Dave Bradley: Recent Episodes

Dave Bradley

Founding member of C5 the band, rhythm guitarist and co-lead singer. Also, performing with bigMouth and TyrannoChorus choirs. Guitarist with the CTW pit band. Recording and collaborating on every spin of the disc. Well over 80000 Soundcloud listens, thanks to you! Keep 'em coming.

Dustbowl

Kicking up the railroad dirt, I ride these metal wheels There's plenty of times those dozy bulls come snapping at my heels They've got to let it go when I hop that old freight train Never going to mess with me in this old town again

Some unholy angel going to fix me up alright Heading for the county line making good time tonight I'm riding high in the lowdown, you know I'm on a roll? 'cause kicking back is easy on the blue highways of the dustbowl

Nickel and dime the journeys you can ride from stay to stay Cross that bridge when it gets here, just hopping on that plate The rolling stock’s for rolling as the years turn by and by No tears are shed for the lonely who find no place to die

Nickel and dime the journeys you can ride from state to state Cross that bridge when it gets here, just hopping off that plate The rolling stock’s for rolling as the years turn by and by No tears are shared for the lonely who find a place to die

The times they ain’t for changing, my fortune’s on the wind Can’t make no money doing nothing, for that’d be a sin I'm rattled by the railroad track from dusk to break of day I've no Bible, just a bottle to ease my soul away

Riding high in the lowdown, know I'm on a roll! 'cause kicking back is easy on the blue highways out of the dustbowl, of the dustbowl

Nickel and dime the journeys you can ride from stay to stay Cross that bridge when it gets here, just hopping off that plate The rolling stock’s for rolling as the years turn by and by No tears are shared for the lonely. The final place to die

Nickel and dime the journeys you can ride from stay to stay Cross that bridge when it gets here, just hopping on that plate The rolling stock’s for rolling as the years turn by and by No tears are shed for the lonely who find no place to die

Nickel and dime the journeys you can ride from stay to stay Cross that bridge when it gets here, just hopping off that plate The rolling stock’s for rolling as the years turn by and by No tears are shared for the lonely who find a place to die

Lyrical embellishment "LillBirdToldMe"

Ebb and flow

I can't quite put my finger on it I was wilder in my dreams Open hearted, full of promise But, nothing's what it seems

The tide it turned against me As it turns for everyone A surge of loaded questions Whose answers never come

Though carefree on the outside I feel we've lost our sight That harbour light once guiding us Won't brightly burn tonight

The tide will turn against you too It turns for everyone We’re promised nothing, but to question No answers ever come

You can't quite put your finger on it Nothing's what it seems The ebb and flow of wretched promise Still tidal in our dreams

The tide has turned against you No anchor for you to moor The pull of loaded questions Wrecks dreams on rocky shore

Vocal and guitar - David Bradley Music - David Bradley Lyrics - David Bradley with "Little Bird"

Nomadic Soul

The amber shades of fen and stone Spare world and time as soil tends bone Those bells that herd the faithful home Set free lost souls in Heaven's dome

What answers lie beyond the wind? The reedbed trail goes on and on Stone cast against the age of sin To shed this mortal coil again

“I can't wait forever!” Tideless echoes of a plaintive cry It can't be forever Soulless in this world I'll fly

There’s anger buried deep below It fades with time as soil turns bone We tend the spirits locked in stone But, the falcon calls as it flies home

“I can't wait forever!” Timeless echoes of a plaintive cry It won’t be forever Soulless in this world I'll fly

Lost in Action

You stake your claim on my time, and I succumb to a rhyme I won't cry at this one, been toughened by friendly fire This is all I've got, so I'm not wasting time; no time

Can I be lost in action? No reaction's what I've seen Just a silent distraction, out of the picture, it seems, completely

You gave no time to my claim, and I ride out the blame I just can't cry with this one; collateral damage is done

Can I be lost in action, action's not what it seems to be? It's just a sign of distraction, out of the picture, it seems, completely

You're telling the story of the age, but it breaks your heart to say There's nothing left of the printed page, nothing left at close of day

Can I be lost in action? Action's not my scene It's just a failed reaction, out of the picture, it seems, completely

Can I be lost in action, when action's not what I've seen? It's just a sign of distraction, out of the picture, completely

You stake your claim on my time, so come to a lie Not going to cry over this one, I've been toughened by friendly fire too many times

Can I be lost in action, action's not my scene It's just a silent distraction, out of the picture

You stake your claim on my time, and I succumb to a rhyme

Words and music - David Bradley Vocals, guitar - David Bradley

No Footprints in the sand

The days are colder and the nights drawn in No barricades of comfort, now the aching will begin I'm running down an unlit corridor The pain can chase me, but I head out through an open door

And you won't find a clearer path today If you turn your back on the future, try to run away And, there are times when you can plan your day But the tide will turn and wash your wishes away

But I can see the warning signs ahead They don't deter me, they draw me on instead And I should say that we can choose a tougher path The path of least resistance was never going to last

Walk with me, I'll take you by the hand Can't promise anything like a promised land But, I’ll give you love, though nothing's planned Walk with me, leave just our footprints in the sand

The summer comes around and the days are long I thought I'd moved on but something feels so wrong And there you're kneeling with your head in your hands Still can't believe we found ourselves in this foreign land

Though I could see the warning signs ahead They didn't stir me to turn away instead And though I said that we should choose a tougher path The path of least resistance was never at our backs

As usual, words, music, and production by David Bradley Vocals, guitars, bass, keyboard, percussion mixing dB/

There’s a tension in the air Always someone being so unkind Never found the right time to make that repair To my confounded state of mind

Didn't see you out and about You couldn’t bear to breathe the air You’re clued up there is no doubt But missed your cue ‘cause you just don’t care

And, I feel That something is missing The lonely aren’t kissing any one Just before the dawn I will know If it's easy come, then it's easy go

Did I mention it today? They're always looking for a fight? Never found the peaceful way To resolve the wrong from the right

And I feelThat someone is blessing those second guessing everyone Before the sunrise I will know If it's easy come, then it's easy go

But, I feel That we're all missing That we're lonely and we're messing with our heads To think we really ought to know That if it's easy come, then it's easy go

As usual, words and music, acoustic, electric, and bass guitars, percussion, production, mixing, and artwork by dB/ Re-recorded the chorus vocals on 2021-10-17

You remember how we flew home at night? Head full of memories, I could tell You shone when we caught sight of Paris and smiled at the lights of the Tour Eiffel

It was so small, a golden dagger In a playground of streetlights and bars Full of the memories that make me stagger A flashlight on streetlife and cars

Oh, how I wish I could find a way To take us back to those nights, we'd see The secret to happiness isn't time or place It's the laissez faire of the c'est la vie The secret to happiness isn't time or place It's the finding the people we can be

The mighty drinkers in that old cafe Who asked us all about The Queen We shared their wine and spirit, I have to say But we lost the thread, I felt so mean

We headed home along the banks of the Seine I headed out on a limb The easiest thing to do was to stake a claim But, my mind was dulled and my eyes were dim

Oh, how I wish I could find a way To take us back to those nights, we'd see The secret to happiness isn't time or place It's the laissez faire of the c'est la vie The secret to happiness isn't time or place It's finding the people we can be

We chased the plane in an airport race Entangled in our own youth Although I'd held back just to check out the place What more did I need, in truth?

Blessed Release

You whispered to me just days in the past It was the last time, now forever’s holding fast I turn to music this moment cannot cease But, I skipped a beat before the blessed release

The chords seemed faked, the melody obscure There was give and take, but nothing too secure Unchained, as they say, you’re free to find your peace But for those left behind, there is no blessed release

Blessed release, it comes to us all Obscure but unmoving Our backs against the wall

Blessed release, the end of it all No cure, no approval You have to take the fall

I heard a sound, it was the sighing of the night Cut through my breath, because the binding was so tight There is a feeling, the growing mystery of that peace I tried to write it down before the blessed release

A rather noisy and raw, one-take-wonder on my phone, done with minimal preparation and the words and melody written on-the-fly, ad lib, as I played the guitar part.

Count yourself a lucky one You're waking with the rising sun And though you're aching inside You know you're on the right side of the day

Count your blessings every one Even ones that seem one way I don't know what it is I've become But I finally know the way

Here to live, with fire What we have become Chances are you'll see What we have become

Catch your breath

The simple things in life aren't free no matter what you believe You gotta work to get to Heaven There's no other way to receive

The things you need that aren't so simple You'll find it's hard in every way You can tear it all down, for example But it's only yourself you deceive

Find a way to catch your breath, before they drag you under You know the wonder that you express? Well, they'll tear it asunder

Take a chance to walk the path, with the sound of thunder The lightning strikes if you do the math, that's your biggest blunder

The simple things in life aren't free no matter what you believe You gotta work to make it here Who else are they gonna deceive?

The things you need that make life simple You'll find they're totally out of your reach They'll put you down, for example You got to practice what you preach

Demo written and recorded between 18:30 and 21:12 on 2021-08-17 Vocal overdubs, additional percussion, and remix - 2021-08-18 ver 2b; additional mixing work and storm c/o Mother Nature added 2021-08-19 A few trivial mixing fixes done 2021-08-20 and removed the thunderstorm and added some breath!

Words & Music - David Bradley Vocals, guitar, and bass - dB/

A soothing instrumental inspired by a peaceful trip on a narrowboat along the Old West River on a midsummer's dawn.

Synth strings, French horns, oboe, clarinet, and glockenspiel played on AKAI keyboard by dB/ Taylor six-string for the pseudoclassical guitar also by dB/

This was originally Part 2 of my song "No Symphony for Lovers", but it's perfect for a little video I recorded of one of my bro-in-law's duck running round and round my feet...don't ask.

No Symphony for Lovers

Part 1 - No Symphony for Lovers

Let me hear the colours Let my senses interfere Entangled under the covers Of my own cavalcade of fears

Let me talk around the corner My emotions bring the rains Embittered by the righteous No one left to take the blame

Let me feel that sense of wonder Might I walk among the sane? This is no symphony for lovers I'm just crying out in pain

Let me light the fire on meekness Adrenalin is on its chains Entangled in my own weakness A play on words, such a crying shame

Part 2 - No Sympathy for Livers

Instrumental

Words & music, vocals, guitar, bass, and percussion mix - dB/

I had an ad hoc meeting with Clive-upon-Sea this weekend where he referred to someone being able to "make friends in an empty room". I joked that I'd get a song out of that phrase...lyrics and chord progression were pretty much done before lunchtime and I've spend the rest of the weekend experimenting with genre, going from a folky singer-songwriter style to a funkier C5 style then to a full-on reggae and on to something close to The Police.

Empty Rooms

You hear her talking in the afternoon But, come the evening, well it's all doom and gloom She'd make friends in an empty room They're gone by morning, not a moment too soon

Though she finds it hard to understand The callous feeling of your open hands She'll come to you when she needs a friend Won't give up hoping till the bitter end

Knowing only that the pain will grow She's praying harder for the light to show

She hides her feelings in plain sight Fearless moments in the still of the night Time will come when she gives up the fight Sees the day when there'll be no morning light

You see her heading for her velvet cocoon In the evening, well she sings another tune She's got no friend in that pale empty room Dreams of stardust and the rising of the crescent moon

Well she's gone walking in the afternoon Come the evening dances to a different tune She found no message in that empty womb All done by morning, to her feelings she's immune

Knowing only that the pain will grow She prays, she prays, knowing only that the pain will grow...

She hides her feelings in plain sight Fearless moments in the still of the night Time will come when she gives up the fight Sees the day when there'll be no morning light

Heal this moment in the heat of the night Seize the day, seize the dayInspiration - Clive-upon-Sea

Words and music, vocals, electric guitar, bass, drum mixing and production David Bradley

Last Dance

There is no mystery to the grander scheme of things Just simple truth revealed and the love that it will bring We take the warmth from wherever it may spring Don't let the cold in. To the memories, you must cling

It's not the time and place for absolving those who sin There is no season in which we cannot begin To found the rhyme and reason to take it on the chin Just let me know and I'll inform the next of kin

Here we go, last drink before the show Down in one and then it's on you go Here we go! Last dance, for all you know Spin around, you've got to go with the flow

The tide is turning against the treachery of kings Beyond the waves deceptive traces on the wing We find the truth in the strangest places, that's for sure We're so much older than we admit to, don't you know?

Here we go, another fix for the show Shoot it up and then it's on you go Here we go. Last chance for you to show your aching heart in the afterglow

(Do you want to dance? This is your last chance, for all you know)

Starts off a bit like a very early Bowie but with trumpet and then morphs into a footstompin' splash of Geordie Soul with quasi Dexy's horns, before soloing with Steely Dan and Stealer's Wheel ahead of a finale with some Steeleye Span male-voice harmonies

TIDELINE

As daylight settles like a distant retreat You pull on emotional chains The shingle rolls under your aching feet

The hopes you had are dashed against those distant rocky shores Stagger to see the pain The tide turns with barely a pause

If the water looks cold It's only a tale that's told The waves imagine a world beyond the brine

If your dreams aren't so bold It's not because you're old The seaspray chases way above the tideline

Tideline Breakers from the storm Broken at the full moon at the time that you were born

Tideline The memory of the norm Reminder of a new moon before the dawn

As morning wakes, the darkness slips away Failure all forgotten now the light is holding sway

A million more regrets on the tide washed away The secrets we forget, there's nothing more to say

Tideline

As daylight settles like a distant retreat You pull on emotional chains The shingle rolls under your aching feet

The hopes you had are dashed against those distant rocky shores Stagger to see the pain The tide turns with barely a pause

If the water looks cold It's only a tale that's told The waves imagine a world beyond the brine

If your dreams aren't so bold It's not because you're old The seaspray chases way above the tideline

Tideline Breakers from the storm Broken at the full moon at the time that you were born

Tideline The memory of the norm Reminder of a new moon before the dawn

As morning wakes, the darkness slips away Failure all forgotten now the light is holding sway

A million more regrets on the tide washed away The secrets we forget, there's nothing more to say

Words, music, arrangement, vocals, instrumentation, and production dB/

The Absence of Normal

The lines are cut, not a single word can get through The dust builds up, covering the world with a desert hue If flag as rags are burned, don't blame the formal Stay on the watch, be on your guard for the absence of normal

The streets are still, only a few old souls around The guards are smoking. Nobody make a sound If notes and coins are exchanged, it's nothing formal The headlights flash, the blast comes fast in the absence of normal

Don't you see how it goes day after day? Creature comforts on the breeze, all blown away You kneel alone attend your prayers, no one to share Waste no time telling trouble, you're not the one to care

And yet the time is right, time to play another tune Blow back the dust, rebuild the past, nothing can come too soon Freedom on the wing, wonder so informal Keep up the pace, find your grace in the absence of normal

Won't you feel how it grows day by day? Hear the suffering on the wind, all borne away You stand alone telling us to pray, no one will dare To check the time, call you out in trouble, like you'd care

Don't you see how it goes day after day? Creature comforts on the breeze, all blown away You kneel alone attend your prayers, no one to share Waste no time telling trouble, you're not the one to care

And yet the time is right, time to play another tune

Word, music, vocals, instrumentation, producion dB/

Helium Heart

She's a long time falling down, I wonder why she still hangs around Though she can't bear the pain she's found inside

In the foundry of his mind, he'd tempered anger tough as steel Beating up his love on fatal flaws, no stretch of time would heal

She's a lightweight mother with a helium heart Did no one ever tell her to float away

The thing that she oughta be really sure of Is that she had no reason to stay

She's a long time calling out Wonder why she still hides her eyes The bruises shine and it's the time to take a stand In the refuge of those pills, she halfs her life beyond the lies Cutting through her love as he lies bleeding by her hand

She's a lightweight mother with a helium heart Did no one ever tell her to float away One way or another she's got to be sure of There really was no reason to stay

You know how the old folks say, "I wish I knew then what I know today"? Well, I see it in a different way I'd rather be in the dark and tomorrow just another day; just another day

She's a lightweight mother with a helium heart Did no one ever tell her to float away One way or another she's got to be sure She really had no reason to stay No one told her to float away, didn't tell her, didn't show her the way With a helium heart she could've floated away

Words & Music by David Bradley Acoustic, electric & bass guitar and vocals db/ Original recorded and released 2014, remixed for 2021

There were sympathy and warning signs Trouble brewing at high tea time There was danger flying and left behinds But still the world keeps turning

There were times you knew when the rest was gone There were lines you drew and the best undone There was anger driving the clearest minds But still the world keeps turning

I was wading through my darkest thoughts Lessons learned but never taught How could you know that I'd been brought To keep your world from yearning

There were sympathy and warning signs Trouble brewing at high tea time There was danger flying and left behinds But still the world keeps turning

Guitar and vocals dB/ Written and recorded in September 2016 and seemingly abandoned. Mastered and released in March 2021

Give my love to the waves

Give my love to the waves Send me home, on a wind that saves If I ride the sea, or sail away Will you carry me back, home again?

