices like a lot of these things are, do you leave, break that pattern or do you stay, live the same life your parents lived. Neither way is wrong but it’s a choice we all have to make.

Q. ‘Sally Listen, Nobody Wins’

Pretty straight forward that one, it’s about not giving up, carrying on, not letting yourself give in to despair and self defeat. A lot of tough things in life we can’t do anything about, but what we can do is do the best with what we’ve got, just get on with it and make the most of things.

Q. How do you feel now when looking back at your past collections, with there being 21 years worth that’s a fair back catalogue. We discussed this a few years ago but I wonder if your perspective has changed about what worked, what didn’t, the highs and the lows.

Well, right, I guess we should start at the beginning then. ( laughs ) First of all, and I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but these collections began very differently. Originally, back in 2003 my idea was just to collect them together, with my first attempt at it having 38 songs, but it was too much and with that much nothing can stand out.

I can’t even remember how the idea even came to me but one day I just had the thought of why don’t I just approach these things like an album, obviously there’s no music but I can adopt the format, with a track listing and a cover. That’s where ‘Hear The Silence’ and ‘The Human Storm’ came from. I split the whole 38 song thing in two, cut a few things, and it just worked. Looking back on those two collections now I think they stand up well considering how they were put together. I had a lot of stuff to choose from and I picked the best, that helped.

Q. So going by what you just said ‘Everything You Leave Behind’ was the first collection purposefully designed to be in an album format.

Exactly, and I think for that reason it really felt like a step forward, you know. That’s where I began to take the overall feel into consideration, like what would be the best one to open with, to end with, how one flows into the next, that way of doing it really began here.

It was also the first one to have a multi -part song. I hadn’t really considered doing that before but I was listening to Snow Patrol one day, their three part song ‘The Lightning Strike,’ and I had a light bulb moment.

Q. And a few months later that same year ‘Bullet Proof Hearts’ was released.

Yes, but a step backwards I think.

Q. How so?

( Pauses ) Well no, actually that’s probably unfair. It’s a good solid collection, there’s some great stuff there but on the whole it doesn’t really stand out. Yeah, not a step backward, but not moving forward either.

Q. So, with ‘In These Times’ did you feel you were moving forward again?

Yeah, I was happier with that one. I liked that one. I still do. I thought it had a good amount of variety on it and I felt like I was pushing myself a bit more, experimenting with different styles and subject matter. On reflection when I look at those first five I think it’s a pretty solid run, none of them are my favourites but I think they still stand up.

Q. In the past you’ve often expressed disappointment with the next three collections you released over the next two years. ‘Wake Up Call,’ ‘Heartaches & Pleasures’ and ‘After The Storm.’ Does that still hold true?

Much as I hate to say it, yep, it’s still how I feel. It’s not that I feel severely disappointed by them or anything, there’ some good stuff on them. It’s just that I didn’t feel like I was challenging myself with those, at all. They didn’t feel like anything new. As collections they’re probably the weakest I’ve done. I don’t think they’re bad as such, but maybe there’s stuff that shouldn’t have got cut and other stuff that maybe should’ve got left off. Maybe my judgement was off on what I included.

Q. ‘The Silence & The Sound’ came next, during a turbulent period in your life, you once jokingly referred to it as the start of your purple patch.

I did? Well, I’ll take your word for it ( laughs ). In all seriousness though it really was in a way, obviously I didn’t see it from that perspective at the time, but that was when I upped my game a lot I think.

Q. Was there a particular reason for that change or was it a natural process?

A bit of both I think.

Q. In what way?

Well, it was organic in so much that I’d learnt a lot over the first five years and I think I had just better learnt what worked and what didn’t, I think I had a better understanding of what my strengths were. The less organic side of it was to make something more cohesive, something that had a theme or a concept running through it, where songs shared something or were linked in some way, where it wasn’t just a collection of songs, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but that really was the first one where I thought I’d probably got it right.

Q. Does it feel like a precursor to the next few years looking back now?

Oh yeah, definitely, the genie was well out of the bottle by then. Also, around that time for the first time I was properly discovering rock operas and concept albums, listening to music by ‘The Who,’ ‘Pink Floyd and ‘Green Day’ too, which I guess opened my eyes to a different way of doing things and I wanted to see how far I could take things. I was for the first time, properly combining the prose and lyric sides.

