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50​-​90​-​2012 Vol 2

by TA Walker

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1.
Well, they called this the longest road, and now I know why I started, so I'll finish, I said – I told you no lie The tyres look threadbare, but the wheels still turn There's miles to go yet – I've got rubber to burn This feels like the furthest I've attempted to drive Maybe you'll wait for next year until I arrive It won't stop me trying to reach my great goal So until I'm with you, I'll keep these controls
2.
First brown leaves line the path to school Soon the gates will open again Just a matter of time before the conkers descend But we never lost touch with the rain [chorus] And autumn returns, the same every year All too soon, the warm months disappear The fun of July, now photos and dreams Now autumn has come First signs of shops stocking Christmas cards Scan bramble bushes for the berries they bear Trees taking shadings of red, gold and brown Sensing the season in the cooling air
3.
Lunchtime feeling - slowly stealing by outside Blink and then it’s gone for good Moments like leaves, caught Up in the breeze, ought To be firmly seized, brought Back to your door Lunchtime feeling - minutes hanging from the sky Pick the best and make a pie
4.
5.
Flowing Back 02:57
Stare at the page, to see what appears Illusions and lines arc from there through to here Right words like mice to be coaxed from a hole Offer cheese, 'cos they’re out of your control [chorus] Riding up a one-way street Pushing water up a hill Tell me how the notes come flowing back Don't stop until I see Distant clouds huddle in the haze Former compositions thrill and amaze Once fertile fields languish parched and so bare Hold out hope for signs of rain in the air
6.
Watch Me 01:54
When the Muse goes off on holiday and leaves her phone behind When you try and think of song ideas, but nothing comes to mind When words and music try their best to make them hard to find Dig your heels, fold your arms - say: [chorus] If you think I'll never cross the finish line - watch me If you reckon it's a silly waste of time - watch me If you're waiting for a sign of giving in - fat chance I've started, so I'll finish, everyone - watch me When the well of inspiration comes up drier than a bone When the marathon you are running feels over, failed and done When you wish the aforementioned Muse would answer the phone That's the time to set your face and say: If you think I'll never cross the finish line - watch me... When songs about songwriting are all that come to you When tired rhymes and boring hackneyed melodies ensue When you wonder if you flushed your writing talent down the loo Stiffen up your lip and say with me... If you think I'll never cross the finish line - watch me...
7.
Bluebell Way 00:59
8.
Rallying the brickbats A different game for everyone Meeting in the middle Can be easier said than done Playing to a tiebreak Where you or I could break their serve Playing chicken, counting on A millisecond’s loss of nerve When that compromise Feels forty talks away Sometimes it takes two To cross the floor Hailing frequencies Better open, so we hear Talk it through and over To see things aren't as they appear It's easier to strike out For the shore, when it's in view Beyond, a waiting harbour And count on me to pull you through
9.
Sunny's Song 02:48
And the skies here are safe No condors hunt you here The garden where you skip No longer holds a fear For you When I pick you up And try to read your face Imagine what you'd say If words could just replace Your squeaks [chorus] A salad bowl - your banquet A pile of hay - your blanket A garden - your world to roam A cosy lounge - your home Each time you watch TV You look like it's the first Eyes gaze up amazed The screen lights up your fur You see And sometimes I recall The pet shop let you go Did you mind the cardboard box Or the brother you didn't know You had?
10.
Leaves turning yellow Conkers are falling School hols are over The weather appalling Signs of the time of year End of the summer (x2) Blue shifts to brown and red Frost on the windscreen Part of the shorter days And longer nights inbetween
11.
Finally - the fog is lifting Gradually - the grey dissolves to blue Although I knew it was just a case of time The wait is worse when there’s nothing you can do [chorus] And I run to collect the flakes that descend Out of the clouds I scoop the air with a butterfly net From here on the ground It felt like so long - can’t wait ‘til they’re gone So I’ll stay and play for as long as I’m allowed From down here, the clouds look cotton-woolly If you flew, you’d find it’s cold and wet But if you ask, I’d leap off terra-firma And I haven’t given up fishing for ideas yet
12.
My Love 02:27
My lo-o-ove My sweet and lovely girl My lo-o-ove The best in all the world No-one else is as special as you And no-one can do all the things that you do My lo-o-ove The loveliest in the world Since the first day that we met Our life has been a summer swim, where none of us got wet Now I can say wth total confidence When it comes to loving you, there's no sitting on the fence...
13.
Damselfly 03:47
Perched on a reed That only bends Iridescent, bluer than the sky Two stained-glass windows So crystal clear To catch the breezes, and you fly [chorus] Hunter of the pool Explorer of the air Chaser of the summer's day Living just for days Then fly away Here for a season, soon to pass From green to brown And blue to grey A life as fleeting as the grass
14.
15.
That dancing hamster on the Web 'Bout fifteen years ago That was me and now I'll tell Some things you ought to know I had my own domain name At HampsterDance.com (sic) Just a row of animated GIFs And a looping, grating song I guested on "The Simpsons" Got emailed everywhere I nicked my song from a Disney film But no-one seemed to care I must've really irked someone A big club, I didn't duck Someone shouted "Break a leg" I thought they meant "Good luck" Years of convalescing In a home for worn-out memes I watched YouTube with envy All those funny video streams Now I think I'll make a comeback Though my dancing days are through I'm going to join the LOLcats To keep annoying you!
16.
Closing 03:07
Look how far we’ve come Down a winding path Now the end’s in view We might share a laugh A cocktail of achievement and relief We were random friends In a crazy race A marathon At a sprinter’s pace I view the finish line in disbelief [chorus] And it’s time to bid goodbye for now Taking a collective bow Time to lay our tired notepads down How much ground has passed All those notes and words From these recent weeks Only mostly heard Offered up to play and to be played How much further on From where we began Even where the end Didn’t match the plan It’s a source of pride when the course was stayed

about

This is the second instalment of songs I wrote and recorded as part of the 2012 50/90 Challenge (to come up with fifty songs in the space of ninety days - see fiftyninety.fawmers.org/users/tawalker for details of my contributions). In the end, I managed to submit 36 compositions, an achievement I'm still very proud of.

Most of these songs were written in the last month of the challenge (September 2012); however, to ensure there are sixteen tracks on this collection (to match Vol 1 - hey, I like to be consistent...), I have included a few other 50/90 songs which I liked from the first two months, but which I had to leave off Vol 1 as there was no room left for them there. (In particular: I was very reluctant to leave "Lunchtime Feeling" off the first set, as I liked the song, and I'm happy it has found a home on Vol 2.)

credits

released October 12, 2012

All instruments, voices, programming and compositions by TA Walker
Recorded in various locations and on assorted digital gear by TA Walker, July-September 2012

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TA Walker UK

Guitarist/multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter, often with "electronica", "lo-fi" and "prog" inclinations.

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