Give my time, to the pain If I miss you, would you sail with me again? Give my love, to the water Then I can find my way back to where I ought to be

You will know me Call me by name Know how much I fear It's always the same

I'm floating in the wake of trouble. I wish you wary on your way Send my love to the waves, get me out of this trouble, or sail me to Hell all the way

Give my love, to the waves Send me home, on a wind that saves

Floating in the wake of trouble I wish you wary on your way I wish you on the waves out of trouble Don't sail me to Hell, at least not today

Words and Music by David Bradley Guitar and vocals dB/

Loop mixing and electric guitar dB/

Trance Mission - An instrumental in five parts

(i) Chainless Links (ii) Airhead (iii) 'Eau da Joy' (iv) On the Rocks (v) Breathless

Bass guitar, electric guitar, progressive trance loop mixing, and production by dB/

A new memory of music

We need a guide in our time Someone to show us the way To keep us from blind alleyways Away from Memory Lane

We've got to look to the future But live our lives for today Still, the past can preserve us And take away the pain

The beat is fine for the days ahead The melody is unchained It drives us down life's highways A map of Memory Lane

We're tuning up for the future And damping down the pain And the past that helped preserve us Let's us play for today

Give me the memory of music The melodies that we make All harmony together We all know what's at stake

And if I have to sing for my supper Then that's a chance I'll take Give me the memory of music Not music for the heartache The memory of music Sweet music for its own sake

We need a guide in our time Someone to help us refrain From wand'ring down blind alleyways Away from Memory Lane

Words, music, arrangement, vocals, acoustic and bass guitars, and percussion dB/

What a Year

What a year it's been Did you find it tragic? When we lost the magic When did that begin?

Well, what can I say? We grew apart together There was a change in the weather Whether or not you would say

Can we look for a future? Find a way to bring it back to the here and now? Find a new hope for things we lack

Then what a year it will be If we all pull together We can untie the tether Forever breaking free

What a year it could be Making life worth living Let's be more forgiving A better day for all to see

What a year it's been Did you talk to the strangers? Did we handle the dangers? Find a way to take them all on the chin

What else can we see? Can we all stand together? No neverminds, no whatevers You have got to believe

We can we look to the future Find a way to bring it back to the here and now? Find some hope in the things we lack

Then what a year that will be When we all run together Whatever the weather Running you and me

What a year it could be Every life worth the living We can all be for giving A brighter day for all to see What a year it could be

What a year it has been But, what a year it could be

There was a time when I was forgiving I turned my cheek, my feelings hidden But, something changed, and I'm just not living And I don't know what to say

Well, here they are, my own misgivings I've turned them round and I'm not reliving Though nothing's changed I'm all for giving Now, I know just what to say

When you realize that there's no prize to take away Got to compromise, you've got to meet me halfway

So, here I am, am I not forgiven? I turned it down but you've got misgivings Tell me now, are we barely living? Did you want to fade away?

There was I time when I stayed hidden Now, I've cleared my head and I'm reliving I'll take the blame but I'll be forgiving Did you have to turn away?

Words and Music - David Bradley Vocals - dB/ Fender Telecaster and Ibanez RG electric guitars dB/ Yamaha bass - dB/ Percussion mixing - dB/ Proper funky drumming Klaus Tropp

Recorded and produced by David Bradley

Place the Pennies

Subtle are life's treasures, Like sunlight on the waves Like breezing through an easy day Your lover find the ways

The days turn into nights There's nothing more to say But the storm turns on the tide There's no one who is saved

Souls are lost at night No death knell for the brave

Silence me, it's not my hour of need Close my eyes, place the pennies

You wander through the churchyard Rain on my parade Simple are Death's pleasures Rainfall on the graves

The bleakness of eternity There's nothing left to say

Ships are lost in flight A death knell for the brave 'cause the tide turned in the storm There's not a soul to be saved

Silence me, though 'tis my hour of need Still my eyes see the pennies Don't cry for me, my words you've got to heed Close my eyes, place the pennies

Don't cry for me, it is my hour indeed Close my eyes, place the pennies

Subtle are life's pleasures The rainfall on the graves Simple are Death's treasures Like sunlight on the waves

Words, music, vocals, guitars, bass, and production by Dave Bradley

Firebreak, watch the weather Standing here, I can feel your pain Firebreak, tied up in leather Without the pleasure, there is no gain

Are the terms just wishful thinking? Could you really see the other side? Don't you feel like you are sinking? Or, are your dreams an act of swollen pride

Firebreak Firebreak Circuitbreaker Moneymaker Find the faker who's on the make

Words and music by David Bradley Guitars, vocals, bass, keyboards, and production dB/

No with Mini Moog

Well, there's no time for any questions So, I'm asking for a friend When did they find the time to hate? To what point this bitter end?

Their bottom line makes me queasy It's too easy to insist On making plans for one's fellow man Against which the good can't resist

Well, I don't know what this means but I can see me falling through Falling flat on my face, I mean Can't you see it too?

Well, I don't know what this means but I can see me falling through Falling flat on my face, I mean Can't you see it too?

So little time for any questions And, I'm masking for a friend Couldn't they make the time to love Take us to a sweeter end

The autumn's fine, take it easy It's simpler not to resist Make mellow plans for the fruitful times Find a pathway through the mist

Well, I don't know what this means but I can see me pulling through Not really losing face, I mean Can't you feel it too? Can't you feel it too?

Words, music, vocals, guitar, bass, percussion, production dB/

Too much, too soon

There is a comforting solution To all the threats we face today We have to trust in our salvation Trust ourselves to find a way

Making a case for all the answers Never let them slip away

Too much, too soon We won't be saved by old traditions Got to stand up to the fools Throw them out at the next auditions

There is comfort in solution Never let them slip away

Words and music by dB/ Vocals, guitars, and bass dB/

Taylor played in open-G tuning with overdubbing of Telecaster and bass in normal tuning.

Another Lockdown Lo Fi, this time inspired by a socially distanced firepit party with some of C5 and friends to say bon voyage to @clive-upon-sea

Firepit by Ad. Original firepit video by Clive/Sea Voices: Ad, Rog, and Dave Silent voices: Martin and Hans

Loop mixing, synths, and guitar dB/ Produced by dB/

That's okay, tonight

Step up to the light, learn you're not the only dreamer Find a place for you to shine Try as you might, you won't find another schemer Who twists the knife like you're not mine

…and I'm telling you... You were the calm before the storm, You told the lies that kept me warm And you had it all, though I could've sworn you'd thrown it all away

No, I don't want another fight I'll see you in the glare of the morning light No need to cry tonight No, I don't want another fight We're okay for tonight

Words & Music - Dave "dB/" Bradley Vocals, acoustic, electric, and bass guitars -dB/ Drums - Klaus Tropp

Produced by dB/

That's okay, tonight - An instrumental with words

That's okay, tonight

Strive for the better, strive to be better Be kind, be fair Make love, not war Be curious, be creative

Be honest and authentic All rights are human rights Everyone is equal Black lives matter

Stay safe, stay well Break their rules, occasionally Be true, be cool Live your life, live in peace

Words, music, and production - dB/ Acoustic, electric, and bass guitars - dB/ Vocals - dB/ Drums - Klaus Tropp

Funk rock instrumental dedicated to the thankfully inimitable Clive-upon-Sea

Secrets and Safety

Secrets and safety, prey on your mind Warm honour and valediction, you're biding your time Stepped into colder places, fighting against the crime The lockdown prescription untying the ties that bind

Secrets and safety, play with your time Worn courage and contradiction, will make you unkind Cold shouldered the golden faces, catching up with the final crime Repealing the triumphs of ages, playing against your side

Secrets and safety, way down the line To call out the day-long prediction: no weapons are fine Stepped into older spaces, ambitions are bound in time You back down tradition, it's no way to show your sign

Save me from that fear Save me from my fears, again

Words and music by Dave Bradley Artwork by Adam Stewart

Together, apart

We must all stick together Even while we're apart We must find a way, from the start Back to the heart

Words and music by Dave Bradley Acoustic and electric six-string guitars dB/ Bass guitar dB/ Vocals and backing vocals dB/ Cajon and tambourine dB/

Common Blue butterfly photo also by dB/

Vocals, loop editing, arrangement, and dusk chorus recording by dB/

The Stormy Petrels were fishermen from my home village of Cullercoats on the North East coast of England. In order to feed their families, they would set sail even if storms were forecast. There were tragedies.

Painting is "Daughter of the Coast Guard" (Winslow Homer, 1881). American artist Homer spent time in Cullercoats in the 1880s as one of this tiny village's artistic enclave, he painted the women, the fishwives and daughters...while the menfolk were out at sea.

To the people of my village, it is bad luck to whistle at sea and to use the word p.i.g. (Presumably the origin of the pub name The Pig and Whistle)

If you buy the track, I'll donate the profits to the Cullercoats RNLI lyrics The Stormy Petrels

The seas were fair as far as the eye could see The waters still and bare The wind laid low, there was time to spare There'd be no storm to keep us here

The nets were all tied and the fishwives were ready The cobles would leave on the tide We'd sail to the north and head for the shoals Their shawls held tight, home on the breeze we would ride

The hours went by and the swell it grew heavy The men would e'er swallow their pride The rises and falls of the fish life a penny The true, tried, and tested on-side

The nets were all tied and the fishwives were ready The cobles they sailed on the tide We'll head for the north and race for the shoals Their shawls they'd hold tight, till home on the breeze we will ride

We rowed a fair clip with a glint in our eye The tide would carry us wide The sun it shone through as the land disappeared The spindrift blew through, but no siren could draw us aside

The net's been aside and the fishwives were ready Our cobles they sailed with the tide We'll head for the north and race for the shoals Their shawls they'd hold tight, till home on the breeze we will ride

It was bright and white horses there were none to see And the wind couldn't blow owt our oils to deceive But the pressure will fall we'll not bear a hasty retreat

Whistle and you will be damned A hastier judgement to hand A voice horn calls out "No survivors will e'er see the land"

The nets were all tied and the fishwives were ready The cobles would leave on the tide We'd sail to the north and head for the shoals Their shawls they'd hold tight, till home on the breeze we would ride credits released April 1, 2020 Words and music by David Bradley. Vocals, guitar, and production also dB/

Daughter of the Coast Guard (1881) - Winslow Homer

If the 7-incher wasn't enough to satisfy, this is the RevCoffee 12" extension.

I dreamed I was with my band in an airport all flights were cancelled our suitcases were empty we were going nowhere, the singer and I wrote some lyrics and we came up with a weird chord progression - Am-Em-Bb7. This song is about that...although it doesn't use that progression...haha.

Complications

Last night in a dream I was sitting on an empty suitcase with the singer from the band

All the 'planes were grounded so we wrote a little song. You won't want to sing along You won't want to sing along

We're not leaving on a jetplane We ain't gonna fly away for too long

Maybe this all seems very simple But the chords were askew an A to an E with a flat five or two.

There's always complication

It sounded like an empty plan it was only a dream in isolation Distance is the norm along with desolation

We need to stay connected to stay sane We need to be in our bands But, it's not too hard to touch your face, to wipe away a tear, when your head's in your hands your head's in your hands when your head's in your hands

Your head's in your hands Your head's in your hands Your head's in your hands Your head's in your hands credits released March 17, 2020

Not entirely sure what this is...a bit of a mixtape track of DnB noises, techno, acid house etc. Just a load of loops pulled together

C6 - Dave by Dave Bradley

I was raised in the picturesque fishing village of Cullercoats on the North East coast of England at the southern edge of the ancient county of Northumberland.

I recently caught sight of an intriguing painting by Henry Perlee Parker, a Devenport man who married a Woodbridge girl and headed to Newcastle eventually co-founding The Northumberland Institution for the Promotion of the Fine Arts. The painting I saw was of women, Cullercoats fishwives handling the catch from the local fishing boats known as cobles and storing it in tidal rockpools temporarily to keep it fresh while they gathered the rest of their catch for the creels.

This sounded like a quaint tail to tell in a modern folk song, but when Cullercoats man Arnold Brunton told me of tales of theft and skullduggery reported in the 19th Century a quaint Cullercoats tradition took a dark turn making it even more perfect fodder for a folk song. It seems that while the heavy creels were being lugged up the bank to the top of the cliffs by the spate gatherers, the fish in those spates was often stolen.

One can imagine the rage of the fishermen and the ensuing brawls that might have taken place outside the tiny fisherman's cottages in the streets above the rocky scarps. Some of those homes... more lyrics The Spate Gatherers

Well the cobles come in and the fishwives they grin, and they take on the catch from their man On the scarp they all stand and they pass hand to hand To keep the fish fresh as they can

It's heavier work, than the work in the boats, the men get to roll with the waves Singing reels to the sirens away out to sea, while the wives tread the rocks like they're slaves

Then they're lugging a load to the tops of the cliff, it's not easy to carry a creel Well, it's only a catch, but it's fresh and it's naturally feeding the bairns; dance a reel!

Singing aye-diddle-aye-dai, aye-diddle-aye-dee, A spate gatherer's life's not for me Singing aye-iddle-aye-dai, aye-diddle-aye-dee Give'uz the easier life out at sea

There's a scratching of slate with the numbers, the date, then they carry it south 'round the bay They scrape over the pier and then disappear from the view of those hiding away

What's kept in the pools north of Jakey's and scrapes, is enough to pay for wor rent But the bastards dive down and they take it to town, another load slips through the net

Now, the tide's on the turn and the lads they return And they know who it is that's to blame With their beer inside 'em and no lack of pride, them'll kick two shades of spate out of them! credits from Bridge of Sighs, track released March 19, 2019 Words and music by David Bradley, all vocals, instrumentation and production dB/

Inspired by the 19th Century painting "The Spate Gatherers" of Cullercoats by Henry Perlee Parker, brought to my recent attention by Arnold Brunton.

