talis_kimberley

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 19:48:46 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf6RYekCJeg&feature=youtu.be

Following on from the lyric and the audio file I've presented here in recent days, here now is a YouTube by Kim Parker, of my song 'Telling Canterbury Tales' - literature, history, the Occupy movement and church politics all together in one song.

It's very much a companion-piece to 'The Steps of St Paul's', and the audio version is part of my online project 'Songs of Common Ground' on BandCamp.

Please, share and link if you find merit - I'd love for the Occupy movement - LSX and everywhere else that's been 'cleared' or is about to be - and politically-aware Christians both to hear this. Thank you.

Song: Telling Canterbury Tales - audio now available.

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:33:44 GMT

That lyric I posted a couple of days ago: it grew music and I've caught a scratch track. It's now up on Bandcamp as a free download.

http://taliskimberley.bandcamp.com/track/telling-canterbury-tales

You know the drill - if you approve and find merit, copy and link, share and generally point and stare at it... thank you!

Song: Telling Canterbury Tales

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:16:02 GMT

Trawling the net for update and comment in the last two days following the removal of the St Paul's Occupy camp, I found that the good Reverend Fraser had not been silent. St Paul's itself had released a brief statement, visible on its website, on which I shall not directly comment here. I wondered what the leader of the Church, Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had to say, and looked for his website.

There was no mention on the blog there of the events which had taken place on the steps of the C of E's foremost cathederal, not a word.

Instead, there was a sermon on lent.

I felt... and feel, that this was a sad omission on his part, and did not display the leadership one might have wished for - especially as his predecessor, Dr Carey, has been vocal on such subjects himself in recent days.

Rowan Williams, you may or may not be a good man, a Christian, and a caring soul; why are you silent when you should have spoken? Did you even know what was happening in your name?

TELLING CANTERBURY TALES

Pilgrims all gathered from far and afield, let me tell you my Canterbury tale...

Tell me, Archbishop, you’re comfortable here

Does the populace ever get frighteningly near?

Are your windows well-soundproofed so all you can hear

Is your voice, telling Canterbury tales...?

So tell me,

What’s the church for with its buildings and treasures?

For visits by those with the means and the leisure

To purchase a guidebook and stroll at their pleasure

While listening to Canterbury’s tales.

Didn’t your man say some things about the poor

Isn’t that what your faith is about, anymore?

Here’s a vast institution, what lies at the core?

Are you telling me Canterbury tales?

INSTMTL

If the pilgrims rode past your cathedral today

And they wondered whose homes have been tidied away

Would you know? Would you care? Tell me, what would you say?

I’ve no faith in your Canterbury tales...

Tell the Knight and the Franklin, the Monk and the Squire

Tell the Clerk and the Cook and the Reeve and the Friar

That compassion and hope have joined love on the pyre

There’s no justice in Canterbury tales.

St Thomas a Becket, St David of Kelly, we pray you forgive us our sins

Jean-Charles de Menezes, & Blessed Ian Tomlinson, when does the rising begin?

When does the rising begin?

Pilgrims all gathered from far and afield, let me tell you my Canterbury tale...

Now the Archbishop’s writing a sermon on Lent

The Physician and Parson are riding to Kent

There was sanctuary once, I don’t know where that went

But it’s not in these Canterbury tales...

And the Man of Law’s busy, and the Miller’s downed tools

And the Merchant’s convinced that we’re everyone’s fools

And the Pardoner’s sorry... but these are the rules...

And they’re all telling Canterbury tales.

They’re telling us Canterbury tales

I’ve no faith in these Canterbury tales

We deserve better than Canterbury tales

I’ve had enough of these Canterbury tales!

INSTMTL
___________________________________________________________________

Words & music by & © Talis Kimberley 29^th February 2012

* * *

Yes, I have the music. Yes, I will Bandcamp it as soon as I can. You know the drill, my friends! :-) If you find merit in this, share and link away. Thank you for reading.

* * *

It grew music. Listen to it for free here:

http://taliskimberley.bandcamp.com/track/telling-canterbury-tales

Song: The High Street

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:33:58 GMT

It's a rare (for me) parody, this - well, a re-write, I suppose, since it's not really meant to be funny... I originally reworked Flanders & Swann's 'The Slow Train' three years ago, and only performed it once or twice. Well, the recession didn't go away, we aren't out of the woods, and more high street chains are going to the wall. Hands up if any of this surprises you. No? Good. You've been paying attention...