Q. Which resulted in the strong run ‘Age Of The Restless Heart,’ ‘Songs Of All Our Yesterdays,’ ‘When The Sky Fell Down,‘ ‘Post Atomic Blues,‘ ‘The Dream Parade and ‘Kings Of Desolation Avenue,’ which was a hefty mix of concept collections and rock operas. For a time after you seemed ambivalent about the latter two.

Yeah, but I went back to them a few years later and was pleasantly surprised by what was actually there. It’s nice when that happens. I look at that run from ‘Silence’ to ‘Kings’ now and see it as some of my best stuff.

I’ve been really keen for years now to write another rock opera but something like that needs a really strong central idea and one hasn’t presented itself, I don’t know, maybe I already took it as far as it could go.

Q. For the next five years you seemed to purposefully move away from the big ideas kind of collections, moving back toward more of a subtler themed collection in what was essentially a trilogy of trilogies.

And with varying degrees of success I think. The whole trilogy of trilogies thing certainly wasn’t intended, I just wrote a hell of a lot of material during that time. I feel like maybe I wrote too much in those years or I at least released too much. I think I could have edited things better. I think I could have released less but had stronger collections. I still think they’re all pretty solid, looking back, they hang together quite well. There’s a whole lot over those nine collections I’m happy with.

Q. You worked on other projects for a while then returned with ‘Electric Hymns.’

Yeah, around that time I was looking at the 23 collections I’d written up to that point and like I said, I saw my favourites were the ones that were more cohesive, and I decided there and then that going forward I really wasn’t interested in doing another collection unless it had a theme.

I think like ‘Silence,’ ‘Electric Hymns was a precursor of what was coming.

Q. It seemed like you were building up to another new collection but it all went quiet on the lyric side of things for the next three years.

Yeah, that wasn‘t intentional at all though, I just got caught up with other stuff. ( laughs ) Actually, I think that break really befitted ‘On The Outside Looking In.’ I felt like when I came back I came back strong. It felt fresh again and I’d gathered up a nice stockpile of ideas too.

Q. Wasn’t it your intention to take another gap again after that worked out well.

Yep, then I went and wrote two collections in the same bloody year ( laughs ). I’m really happy with how ‘On The Outside’, ‘We Are Ascending,’ ‘All These Years,’ and ‘The Songs & The Saviours have come out though. It’s been a while since I’ve felt I’ve had such a good run.

Q. So, would you put them up with that period between ‘Silence’ and ‘Kings’?

I’m not sure, I think I need some more distance from them before I decide that, but if they aren‘t quite as good I don‘t think they‘re far off either.

Ellis looks out to sea as we reach the end of our look back at the last 21 years, thoughtful, as the grey sky above is broken by patches of blue.

“You know, I honestly thought I’d just write a few songs this year. I got more than that but I just really felt a need to get into it, yeah, I needed this. At the moment I see myself taking a break next year. I’ll work on other things and come back fresh.

Then again I said that last year.”

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mylyricpages · 24 days ago

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mylyricpages · 24 days ago

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‘THE SAVIOURS & THE SONGS’ ( FULL LENGTH VERSION ) ( 2024 )

American Pilgrim ( Just Another Day )

The Punks & The Pilgrims

The Modern Saints Of Babylon

Old Haunts & Memories

Across The Bridge

Here By The Grace Of God

The Saviours & The Songs

Other Side Of The River

Wooden Ships & Playgrounds

Skin Of Our Teeth

The Pauper & The Queen

Burned Out Cars

Kings & Queens ( Of Lower East Side )

Sally Listen, Nobody Wins

Orphans & Priests

The Contender ( ’24 )

A Poetry About These Streets/ Jesse

June 2024 - September 2024

AMERICAN PILGRIM ( JUST ANOTHER DAY )

Well, they found Jenny Bags down by the river last Saturday night Some say she took her own life Some say she got knifed in a fight Either way Jenny, she scratched a living till the day she died

Just another day in the neighbourhood Just another day of carrying on Just another day in the life of an American pilgrim