A Northern Boy

When the chill wind steels through the canyon The city puts its heart on ice There's no effort in the rush to escape there That's really no kind of life

It's a one-time tonic for the twist around So we're running through the back streets Find adventure on the wrong side of town No one leafing through the sheets

When the summer comes around The wind blows as hard if you let her But it really can't warm you now A Northern boy ought to know better

Kicking back another own goal It's strange how it feels to know you'll never find the answer To the question that nags at your soul

Didn't you know any better? Did you never learn to rock and roll While your mom was signing the letter Letting you out on parole?

Insist your sister stays the right side of town Not rocking to some guy's beat But she wants to loosen off his frown, somehow Rocking in his back seat

Didn't you know any better? Did you never learn to rock and roll While your mom was signing that letter Letting you out on parole?

When the summer comes around The wind blows as hard if you let her A Northern boy ought to know better

Although some listeners have suggested this was somehow autobiographical, for once, it wasn't. The lyrics are based on an imagined short story of a troubled young man in Chicago, juggling memories of his misspent youth and worrying about his sister while he awaits parole...

...the artwork is a distraction, it's of my photos of one of the bridges over The River Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead looking towards the Baltic Flour Mills. While, I've travelled extensively in the USA, I've never even been to Chicago, although I have driven through Illinois...

One by one

As the lights come on, one by one In the calm of a distant harbour You begin to see as the day is done That their lives are all that really matter

As the clouds drift on, one by one And the stars begin to appear The planets they stride across a velvet sky But are tamed by the music of the spheres

Don't look to the sky for the reasons why Even if you're feeling a little small The clouds pass by, no reason why And the stars don't matter at all!

If your mind is drawn to those distant forms And you worry about their hidden meaning It's easy to say they're not entirely au fait With the thoughts with which you're dealing

Words & Music - David Bradley Arrangement & Production - Dave Bradley Vocals, guitar, bass, and percussion - Davey Bradley

This song was written on our 2019 summer visit to Blue Anchor on the northern coast of Somerset. We could see the stars come out and the lights come on at a distant harbour from the place we stayed. It was also pulled together lyrically with a nod to a quote from the late, great Peter Cook:

"As I looked out into the night sky, across all those infinite stars, it made me realise how insignificant they are."

Of course, the lyrics allude to how our lives and our lights are more important than the stars and planets that look down, they have no influence on our lives no matter what the astrologers tell you. Similarly, the notion of any truly heavenly body having an effect is equally as ludicrous...

Remixed: 2019-09-11 Written Blue Anchor, Somerset, England

The Oleander Fires

Waking with the sunrise As soothing as the breeze Find it hard to settle down I'm running through the trees

I'm not rolling with the New Age Fighting battles you can't conceive Walking through the scrubland Heading for the sea

The oleander fires give little heat but their breath intoxicates you You're dreaming of garrigue and wonder why you're weak

Crawling back to meet you Calling out to greet you

Sound the Alarm! The worriers are coming Bearing gifts only Greeks would refuse Falling out of their clothes

It's not the path they'd choose It's a battle they're bound to lose When winter seeds the spring You catch hold of everything

The oleander fires give little heat but their breath intoxicates you You're dreaming of garrigue and wonder why you ache Crawling back to meet the oleander fires

The oleander fires give little heat but their breath intoxicates you You're dreaming of garrigue and wonder why you weep

Crawling back to meet you The oleander fires, waking with the sunrise

Words and music, vocals instrumentation, MIDI percussion editing, production by Dave Bradley, dB/

Remixed and remastered March 2021, with additional bass guitar

Written Kythira, Greece

Shifting Sands

There's a man who lives down by the water Stares out to sea like he understands When the wind changes, you know he really ought to find a new life away from shifting sands

And, the girl who lives above him on the cliff-top writes tales that no one will ever keep to hand

She stands alone, waiting at the water's edge, worrying that he'll never come back home Her superstitions say to her that he's safe out there, but time and tide will never spare the stone

You've got to be lost not to find them Strong not to bind them Got to be sharp, not to cut yourself

You've got to be here to get away You've got to be cold not to stay a locked up complication on the shelf

As the tide turns and washes away your secrets You know the words were only meant for you As the light fades you search around for a beacon A guiding light to navigate the blue

You've got to be lost not to find them You've got to be strong not to bind them You got to be sharper, not to cut yourself

You've got to make time to get away You've got to be bold not to say that it's a locked down combination on the shelf

All words and music by David Bradley Spiritually written in Cullercoats, Northumberland, England

UPDATE: Now with funk Telecaster and vocals

I pulled together a few TR-909 drum samples in my DAW and created a nice 4-bar loop with a kick, snare and hi-hat. Felt like it needed a bit more so rolled in a guitar part I'd transcribed into the DAW and gave it a sweeping Prophet keyboard sound, then tapped along a slap bass line, which I quantized to sync it better to the beat. Once that was in a bit of stereo widening was needed...but still something missing a melody, a drop, a different keyboard, a harmony to the melody and a finish.

Before I knew it, I had a track that has ended up being the bastard child of a John Foxx era Ultravox instrumental outtake and something Jean-Michel Jarre wouldn't have touched with a barge pole and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark wouldn't have dreamed of putting out as a throwaway B-side.

Be interested to know what you think...very much a deviation from the norm for me.

On Reflection

On reflection, I always knew I wouldn't find my way On reflection, never was a truer word, you'd say On reflection, I'd really have to fight to make you stay On reflection, burning your bridges was the cruellest way On reflection, cutting those ties 'cause they wear you away

Hear the words behind the lies, where do I begin? Well you're cutting your ties 'cause they're wearing you thin I think the ties that bind might be the original sin So, I close my eyes and then I can't complain

On reflection... On reflection...there's nothing to gain

It's a no brainer game I'll lose I don't believe I ever had the chance to choose When you blow my mind, there's no place to hide Force me to loosen my grip on my pride

There's a time and a place to stare at the mirror There's a likelier case; that couldn't be clearer What's this game you play where I'm a beginner? Don't you know my lights are growing dimmer?

That reflection of you is growing dimmer

Words by David Bradley Music by Zachary Bennoui, Tron12, Klaus Tropp, and David Bradley; based on an original idea by Zachary Bennoui Keyboards Zachary Bennoui, Bass Tron12, Drums Klaus Tropp, Electric guitars David Bradley, Vocals David Bradley

Bridge of Sighs

I was grateful for everything I had with you But then the winter came and their paucity of truth Too many questions, so many trials they put me through And all the forces that would hold me back, I pray we can still pull through

I put our futures in my pocket, there's nothing else that I could do

In days of clover, I thought you would show me how to compromise Think it over, then we'll get out under the bridge of sighs Give me a moment I can explain to you the hows and whys Then under cover, our life anew, we can but fantasize

There was a journey The price was paid (You couldn't see through your fears) A boat will take us. (Beyond your tears) It's time for you to be brave

I gave them everything but they wanted more for passage on that wave Someone to save us. There is no wreck. We escape the salty grave

I took our futures from my pocket, really nothing else that I could do

In days of clover, I thought you would show me how to compromise Just think it over, then we'll get out under the bridge of sighs If you give me a moment I can explain to you the hows and whys Then under cover, our life anew, we can but fantasize

I put our futures in my pocket...

Words, music, guitars(Martin and Taylor acoustic six strings, Fender Telecaster, Yamaha bass), lead vocal, harmonies, production, mix, and mastering by Dave Bradley

Special guest drummer - Klaus Tropp

Bridge of Sighs (Unplugged v 1.0)

I was grateful for everything I had with you But then the winter came and their paucity of truth Too many questions, so many trials they put me through And all the forces that would hold me back, I pray we can still pull through

I put our futures in my pocket, there's nothing else that I could do

In days of clover, I thought you would show me how to compromise Think it over, then we'll get out under the bridge of sighs Give me a moment I can explain to you the hows and whys Then under cover, our life anew, we can but fantasize

There was a journey The price was paid (You couldn't see through your fears) A boat will take us. (Beyond your tears) It's time for you to be brave

I gave them everything but they wanted more for passage on that wave Someone to save us. There is no wreck. We escape the salty grave

I took our futures from my pocket, really nothing else that I could do

In days of clover, I thought you would show me how to compromise Just think it over, then we'll get out under the bridge of sighs If you give me a moment I can explain to you the hows and whys Then under cover, our life anew, we can but fantasize

I put our futures in my pocket...

Words, music, guitars, vocals, production, and mix by Dave Bradley Special guest drummer - Klaus Tropp

Shooting Waste

Stepped away from the water's edge Though darkness surrounded me, I heard no siren call Cleared my head and reminded myself Without your word, I wouldn't be here at all

Though everyone is turning everything inside out It's way beyond a doubt, they don't need to see me fall With every whisper, with every scream and shout My safety net is torn and my back's against the wall

Idle eyes can't see you build your faith Don't knock them over Don't lead it to an empty place Don't idolise, build up your faith Don't tell me that it's over Don't leave with an empty space

Have you heard about the news today There was another killing, another shooting waste When you step back, see the error of your ways The part you played, the lives you could've saved

Have you even read the news today Yet another killing, another shooting waste If you'd only step back see the error of your ways The part you played, the lives you could've saved

Climbed on up to the higher ground Though echoes come and go, there was nowhere to fall With open hearts we couldn't bear the sound The crying of the children, the terror of it all

Words & Music - Dave Bradley Vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar bass, percussion mixing, and autotuned electric guitar - Dave Bradley Produced and mastered by Dave Bradley

Song title inspiration from Ted via Jo ;-)

West Virginia was almost Heaven Well, not quite Heaven, but close to it Drinking, laughing, we stuck together Though years go by, we haven't changed a bit

Oh we had a blast, working hard, and playing fast Working, singing, all of us brimming with youth

But we knew it wouldn't last, heading home; now it's in the past Take us back to where we were riding high Not for all time, just for a day and a night Show us Heaven, show us how to be free, again But, almost Heaven is not what you need for a life

West Virginia was almost Heaven Well, not quite Heaven, but near enough Walking, talking we stuck together Years go by now we're in the rough

Words & Music - Dave Bradley Vocals, guitar, bass, tambourine, synth - Dave Bradley Record and produced by...yeah...you guessed it - Dave Bradley Nod to the late, great John Denver - Dave Bradley

Spiritually written in 1988, near Gore, West Virginia, USA

Some looped vocal noodling and overdubs on a Rhodes piano track with a vibe-hop beat

For the sake of everything you do today Just for the sake of everything you do today Watch your step on the way Whatever you do today (Worry about it later) Watch your step all the way Whatever you do today You might leave a trail today Whatever you do today Just watch your step

Words and Vocals - Dave Bradley Lead guitar - Dave Bradley Mix - Dave Bradley

Running Out of Favours

You stepped off the train There was nobody waiting You looked down at the rails The rain pounded, the light was fading

Are you running out of favours? Are you running out on me? Are you looking for a saviour to confiscate the fear?

You knocked on the door Why was nobody waiting? You looked up at the rain Your heart pounding those words berating

You're riding high on danger You're running to be free But you're running out of favours Wishing you were never deceived

This song was originally going to be a 1+1 vocal+guitar acoustic number in the James Taylor style, but once I'd set a drumtrack going to keep me in time it took on a life of its own. The addition of electric guitar and bass nudged it even further away from my original idea until you hear what you hear now.

UPDATE: Re-recorded all the vocals. Still raw though!

My voice is a bit raw after a heavy-duty pub gig on Friday and choral rehearsals on the Saturday before I laid this down...ah well. I've called it Mix1a, I might re-record the vocal. If you download it and I change it, I'll send you the replacement file.

Funky rock song with splashes of Nile Rodgers' Chic (although I avoided using his "three-strings-at-a-time" technique on the Fender, Isley Brothers, David Bowie, Queen, Steely Dan, Paul Weller, James Taylor, Gerry Rafferty, and a stack of other influences.

Words & Music by Dave Bradley Vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass Dave Bradley Production and mix Dave Bradley Cover photo Clive Thomson

When the beat hits you hard and you hear that simple melody When the beat heals your heart I keep you in my memory... ...and hope for love and harmony When the beat hits your heart

You're a long way from the turnaround and I don't see you coming back Never seem to be homeward bound Always heading down the track

You turn away there's nothing I can do Was it something that I lacked?

You took a chance on the turnaround But I don't hear it working out Never saw your feet hit the ground Always heading out the back

You run away and there's nothing I can do Was there nothing that you lacked?

Words and music by Dave Bradley Guitars, bass, vocals Dave Bradley Drums Klaus Tropp

I have done an instrumental remix of this song called "Angle Shades"

https://soundcloud.com/sciencebase/angle-shades

This is the full-on funk instrumental that I developed from a live drumtrack courtesy of Klaus Tropp, building up several guitar layers and a bassline. I developed the song over the course of 3rd October 2018 to a vocal version called "When the Beat Hits Your Heart", then remixed that version down to the instrumental as a notional B-side to a single.

https://soundcloud.com/sciencebase/when-the-beat-hits-your-heart

Anyone who follows my sciencebase blog will know that lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) have become a recent photographic obsession, this specimen landed on my shorts when I was moth-ing with a scientific light trap back in late July this year.

For the love of people

In the light of day, staring...

For the love people, we're moved in every way Understanding sight and sound we find a truth today For the love people, we're happy in our days And we send it down the mainline, but it comes right back again

For the love people, we've got everything we need, Standing up for what is right, takes a little more to bleed For the love people, there's so much more despair We're acting out, the daily chore of castles in the air

So many trials [so many ways to fail A dreadful story of those who did not try, not the story of our lives

For the love of people, still dancing in a dream When they make amends, well know exactly what they mean For the love people, we're happy in our ways and we heard it on the grapevine, so there's nothing more to say

For the love of people with nothing left to say You handed on the message so we'll take it anyway For the love of people, no answers in the sand, the lines are drawn, the plan is right , no better time to take a stand

For the love of people, A world beyond the stars A time without a life within, the wounds no more our scars For the love of people could we hold it in our hands Running through our fingers like a billion grains of sand

For the love of people For the love of people For the love of people

Word, music, arrangement, vocals, guitars, bass, percussion, and production by dB/ (December 2014 song remixed April 2018)

Please don't ask me what the lyrics mean, something of a stream of a stream of consciousness effort written in between pre-Xmas parties, I seem to recall.

Instrumental version of the Clive-upon-Sea song This World is not Conclusion.