Events of the last week or two have caused me to rework my own reworking somewhat - when life hands me a straight line like the very last name in the song, I have to take it and run with it.

I hope this captures some of the affection and pathos of F&S's original. It's meant with all respect and homage to them.

* * *

THE HIGH STREET (ttto Flanders & Swann: The Slow Train)

Barretts and Priceless to The Works

Passion for Perfume to Waterford, Wedgewood

Olan Mills; Land of Leather

No more will we browse past jigsaw puzzles and Sticklebricks

On the High Street, at Woolworths for a quarter of “Pick’n’mix”

No vinyl records, no Ladybird clothes

No gift soaps in lavender, lilac or rose

We won’t be buying again

On the High Street

I’ll travel no more from Whittards of Chelsea to MFI, at

Adams Kids there’ll be no cute dungarees for an aunt to buy

No flat packed wardrobe, no caramel tea

No cafetiere and no lost allen key

We won’t be meeting again

On the High Street

When the rent’s due and the takings plummet

‘Sale’ signs appear

At Zavvi and the Officers’ Club

They came too late that year

Though shoppers shop at Ebay and Amazon

Only discount or second hand prices entice sales from anyone

Nothing is certain, no-one’s secure

And Woolies... is not even there anymore

They’ve all passed out of our lives

On the High Street

On the High Street.

Millets, Blacks, Hawkin’s Bazaar – on the High Street

Peacocks and Bon Marche have gone away...

Thorntons Chocolates – on the High Street

Past Times...

Song: Victims, Princesses and Bears.

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:45:08 GMT

Well, alright, it's a lyric so far, but you bet I'll be looking for the tune. I'd heard about the panda business, then I read Elizabeth Moon on the subject, and then I followed her link to the Jezebel article, and then my brain went 'ping' at me, which it does periodically. Ranty ranty rant. Ironically, I did write a sweet little song about a red dress earlier today, just as a break from the political polemics.

VICTIMS, PRINCESSES AND BEARS

Here’s to the women of twenty-eleven

The BBC thinks you’re all great;

It’s published the names of its favourite dozen

And that’s caused a storm of debate

It’s not what she’s done gives a woman her worth

It’s who marries her and what she wears

And that explains why more than half of those listed

Are victims, princesses and bears.

Victims, princesses and travelling pandas –

Oh, ladies, don’t give yourselves airs!

That explains why more than half of those listed

Are victims, princesses and bears!

One woman chosen is head of her country

Another aspires so to be

One is an athlete and one is a singer

They all represent you and me.

But never mind science and never mind literature

Honestly, nobody cares

When the chief among women of twenty-eleven

Are victims, princesses and bears.

Victims, princesses and bears, Sweetie!

Ladies, don’t give yourselves airs!

Here’s to the women of twenty-eleven

The victims, princesses and bears!

______________________________________________________________________

Words by & © Talis Kimberley 31^st December 2011

Blowing kisses to Mitch Benn...

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:31:06 GMT

...who seems to like my sound. I shall get in touch with him and tell him about the morse code and the bouzouki, and maybe send him some more tracks - some Hearth and the Hive, some Queen of Spindles...

Mitch Benn often does the musical funny on BBC Radio 4's 'The Now Show', and is a writer and performer of many years' standing. He's included my song 'The Steps of St Paul's' on his latest podcast - available now...

http://www.mitchbenn.com/podcasts#

That song just keeps going, doesn't it? And I sang it AT St Paul's on Monday, which was just an amazing experience - inspiring and wonderful.

Song: David Attenborough Says

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:52:18 GMT

Been too long since I posted here, sorry 'bout that... you know I turn up on FaceBook and Twitter as well these days, right? Well. I've slipped out of the habit of telling you how the gig went here, but just now I'm at the end of the year's gigs and I'm looking sidelong at the things filling up my diary for next year, many of which look like huge fun.

It's been a little while since I posted a new song lyric here as well, and that I *can* remedy, and hereby do so. Green and quirky, just what I like. Guess what I was watching on iPlayer this evening?

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH SAYS

David Attenborough says the world is warming
And I rather think he knows what he’s about
He’s been showing me the world most of my lifetime
And he seems to think there’s little room for doubt
He’s a first class grade one national institution
(Though I believe that’s not a term he likes to hear)
David Attenborough says the world is warming
And in half an hour we’ll sit and watch ‘Top Gear’.