Well, cops took out Fast Eddie at the seven eleven just around midnight Some say he was outta his mind Some say he just needed to pick some kind of fight Either way Eddie, he lived his life to the full till the day he died

Just another day on these old streets Just another day of getting by Just another day in the life of an American pilgrim

Well, heard Car Crash Billy finally went and cashed in his chips Some say he drove to a watery grave Some say he took a blade to his wrists Either way Billy, he went out just the way he wanted

Just another day in this great divide Just another day of scraping by Just another day in the life of an American pilgrim

Well, rumour has it Rock N’ Roll Annie played her last song tonight Some say she went out in a blaze of glory Some say she walked quietly into the night Either way Annie, she left a legend in her wake

Just another day in this broken down town Just another day of making do Just another day in the life of an American pilgrim

Well, news just came through that Vinner’s Bar went up in smoke Some say he did it for the money Some say got himself up against the ropes Either way, old Vinnie guess he found himself a way out

Just another day on another street corner Just another day for an unrequited dream Just another day in the life of an American pilgrim

THE PUNKS & THE PREACHERS

Tommy G went and shot up Rosie’s Tattoo Parlour but ain’t no one round here knows why took six cops to bring him down each one saying Tommy never batted an eye

It’s funny how things go down when you just feel you’ve lost your way It’s funny how things slip away when there’s not enough to fill your day

I guess sometimes the timing just works out wrong for each and every one of us

No matter if you’re the punks or the preachers comes a time life will hit you hard comes a time life will bring you to your knees and we cling so tight to our beliefs

Suzie Q’s overdose made the tail end of the local news the other day radio seems kinda quiet, songs feel kinda hollow now we’ve lost the last of the great DJs

It’s funny how fast things change when something so familiar disappears It’s funny how memories of when we were young ring out so clear

I guess sometimes the fire just flickers and fades for each and every one of us

No matter if you’re the punks or the preachers comes a time life will knock you down comes a time life will tear your heart out still we hold on play our part

Mikey T and Big Dave thought they’d gone and found themselves the perfect con but ain’t no song ever meant anything if folks don’t want to sing along

It’s funny how life trips you up when you try to run before you walk It’s funny how the music fades when you try to sing before you can talk

I guess sometimes our plans just unravel for each and every one of us

No matter if you’re the punks or the preachers comes a time life will beat you so bad comes a time life will knock you off your feet still we refuse to admit defeat

Gotta hold onto the things that get us through Gotta keep our faith without having proof Gotta put one foot in front of the other Gotta push through from one day to the other Gotta have some belief without ever truly knowing Gotta wake up every day and just keep going

I guess everything’s always been just out of reach for each and everyone of us for each and every one of us but still we try still we try

THE MODERN SAINTS OF BABYLON

Jimmy E’s got a nephew he adores more than life itself Says I’m gonna watch over that boy until my very last breath give it my all until there’s nothing left don’t mean nothing to me if at the end I get left on the shelf

cause at the end of the day gotta live with yourself gotta do right by the ones who you love

Gotta do right by the ones who you love

Southside Johnny’s got a special girl he knows he’d die for high school sweethearts fell in love down at the shore for his special girl Johnny works in a nickel and dime store works all the hours god sends, knows he’ll always work more

cause at the end of the day gotta live with yourself gotta do right by the ones who you love

Gotta do right by the ones who you love

Spanish Maria’s got a sweet little sister who went and lost her way sold herself nightly to the bad boys down at the bay for a while you can play a part but you’ll get burnt if you stay Maria says gonna get her out of there one of these days

cause at the end of the day gotta live with yourself gotta do right by the ones who you love

Gotta do right by the ones who you love

Jersey Janey watched ‘em come and take her house the other day lost her family to the turnpike gambled the rest clean away too many empty rooms for her to even want to stay only thing she remembers didn’t wave them off that day

cause at the end of the day gotta live with yourself gotta do right by the ones who you love

Gotta do right by the ones who you love

We got our dreams and god knows we’ve given it our all bloodied our knuckles worked our fingers to the bone stone and steel and clocking off working day and night just to make sure we got enough

Gotta do right by the ones who you love Gotta do right by the ones who you love

OLD HAUNTS & MEMORIES

Do you remember when the chill used to hit the beach passed the boardwalk drunks and all our dreams seemed within reach