Music and acoustic guitar @Clive-upon-Sea Arrangement and all other instrumentation @sciencebase

A collaboration between @Clive-upon-Sea and Dave Sciencebase

Words and Music by Clive Arrangement and production Dave

Lead vocals and acoustic guitar - Clive

Electric guitar, bass, percussion, backing vox - Dave

Dave also did an earlier mix with electronic percussion rather than cajon, which can be found on Clive's SoundCloud page

https://soundcloud.com/clive-upon-sea/this-world-is-not-conclusion

A collaboration between @Clive-upon-Sea and Dave "Sciencebase" Bradley

Words and Music by Clive Arrangement and production Dave

Lead vocals and acoustic guitar - Clive

Electric guitar, bass, percussion, backing vox - Dave

Dave also did an earlier mix with electronic percussion rather than cajon, which can be found on Clive's SoundCloud page

https://soundcloud.com/clive-upon-sea/heartwood

It used to be, back in the day Two friends could just be friends There was no other way

But, in this modern age of Whatsapp, the chick flick, and skinny latte Everything comes with a tag So, buddy come what may:

Could we take a chance? Really, what do you say? We could call it a fine bromance But wouldn't that be a little bit...lah-de-dah-de-day

Lah-de-dah-de-day-day No way, no way

So come on fella, you're really not my Cinderella-ella But, buddy, at the end of the day I love you, man, I just had to say

Should we take a chance What would Plato say? We can call it a fine bromance Who cares if that sounds a little bit...lah-de-dah-de-day

Lah-de-dah-de-day-day Hey, hey, hey, hey

Used to be, back in the day Two friends would just be friends There was no other way

But, in this modern age of Snapchat, the chick flick, skinny latte Everything's got a hashtag So, buddy come what may:

Should we take a chance What would Plato say? We can call it a fine bromance Who cares if that sounds a little bit lah-de-dah-de-day?

Am I misremembering my teenage years of listening to Steve Hillage? Here's something of a tribute/pastiche either way...

Lead guitar, Geddyish bass with a funky loop from my DAW

You hide your feelings deep inside With some misguided sense of pride Then you expect me to read you like an open book Please don't flog me if I have to take a second look

Though words you're keeping deep inside I've turned to that page you know you can't hide Though I can't read you like an open book I got to that part don't need to take a second look

It feels like the heat of the day is wearing me thin, wearing me thin It seems like the things you don't say are taking me in, taking me in

It feels like the heat of the night is wearing me thin, wearing me thin It seems like the way you just might is reeling me in, reeling me in

It should be easy but I just can't tell In the final pages am I under your spell? You think you read me chapter and verse No spoiler alert but you know it's gonna get worse

I get the feeling the mystery's solved Did the killer come clean will they be absolved No one survives it, that much is true Cover to covered, the feeling is blue

Words and Music by David Bradley All instrumentation, vocals and production dB

A bit of nostalgia for The Long Sands of my childhood and youth in musical. I've lost count of the musical references I think there are in this multitracked opus: Rush, earliest Genesis, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Pavlov's Dog, Tangerine Dream, Camel, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Steve Hackett, Sky, Simple Minds...none of them deliberate, all of them probably obvious, but when you're being nostalgic you sub-consciously reach for your musical comfort food, don't you?

12-string guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, synths, vocals, drum programming, and production by Dave Bradley

Seasons of love

Raking through my memories as the leaves begin to fall The cold of winter's coming, there's no hope for spring at all The plans I made for summer coming tumbling down to earth But see salvation rising through the light of just one birth

Oh Lord, you find us sinful, lost, and proud But with your Word you guide us We sing your praise with voices loud

The plan you made for ever is only now revealed At this time of year you come to us and all our wounds are healed

Making safe our memories as new shoots begin to grow The cold of winter's passing the spring begins to show The plans we'll make for summer are plans with you in mind We see our true salvation in the love of all mankind

Oh Lord, you find us sinful, lost, and proud But with your Word you guide us We sing your praise with voices loud

The plan you made for ever is forever and a day And in our hearts you come to us and wash our sins away And in our hearts you come to us and wash our sins away --

All words, music, vocals, guitars, bass, synth bells, percussion mixing, and production by David Bradley. With inspiration and encouragement from Simon Oliver.

Available to stream and download via BandCamp

https://davebradley.bandcamp.com/track/seasons-of-love

The last witch-hunt

Hardened by their anger, bring your countenance to bear Slip into power non-violently, the future not to share No hope defies the best of them they're not the ones who care They'll weep forever and a day Yes, they'll weep forever and a day...

Hardened by your temperament, ease off towards the plough The needs of every constellation to hold their rights for now Won't you hand it on? Piece together complications Another time Are we fighting for the right to fly the flag or the right to fight for freedom?

Words and music by David Bradley Guitar, bass, and vocals dB Massive shout out to Klaus Tropp for drums

If my earlier song "White Line Warrior", which also featured Klaus on drums was something of the missing link between Moving Pictures and Signals then this one goes way back to A Farewell to Kings but then tries to leapfrog its way on to Grace Under Pressure.

Nile Rodgers meets Hank Marvin without the tremolo arm.

Lead, rhythm, and bass guitars, Production and drum mixing dB

UPDATE: 20th October, re-recorded Telecaster lead part completely. Later added a second rhythm guitar part. Later still added some Mini Moog...and today, I muted the synth and remixed...again. Oh and saw yet more goldcrests today.

Just a minute...

Can you wait for just one minute, Before you head on out the door? I was trapping time forever, Now's not the time to settle the score

The seconds, well, they tick on by Regardless of my fears and pride Won't you hold on for a moment longer? You see I've always been on your side You know I've always been by your side

Think of all those second chances, I always give when we're apart It was only second glances, that were the ones that broke my heart

If not forever, then a day It's not the time for us to pray Was it all the time you had? (Only time will tell) Time of your life either way

Song written and recorded 5-6 October 2017 Dave Bradley on guitar, vocals, harmonies, percussion Produced by dB

Working title: Seconds Out

Grace

You were born by the castle on the sand Although a child of the land your father lit the way For every passing sail, and every steamer grand But your life didn't go quite as you planned Though your end was not at sea

Oh Grace. You darling of the waves Won't you come and save us from the peril of the seas Oh Grace. You darling of the brave Now that you have saved us, won't you stay with me

A ship was wrecked in '38 on rocks that flanked the isle, Despite the light Your father gave, and though little more than a child You rowed across the waters bleak To bring those souls to land But all the fame you didn't seek Couldn't save you from the sand

The night was black when you returned to the castle on the sand And all the life you ever lacked consumed in your last stand At 26 you're laid to rest, sea fret upon a distant deck The light reflected in the eyes of souls you saved from Longstone's distant wreck

Words & Music David Bradley Guitar and vocals David Bradley

More about Grace Darling in my blogpost scheduled for the 175th anniversary of her death

https://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/grace-darling.html

UPDATE: Re-recorded in its entirety, October 2017, after a live outing.

A quick double track instrumental based on a little riff I came up with earlier in the week that has morphed into something melancholic to mark the imminent migration of the swallows south for the winter on a sultry day towards the end of summer...

I photographed these swallows being made way back in May...and here they are ready to fly 300km a day for a month for their first trip to South Africa and if they survive they'll return here next spring!

https://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/departing-are-such-sweet-swallows.html

Lighter fuel baby

Waiting time is over, It's really come to the end You know you're broke and your bottle's gone You found yourself without a friend

You wasted time on dreaming, On that you can depend The thoughts you had the words you said, The actions you defend

I can tell you now, you are going down You've gotta be joking if you think you can stick around

Lighter fuel baby, You're never gonna find a friend You're burning out no blaze of glory It pains me to the end Lighter fuel baby to my will you are going to bend

Lighter fuel baby You're never gonna find a friend You're burning out no blaze of glory To my will you've got to bend

Words, music, production, vocals, guitars, bass, synths, percussion mixing - David Bradley

Another song of the sea, this one written a year after Prevailing Wind, it features imagery once more inspired by a coastal trip with storms and sun and shingle...

Turncoats

Baskets of wild stone to save the land from the seas What would carry me home? Not the tide nor the breeze Give her all you take till she brings you to your knees And the wind will catch your breath brace you for the peace

Fleshing out the rust that decays by the shore Wonder if I'll find the way home just a little bit raw You face the pain, but it turned you pale Your wounded sigh, You hide behind a veil

Storms and fights and endless bloody wars Dreams of lights and turncoats on the shores Screams at night are nothing but a bore Then you turn away and ask for nothing more

Kicking up the sand by the shore Picking at the strands a little bit more But it all unravels when you sail against the wind I'm a long way looking back, your blame is under my skin

Storms and fights and endless bloody wars Dreams of lights and turncoats on the shores Screams at night are nothing but a bore Then you turn to me and ask for a little more

Storms and fights and endless bloody wars Dreams of lights and turncoats on the shores Screams at night are nothing but a bore Then you turn to me and ask for nothing more

Baskets of wild stone to save the land from the seas What would carry me home? Not the tide nor the breeze Give her all you take and she'll bring you to your knees And the wind will catch your breath brace you for the peace

Storms and fights and endless bloody wars Dreams of lights and turncoats on the shores Screams at night are nothing but a bore Then you turn away, then you turn away, then you turn away And ask for nothing more

Baskets of wild stone to save the land

Words and Music, acoustic, electric, and bass guitars, vocals, percussion, dB Produced by David Bradley

UPDATE: 31st July, I redid some of the percussion yesterday and remixed...I've also had a change of heart about the title of the song, I think it should be called "Turncoats".

UPDATE: 26th July. Entirely new version recorded and mixed today. Also now with added Tele

Bonus track from the "Songs of the Sea" album originally released September 29, 2016. New track: July 25, 2017 - re-recorded 26th

Just as all rivers will flow to the sea, So forgiveness must come easily Though your hands are tied today, You'll be hand in hand tomorrow That's got to come easily,

In simpler times it seems you're like the river, Well that must flow easily Won't it feel the way it feels to a stranger by the water You forgive her anything, You can give her everything

The sea refuses no river, they all flow easily, they flow because they're free The sea to the river like a stranger must seem

If you really can’t forgive her then it won't come easily, you know it don't come easily

Just as all rivers will flow to the sea, so forgiveness must come easily Though you wash your hands today, you'll praying for tomorrow That won't come easily, you know it won't come easily

The sea seems like a stranger to me, no river sets me free, that don't feel good to me

Words and music, instrumentation, production - David Bradley Remastered 29th September 2017. New 1+1 remix 20/12/17

Now the title track of my new collection.

Found some great backing tracks online played by drummer Jim Dooley. A couple of dollars each month to download as many as you want and use them as you like to make your own music, so I grabbed a funky 6/8 90 bpm groove and built up various guitar licks and layers. Electric, acoustic and bass played by dB.

I've been taking lots of photos of birds recently...so I'm the in-flight recorder...get it? Pictured - Red kite (Milvus milvus) in the Brecon Beacons, Powys, Wales. For music and bird fans, there's a slideshow vid of some of my avian snaps here: https://youtu.be/7N0sP0AViR8

Who is really fooling who, when the chips are down and you head for town? Don't recognise the games you play are just wasting time and they're pulling me down?

So, who is really fooling you, when your dreams are broken and your pockets empty? Won't you ever realise that this time you waste is not a time of plenty?

Are you saying nothing now, 'cause no words can right your sorry fable? Are you never gonna turn around, 'cause although you lost there's always one more table

Won't you ever realise, that you fool yourself with your guilty pleasure? Maybe when you come on home you'll unlock the door, find your only treasure

Who is really fooling who, when the chips are down and you head for town? Don't you recognise the pain, the waste of time it's still just pulling me down?

Who is really fooling you, when the dreams you stole are running on empty? Won't you ever realise that this time you waste is not a time of plenty?

Are you saying nothing now, 'cause no words can right your sorry fable? Are you never gonna turn around, although you lost yourself there's always one more table

And, won't you ever realise, that you fool yourself with that guilty pleasure? Maybe when you come on home, babe you'll lock the door, find your only treasure

Are you saying nothing now, 'cause no words can write your sorry fable? Are you never gonna turn around, although you lost yourself there's always one more table

And, won't you ever realise, that you fool yourself with that guilty pleasure? Maybe when you come on home you'll unlock the door, find your only treasure

Who is really fooling who, when the chips are down but you're back from town?

Words & Music, Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Production, Artwork dB

Another avian inspired instrumental, today brought to you by the jay. Jay for Jazz. Jazz 2.0. J. 2. Oh

When the Mood Takes You

One day, when the mood takes you You'll run away to search for your dream In some ways, should the mood take you You'll chase down the stream heading out to sea

And, some day if the mood makes you Blind sided, will you still see me? Just praying the mood not take you away from me, oh no

How can you be so lost in the light? How can you be so lost in the light?

Then comes that day when the mood takes you You'll run on home remember your dream But on that day I'll have gone searching out at sea

Then comes that day when the mood takes you You'll run on home remember your dream But on that day well I'll have gone searching out at sea, yeah out to sea

Won't find me as the mood takes you Lost in the light you will stay How could the mood ever not take me? Take me away, take me away

How can you be so lost in the light? How can you be so lost in the light? As the mood takes you As the mood takes, takes you away

May 2017

I came up with this funky little riff in my head Monday, thought: I'll never be able to work that out on guitar. But had a go anyway...it was just a single not pull-off, hammer-on thing...so I figured out simple chords that seemed to fit: F, Em, Am, G...and a turnaround F Em, D, Am, G, with a few embellishments, minor 7ths, the odd dominant 7th, a sixth here and there.

I also had this phrase in my head: How can you be lost in the light? It's easy to get lost in the dark...but in the light?

Well, Tuesday night, quiet house, means quiet studio, so I put together some funky drum loops and had a go at blasting out that riff on my Telecaster and then attempting to fit some lyrics...they seemed to work, so a bass track on top of that and the obligatory guitar solo...

Mixed it down this morning, but re-recorded the complete vocal and the guitar solo, added a couple of harmonies, generally cleaned it all up, mastered it and labelled it version 2.

Well, you know what I'm like by now, ever the perfectionist, I can hear a few things I need to tweak in this mix. I might even use Melodyne to make those harmonies more harmonious. Watch this space, inevitably version 3, 4, 5...will be along soon-ish...

UPDATE: Three hours later, I've tweaked the harmonies, this is WtMTY 3.0

Incidentally, I took the cover photo on a trip to the Brecon Beacons in Wales, it shows the peaks of Pen y Fan and Corn Du with some moody clouds...

A bit of summery jazz-funk and some guitar noodlings inspired by the flitty flight and song of Sylvia atricapilla, the blackcap

Trivial riff elevated to a chord progression and lots of noise, just 2'24" of it...crank it up to 11 though Dave, would ya?