David Attenborough says the sea is rising
And I tend to think that David knows his stuff
He’s been showing me the world most of my lifetime
And he seems to think there’s evidence enough
In his gentle pleasant unflappable manner
In that breathy voice that no-one else can do
David Attenborough says the sea is rising
Now I’ll just re-boil that kettle for a brew.

David Attenborough’s shown us this blue planet
Taken all of us on after-supper treks
Shown us reptiles, fish, amphibians and mammals
And how orchids worms and hummingbirds do sex (not altogether!)
If we’ve paid the least attention to Sir David
When we’ve watched him in our sitting-rooms for, so very long
If David Attenborough says we’ve got a problem
How can we be so convinced he’s got it wrong?

Words & music by & © Talis Kimberley 9^th December 2011.

One busy weekend...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:14:25 GMT

So that was: write the lyric, post the lyric. Find the tune, record the rough, post the rough. Wake up the next morning to find the Youtube as a gift from a dear friend, post that... and scoot off to achieve first airplay on BBC Radio Wilts. Well, THAT was fun! 'The Steps of St Paul's' has clearly gone a long way and been read, seen and heard by very many people. I'm tremendously grateful to all of you who've helped link, share and forward it. Thank you!

It's all quietened down a bit now, for me - though I'm still sending off links to places, and you're all cordially invited to do the same. The vicar of St Johns at Bethnal Green was on Radio 4 this morning suggesting, iirc, that St Paul's open itself up and run a huge night kitchen and shelter and let the protesters inside as it gets colder. I cheered at that. Maybe I'll send it to him?

I let the songs go where they will and never know who will get in touch with me as a result; now I crack on with the next set of jobs, musically, which right now means organising logistics for this year's remaining gigs and firming up the bookings for next year, and more pitches to folk festivals and clubs, literary festivals, and moots...

Oh, and yesterday we finished recording the last material for 'Queen of Spindles' - we're into the mastering stages now. VERY glad about that. Which begs the question, what to work on in my regular Tuesday session tonight?

Well, that's going to be 'start the next album' then, isn't it?

The Steps of St Paul's - now on Youtube

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:48:00 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpOynViUeDk

Fresh this morning: Youtube by my dear friend Kim Parker - images to accompany my protest song about St Paul's and its response to the Occupy protest at its front gate.

This is my way of supporting the movement. Please, if you will, spread the word again; some people click through a Youtube link more readily than other formats.

I can only thank you for your support.

Song: The Steps of St Paul's - now a free download on Bandcamp

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:02:50 GMT

http://taliskimberley.bandcamp.com/track/the-steps-of-st-pauls

Hot, hot, HOT off the press. 24 hours ago I hadn't sat down to write the lyric; it's a studio rough of course, but it needs sharing. Please, if you like it, link, share, quote and generally pass it around. Somebody sing it at St Paul's for me!

Lyric: The Steps of St Paul's

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:26:24 GMT

THE STEPS OF PAUL’S

On the eve of the feasts of St Jude and St Simon
The good Christian Reverend Fraser resigned
While democracy stumbles and falls here on the steps of St Pauls.
The whispering gallery’s noisy with rumour
Great Paul’s saying nothing, but fear like a tumour
Is ruling within these fine halls under the dome of St Paul’s

Christopher Robin and Christopher Wren,
When will my England lie easy again?
With sanctuary offered to the women and men
Who stand on equality’s side?
The good Christian Reverend Fraser resigns,
But the bulk of his colleagues have pulled down the blinds
While their restaurant serves only the finest of wines
And the organ plays ‘Here comes the Bride’...
And democracy stumbles and falls, here on the steps of St Pauls.

Bookends and stationery, jigsaws and gifts
For the lovers of luxury, strangers to thrift
All your cufflinks and printed silk shawls bought from the shop of St Pauls
Gordon Brown’s laughing so all must be well
‘We’re a centre for public debate’ say the bells
The economists set out their stalls under the dome of St Paul’s

Christopher Robin and Christopher Wren,
When will my England lie easy again?
With sanctuary offered to the women and men
Who stand on equality’s side?
The good Christian Reverend Fraser resigns,
But the bulk of his colleagues have pulled down the blinds
While their restaurant serves only the finest of wines
And the organ plays ‘Here comes the Bride’...
With your cufflinks and printed silk shawls bought from the shop of St Pauls
And democracy stumbles and falls, here on the steps of St Pauls.