Do you remember how the music brought us together so strong it was all we ever needed when the summer nights felt so long

Yeah, oh, and it feels like an age it feels like an age since we were me and you

Do you remember how we used to set this whole place alight getting drunk and saving lives playing our songs and starting fights

Do you remember how we owned the stage down at the Old Parade danger hanging in the air to the scribbled down words of a switchblade serenade

Yeah, oh, and it feels like an age it feels like an age since we were me and you

Do you remember when we used to tear up the whole strip streetwise punks and wannabe kings, blood brothers and princes in our kinship

Do you remember how those old wheels seemed to carry our dreams it was all we ever needed had heart to spare and bursting at the seams

Yeah, oh, and it feels like an age it feels like an age since we were me and you

We thought we could ride this American dream for free, far too young to know the things that can cost you your belief we had the cars and we had the tunes we rode out to the crossroads but all we found were the blues

And we swore on each others hearts we’d only ever follow our own rules but life has a way of breaking the promises we make life has a way of breaking the promises we make when we’re young

Yeah, oh, and it feels like an age it feels like an age since we were me and you

ACROSS THE BRIDGE

Did you hear about young Billy Jackson joined the army, went to fight in a faraway war used to be he was a local legend round here now he’s just a name upon a wall

Well, we’ve all seen so many fall along the way Well, we’ve all seen our dreams grow old and frayed

And one day we’ll tell our stories when we meet up again over the river and across the bridge

Did you hear about little Sally Costello beautiful girl no one ever gave the time of day got to be a big deal in the New York scene but had to give her soul away

Well, we’ve all seen so our lives drift along the way Well, we’ve all seen the best of things go astray

And one day we’ll share our memories when we meet up again over the river and across the bridge

Did you hear about old Henry Jenkins went and burned his whole business to the ground been part of this place for so many years now these days ain’t a lot of our old haunts still around

Well, we’ve all seen things go by the way side Well, we’ve all seen the good and the bad times

And one day we’ll eulogise the past when we meet up again over the river and across the bridge

And there’s things and people you lose along the way and there’s things you never let yourself forget hold onto the memory of your youth just to give your present days their strength cherish those times of long nights and no regrets doing dares and making bets looking to the horizon as we recall all the bitter sweet promises we made, you and I

And one day, you and I and one day, you and I we’ll meet up again over the river and across the bridge

So let me tell you a story oh, so tell me a story when we meet up again

So tell me a story oh, so let me tell you a story when we meet up again over the river and across the bridge

HERE BY THE GRACE OF GOD

Did we ever see ourselves working our fingers to the bone making babies and making homes waiting on a pay check just to the pay the rent

Did we ever see ourselves putting our dreams in a drawer gathering dust and growing sour as we tally up the wages already spent

We said we’d never let our wild hearts fade we said we’d keep all the promises we made we said we’d always meet up again if only by the grace of god

Did we ever see ourselves working all these long hours we are sent nine to five and staying alive waiting on a tender touch and a kindly word

Did we ever see ourselves struggling just to put food on our table feeding mouths if we’re able taking solace in all the old songs we heard

We said we’d never grow old before our time we said we’d stay true to every single line we said we’d always be able to find each other if only by the grace of god

Did we ever see ourselves with cold sweats and sleepless nights unpaid bills and whiskey chills stood out in the backyard well after midnight Did we ever see ourselves drowning our sorrows in all the old places where once we found comfort amid familiar faces and all our choices felt so right

We said we’d never let the bond we had be broken we said we’d hold true to every word spoken said we’d always stand by each other if only by the grace of god

Got memories kicking in of thundering down the highway, top down and the radio on of hanging out in the downtown parking lots trying to be so grown up when we were so very young

We change, we change but some things they remain they stay the same they hold on, they hold on they stay around as we carry on

We remain, we remain here by the grace of god We remain, we remain here by the grace of god

Here by the grace of god Here by the grace of god

THE SAVIOURS & THE SONGS

What about the rock and roll songs down at the barrio What about taking your girl to her favourite show What about playing so loud in the local bars What about dreaming big looking up at the stars What about all those dreams we had back when we were kids What about all those things we never did

Sophie said, Sophie said, “Let’s put the top down, head out toward the freeway Born To Run playing on the stereo the saviours and the songs coming from the radio invisible angels preaching to the choir.”

