Latest Videos
Please check out these latest videos from “Redemption” and “Take me to the Badlands, Mamma”.
Roadhouse Regular
Along Route66 somewhere, in a bar, someone dropped the line: “yeah- she was a real roadhouse regular- she was there to be seen.” I wrote it down and forgot about. When I got back, looking through my travel tales I saw the line again and knew it had the makings of a song. It was a dirty line and with the help of just three chords and a menacing rhythm, the rest of the song came.
The footage is from a trip to the Iguazu Falls, 2015. It’s the Devil’s Throat: Garganta del Diablo. It was a ferocious sight.
She had the scent of another man- she was, well, used to the scene-
The tools of her temptation were the playthings of her dreams.
He sank his wine and his whisky- he said “Could you come with me?”
He was looking for mischief and mayhem and she was perfect for him.
God Only Knows
It was the 30 year high school reunion not so long ago. There were good times and memories of those good times but the shadows of the underlying evil within the school have stayed longer than any good memories for too many. In the lead up to the reunion, many photos were shared of us as boys and they seemed fitting for “God Only Knows”.
Every bad man has a heart of gold- every preacher has sold his soul. And every sad man has his song- if the truth be told.
“Sing it, sing it”- says Mother to me. “Can’t you- sing me your song? What happened to the boy I knew? Can’t you tell me what went wrong?”
I said “Well god only knows. Yeh god only knows. I said god only knows.”
Let It Flow
A while ago I saw a whole lot of children playing football in a park with all their mums and dads, family and friends- childhood memories being made there and then right before my eyes. Sweet memories that I hope they’ll take with them as they grow old. This song came out of my childhood memories and that even as an old man, my mum and my dad are still there to wipe my tears away when I need them. And at the end of the road, all you have left are your memories.
May your sweet memories be your gold,
Let them ebb, them them flow, sooth your soul when you’re old
And the good times you’ve had will never go-
Just let it flow.
Love on Fire
I wrote a seething blues one night around a fire. This is how it turned out– very minimalist with some Morton Feldman/ Rothko Chapel inspired piano.
Drink her wine.
Look into her eyes.
Sweet temptation.
I’m ridden with Desire.
Sell my Soul
Everyone sells their soul to someone or something- some even sell it to the preacher thinking its in good hands.
Listen to the man who speaks;
To the one who’s gonna preach;
He wants your money, he wants your soul;
He wants your rock he wants your roll.
Tell me what I’ve got to sell; tell me what I get to keep;
I’ll get everything I’ve got- and lay it at your feet.
And in exchange I will be bound by rules and your fakes?
To be buried in this ground? I forsake your lonely ways.
Ride the Night
Lady Luck is a fickle temptress but unlike the Preacher- She offers hope with a price and odds to match.
I’ve got a bottle of whisky in my left hand and a pair of dice in my right-
And I’m standing at the table looking down through the barrel of a deadly loaded device.
I’m waiting for Lady Luck to find me-
I’m gonna treat her right.
She doesn’t play for free and there’s no guarentee
But I’ll pay her if she stays the night.
Let It Ride
This track is best listened to loud- something for your next roadtrip. I had the guitar riff in my head for a while and a few lyrics but it only came together on the second last day of the trip across Route66 when we were crossing the Mojave desert and when we passed through a town I had to pull over to write down the lines that sealed the story. The track has all the sounds- the spits, splutters, pops and crackles of those big V-Twins along those 4,000 odd miles.
The mountains rising, to the sky-
The sun is burning-
Love in my eyes…
…in my eyes.
My Crossroads
The tradition of Crossroads and the songs to match run deep. The most famous rendition, by Cream, is rebellious and raucus but when I looked at the backstory and the history of the Crossroads I found a sad lament and this is what came of it.
So watch me run, watch me run ask my friend Willy Brown,
I believe I’m sinking down.
Cos I’m standing here at My Crossroads-
And- I believe I’m sinking down.
Me and My Stone
Along Route66, on the way through New Mexico, I stopped by a cemetery- Naschitti, NM. It was a barren and desolate place but in the middle of the desolation there was the grace a dignity of handhewn headstones, flowers to last, and flags the flew in the raging wind. After all is said and done in this lifetime, all that’s left is a stone.
They dug me deep, they set my stone-
They said goodbye.
They said their prayers and I said mine and they left me-
here on my own-
Me and my stone.