Do let’s go see the cathedral again
It’s sure to be open at quarter past ten
Was a sanctuary within these walls when this was the church of St Pauls
The tourists are missing their clotted cream scones
It’s fourteen pounds fifty, one adult alone
And please, if the Archbishop calls, tell him I’ve gone to St Pauls

Christopher Robin and Christopher Wren,
When will my England lie easy again?
With sanctuary offered to the women and men
Who stand on equality’s side?
The good Christian Reverend Fraser resigns,
But the bulk of his colleagues have pulled down the blinds
While their restaurant serves only the finest of wines
And the organ plays ‘Here comes the Bride’...
Was a sanctuary within these walls when this was the church of St Pauls
With your cufflinks and printed silk shawls bought from the shop of St Pauls
While democracy stumbles and falls, here on the steps of St Pauls.

The economists set out their stalls under the dome of St Paul’s
And please, if the Archbishop calls, tell him I’ve gone to St Pauls
Where democracy stumbles and falls, here on the steps of St Pauls.

Words by & © Talis Kimberley 27-28^th October 2011

* * *

Dated so because it was yesterday, and the Eve of the Saints named, when I began this monster. I haven't had a song fight me this hard for a long time; it was like trying to land a very big, very fierce predator fish. Please keep my name and copyright notice attached and then share as you will - link, quote, pass on down the line. If the tune comes easily I'll get a scratch track up online, of course, but the lyric's not a half hour old as I post this.

And I want to share it. Widely.

Long Crendon Folk Club

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:54:26 GMT

At the Eight Bells last night Chantelle and I had a lovely evening at this warm and friendly folk club. We had some unexpected friendly faces, always a treat! (Hi, Paul, Sandy & Kim!) The singaround sessions were truly amazing - the quality and the scope of flavour was incredible, from traditional ballads through Dylan, Cleverly Bros, Robb Johnson (yay!) and a stunningly poignant ukulele-accompanied version of 'You are my Sunshine', to concertina and fiddle and flute and the invisible drumkit - I can't remember the name of it - you sit on it as a stool and the front gives you a snare sound.

I like to think we mad esome friends there, and I hope we'll be back one day. We were handsomely fed and watered by Alan and Moira - her apple pie is the stuff of legends - which gave us a lovely breather between the long hot journey and the evening's music.

As ever, here's the setlist. It took some shuffling round, of course! But this is what we actually sang:

Appleby Fair
Eleanor Roosevelt's Knitting
Spoon
Plenty
Gathering Summer In
Shiny Things

Clever Men
Queen of Spindles
The Orchard
The Common Bunting
Corn Jenny

...I think 'Clever Men' was our best yet (pace Simon and his bassoon!) and 'Corn Jenny' is a song I just want to pick up and cuddle. It was a long tiring drive home and bed was very welcome at the end of it. Lovely evening, thank you Long Crendon Folk Club!

Progressive Club, Tamworth, 23rd September

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:41:57 GMT

Well, that was a whole bunch of fun! What a gig! We had a ball!

So, Chantelle, Rika, Simon and I set off after lunch on Friday, (Jan unable to come due to illness - he was most dischuffed about that. We missed him, but we coped and reshuffled the who-does-what a little) on the trek north. The roads were a bit horrid, traffic and roadworks and accident combined to slow the M5 right down so we went cross-country a little - got to the venue in plenty of time for our soundcheck, though, and met the team who were putting the gig together - Chris and Emma, and Martin and Tim and Neil and all...

Lovely folks, it was great to meet those with whom I'd corresponded, and make new friends besides.

Tim Philpott opened for us, with some engaging and well-played songs that showed the variety of colours in his voice. His 'grumpy people' song was as popular with the audience as with the organiser who had booked him on the strength of it, and he was delightful company besides.

Do you know, I almost stuck to the setlist! I swapped 'Mermaid' in for 'The White Swan' because I'd been speaking with Tim about mermaids before the set, and I switched two songs around, but apart from that I was very good and didn't throw any surprises at the band at all. We debuted 'Corn Jenny' for our encore, which was clearly what she wanted, as my bandmates and I no longer turn to each other and say: 'Jenny in my head! Aaargh!' as we had done since I wrote it - this is one catchy song, be warned. You can't even get it out with a Spoon. We tried. Anyway, since letting it out on an audience the song has stopped haunting us continually. For now. And she was as much fun as I'd hoped.