A song dedicated to those with no place to turn. Please support Jimmy's Cambridge by making a donation while you listen. Jimmy's gives those people a place to turn...

https://www.justgiving.com/jimmyscambridge

Bridges (Crossed and Burned)

She is down on her luck, with no place to turn Embedded with waifs and strays, her skin patched with bruises and burns The clothes on her back are tattered and torn She sleeps in the doorways, where drunks spit out their cold scorn

A lonely young man, with no money to spare Staggered to see her pain, not sure if he should care He stretches out his hand, clings to the hope that she can stand But her fear backs her into the shadows A helpless girl in a hopeless land

He's a stranger to luck got no place to turn Embedded with the waifs and strays, his sin was only to yearn The coat on his back is matted and worn He sleeps in old boxes, wishing he'd never been born

If only somebody, with a minute to spare Would offer some tea and their hand, to prove that somebody cares So he reaches out to touch them, Grasps at hope but he can't stand And their guilt drags them out of the shadows Their focus sharp on their homemade plans

What do you do when you lose your way? How do you cope with that pain? In a world that just turns away

Well bridges are crossed and bridges are burned You know that the truth is the proof It's a lesson that never is learned You know that the truth is the proof A lesson that never is learned

Words and music Dave Bradley

Just in from the critics:

"Absolutely beautiful, naturally sung, with genuine empathy"

"no exaggeration...this is a beautiful piece of music"

"Emotive theme which will always be current"

"Brought a tear to my eye"

Broken City

Hide it away, it's not looking too pretty Running away I want to head for the city And if there's something I can't find If it sends me out of my mind Then I'll know time after time You won't take any pity

I know the dreamers are screaming And I know the screamers are dreaming But you show nothing you're hiding Cos I know you're always offsiding

Hide it away, it's not looking too pretty Running away I'm gonna head to the city, the city And if there's something I can't find Well, if it sends me out of my mind Then I know time after time You won't take any pity

Time after time I head for the city No reason or rhyme I head for the city Way down the line I'm lost in the city Well, I'm wasting my time I come back from the city, the city, the city

On and on and on and on anon

DAVE BRADLEY: Words and music Guitars, bass, keys, vocals Percussion sequencing Production and final mix Cover Artwork

The Bible and The Bottle by Dave Bradley and John Delk

Blink...and it's gone Another year, another song 'though any broken soul can stumble along

Well, I turned seventeen the year she died Still can't believe that was '89 If I could go back I wouldn't offer that ride

Now, I have to drink to clear my head I really don't care what The Good Book said Another Sunday morning will soon be gone

If The Bible or the bottle is the choice I got Well I can't tell if I can take it or not Lord, the truth is all the trouble that I got

You know…I'm still here? Just hanging in, I can hear those angels calling, calling me to prayer

But, maybe I'll just take another shot The Bible and a bottle is all I got Well, it seems, nothing else will clear the air

The Bible or the bottle is the choice I got And I don't care if they get it or not It's The Bible or the bottle like it or not

I can’t take what's wrong and make it right And I can’t say I won’t drink tonight That’s the truth, And that’s the trouble It's not The Bible, It's the bottle

That's the truth and it's no trouble It's The Bible or the bottle It's The Bible not the bottle You read The Bible at the bottom of a bottle

Words by John Delk @john_delk and Dave Bradley Music and arrangement by dB Vocals, instrumentation, production dB

I started out with a mock country backing track I put together a few years ago that re-emerged at just the right time and inspired wordsmith friend John Delk to come up with a tale of a couple breaking up in a bar, we started to muse on the fact that one of the pair might be a preacher, or at the least some kind of holy man...

Eventually, John's lyrics morphed into a tale of a drinker trying to choose between The Bible and the bottle, maybe between right and wrong. John brought back the second character but gave us the news that she'd died some time ago...perhaps this was the cause of our protagonist's drinking problem.

I overdubbed with my own instruments the original instrumental loops I'd used in the demo (drums and pedal steel guitar aside) on Telecaster, Taylor and bass guitars, changing the parts somewhat to make them more dynamic and adding a completely different guitar solo. I then set about recording my version of the vocal with John's lyrics. I guess I mangled them in places, but I also came up with a couple of new lines I like, namely the lyric about hearing the angels calling and the final line about reading The Bible at the bottom of a bottle, alluding to him only seeing the light once he's completely drunk...having (the listener might assume) led to his girlfriend's death in a car crash when he had taken charge of his first car way back when.

Are you hoping for a better year?

When life takes a turn for the worse, the worst it could ever be And you yearn for something to quench that thirst There's a chance that you'll fail to see

Are you still hoping for a silent night? Are you still open to love's shining light?

There are no signs, but there's a warning This is our time, no time for mourning One thing it seems is very clear Right now, we're hoping for a better year

Are you? Are you? Are you? Well, are you?

And you had a hunger it wasn't the first Maybe, there's a chance you'll see The road you travel, well it seems that it is cursed The time is running out for breaking free

Are you still hoping for a silent night? Are you still open to love's shining light?

Are you? Will you? Can you? Can you live? (Can you leave?)

There are no signs, but there's a warning This is our time, no time for mourning

Words & Music by Dave Bradley Vocals, guitar, bass and percussion dB Produced and mixed by dB

As featured on Cambridge105 Radio. Recorded a new guitar solo and remastered the track, October 2017

http://cambridge105.co.uk/new-music-generator-25-01-2017/

Watch the moon slowly crown the horizon Imagine gravity's pull Feel the silken waters rising The tide turns and I'm wondering Why?

If I ride with the tide, I'm under If I go with the flow, I'm under If I say I should leave then I know I will stay

It's too late to turn the tide and just sail away If I couldn't love, then there's nothing to say

I couldn't love you I couldn't love you any more I couldn't love you any more than I do today

Vocals, guitar, bass, percussion/patches, synths, production by Dave Bradley

One critic: Tension, clever imagery, vibes of deep yearning sadness and over-powering love, sung with great passion. A foot-long Bond-Bowie- Poliakoff sandwich, with all the trimmings. A* guitar. I like the jamming after the abyss; good contrast. It has it all. A really beautiful song.

Complicated

Complicate my memories Make them seem unreal Hide the things I'm feeling Better to conceal

I need a shoulder to cry on The bruises prove I lose it You're cruising in confusion in your pain

It was a picture to die for Blown fuses helped you choose it It never felt so complicated in the rain

I'm too close for comfort And, even now I'll choose it Double up the fever in my brain

Complicate my memories Make them seem unreal Hide the things I'm feeling Better to conceal

Too close for comfort Trouble in my brain

Guitar, vocals, bass guitar, percussion program by dB

Another old song of mine remixed for autumn 2016

Take my hand

There are no saints only sinners, No prophets, No judges full of hate No happy ever afters spent in wonder No world beyond the distant shores of fate

You might dream that there's a ghost in the machine But your dreams are only mists upon the waves

So take my hand, take my hand I can't lead you to a promised land But take my hand, and be there with me We will play our time like ripples in the sand

There are no answers in your breathing, No wisdom, No salve to take away the pain The sea is as wide as the summer And pity is the sound of falling rain

Words & Music dB Guitar, vocals, bass, slide guitar dB

A remix for 2016 of an old song of mine.

You can't hide a smile

Wait for something, Something comes along Do you realize you could still belong? Could you handle it, or just move on? If the love's still there then maybe it's me that's wrong

Tell me to believe, I will walk a mile Say that I deceive, I will hide a smile Show me what you mean I cannot be free Not until the time, that time that I can see

Think of nothing, think that nothing's wrong Could you handle it if it's the time to move on? Do you realize now there's nowhere else to hide? On the move again, and leaving behind all pride

Oh, tell me to believe, I would walk a mile Say that I deceive, I will hide a smile Show me what you mean I can-not be free Not until that time, the time that I can see

Wait for something, Nothing comes along Do you realize you really could belong? Could you walk a mile, or just move on? If the love's still there then maybe it's me that's wrong

Vocals, guitars, bass, percussion mixing dB

Lost to the weather on a dark and stormy night I'm searching for you But you've already taken flight

I'm lost in translation Nothing feels quite right Your secrets are safe in the shadows Hidden well out of sight

But, I feel, I feel unprotected Like you feel, when you're rejected

The time is now for plans of acceptance Can't hold your hand, I feel so helpless Now I know why. I understand their offensive

I'm lost to the weather, windburnt and colder Half frozen to death, and another year older I'd be lost to the weather If they capture you now...

Coming into the station On a cold and foggy night Their agents are waiting Their fortunes they feel are quite right

But, they're lost in translation Into shadows you will take flight Defective and chasing Catch up with you, well I just might

Your message comes through All bridges are crossed I see you caught in the headlights As the sniper takes his best shot

You're lost to the weather, windburnt and colder Now frozen to death, not another year older And I'm lost to the weather As they captured you...

In Deep Water

Seems to me that the fakers Are the ones who want to make it And they don't care, 'cause they are hanging on

The chances are they'll take it Leaving nothing for your favours But they don't care, 'cause they are moving on

They haven't got the questions But find out there's no answer They take a chance and break through all that's strong

They turn around and watch you When you're hiding they can see you They don't believe in anything they did wrong

I never had the patience When nothing solves the problem But I don't care, 'cause I am staying strong

Don't tell me what you want to hear Don't say that it's a secret Just sweep it up and make believe you're wrong

Well that's a loaded question Empty out your answer Now take your time and I will follow on

Don't turn around and watch me I'm hiding can't you see it I know you think the battle's nearly won

And after all is said and done When we find the answer never comes And after that if we find we're trapped Then you will find we're not the only ones

Drums Klaus Tropp Vocals, guitars, mix dB

[OUTTAKE] I haven't found the questions There's no way I can answer Your prayers are lost I rake through all that's wrong

I never had the patience When nothing solves the problem But, I don't care 'cause I am staying strong

I'm staying strong Can't know the answer But, I'm staying strong Can't know the answer

The Tide That Never Turns

For some of us, it's a story too far Of distant lands, of pearls and bars For others there's still a life untold In dusty towns they never found gold

There are those who take it all too hard They stake their claims but bear the dull scars For others there's still a grief unsound In dusty towns unholy ground

But either way, the sea's unchanged The lies it hears the lives it takes All of them are foam upon the waves And though some are lost, none are ever saved

For others there's a grief uncrowned In gusty towns on holy ground

The tide that never turns The sun that never burns The summer wind that only makes you yearn

For storms to ride and waves of pride On a tide that never turns The tide that never turns

We all deride the waves of pride You will never learn On a tide that never turns

Three lost cities beyond the wind Fatigued by fear, the changes begin If time and tide sweep all away Then what are we but the ocean spray?

Yet either way, the seasons change The smiles we fake and rearrange Emotion lost unto the feign Now summer's gone we all feel the same pain

The tide that never turns The sun that never burns The summer wind that only makes you yearn

For waves to ride and ways to hide From a tide that never turns From a tide that never turns

We all deride the waves of pride You will never learn On a tide that never turns

All vocals, guitars, synths and production dB

The Tide That Never Turns

For some of us, it's a story too far Of distant lands, of pearls and bars For others there's still a life untold In dusty towns they never found gold

There are those who take it all too hard They stake their claims but bear the dull scars For others there's still a grief unsound In dusty towns, unholy ground

But either way, the sea's unchanged The lies it hears the lives it takes All of them are foam upon the waves And though some are lost, none are ever saved

For others there's a grief uncrowned In gusty towns on holy ground

The tide that never turns The sun that never burns

The summer wind that only makes you yearn For storms to ride and waves of pride On a tide that never turns The tide that never turns

We all deride the waves of pride You will never learn On a tide that never turns

Three lost cities beyond the wind Fatigued by fear, the changes begin If time and tide sweep all away Then what are we but the ocean spray?

Yet either way, the seasons change The smiles we fake and rearrange Emotion lost unto the feign Now summer's gone we all feel the same pain

The tide that never turns The sun that never burns

The summer wind that only makes you yearn For waves to ride and ways to hide From a tide that never turns From a tide that never turns

We all deride the waves of pride You will never learn On a tide that never turns

All vocals, guitars, synths and production dB/

UPDATE: I added some Mini Moog and some Moog Taurus Pedals to my proggy song of existential angst "The Tide That Never Turns". Probably sounds even more like I was attempting to emulate late-70s Rush now I reckon, it could've been recorded at Le Studio even, although my voice hasn't been as high as Geddy's since I was 12 years old! If it sounds like Jacob's Ladder from Permanent Waves that really wasn't deliberate, it's just converged on that sound organically as I added layers (22-track recording)

You can get the original Moog-free version via the "No Moog" link

https://davebradley.bandcamp.com/track/the-tide-that-never-turns

The Tide That Never Turns

For some of us, it's a story too far Of distant lands, of pearls and bars For others there's still a life untold In dusty towns they never found gold

There are those who take it all too hard They stake their claims but bear the dull scars For others there's still a grief unsound In dusty towns unholy ground

But either way, the sea's unchanged The lies it hears the lives it takes All of them are foam upon the waves And though some are lost, none are ever saved

For others there's a grief uncrowned In gusty towns on holy ground

The tide that never turns The sun that never burns The summer wind that only makes you yearn

For storms to ride and waves of pride On a tide that never turns The tide that never turns

We all deride the waves of pride You will never learn On a tide that never turns

Three lost cities beyond the wind Fatigued by fear, the changes begin If time and tide sweep all away Then what are we but the ocean spray?

Yet either way, the seasons change The smiles we fake and rearrange Emotion lost unto the feign Now summer's gone we all feel the same pain

The tide that never turns The sun that never burns The summer wind that only makes you yearn

For waves to ride and ways to hide From a tide that never turns From a tide that never turns

We all deride the waves of pride You will never learn On a tide that never turns

All vocals and guitars dB Produced by dB

This is the original mix before I added Taurus bass pedals and Mini Moog...

This is a weird musical nugget I found fragments of in my archives from five or so years ago. Sounds like I was aiming for some kind of mock collaboration between Robert Fripp and Peter Gabriel. As usual, me on vocals, guitar and bass with a Line6 looper drum beat

Hidden Track

Make it breathe around you like a fire in your hearth Make it breed around you like a fire in your heart I have got no memory of what I've seen before But, I feel a fine line drawing

And I turned away from the mystery that I had been before Could you know me?

Where's the fire in your heart? Burning like a slow-burning soul I bring it back too Had to break the mystery But I don't need what I can't fear

If I'm walking I'm right there with me Bad feeling, like a weirdo You're going off to bed That's what you're doing, with your thoughts on fire, bleeding out through the wire

It's a long way, a long way back home.

The Oldest Trick in The Book (Fairweather Devil)

Back in the day, there was a boy you could never save Never found any time to play, so a devil came to steal his soul away Masquerading as an open book, she drew him in with bitter-sweet deception He didn't see what was coming, wrote a cheque for love and affection

The oldest trick in the book He fell for it, hook, line and sinker, He never got a second look She turned his head, then threw him into the drink

Back in the day, there was a girl who could only pray Never found any time to play, then a devil came to steal her soul away A dashing preacher with an open book, he drew her in with bitter-sweet deception She didn't see what was coming, mistook her faith for love and affection

The oldest trick in the book She fell for it, hook, line and sinker, And though she grabbed a second look He turned her head and then he pulled his trigger

So they went to an early grave No flowers no wake, whatever And though they paid the price they paid Some friends don't hang around in stormy weather

Now, we're right up to date. Surely you don't want the same fate Don't spend your time on money and craving Spare a dime for the guy at the gate Don't pray too hard and get on with some playing

The oldest trick in the book Don't waste your life on money and slaving Don't give that devil a second look The oldest trick in the book, don't fall for it hook, line and sinker

The oldest trick in the book The oldest trick in the book The oldest trick in the book

Words and music by Dave Bradley Arrangement, instrumentation and vocals dB

Thanks to Matt for suggesting I write a "reggae" song

Prevailing Wind

Reading between the lines Sketching the fever of a swollen tide The endless meaning of a mindful time Picking up the stones of the smoothest kind

And then it begins Beyond the veil of original sin Reaching out to sea Carried on a prevailing wind

And so you have your say That the proof's the truth in its own sweet way The bluest blue carries you away Back to where you grow

And so it begins Beyond the pale you take it in Dream of the sea and foreign shores on a prevailing wind

You didn't see the signs Painting a picture of another time Drawing deeply from a tainted vine Kicking up the dust on The Poppy Line

And so it begins Beyond an age of original sin Setting out to sea Carried on a prevailing wind

A recent trip to the coast with friends brought out lots of ideas, laughing, debating, drinking, sketching, singing and shaking...