“And we’ll drive, drive, drive just to make ourselves feel alive with our tattooed scars and scared hearts and our future way out ahead of us.”

What about the street parties and the 4th of July What about fireworks in the boardwalk sky What about making fires with friends down at the shore What about stealing beers from Old Joe’s store What about all those times we had when we were young What about all those days we tried to out run

Sophie said, Sophie said, “Let’s make some goddamn noise, wake the whole neighbourhood up The ‘59 Sound playing on the stereo the saviours and the songs coming from the radio young poets up against the world.”

“And we’ll drive, drive, drive out to the big city lights with our youthful lies and our starry eyes and our story waiting to embrace us.”

Sophie said, Sophie said, “Sometimes it’s all about putting the needle on the next song sometimes it’s just about moving on.” Said “Ain’t no good getting stuck in the groove.” Said “When chances come better make your move cause pretty soon they’ll pass you by pretty soon they’ll pass you by.”

“And we’ll drive, drive, drive get to where this town spills out onto the sixty five with our rain kissed sighs and busted highs and our ramshackle path laid out ahead of us.”

Sophie said, Sophie said, “We’ll drive, drive, drive leave this old place so far behind us.”

OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER

Mary said she saw you down at Davey’s Diner ain’t no one told me they’d let you out I guess those four walls held you long enough ain’t none of us can live for too long alone with all our doubts

Wrong place, wrong time, wrong town got yourself caught up when something bad went down

Mary said she saw you asleep in some dirty doorway said it broke her heart to see you like that I guess one mistake can echo through the years ain’t none of us can outrun time, the past always at our backs

Wrong place, wrong time, wrong town got yourself caught up when something bad went down

Mary said she heard you were drinking hard in Vinnie’s Bar stumbled out, tried to steal some car I guess each of us drowns our troubles our own way ain’t none of us can ever escape the tide, cover up all our scars

Wrong place, wrong time, wrong town got yourself caught up when something bad went down

Mary said she heard you lost your job two days in someone said the wrong thing, word about your record got out I guess those four walls, they follow you around ain’t none of us can shroud ourselves forever from the crowd

Wrong place, wrong time, wrong town got yourself caught up when something bad went down

And the days wash up over us and fade back into the sea every moment is a wave swell rising up as we stay afloat just to breathe

Brother, come find me, we’ll put some of our favourite songs on I’ll pick up my dusty old guitar and if you want you can play along

Brother, if you want you can play along and we’ll remember fondly how we felt when we used to sing along to our favourite heroes and all their killer songs

Brother, come find me if you can on the other side of the river and we’ll sing along, we’ll sing along, we’ll sing the words to all our favourite songs

Brother, come find me if you can Brother, come find me if you can On the other side of the river

WOODEN SHIPS & PLAYGROUNDS

Now I guess for our folks those were grey and bitter days factories everywhere going down in flames good ’ol days fading like a memory tired eyes haunted by a broken dream knowing this is all there’ll ever be honey, you and I, we can’t let that be you and me

Well, these hard times have been here before and they’ll be here again it all just keeps repeating on itself same these days as it was back then

And every one of us is just trying to put a meal on our table too old in our souls for believing in fairytales and fables And every wound will find its mending but not every one of us gets our happy ending and any riches we may never see honey, you and I, we can’t let that be you and me

Well, those days of wooden ships and playgrounds they seem so far away don’t want to see us haunting this place like ghosts wrapped in chains

And always worrying about the bills can sure take its toll got dirt under our finger nails weekend feels like parole So steam roll over your blues honey if you can and don’t worry too much if you fail cause most days there’s still a little light after the rain

Honey, there’s still a little light after the rain

SKIN OF OUR TEETH

Well, other night Joey D stole the wrong car word was put out on the streets by dawn so, Joey he packed up his wife, his kids, man, he was just gone Well, down at the steel mill on its last day Danny said he saw grown men cry murder in their eyes as those gates closed a final time