We had a lot of bassoon inthe set this time, (after a very long hiatus largely as a result of orchestral duties) - Simon was back with his young tree, making lovely noises all over several songs. 'Clever Men' with the bassoon taking the trumpet part, was particularly entertaining. We had a good bit of singing back at us on the singalongs - I'd printed off a set of flyers with the lyrics to some choruses, in hopes of fostering just that. I think it worked, and I'll do that again.

Here's what we performed:

Queen of Spindles
Green Places
Common Bunting
Spoon
Orchard
Appleby Fair
Eleanor Roosevelt’s Knitting
Clever Men
Underpass Mary
The Well
Gathering Summer In
Shiny Things
Jack Hare
Lady Moon
When I was a Mermaid
Plenty
X Libris
The Finding of the Feather
---------------------------------------
ENCORE: Corn Jenny

I'd like to think we gave good value - I believe so. Hoping for a rebooking some time, there or elsewhere, from our lovely organiser, Chris, who worked her songs off setting up a very fine event. And the bar did mugs of tea! How splendid was that? I got to sit with my knitting and a mug of tea while listening to Tim before our set! And Chris had taken food as well... so we weren't starving creatures either. And Afterwards she took us all home for more tea and then quite a lot of zzzzz. In the morning we put the world to rights and set off home... stopping briefly at a service station where we caught a little bit of the rugby too. Lovely.

Adventures in travel and spoons...

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 11:25:10 GMT

Yesterday was a long day - I'd snagged a gig at the Friends of the Earth Annual Conference at Nottingham, performing at their Friday Green Fair. One lift and three trains later (I was offered a route involving FIVE changes... on a journey one can drive in under three hours. And this is our public transport system? Grrr) I was there, with a huge smile and a sense of having a truly surreal day. Let me backtrack...

And, you know, I can't even remember now whether it was the Swindon to Cheltenham leg of the journey or the Cheltenham to Birmingham train. One of them... was very crowded indeed, but with an extremely good-natured set of people including some young men who were pouring lager and blackcurrant into plastic cups, and seemed intent on sharing with half the carriage.

Inevitably, when you've trolled halfway down a crowded train carriage carrying two hard cases (guitar and bouzouki), *everyone* knows you're a musician, and conversations follow. Flicking into performance mode, I told assorted neighbours about my music, the gig I was off to play, and what a bouzouki was. I was offered some lager and blackcurrant, and when I said it tasted like cough mixture that seemed to be the funniest thing ever... I'd really hit the party carriage, and I said so.

'Give us a tune, then', said one of the guys.

And I thought, alright then, I will.

So I perched on the table the better to face both ways, and struck up 'Spoon', of course - with the usual intro. Oh, they joined in. They bashed the tables. They sang, and they cheered. It was intoxicating (really, I'd only had a sip) and the roar at the end was incredible.

'Where's your spoon, then?'

Of course I had my spoon with me.

'Show us the spoon!'

I duly held aloft my spoon, released from its case. More cheers.

'Now the song about the fork!' some wit added. Got a good laugh.

'I haven't written that one yet', I admitted.

'Cos I like forks best!' More laughter.

'Well, isn't that how it goes? Everyone's got their favourite item of cutlery...'

(Believe me, it was funnier at the time, honest.)

'Give us another tune!'

So I did. I sang 'Clever Men', to an increased audience as folk from the next carriage were cramming in to hear what was going on.

And then, of course, as I had my promo stuff with me for the FoE conference, I dished out a bunch of cards - some in each direction, and they all disappeared.

And I had a lot of help exiting the carriage with my instruments when we reached my stop, and lots of 'thank you's. Lovely. It really was a dream come true - I've always wanted to do something like that.

And then I went and had a lovely time at the FoE conference, with bicycle-powered blueberry smoothie and yurts, much networking and the odd hug, and one listener who - gasp - already carried his spoon, and held it aloft when I sang!

The journey home was uneventful.

And now I'm really hoping somebody will pop up on Facebook or here and say 'I was on that train!'