This is my musical sketch written on site and multitracked back in my home studio.

Usual credits: dB on vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion...

My photo shows a sunny view of the defensive groynes along the beach at Mundesley in North Norfolk looking east towards Hapisburgh and its red and white striped lighthouse.

Latin Class

You lost a piece of the action, no one's ever relaxing Should you be documenting all your life?

I can't behold you baby, if you're not beholding to me I'm broken and bruised, waiting for the answers Tongue-tied and cruising, it hurts to take the chances I'm losing. I'm losing you

Every blind alley you turned Every lesson you never learned The final bridge you burned From the tiny spark to the flame that you spurned

You chose a new class action, there was a chain reaction Could you be coming back to life? Just don't know baby

I can't just hold you baby, if you're not beholding to me I'm broken and bruised, waiting for the chances Tongue-tied untwisted, I'm finding all the answers Am I amusing? Amusing you?

Nowhere to hide, no place to run to Kneel at your side, every tide that I turn to, I got nowhere to bleed, nowhere to hide I'm a fool and I can't see it, owning my reality

Words and music, guitar, bass and vocals Dave Bradley

http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/classic-chords-11-mad-punk.html

It occurred to me that a neat mashup would work between “Get Lucky” and Tears for Fears “Mad World” (made relatively recently famous again by Gary Jules). The verse for that song is in Am, so the sequence is Am, C, G, D…but if we transpose up a tone we get… Bm, D, A, E. Now, I know what you’re thinking that’s not the same as Get Lucky, there’s an A major chord where Daft Punk play an F#m…but…look at the chords Amaj is A, C#, E. F#m is A, C#, F#. Different! But, if we add the 7th to that chord that’s the not E, so F#m7 is A, C#, E, F# or think of it another way (see diagram) F#m7 is basically an Amaj with F# as a bass note.

http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/classic-chords-9-all-right-now.html

“All Right Now” was the big 1970 hit from the blues-rock band Free with one of the most recognisable but easy to fluff guitar riffs of all time. Unfortunately, for the budding axe hero, Paul Kossoff was not playing anything particularly simple on a single guitar in this song by bassist Andy Fraser and singer Paul Rodgers. Ostensibly, it’s just a standard A major chord with a jangly bit of an open A7 on the third fret. But, the song has been dissected and aficionados know only too well that there are two guitars overdubbed, one playing the A major with a fretted A on the sixth string and the other playing an A major with a fretted A and E on the 1st and 2nd strings.

http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/classic-chords-8-the-nile-style.html

The Hitmaker, Nile Rodgers, has stamped his mark on everything from Chic and Sister Sledge, to Bowie and the B52s, Dianna Ross and Madonna, Duran Duran and Daft Punk, and dozens in between and beyond. Always founded in the purity of jazz harmony and then punched up with the percussive funk the Nile style is instantly recognisable.

http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/classic-chords-7-the-manics-a-design-for-life.html

This is another chord in the spirit of Lifeson, I'd say, given just how big a fan of Rush The Manics' Nicky Wire is. It's one of those non-standard chords where there are "added" notes that really shouldn't be there and if you strum it straight it sounds very dissonant, but arpeggiated it's really, really nice.

http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/classic-chords-6-the-beatles-a-hard-days-night.html

It's hard to picture this as a chord because it's two different chords played together with a bass note, but that doesn't make it not a chord, if you add them all up it's just a Dm11 or an F6/9, but boy what a sound it makes played right!

http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/classic-chords-5-rush-limelight.html

You will have to visit sciencebase to find out why no. 4 is missing. Meanwhile, as I mentioned, in Classic Chord no. 1, during my early teens I was chasing the dream of being the next Alex Lifeson, picking out the pseudo-classical intros to songs like “Panacea”, “A Farewell to Kings” and “The Trees”, later “Broon’s Bane” from the second live album Exit…Stage Left and rocking out (on a nylon string guitar!) to “Working Man”, “Bastille Day” and “Circumstances”. One recurring theme in Lifeson’s playing is the chorused ringing sound of his big open chords where he leaves the B and high E strings open and chiming but roots the chord with the bottom strings. It adds an ethereal tone to the cleaner arpeggiated sounds. Arpeggiated coming from the Italian meaning to play the harp!

http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/classic-chords-3-the-hendrix-chord.html

There’s one chord every wannabe rock guitar hero has to figure out at some point…we all listen to Jimi Hendrix, we all marvel at what he’s doing with that Strat, whether plucking it with his teeth or setting it on fire. But, what is it he’s doing exactly to get that E-major power chord that is something like a dominant 7th instead of a no-third, but has a little bit of funky extra hidden behind all that disortion. Well, it’s the pinkie finger on the B-string at the 9th fret that gives it the unique Hendrix flavour.

http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/classic-chords-2-the-beatles-blackbird.html

We all have songs that stick with us, the ones to which we’re the most attached, emotionally perhaps. “Blackbird” by The Beatles has to be one of those for me. The words are important, of course, but it’s really those chords and specifically the style and that chord at the top as he jumps up in the “dead of night”. Nominally, it's G augmented, but really it's just the notes G and B, so not even a chord at all!

http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/classic-chords-1-the-hemispheres-chord.html

One thing I noticed as a teen teaching myself to pick out the wondrous chords played by Rush's Alex Lifeson by ear was that he used a lot of chords where the top two strings, the B and the E string were left to ring while a moveable chord shape, often a B major shape or more commonly an F major shape (but, not barre) was relocated up and down the neck.

Here's that classic chord, often known as the Hemispheres chord, although it features on Xanadu, The Fountain of Lamneth, The Spirit of Radio and many others songs in various positions, and makes a lovely reappearance in Far Cry!

White Line Warrior

White line warrior Heading up the Inca Trail Silkroad Surfer Hides behind electric veil

Foothill courier En route to the promised land Fuelled with a bitter taste Torment is in her hand

Global decimation One in ten, where worlds collide Find the taker nation A future lost for lack of pride

Main line quarrier Digging up the dragon's tale Milk wet citizen Finds the time to read the Mail

Timeline warrior Waking in the promised land Works a little hasty Though history is in his hands

Global decimation One in ten, where worlds collide Find the taker nation A future lost for lack of pride

Something of a Rush pastiche, half Tom Sawyer, half Analog Kid. It has as many Lifesonesque riff cliches, changes and soloing sounds as I could think of but smothered with my own guitar noises.

It's also me doing my best to get heavy with the Geddy bass, although not since I was 13y old have I been able to sing as high as Ged. Anyway, it all builds on Klaus Tropp's thunderously wonderful Peartisms.

Now, Greg Schwaegler has kindly done some Prophet synth layers and a Minimoog solo for me and I've remixed and remastered the track. If it was originally a Permanent Waves/Moving Pictures transition song it's definitely a lost tape from the Signals sessions now! Hahahah. I remastered this February 2017...and again February 2019

Original words and music by Dave Bradley. Produced by dB

A song of history, chemistry and exploitation...

My latest song, something of an insistent retro rocker inspired by the recent transit of the planet Mercury across the Sun and the thoughts that evoked regarding the message we might imagine it sends to us here on planet Earth. Mercury, the winged Messenger of Roman mythology has been there as a warning sign again and again, evolving, revolving in transition...the pressure is on, things are heating up, the mercury is rising, we must take heed for the sake of the planet and for the sake of humanity.

Mercury in Transit

With wings on your heels and solar wind in your hair You dance around to face the Sun, No time for subtle scares A message to the world it seems, the one that doesn't care Will they listen to your warning in transition they appear

"What comes around, comes around," you tell them as you fade Evolving, revolving, spinning out your day You wonder why nobody cares, nor listens to a word you say Your message told above the clouds, it's price they'll have to pay

In transition, in transition, moving on In transition, in transition, counting on a transition to a better world the journey comes undone But the mercury is rising, so it's time to look beyond the sun

No wind in your sails, and death around you draped You travel 'cross the ocean waves the torment to escape The message from the world: Your life you'll have to scrape And never heed the warning of transition taking shape

"What's going down's going down!" you cry out as a slave Churning, returning, the sea becomes your grave You wonder why nobody cares, nor offers any word to save Your message lost below the sea a crisis for the brave Your message lost below the sea a price no one should crave

In transition, in transition, moving on In transition, in transition, counting on a transition to a better life the journey comes undone And the mercury is rising, so it's time to watch beyond the sun (look beyond the sun)

Words, music and arrangement - Dave Bradley Acoustic, electric and bass guitar - dB Vocals and percussion programming - dB Engineering, mixing and mastering - dB

Video montage - vimeo.com/166218674

For crying out loud

Heaven-sent lovers chasing milk and honey Spend their time like everything's just so sunny No little hitches, taking all their pictures Still the feeling's healing with its homespun riches

Never lets them down, keeps their head off the ground Rolling down saddled without a frown or a breakdown Come on strong, holding on so long Send the preachers back 'cause we're living like there's nothing wrong

The long last brother, shaking down the tree It's just not funny how his greed comes naturally Sells on his pitches, the real rags to riches Still the wheeler's dealing in his pulled up britches

Never seen him round, but kept his ear to the ground Rode in saddled with a frown and a takedown Coming on strong, and hanging out too long Just send the teachers back 'cause we never learn when we are wrong

One more mother, her love unspoken All the time is lost and her heart's all broken Laying out her son, he lies with the stitches Keep the kneelers praying in their worn out britches

Never hit the ground, keep her heart above the clouds Stardust dazzled with a frown and a breakdown Going in strong, moving a bit too long Bring it all back home 'cause it don't look like there's nothing wrong

For crying out loud For crying out loud For crying out loud For crying out loud

The lyrics to this number started out as me spoof-rapping in an FLC style over the Kurt Vile song "Lost my head there", but quickly morphed into a little bit of Sunshine NuJazz Funk Rock Fusion nestled with The Eagles, running with The Doobie Brothers, and checking out a 10cc measure of Steely Dan.

Words and music written and arranged by dB/ All instrumentation, vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, electric bass, keyboard and percussion played by dB/

Mucking around with some EDM/Dance loops and an arpeggiator for my Yamaha keyboard :-) Not quite the Nu Folk song I'd planned for the afternoon's musical outpouring...

Allégorie No. 1 by Dave Bradley

Well, as I enter my sixth decade I was going to write a new song about getting on a bit...but I already had one in my archives from the summer of 2013, so I recorded an entirely new vocal with a bit of a tweak to the lyrics, which seemed apt now that I'm finished my first half century. It's not actually about me though, although it's definitely a song about existential angst. The original song was really for Nelson Mandela who was very ill and very old when I first penned it. Hah!

New vocal and harmonies, new mix, same guitar, bass, and drum mix by dB

Too Old to Die Young

I don't want to leave Don't want it to pass me by Don't think I found the answers in a lie

Too old to die young, Too free to belong to anyone Too late to be wrong

I know that I can face it When I think about your rights I know that I can take it All the way up to the fight

Too far have I gone Stepping miles without a smile for anyone Stand beyond the sun

Too young for not trying Too old to cry over dying Staring back is that old setting sun

We'd live for ever in the spring The summer's moving on, And, every thing leads back to The Fall

Too old to die young, Too free to belong to anyone Too right to be wrong

I don't want to leave Don't want to pass it by Don't think I found an answer in a lie No, I don't think I found it in a lie Don't you think I found it...

Too free to be wrong, Too young to hold onto anyone Too old to die young

Yes, I think I must be too old to die young Don't you think that I'm too old to die young

Gravité No. 3 by Dave Bradley

Gravité No. 2 by Dave Bradley

Earlier this week, I was listening to BBC Radio4's Soul Music episode about Eric Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1, a piece of music I've always loved. I was going to arrange and record a guitar version of it, but got sidetracked by a delay effect that seemed to generate all this pulsing rhythm. I'd started with a sub-dominant maj7 and a tonic maj7(like Satie) but then rebooted it to just a simple Am to G shuttle. The guitar solo was then using a delay with some pitch shifting to generate echoes on the fifths of the initial notes. Add a bit of bass thuddery and mix it down and this is what you get.

I originally called this "Circle of Fifths", then "Berlin of fifths" even though it has nothing to do with the circle of fifths, nothing to do with Berlin. I was going to rename it Gravitational Waves, but have opted for "Gravité No. 1" which is what it really ought to have been called from the start.

The photo was the view earlier in the week from my office/studio window.

My cover songs are elsewhere, this is just an intro and a snippet. So, head on down the tracks for my latest - The Doobie Brothers' Long Train Runnin' - http://j.mp/doobietrain

Now available from Loudr.fm and all the usual outlets (iTunes, amazon, Google etc) https://loudr.fm/release/long-train-runnin/wMMns

This is a passenger announcement. Dave is over on the sciencebase Youtube platform right now with his cover of The Doobie Brothers Long Train Running. Head on down the tracks for a listen.

Chuff chuff woo woo

The day that Bowie died Woke crying at your side There was no call from the action man though he had a plan Took strangeness in his stride

The day the Wall came down We were dying in our room There was no call from a higher ground, just a changing sound That echoed with the bloom

All the roads are clear now... No message came in from Major Tom But a black star on the horizon taught us everything we needed to know

Told us everything we needed to know Everything. We needed to grow Needed to know Oh, we needed to know

The day that Bowie died Woke crying at your side If dust is all we'll ever be, Then let that be, an end to it You've torn it and your pride

Was there ever really a Major Tom? A black star, with the pressure on Showed us everything we needed to know Taught us everything we needed to grow Everything. We needed to show That we did know

The day that Bowie died Knew everything was alright

Words & Music by Dave Bradley Vocals, guitar, bass, beatboxing by dB Produced and mixed by dB

0 2B Sorry 4? (Nothing to be sorry for?)

It's a well-worn path we take each day The fighting maps our lives You cast a stone, the glass it breaks The home we had divides

And time moves on we separate The pain it blights our lives You cast the steel, my heart it aches For a love we can't revive

It's a careworn child that takes each day As if it were their last They cast the mould with risks they take Leave traces in their past

As they move on they instigate The future of their lives They steel the cast the passion play With love they will survive

Now there's nothing to feel sorry for I've heard it all before There is no reason to deny the pain

Nothing to be sorry for I heard it all the time There's nothing left so keep an open mind

It's a frightened world we see each day We're running for our lives Don't cast the stone, don't shoot the gun Lay down the bloody knives

Can we move on and relegate The pain that blights our times Just blunt the steel, my heart won't break The love we must revive

Nothing to feel sorry for I've heard it all before There's nothing left but to keep an open mind

There's nothing to say sorry for we denied it at the time Nothing left, no place that you can hide

Now there nothing to feel sorry for I've heard it all before There's nothing but to keep an open mind

Is there nothing to say sorry for? We denied it at the time Nothing left no place you can hide

Nothing to feel sorry for I've heard it all before There is no reason to deny the pain

Nothing to be sorry for I heard it at the time There's nothing left so keep an open mind

There's nowhere left So no place left to hide There's nothing left There's no place you can hide

Words and music, vocals, guitars, bass, iPad drums - Dave Bradley

Think an all-male Blondie, an English Prince, British R.E.M, a heavy Police, retro Placebo, and Moving Pictures era Rush...sort of...covering all bases...see?