Don’t make no bones about it, whether it’s the renegades or the junkies there’s a death like rattle seeping like a shadow into the daylight Don’t make no bones about it, whether it’s the outcasts or the saints there’s a mark of Cain spilling its warning out of the night

Don’t make no bones about it when you know a reckoning is coming Don’t make no bones about it when in the night all you do is think about running Ain’t none of us can outrun what’s always been chasing us down

Well, Sammy, she got beat black and blue found herself on the wrong side of the tracks oh Sammy, wrong name, wrong colour, ‘round here always gotta watch your back Well, now they found Queen Sally left in an alley dumped just like yesterday’s trash guess nothing you can do if your car was always gonna crash

Don’t make no bones about it, whether it’s the hustlers or the thieves there’s a dagger like danger waiting just ‘round every damn corner you turn Don’t make no bones about it, whether it’s the saboteurs or the fixers there’s always another hard day, another hard lesson you gotta learn

Don’t make no bones about it when in every crowd you’re always a stranger Don’t make no bones about it when you put yourself out there, always courting danger

Ain’t none of us can outrun all those things make us fear

There’s heartbeat to these washed out streets like a hammer to an anvil there’s a sound like steel being beat like the last throw of a dreamer’s gamble

Don’t make no bones about it Don’t make no bones about it when the shit goes down

And we’re hanging on we’re hanging on by the skin of our teeth

THE PAUPER & THE QUEEN

And I will always remember you my first love of mine and I will never forget those brief days of time

I thought one day maybe we’d meet up again, come back together just like two old friends talk over old times and make amends maybe mourn for what might have been but now I know it was just a dream Now I know it’ll never be, for you’re gone

And I hope you found the happiness you were looking for

I thought I might have felt it when you passed, guess it’s been too long since I saw you last you and I, we always knew we were gonna part you and I, fate went and put us on our different paths but even when things were broken I never did forget what we had I hadn’t heard, I didn’t know, it’s too late now

And I hope you found the happiness you were looking for

And know this, I’ll celebrate your name in my own quiet way remember how we used to be back in the day promise myself from now to live my life a better way for we all know how life is too goddamn short I hope you know I would have reached out to you

And I hope you found the happiness you were looking for

And our love felt like it was a real love but sometimes love just isn’t enough for I was the pauper and you were the queen I was the pauper and you were the queen

And I will always remember you my first love of mine and I will never forget those brief days of time

For Rhiannon

BURNED OUT CARS

We thought we were living in simpler days and better times now we know it was nothing of the kind we were just looking through the eyes of a child when you’re young you’re as good as blind always felt we were on the out side long ago, out on some abandoned waste ground with burned out cars all around us

Memories flow though these streets like blood in our veins still see the kids we used to be dreaming big and playing games ghosts of our souls in front of our eyes summer days before nine to fives innocent heartfelt sighs and feeling so alive long ago, out on some abandoned waste ground with burned out cars all around us

And Sophie says “It’s still the same book, just a different page and there’s still the same walls where we wrote our names Sometimes what you lose is less than you gain.” we were dancing wide eyed in the blessed rain not a thought for days never meant to come again long ago, out on some abandoned waste ground with burned out cars all around us

And I will always remember when we were young I will always remember when we were us when we were young when we were us

KINGS & QUEENS ( OF LOWER EAST SIDE )

Remember when it rained so hard we were stuck inside for days playing our favourite records for hours on end Remember when we sat at the river’s edge playing our guitars singing the summer out swearing blind we’d always be friends

We used to be so reckless, so reckless walk straight into the fire while the house was burning down throw a lighter onto the flames watch the whole place turn to ashes upon the ground We used to be so bold, so bold maybe now we’re a little bit older, a little bit wiser, but still we’re listening to the sound

And we thought we were the kings and queens of lower east side Kids with our own kingdom but not a dime to our name Still every goddamn time we knew rock and roll would save us

And we thought we were the kings and queens of lower east side We were ragged and we were wild but with a belief in ourselves we couldn’t deny And every goddamn time we knew rock and roll would save us

And still, even now, we know every goddamn time rock and roll will save us

SALLY LISTEN, NOBODY WINS

Sally listen, no body wins when everyone is spread way too thin Sally listen, ain’t no one wins if a quiet rage begins to dim dam’s gonna break just like an original sin