The Grey Men of Whitehall - new recording

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:26:15 GMT

Today I tweaked the lyric a little here and there as you'll see, and I only got as far as picking up the bouzouki and the music fell into place from there. The tune had been more or less in place in my head since yesterday, and a few little twiddles and details appeared as I recorded it in teh studio just now on the handheld Tascam of which I'm so fond.

So, fresh and raw and angry, here it is.

http://taliskimberley.bandcamp.com/track/the-grey-men-of-whitehall

You know how it goes, right? Listen, like, link and share as you will. If you think it has merit, of course! My thanks to Brian Keen for the inspiration, and to all of you who've said supportive things about this after I posted the lyric yesterday...

Song: The Grey Men of Whitehall

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:45:55 GMT

My friend Brian gave me the prompt that became this... tune's brewing.

* * *

THE GREY MEN OF WHITEHALL

The grey men of Whitehall are watching
From comfortable ivory towers
And the grey men of Whitehall sit comfy, running
This country that used to be ours
For the grey men had their education
And society covered the cost
But tell that to the next generation
As if that were all that we’ve lost.

And of course you’ve a right to be angry
There’s enough to be angry about
But point it at those who deserve it
When you’re ready to stand up and shout

The grey men have mortgaged the future
Put a price on what shouldn’t be sold
Oh, the grey men of Whitehall know better
But then they’re not afraid of the cold
There are grey men in each of our cities
Every parish and borough and town
And if you want to take back their power
Then you’d better put your name down

And of course you’ve a right to be angry
Only think before violence takes aim
Does a hundred years trading in tables and chairs
Really merit the fire and the flame?

‘Cos it starts with the local elections
Real people who do give a damn
Or the grey men will carry on suiting themselves
And democracy’s only a sham.

And of course you’re allowed to be angry
But you’d better know who’s getting hurt
And the ambulance man and the shopkeeper both
Bleed the same colour blood down their shirts

And of course you’ve a right to be angry
There’s enough to be angry about
But point it at those who deserve it
When you’re ready to stand up and shout

Words by & © Talis Kimberley 9th August 2011

Song: Wash the Damn Spoon!

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 10:18:22 GMT

WASH THE DAMN SPOON!

This spoon is dirty, oh what shall I do?
(You could wash the damn spoon!)
I’ll make me another that’s shiny and new
(Or you could wash the damn spoon!)

Wash the damn spoon, wash the damn spoon
Or you could wash the damn spoon!

Dig me a well that goes all the way down...
That’s where the black stuff is generally found...

Bring it ashore in a jolly big boat...
If she should founder the oil will float...

Wash the damn spoon, wash the damn spoon
Or you could wash the damn spoon!

Get it refined so it knows to behave...
Mould it and melt it to the shape that I crave...

Pack it in boxes with ten thousand more...
Drive for a week to they get to the store...

Wash the damn spoon, wash the damn spoon
Or you could wash the damn spoon!

Ring up the price that it says on the tag...
Carry it home in a nice plastic bag...

Takeaway chicken and noodles for two...
Now my spoon’s dirty and what shall I do?

Wash the damn spoon, wash the damn spoon
Or you could wash the damn spoon!

* * *

Words & music by & © Talis Kimberley 23rd July 2011

Inspired by Max Temkin’s ‘Plastic Spoon’ artwork (http://www.maxistentialism.com/about/)

Song: The Craftsman

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:44:21 GMT

New thing... I rather like it. No music yet, but that will likely come in its season. The trigger for this was a Marples plane. Yes, that one. Go read some Jack Lewis if you will. Oh - and I believe one of my grandfathers was a carpenter, too.

THE CRAFTSMAN

There’s wisdom in the craftsman’s hands
As they shape the patient wood
And it’s something very like holy ground
When they know that the cut is good
Here the ordered tools await their turn –
Each chisel, plane and blade
And the craftsman looks with an honest eye
At the beauty // that he has made.

There’s courage in the craftsman’s heart
As he shapes the patient wood
It’s a lot like loving and as much like pain
Where all journeymen have stood
When the work goes well you can breathe the shape
And your hands are not your own
But when the work goes ill it’s a twisting pain
And one // you bear alone.

There’s a quiet strength in the craftsman’s mind
As he shapes the patient wood
Here the needs and the rhythms of every tool
Are learned and understood
Where the handles are worn satin-smooth
By a prior craftsman’s touch
By the grace and gift of the work you do
Your own hands // do as much.

