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50​-​90​-​2012 Vol. 1

by TA Walker

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Dave Jeffery
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1.
Longest Road 03:21
info
2.
The Continuing Adventures Of Major Tom (Retired) 04:15
lyrics
Don’t talk to me of Ground Control Don’t want to hear of Ground Control They got their fingers out and finally brought me down Don’t owe a thing to Ground Control I left behind that Ground Control Quit the Space Corps and retired to the coast... Major Tom’s come down to Earth for good I’ll never fly again And the only capsules that I ever see Are the ones that keep me hypertension-free Neighbours never call me “Major Tom” When I pass them on the street On my mission to collect the Daily Mail “Hi, old Tom”, I hear, and answer every hail [bridge 1] EVA... now means getting out of my car Far across the road The shopping bags are blue And my pension’s nearly due... [spacey bit] A G E D (x 2) I’ve nothing more to do with satellites Unless my Sky+ fails My blood pressure gains escape velocity TV fills the space in empty days for me [bridge 2] A quiet evening in the park Suddenly, everything goes dark Can you hear me, Ground Control? Can you hear me, Ground Control? Can you... oh, it only means that night has fallen How quickly I forget Planet Earth’s still there - I’m not going anywhere...
3.
This Ukulele Wants To Say 02:57
lyrics
You bought this ukulele one Valentine's Day I don't think my present came close in any way It's tough to write a song with a table for two Though I'll give it a try anytime [chorus] This ukulele wants to say “I love you” Even though it's made of wood and strings This ukulele wants to thank you warmly For the chance to help me write these things He sometimes fights to keep in tune – I know the feeling well He's made of ply, not koa wood, but who of you can tell? When he sings, I find him a happy little chap He's thankfully forgiving when a new song turns out... poorly
4.
Another Hippy Song 02:59
lyrics
The flutes are Mellotron-ic The guitars gently weep Our drummer’s trying hard Not to fall asleep So listen for a while And then sing along To another hippy song A second Mellotron To add some eerie strings I wax poetic on Environment things Our drummer’s woken for His big chance to shine, with A great loud fill, and it’s time... We’re mean to the world And I can’t find a girl Just like the decent rhymes That pass me by-y-y-y.... I feel this song is flagging We’re not yet halfway through Some woolly platitudes I think they might do A lift is needed here So we’re gonna forge A guitar solo from George And now we’re near the ending How did those strings get in? We can afford just this Tape keyboard machine I’m running out of words So I bid “so long" To another hippy song
5.
Showers 02:29
lyrics
Dashing out between the showers If I miss one, the next will be here soon So goes the afternoon When every drop releases colours Chase away the unrelenting grey To come back another day And blessings come in bits and showers With puddles there for jumping in Wellies on, and take a leap with me As we grow, we soon forget Or maybe fear of getting wet The simple fun of playing in the rain
6.
I'll Be Late Today 02:54
lyrics
Light through the window Day underway, pass me by Trains leave stations None of them carry me [chorus] I'll be late today World, go on without me I'll catch up tomorrow Let me sleep some more Roads in the distance Carry the world away Planes vapour-trailing Let my dreams trace them home I'll be late today... [bridge] We're working tomorrow Keep these moments for free For just one morning Slow the earth down for me
7.
By The Seaside 02:47
lyrics
Sometimes your thoughts feel tangled like seaweed And a walk down the beach is what you need Miles away from meetings and routine Where the sharks bask and the sea shimmers blue-green Leave your cares in the pots with the lobsters Dive through the waves to a place where there's lots-ta-do With fish and squid and me and you Nothing like a week by the seaside together No calls on our time, so we can do whatever Comes to us, calls to us, appeals to us... After a day of nautical frolics And "au revoir" to the fishy body politic The sun sinks low over sea and sand We watch it dive, I take your hand The stars emerge and wink hello As if they'd rather we never have to go Back to our town, rain falling down
8.
Long Sunlit Hours 02:29
lyrics
Evening sunbeams glinting on the sea You and me and daughter makes three Seagulls skim the shore and sing for joy And who am I to disagree With them? [chorus] The gift that we have These long sunlit hours The best that leaves me wishing That slowing down time was in my power To give Sails on the horizon pierce the sky Walk the beach, our girl rushes by The rockpools too important to wait But does she need an alibi For fun? [bridge] Stop the clocks Keep tomorrow at bay Our home is waiting I say, let it wait For today
9.
Only The Blue 02:42
lyrics
Try not to daydream of Padstow harbour The world has returned [chorus] And only the blue sky Remaining behind of the Light hours I want to Catch in these nets and Stop them all escaping to Sepia memories All that remains of All those ice creams My trousers don't fit And even amidst The Monday commute The postcards remain
10.
Seasons 03:19
lyrics
Wheat will rise and ripen In the golden sun Trees bend with the fruit they bear Mornings bright and evenings fair Humming bees take to the air All summer long [chorus] Every season, dark or light Red sky, grey or blue Sun and showers, hail and calm And we will see them through Azure blue to russet brown Soon the leaves must fall Breezes turn to tempests strong Storms roll in and nights grow long Autumn brings a chilly song And a lonely call Every season, dark or light... Gales turn to icy frosts Life lies cloaked in snow Sleeping under iron-cold ground Strain to hear the slightest sound Of life or cheer, none heard around But listen well Every season, dark or light... Hear the springtime’s strident song When the winter’s through Bursting from the earth in thaw Snowdrops, bluebells, by the score Hares will leap and eagles soar To greet life anew Every season, dark or light...
11.
Number 16 (interlude) 02:24
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12.
The Summer That We Nearly Missed 02:14
lyrics
I suppose that we should be grateful The sun showed his face for a week And the garden has much to thank the sky for The weeds need no water to seek I’ll grimly concede to a “Thank-you” As the August Bank Holiday nears At the very last minute, when hope had near-fled A light through the cloudbank appears [chorus] So best late than never, us Brits gamely grin As our skin by the sunbeams is kissed We’ll remember this season, like the last five or six As the summer that we nearly missed Now we scramble for T-shirts and flip-flops To soak up the remaining rays ‘Cos we have no idea how our luck will hold It could be hours rather than days The roads will get clogged to the seaside But the chance we must take, for the fear That if we pass up the crowds at Southend It’s all we might get ‘til next year
13.
M4 02:51
lyrics
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It starts off somewhere near Hammersmith Bending round the office blocks like a concrete Thames Emerging out of London, wave hello to Heathrow Look for Windsor Castle, when the city ends [chorus] From the streets of London, to the far west coast of Wales, we take the M4 - the road we love the most Through the Berkshire countryside, following the sun Past the lights of Swindon - all human life is there Always break for coffee - where? You have a choice of Reading, or Membury, or Leigh Delamere From the streets of London... [bridge] Fly the Severn Crossing, and through the Newport bores Wave hello to Cardiff - pedal to the floor Port Talbot, Neath and Swansea, they all go flying by 'Til finally at Pontarddulais, we bid you goodbye...
14.
Mr Cable The Sysadmin 01:49
lyrics
I am a system admin and I keep computers running Living in the server room from morning through to night Fix permissions, network issues and forgotten passwords Stocking printers, swapping leads and checking flashing lights I'd love my job immensely if it wasn't for the users Meeting every little query gets to be a pain They think a "kernel panic" means a bloke who's in the army The usual solution: turn it off and on again I have no time for arguments preferring Macs or PCs They do a job and make mistakes, and that makes work for me I personally preferred it in the days of the Amiga And keep it to yourself, but I'm a fan of BSD I cannot find another job that I would rather work in Butcher, baker, windmill worker - none would feel the same Fixing people's PC problems brings me satisfaction I am a system admin - Mr Cable is my name
15.
Metaphors 02:35
lyrics
You make the pouring rain feel warmer You bring the sunbeam that breaks through the grey You’re the hot fudge sauce on the sundae of life I bring the nuts that top a sweeter day [chorus] And I’d like to bake for you a better metaphor One that won’t sneak out the oven door You make the icing on our daily cake You bring the freshness that follows every storm You spark the touchpaper that lights our Roman candles You fuel the fire that keeps our hearts so warm And I’d like to bake for you a better metaphor...
16.
My Little Girl 02:59
lyrics
My little girl I've got so much to say And so little time These days won't last so long My little girl Seems like just yesterday You first walked to me Now you critique my songs My little girl [chorus] I'm scared I'll turn my head Look back and you'll be gone And in your place, an experienced face I know but don't know My little girl I'm sorry for the days I just let fall Like the sand in your castle My little girl I'm so honoured that I Can watch you grow This time will pass us all My little girl