Time Lapse

When you come right down to it, it was never going to last Days and weeks and months went by but years would never pass Words had never failed me...at least not until today But anger rose and doors were closed, seemed nothing more to say

Just one thing...I really ought to touch So, sit right down, don't turn your head, won't beat around the bush There's angry words and painful deeds, it's all a crying shame The thing is that I love you and we're none of us to blame

Come on, come on, come on, come on Let's take another shot Just focus on the day today Leave everything we're not

Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on Let's give it our best shot Just focus on this day today Give it everything we've got

Come on, come on, come on, come on... When you come right down to it Come on, come on, come on, come on... Will you come right down to it? Come on, come on, come on, come on... When you get on down to it Come on, come on, come on, come on... Will you get on down with it?

Words and Music by Dave Bradley Vocals, guitar, bass, BeatBuddy mixing dB Cartoon by dB

Stompbox drum machine on this extravagant, overindulgent, multilayered instrumental, with each guitar (Fender Telecaster, Ibanez RG and Yamaha bass) fed wirelessly (overdubbed one after the other) to my USB interface with the SmoothHound wireless guitar system.

Now, this was a self-indulgent instrumental done purely to test the box, but I did a bit of remixing, added some new guitar parts and a vocal to come up with a complete song, which goes under the name of Time Lapse... https://soundcloud.com/sciencebase/time-lapse

As a teen, just starting out on guitar, I was quite obsessed with Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia, any player with a "d" in the middle of their name...but also the likes of Robert Fripp (and Adrian Belew), Andy Summers, Nile Rodgers, Steve Howe, John Williams, Steve Hackett, and, of course, Alex Lifeson. I'm not sure whether any of their techniques ever trickled down into my finger tips, but here's an instrumental that has some vague elements of those players here and there...

Music and production by Dave Bradley Guitars, bass, percussion programming dB

Indian Summer

Seasons of mists and mellow They turn around You wonder where the time goes You still haven't found the questions For the answers that you know

Seasons and living on the flow Too easy to watch them come and go

Can't you make up your mind? Now the summer's gone, but, you just can't let it go Still looking for those questions To the answers you already know

The trees are turning And you're fooling yourself There's no point in yearning for the loss you have felt

Seasons and love, they come and go Teasels and easiness take it slow

Seasons and living come and go So easy to watch them come and go

Seasons of mists and mellow They turn around, You wonder where the time goes You still haven't found the questions For the answers that you know

Seasons and living, karma flow Too easy to watch them come and go

Seasons and loving they come and go Teasels and easiness take it slow

Words & Music Dave Bradley Vocals, guitars, bass dB

Candles

It all changed in the blinking of an eye And all it took was a little white lie The candle flickered and you stared at the floor She said "it's over" and headed for the door

Regrets you have and a pound of insecure Those wasted years were never part of the cure If you had your time again you'd get up off the floor If you had it all again you'd have boarded up that door

When you see that you can never make amends You'll find your failings were just fair-weather friends You cannot sleep on it for the message that would send Until you realise you're burning the candle at both ends

Take your time, but move on out to another place Don't stand in line, find your open space There's no disgrace, you can really change your mind Light it up, in the darkness you can shine

When you see that you could never make amends You found your failings were just fair-weather friends You couldn't sleep on it for the message that would send And then you realise you're burning ... And then you realise you're burning And then you realise you're burning the candle at both ends

Words and music dB Vocals and guitar dB

Remastered 29th September 2017

Single take improv on my Taylor acoustic

Just messing about with a simple chord progression Dm-Bb-C-F-Am

And a masked #selfie

El canalla - Spanish for scoundrel/blackguard/cad

The Mighty Fall

Suddenly it's gone You cannot see what you were missing The pain inside has grown so strong A future lost, no new beginning

Time is moving on The winds of change swept you aside Took your faith with all your pride The years just crawl along

Didn't you hear them calling? "Brother can you spare a dime?" Or was it just like any other day?

Oh, couldn't you feel yourself falling? You really didn't spare the time To make it unlike any other day

Tortured by the view You cannot turn your head to see or look beyond the window You wonder what you're missing

Nothing is forgiven You cannot see it's true You were never one to listen You turned away and sailed beyond the blue

Oh, how the mighty have fallen Wonder if you changed your mind It would seem like any other day

Oh, how the misery claws you Wonder if you'd had the time Would it have seemed like any other day?

Time is moving on You cannot reach what you were missing The pain inside has grown so strong A future lost, no new beginning

Any other day Any other day, the mighty fall Any other day

Vocals, instrumentation, production Dave Bradley Music by dB Lyrics by dB and JH Livingstone

A song of greatness diminished, faith lost, the autumn of one's years...

You can think of this as slow EDM, Rap-free, instrumental HipHop or a throwback to 1970s instrumental prog...up to you!

Arrangement, solos and production by Dave Bradley. Radio edit, 20/12/17

Inspired by a visit to the "ghost town" of Kayaköy in southwestern Turkey and the book by Louis de Bernières "Birds without Wings", which is set in a fictionalized version of the town...

Anatolia

Moving through the empty places Confused by all the open spaces Climb the hill to reach the chapel The leaves are scorched within the dappled lighting on the ground

Writing now a book for those to learn I devise a way to share the only Word To give them clarity in everything they've heard With faithless charity they open up and find it all absurd

Whiter than the minaret, paler than the Virgin painted on the wall Warmer than the leatherette, paler than the virgins waiting for your call

Anatolia! Anatolia! Anatolia!

Moving through the open spaces Confused by all the empty places Climb the hill to reach the chapel The leaves are scorched within the dappled lighting on the ground

Tearing up the Book for no one learns I declare the fear to share that everybody yearns To take their charity and throw it on the ground With faithful clarity we hear the fighting in the desert sound

Whiter than the minaret, paler than the Virgin painted on the wall Warmer than the leatherette, paler than the virgins waiting for your call

Anatolia! Anatolia! Anatolia!

Vocals - Dave Bradley Produced by dB Photo of Kayaköy ruin by dB

From the critics:

"Anatolia" has full flavour of bedoin tents and belly dancers. I feel the haunting, ancient past/imminent trouble, whilst being swept up in a trancy, night club (rave?) dance number. It would go down well on holiday nights out (anywhere hot and sandy). It's great; particularly liked the energy driven through the track and the contrast between the very low bass beat and your high notes. Smooth, exotic and entertaining."

"I thought it was going to be a folk number"

Burning out

If I'm still breathing Maybe I'm dreaming Either way, I'm screaming on the inside

Raking through my feelings Maybe time isn't healing Oh no one’s really going to care If I don't reach the other side

Smoking like a chimney, well They look at me dimly If someone doesn’t stop me I'm going to burn right out

Oh I am burning, I'm seething, I try to slow down, but I am kicking and screaming Who am I fooling? If you're cooling on me, got to wash me down and take the fire out of me

All kinds of people Offer me the needle Pull your self together This has really got to stop.

APR charges Underdosed on largesse Empty words don't pay the bills Why don't you hand me down my favourite pills?

Feeding in a frenzy Well, I choke like Aiden Mackenzie But no one can stop me I'm turning on out

Oh I'm burning, I'm screaming, never slow it down I am kicking at my feelings Nobody's fooling! You're never cooling on me Got to wash me down and take the fire out of me Got to wash me down and take the fire out of me Got to wash me down and take the fire out of me

Am I still learning My stomach's churning Either way, I'm burning on the inside

Lyrics by Jo-L and dB Music by dB Vocals, instrumentation, production dB Remixed and remastered July 2015...who is Aiden Mackenzie? Conflagration by MattB

Push the Button

Push the button and let it all come out There's solace in the stimulation of that there is no doubt Pull the lever this never will die out There's sorrow without stimulation; the driest ever drought

And though it's all electrified in every twist and shout Just use it up, abuse it up before we all burn out Push the button!

Push the button there is no time to lose With every breath and every sigh we chase away the blues Change your gear that tempo you will choose With every hue and every cry your voltage hits the fuse

We know it's all electrified and open to abuse But schmooze it up, confuse it up it is the only muse Push the button! Push the button! Before we all die out Push the button! Push the button!

Words & Music by Dave Bradley Vocals, guitar, bass, synth sax dB Mixed and mastered by dB

Wild Honeysuckle

Where the wild honeysuckle grows You make your love in the sun The sweet, sweet scent of your rose Ooh she takes her time, you know she's coming

Choose your line, spend your time While love is still on your mind

That deep, deep feeling The deepest feeling of all time The deep, deep feeling The deepest feelings of all time...of all time

Where the wild honeysuckle grows (still growing) You make your love in the sun That sweet, sweet scent of your woman We all take loving as it comes

Where the wild honeysuckle grows You found your love in the sun The bitter-sweet taste of the summer The autumn calls and you're heading home

You took the line, it took your mind And now your love is out of time

That deep, deep feeling The deepest feeling of all time The deep, deep feeling The deepest feelings of all time...of all time

Where that wild honeysuckle grows Where does the wild honeysuckle grow? Where we go, nobody knows But, oh how that wild honeysuckle grows

Words & Music David "dB" Bradley Vocals, guitar, bass, percussion dB Demo mix by dB Photo by dB

It's Never Too Cold to Snow

Sick and tired of the changes in the weather Don't you know that I've been praying for the sun But, I'm resigned to coping with the stormy weather Whether or not you change your mind and say that you will come

Well I know, you always take it everywhere And, I know there'll come a time When you open up, I really couldn't care And you'll find out when you're frozen...that it's never

Too cold to snow, no matter what they say When your heart is chilled in the cold light of day You can wrap it up warm, keep the weather at bay When it's time to light the fire you'll find another way It's never too cold to snow...

Feeling tired and I know you're under pressure Can't you tell that I've been feeling all your pain Now, I'm defined by hoping we can stay together But I'm sure I'll just be stranded in the rain

Words and music, recording and production dB Vocals, guitar, bass, cajon, tambourine and shaker dB

Collateral Damage

Waking up to the sins of the fathers No sword to ploughshare, the battle's just begun We are marching in time to a distant beat Tense with fear, we know this war will over run

Think of somewhere that you'd rather be You can't fight it you just have to change the world There's karma, riding the stormy sea But in time... Isn't freedom worth fighting for? Are we free to fight? Fight no more? Are we free

Working up to the life that we're living It's not easy, now it's just 9 to 5 I think I found a time when I was forgiven But there's no turning back now we have arrived

The sins of the fathers they haunt us And we really have to wonder why In a past life they left none to call us Without direction it's not hard to lie

Please take me to that place, where peace surrounds and there's no disgrace Walk me through the open space, where peace abounds and we all embrace

Please take me to that place, where peace surrounds and there's no disgrace

Words and Music by Dave Bradley All instrumentation (vocals, guitar bass), programming and mixing dB

From the critics: "Really great structure and breaks. Totally dig the harmonies and the vocals."

"Creative structure throughout, hot licks and tasty riffs, a sweet bass line, and more potent words from your serious-songwriting mind delivered by your amazing voice."

"Standing ovation dude! This is great... lyrics, vocals, fiery guitars all work together wonderfully."

Remixed for VE Day Anniversary 2015

Rising instrumentally to a challenge from Songwriters in the Kitchen to come up with a piece of music that followed the simple chord progression F-Dm-Am-Em. So, here's my effort.

Working title: Kitchen Khaos

An acoustic jam with dB on rhythm, bass and lead guitar building on a live drum session by Klaus "DFD" Tropp

Mixed and mastered by dB

From the critics: "Another cool track from you. Unbelievable playin'"

Photo also by dB of the view we had from a villa in southern Spain many years ago, thankfully there was no sirocco, but there was a bit of sunburn. Ouch.

As featured on "The Geordie Hour", Radio Tyneside, 31st May 2015 - http://www.radiotyneside.co.uk/d14/

There's plenty of time to unwind, when you've been and gone, when you're neither lost nor found, and it's over...like the man said, you can sleep when yer dead.

Time to Unwind (It's Over)

I saved your life you nearly drowned On the river bank, where Martha fell You turned to me and then you frowned Said I don't believe in Heaven and I don't believe in Hell

Catching up with all the things that we thought unreal I know that won't appeal to those hoping for a little more You turned away your wounds to heal Said I didn't think this way when I was walking through that door

It's not over till the last tear has dried, all the acid's neutralised and the anger has subsided When it's all over, don't you want to set aside a little time to unwind when it's all over

I sailed away I nearly drowned On one of those seven seas, I really couldn't tell I failed to say I was neither lost nor found Still don't believe in Heaven, but I sure saw my own Hell

It's not over till the last tear has dried, all the acid's neutralised and the anger has subsided When it's all over, don't you want to set aside a little time to unwind when it's all over

A little time to unwind when it's all over There's still time to unwind, it's over Time to unwind, it's over

Words & Music Dave Bradley Vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass dB Mandolin and drum loops spliced and mixed by dB

An instrumental trip in a hippy van...maaaan...

Slight remix with a couple of silly FX to pump up those phatt tyres...

White line warrior Heading up the Inca Trail Silkroad Surfer Hides behind electric veil

Foothill courier En route to the promised land Fuelled with a bitter taste Torment is in her hand

Global decimation One in ten, where worlds collide Find the taker nation A future lost for lack of pride

Main line quarrier Digging up the dragon's tale Milk wet citizen Finds the time to read the Mail

Timeline warrior Waking in the promised land Works with little haste Though history is in his hands

Words & Music by David "dB" Bradley Vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass dB Drums daFunkyDrummer - Klaus Tropp Mixed and mastered by dB

A song of history, chemicals and exploitation. Klaus Tropp on drums being the Neil Peart to my, ahem, Alex Lifeson ;-)

I think this sounds a bit like a missing link between Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. I have a new mix coming soon with synths by Greg Schwaegler that sounds more like a hidden bonus track from Signals...

Here's the synthetic remix - https://soundcloud.com/sciencebase/white-line-warrior-1/s-dr0cg

For those worried I'd gone all soft...some of the heavy stuff on the subject of dopamine addiction...

White sheets without emotion Soaking up your fever Watching from the corner of your eye

Floating round in circles Your limbs as flailing cleavers Thrashing with the torment in your eye

The pulse of failed addiction Scratching at the ceiling With the needles of desire

Tomorrow never knows what today would bring The day before the aftermath The eve of all the yesterday's bitter sting

Words, music & production by dB Vocal, guitars, bass, programming dB

Bling! Bling! Funk rock...is money all you want?