There’s wisdom in the craftsman’s hands
As they shape the patient wood
And it’s something very like holy ground
When they know // that the cut is good

Words by & © Talis Kimberley 15th July 2011

Candlelit gig!

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:10:09 GMT

That was a whole bunch of fun - Friday evening I went to Amesbury with Chantelle to sing at The Forge, which is a shop full of beautiful handmade things. I had a delightful audience, which included my dear friend Marisa, and I must say, being greeted by my host with 'Would you like a cup of tea?' always sets me up for a great gig.

The last few gigs have been outdoor festival-type things, so my setlists have been heavy on the upbeat noisy numbers at the expense of the quieter and introspective pieces. This was a setting that could handle both ends of the spectrum. With no PA to worry about (but a little raised dais which served us well as a stage) I could move around as much as I liked - leaving the stage to go walkabout on 'The White Swan' as I sometimes do.

We premiered 'The Well' (Arthurian whimsy), and later on I debuted 'Green Again' too - that's a slightly more downbeat piece about the soil that grows our food.

I had ironwork hares dancing behind me, a fairytale castle beside me, pictures of white horses before me, and camdles everywhere. The listeners were intent on every word, and I'm hopeful of a return trip at some point. Even the drive down was a delight. Oh, and Fourteen Hundred Hours was... well, the silence spread. That was moving, and humbling.

We also got encored - always a pleasure.

The setlist, for those who care to know, went as follows:

Queen of Spindles
The Well
Green Places
Rampisham Down
Appleby Fair
Eleanor Roosevelt's Knitting
The White Swan
X Libris
1400 Hours
Raspberry Leaf & Lemon Balm Tea

Common Bunting
Plenty
Green Again
Lowlands Pacific
Shiny Things
Jack Hare
Gathering Summer In
Litha-come-Light
Small Mended Corners
Clever Men
Finding of the Feather

Underpass Mary
Wolf at Your Door

Walthamstow Folk Club, 12th June

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:42:06 GMT

WHAT a blast we had! Russ and his team - Claire, MC Kevin, and I daresay others behind the scenes as well - run a lovely, welcoming evening at 'Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre Pub'. Yes, it's got an upstairs theatre; currently there's a run of the play 'Girlfriends', and the stage was set up for that. It must be a beautifully intimate setting for drama - I loved it as a performing space.

There were old friends and very old friends there, (eighteen years, I think, D!) and new friends for the making. The evening started (after a bit of a nightmare journey, kudos to Chantelle for driving through torrential rain and roadworks after roadworks) with a session, and it was grand to see Alison on the melodeon as well as Russ on banjo and, was it Sian joining is as well?

There were wonderful floor spots from the inestimable Kevin, Russ, Claire, and Sian (apologies for the names I didn't get) and everyone seemed very settled in to have a lovely evening together - which is certainly what we had, as the band. I had Rika on percussion and some backing vox, and Chantelle singing warp to my weft plus a touch of extra percussion; I took a couple of solo songs as well in the middle just for variety, and because I could...:-)

The setlists were as follows:

Queen of Spindles
Green Places
Orchard
Underpass Mary
Rampisham Down
Appleby Fair
Eleanor Roosevelt’s Knitting
Gathering Summer In
Keepsake Day
The Finding of the Feather
Change of Heart

set 2:

Common Bunting
Plenty
Lowlands Pacific
Breeding True
Jack Hare
Shiny Things
Clever Men
Scarlet & Green
White Swan
Kitchen Heroes
Dangerous Music

Encores:

X Libris
Wolf at Your Door

* * *

'Clever Men' was a debut, and was huge fun, with the audience catching every reference. 'Breeding True' I'd debuted earlier that same day at Vowley Farm - very fitting! 'Dangerous Music' was a riot, with the friend whose event caused it to be written sitting there and enjoying it. Lots of singing along from the audience, which was just sublime.

Kevin fed me SUCH a straight line for the encore, following a bit of banter about licenses, he said 'Oh, we're very licentious here...' and I thought, right, X Libris next, then!

In all, we just had a ball at Walthamstow, and recommend their friendly and warm club to anyone. Thank you to all who made the evening happen - we wouldn't mind a few more gigs like that!