about

Between the start of July and the end of September 2012, I joined over a thousand other songwriters and musicians around the world, in a seemingly insane mission: to write (and record if possible) fifty songs in ninety days. They called it the 50/90 Challenge (fiftyninety.fawmers.org) - a spin-off from "February Album Writing Month" (FAWM) - and this is the first volume of songs taken from those I wrote and recorded between 4 July - 23 August 2012, as part of my participation in it.

It should be borne in mind that these recordings are demos, of songs written in quick succession (often every two days, occasionally even less) over a period of weeks, and recorded in all manner of locations (the garden, a holiday chalet overlooking the sea, in my car in the office car park during lunchtime...) The quality of songs, recordings, performances, etc. may therefore be a bit variable, ranging from basic acoustic demos through to more fully-arranged pieces. However, this is part of the 50/90 Challenge "experience", which also includes "having fun"... which I did!

The songs on this collection are presented in chronological order of submission to 50/90, with the exception of "This Ukulele Wants To Say" and "The Continuing Adventures Of Major Tom (Retired)", which were swapped over for sequencing reasons (i.e. I thought that the first three songs sounded better with the fully-arranged "Major Tom" in the middle).

I hope to rework the best of the songs from these sessions at a later date, but in the meantime, here are my favourites from the first 50% of my 50/90 creations, presented as they came...

credits

released August 27, 2012

All instruments, programming and voices by TA Walker
Recorded by TA Walker at various locations and on various pieces of digital gear, during July and August 2012

All compositions by TA Walker

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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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