Gold and Silver

Gold and silver, throw them away Final chance now, I hope and I pray Gold and silver, burn in the night Heat inflection, the timing is right

Words and music by Dave Bradley Vocals, guitars and programming by dB Mixing and mastering dB

Original, Creative Commons gold robots photo courtesy of Epsos.DE - https://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos

The Silent Spring

They tell us history is a lesson to learn Too many times we ignore it They say the danger is a stranger to burn Through the seasons they implore it

It doesn't matter how near or how far The border lands we deplore them They feed us lies that just won't settle the score Fail to see that we abhor them

Across the desert a healing wind blows Now the promise of a silent spring Though lines were drawn and the borders were closed Above the cloud the eagle spreads her wings Above the cloud the eagle spreads her wings

They say that fear is the enemy within Too many times that we have sworn it From East to West their lies begin to wear thin The oath I swore I could ignore it

Across the desert a healing wind blows Now's the promise of a silent spring Though lines were drawn and the borders were closed Above the cloud the eagle spreads her wings

And through the valleys a healing wind blows With the promise of a silent spring The lines were cut but no borders are closed Above the cloud the eagle spreads her wings Above the cloud the eagle spreads her wings

And in the cities a healing wind blows With the culture of a vital sting The ties once cut and all borders exposed Above the cloud the eagle spreads her wings

And through the desert a healing wind blows With the promise of a silent spring The lines once cut and our feelings deposed Above the cloud the eagle spreads her wings Above the cloud the eagle spreads her wings

Words & Music by dB Vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass dB Backing vocals @Emmazen Programming and mixing dB Mastered by dB

The amazing Emmazen has now joined me on backing vocals and her voice soars like an eagle on this one!

I have remixed and remastered the song. Hope you enjoy ;-)

Give my love to the waves (Save me from Hell and high water)

Give my love, to the waves Send me home, on a wind that saves If I ride the sea, or sail away Will you carry me back, home again?

Give my time, to the pain If I miss you, would you sail with me again? Give my love, to the water Then I can find my way back, to where I ought to be

You will know me. Call me by name Know how much I fear; It's always the same

Well, I'm floating in the wake of trouble. I wish you wary on your way Send my love to the waves, Just get me out of this trouble, or sail with me to hell all the way

Give my love, to the waves Send me home, on a wind that saves Floating on a wake of trouble I wish you wary on your way I wish you on the waves out of trouble Don't sail me to hell, all the way

Words and Music by David Bradley Vocals @Emmazen Electric guitars, bass and beatboxing @sciencebase Mixed by dB

I never did figure out what I meant in the lyrics to this song, it was possibly something to do with growing up on the coast, or maybe an oceanic suicide. Either way, the amazing Emmazen has now joined me to record a fantastic new vocal complete with harmonies for my old song "Give My Love to the Waves" bringing to it a whole new interpretation and a wonderful vocal style reminiscent of Kate Bush.

Take me down to the river Take me all the way out to sea Chill my heart with the spindrift Sail the memories home to me

Take a look at the questions At the questions you have found Catch a wave without harbour Where the truth is surely drowned

Yet you know how I wonder If the truth will be concealed In the safety of that harbour That's the time when all's revealed

Sail me back to Uh-huh Town Sail me back for free Shake the water from the prow Sail me back for free

Take me down to the river Take me all the way out to sea Chill my heart with the spindrift Sail the memories home to me

Take me to the lost & found Sail me back to where I'm bound Take me to the lost & found Sail me back to where I'm bound

Take me to the lost & found Sail me back to where I'm bound Take me to the lost & found Sail me back to where I'm bound

Take me to the lost & found Sail me back to where I'm bound Take me to the lost & found Sail me back to where I'm bound

Hey, hey, hey

Sail me back, sail me back Sail me back to Uh-huh Town Sail me back, sail me back

Take me down to the river Take me all the way out to sea

Words & Music dB Vocals, guitar, bass, drum programming dB Record and mixed by dB

With thanks to @MonoStone-1, @AMusicalJourney and others for encouragement and to them and others for ego-boosting references to David Bowie, Big Country, U2, The Stone Roses, R.E.M and even Simon & Garfunkel

PS I have no idea where Uh-huh Town is...

"RetroNonoMusic" heard my recent song "Bait and Switch" (remixed by @MonoStone-1) and asked if I'd like to be guest vocalist on one of his songs. Well, how could I turn down such an opportunity? He shared a few of his compositions with me and we agreed that I'd do a new vocal for his song "Jealousy".

He allowed me to "tweak" his lyrics for the song, so I made them a bit edgier, a little darker, I think, latching on to the line "keep your hands off me".

It's now called "Locked in Jealousy", which alludes in no small way to someone being subjugated, perhaps trapped physically and mentally.

I also couldn't resist remastering his original track to blend my vocal and harmonies as well as extending the outro to give some space for a funky guitar solo, so I did that too. I think RNM is happy with the final product, he mentioned my vocal sounding like all of his favourite singers combined with Bowie at the top, so that's quite pleasing. The collaboration along with a video will also appear on his Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/retrononomusic

Locked in Jealousy

So what do you want from me? Exactly, what do you want from me? If you care enough to see Take a look and set me free

If you're locked in jealousy All I have is ecstasy I can't be your fantasy If your lust is plain to see

Now what do you want from me? I'm not sure that it was meant to be Now take your hands off me You love you, but you don't love me!

Music - RetroNonoMusic Words RNM and dB Original instrumentation and mix - RNM Vocals and solo guitar finale - dB Backing vocals - RNM

Bait and switch

There was a key under the mat, but you changed all the locks There was a note deep in your pocket, but no stamp for the box

I saw a light up in your room, but your heart was like stone And though you strayed out of the gloom, there was nobody home

There was a seed inside the pot, but no water for the bloom There was food there on the table, but no taste in the room

You wore a smile and a little more, but you cried on the inside And though you veil all that you feel, there's no place left to hide

When you turn about face I can't stay in that place Switch and bait me I know that you're cunning

When I find the right pace It's the end of the race Bait and switch is the game that you're running

Words & music by dB Guitar, vocals and breath dB Production, additional instrumentation, percussion programming, artwork @MonoStone-1

"In Glorious Stereo!"

Gravity's Rainbow (2016 remaster)

If the fire's on the inside, a naked flame can't touch you Gravity can't pull you now the tide has turned there's no return Walking back the way you came and hoping that you'd be the same Holding back your tears but the fear is just too much for you All the colours of gravity's rainbow Waves of pressure pushing you to fall All the bruising from the grip of your halo Aching with the pressure. That's gotta bring you down And the pressure that's gonna bring you down, down, down

Words and Music by Dave Bradley

All vocals, harmonies, guitars, bass and handclaps by DB. Originally, I did the lyric where I sing about "pressure" a little bit too much like a Bowie (Under Pressure) pastiche, it was never meant to be that, so I tempered it down in the next take...maybe I should "release" that original version...but I guess I'd also need to have a Freddie Mercury soundalike along for the full duet ;-)

I laid down a Nile-style funky guitar lick weeks ago, but the recent, controversial discovery of gravitational waves got me thinking about what brings us down...geddit? Now with cheeky Bowie impression in the finale after the Lifesonesque guitar solo...

Actor Kris Dyer narrates chapter 16 from the Audible edition of my book Deceived Wisdom - The Most Embarrassing Sting - in which we learn why urine and jellyfish don't mix. This is a free sample from the book provided by my good friends at Audible. New users can get a copy of the complete book entirely for free for most audio players and devices, just follow this link - http://www.audible.co.uk/sciencebase

Daydream Catcher

Those endless days of dreaming are ones never wasted...

Who's to say what that feeling's all about? Who's to tell you how to live your life? Chasing up the daily grind, escape the truth take a mindful time I can tell that you really don't care. It's easy now, 'cause you've time to spare Build your picture, choose your side. Wake each morning safe in the light

I can't handle your rejection, moving onward if I fall But if ever you can find me, won't you catch me after all?

Before it's over. Change.

Stand in my way 'til tomorrow I will happily walk away How empty words mean something to you I cannot understand today (If my stronger words mean nothing to you, then I will have to walk away) I would gladly walk if I could see, rather walk... than see the shadows growing Another lonely day, another empty world

I can't handle that rejection, moving on, I choose travel for protection, moving onward after all But wherever you will find me, I'll still catch you if you fall

Day dreams...capturing the light

2014 remix of the vocal reworking of an instrumental I originally recorded in early 2013 called "Classical Wax", it's a bit of an early- Rush, early-Genesis, early-REM thang...

Another self-penned ditty, me on vocals, guitar, bass. I've redone the drum loops again and slightly remixed as well as adding a heavier guitar part, hoping for Dek to take on the role of Hammond-meister at some point. With thanks to positive feedback from the guys on the SongStuff forum: http://forums.songstuff.com/topic/29356-wishing-well/

Wishing Well (A new space)

The cold-eyed girl with golden hair, wonders why she's going nowhere Her hands are tied but her mind's made up, she's got to get out of there The golden boy with his eyes of blue, feels just the same, thought he'd broken through But, now he sees the world anew, a hard and bitter place

Indifferent and unabating, the words of scorn anticipating The end of dreams, a shattered rating, still last to leave the stage

Stepping up. For fame and glory, their tale they hope to tell The rusty blade is twisted, if it's all the same Might's well kiss on the wishing well

The cold-eyed girl with greying hair, wonders why she's still nowhere Her apron's tied but her mind says where, she's got to get out of there The golden boy with a tarnished air really always thought that he didn't care And now he knows it's really not fair, puts on his bitter face

Indifferent and agitating, no words left for anticipating The faded dream, so sick of waiting, still hopes to take the stage

Stepping up. For fame and glory, their tale they hope to sell But, the blade is twisted, if it's all the same Might's well kiss on the wishing well Might's well kiss on the wishing well Might's well piss in the wishing well

This is an old song of mine...seems appropriate to spotlight it again...the "Je Suis Charlie...un rock star" remix can be found here:

https://soundcloud.com/sciencebase/faith-in-humanity-cartoon-mix

Faith in Humanity

Yes, we all have our crosses to bear, well-worn paths to follow Some have pillars to push against, so many lies, so much sorrow Many blame it all on destiny, and leave their fate to glories

But, there are those of us with brows to beat Who despair at those mystical stories

My faith in humanity, is the only Word I need No veiled wisdom of ancient times No truths in a mythical creed And that faith in humanity, is what lets us all belong No higher mind to guide us now Without it we are just as strong

We all know those ancient stories That tell us what's wrong and right They bring fear to both meek and mindful Their demons, just mirrors so bright But bitterness and fear and anger bring us down so we have to fight

I can't bear that it's fear we cling to When our instincts just show us the light

My faith in humanity, is the only Word I need No veiled wisdom of ancient times No truths in a mythical creed And that faith in humanity, is what helped us, all along No higher mind to doom us now Without it we are just as strong

Karma may be calming For Heaven's sake it brings relief But better the devil you don't know Than a world of make believe

Just faith in humanity, is the only Word, you know No secret knowledge from times gone by No truths in a mystical show And your faith in humanity, is what means we can get along No higher mind to bring us down Without it we'd all be strong

Words & Music by David Bradley

Aqueous loops, a funky wah riff and a self-indulgent guitar solo (aren't all guitar solos self indulgent?) and featuring the inimitable @MonoStone-1 on vocals on this pseudoinstrumental...

On a storm, dream fading Ride, the waves Losing faith in the fear

A Flight of Fancy

A flight of fancy, just spread your wings Takes you on the way to better things The working day, working away It's not easy, back-breaking, low pay

A flight of fancy, can change your life Rue the higher plain, more play, less strife Out of your comfort zone, and into the blue A chance you have to take, you know what to do

A flight of fancy, just take your time Reach for the skies again, it's a slower climb

A million migrant flyers, since times of old Flying the distance, just to escape the cold

In life many questions, and flight holds the clue Take to the skies again, to find out what is true I capture the answer, but didn't think it through In flight there are questions, and an ending of blue

A million migrant flyers, take epochs of old Flying the distance, just to escape the crushing cold

A flight of fancy, just spread your wings Takes you on the way, to better things

Words and Music by David Bradley Instrumentation and arrangement by David Bradley Keyboard wonder and ambience by @MonoStone-1

In a pristine blue sky, the birds do their thing.

Occurred to me recently that my lyrics may well have emerged from my subconscious as a metamorphosis of the Richard Bach story "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", which I read in the early 1980s as an inquisitive, impressionable teen.

An instrumental with a pseudoclassical intro on my Ovation acoustic guitar bursts into heavy rock. I reworked this song with lyrics subsequently - at which point it became "Dream Catcher" - https://soundcloud.com/sciencebase/dream-capture

Recorded in February 2013, another stream-of-consciousness song lyrically speaking, tweaked for the final take...domestic violence? Bar brawls? Both?

Take it on the chin

There's a time and a place for a smooth escape When the fighting starts and the glasses break

But, the chances are you just have to fight When the glances crack, there's no wrong nor right

We don't keep the things that we utter In words we can hide what we mean

We're all of us earning our bread and butter But some of us take one for the team

If you fight like a man, you have to learn to take it On the chin or on your feet

There's a home and a place it's a soothing escape When the fighting stops and you had your last scrape

If only I could heal it or see I could find a way home If you can't stand up and fight it Then the nest it will be you'll have flown

We don't keep the things that we utter In secrets we hide what we mean

We're all of us earning our bread and butter But some of us take one for the team

There's a time and a place for a smooth escape When the fighting starts and the glasses break

If only I could feel it or see it through I know that I could chance it I could make it with you

Cover art adapted from Creative Commons image http://www.flickr.com/photos/67935254@N00/462608440/in/photolist-GSZnA-7Tdmc4-8BKvqa

Catch you out

There's certain ways of feeling, it's right But, nothing's ever clear The chances are when they step out of line They're facing up to the fear

There's certain hands we're dealt, that's right Still, nothing's ever clear All sides lose each and every time Backing down from the fear

Never gonna catch you out Even if I save you now Never gonna catch you out Little wonder I prayed tonight Never gonna catch you out Hanging on to the rise to power Never gonna catch them out She will say just what she's found

If they happened to be here, would they laugh at you If their dreaming can't be clear I'd read it through If they make a brighter day than today And they'd find it harder But they won't realise it's the only They won't be too far gone

Come tomorrow, something happens, and it's change Battles move but we're miles from making sandy lines to rearrange Still tomorrow comes and goes If sound and light can make you They need it anyway On the road, without you

Retreat from the fear Retreat from the lies They're the force and the anger I see in your eyes

A terrible story Told time after time It's the source of the troubles That draw out the lines

Never gonna catch you out Never gonna save you now Never gonna catch you out Little wonder I prayed tonight Never gonna catch you out Hanging on to the rise to power Never gonna catch them out She will say just what she found

Never gonna catch you out Never gonna save you now Never gonna catch you out Little wonder I prayed tonight

This little ditty started off as an attempt to write a kind of pastiche of The Police, but once I'd mixed up the reggae drum loops it really didn't sound like either...the words I'd been thinking of were to do with standing up to oppressors but I ad libbed some new ones to try and get a melody and somehow ended up singing about Johnny Cash...go figure...

Stand up and fight, fight for cash

I walk the line, like the man who's name was Cash But I can't find The words to tell the story like he can

I feel so fine, Like the man who's name was Sue I walk that line but feeling blue

Burning light, waking like a fire And rolling On a wave of empty desire