London gig: this Saturday, Regents Park, 3pm, FREE

Tue, 31 May 2011 19:27:11 GMT

http://www.facebook.com/pages/London-Green-Fair/191244210911993?sk=wall

The guys and I are performing at the London Green Fair this coming Saturday at around 3pm on the bike-powered stage... who's coming along? Regent's Park, free entry, lots of fabulous green stuff going on! I'd love to see some friendly faces! We're doing a 45 to an hour set, and it'll be a fine event - please come!

Maypoles and pretzels...

Wed, 04 May 2011 18:42:49 GMT

Camping! Sunshine! Music! Maypole! Dancing! Drumming! And a gig in Brighton for my dear friends in the Greenmantle gang, to celebrate the release of the Beltane edition of the Greenmantle magazine. Each copy of this edition comes with a cover disc of songs by me – it’s a whole mini-album, actually, with the following six songs:

Green Places, Lady Moon, Raspberry Leaf and Lemon Balm Tea, Delphi, The Path, Finding of the Feather

II think it’s a very intimate and personal set of songs, and features my dear friend Scott Snyder on bass and synth wrangling. The cover is a beautiful green man image by the artist Chas Alexander, and the whole thing will very soon be available for £3.50 from me, Marchwood Media, or Greenmantle. It’s been a pleasure to record and be involved with, and Paul Pearson, Greenmantle’s editor, has done a sterling job of both the CD and indeed the magazine. Oh, there’s an interview with me in there as well. I'll have it listed on my website's shop as soon as I can.

The Brighton gig was a huge amount of fun, with music by me (ably assisted by Chantelle Smith, who sings warp to my weft) and by the irreverent and wickedly funny Paul Mitchell. There was green man cake, a party atmosphere, birthdays to celebrate, and I was crowned the Queen of Pretzels.

It’s a long story.

My setlist was as follows: Queen of Spindles, Plenty, Pagan Angel, Appleby Fair, Very Last Cup, Lady Moon, Wolf at Your Door. Green Places, Goodnight Sarah-Jane, Eleanor Roosevelt’s Knitting, Jack Hare, Raspberry Leaf and Lemon Balm Tea, Gathering Summer In, Finding of the Feather. Encores: White Swan, Tattercoats.

How was your weekend? I was out of news contact all through. Quite glad of that, on the whole. Anything happen?

Sarah-Jane on Youtube

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:51:08 GMT

...thanks to Annie Walker for this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPnmui7kpwM

Please share as you may; I know many of you have reposted the audio link. If you'd like to post the Youtube link as well, across the 'net and in Dr Who and SF groups or wherever you like, I'll be grateful.

* * *

Also, my Bandcamp site had so many downloads that it exceeded the monthly limit overnight, and went to a purchaseable download instead. I'll be donating proceeds from that to a cancer research charity as it was not my intention to make money from my and others' grief, but as it happened overnight and I woke to an inbox full of payments received, this seemed the best way to handle it. I hope that's acceptable to those concerned.

(And my apologies to those who've seen this post elsenet - I wanted especially to be clear on the Bandcamp payments issue.)

Goodnight, Sarah-Jane

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:50:17 GMT

http://taliskimberley.bandcamp.com/track/goodnight-sarah-jane

...this will link you to the Bandcamp site free download of the song I wrote in tribute to Lis Sladen yesterday.

The Bandcamp site tells you the what and the how... I'll tell you here that I cried writing it, that I made the first lines true, and that I daren't think just now of revisiting the song I wrote for Jon Pertwee (*my* Doctor...), because if I start singing 'First Hero' as well, there simply won't be enough hankies to go round.

Please do share the link as you will, if you think it's merited.

* * *

I'll likely sing this live in Brighton on the 1st May at my gig there, and afterwards wherever it seems appropriate... I'm performing again for 'Bristolcon' in October, so I'll warn you now to bring hankies there as well, alright? And we'll be a soggy mess together.

Tears for Jack Hardy

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 11:21:19 GMT

I've just learned that Jack Hardy, writer and singer of deeply magical and moving songs, political, historical and utterly warmly human, passed away two days ago.

Just playing his CD 'Omens' on the player - his 'Siar On nDaingean' is one of the most moving things I've ever heard, and listening now, and trying to sing along, my throat closes up and the tears well. I never met the man but through his songs. He wrote many many of those, and I've only skimmed the surface of his work so far.

I was first introduced to him through the gift from a dear friend of 'Tales of the White Goddess' - where his 'Wedding Song' became instantly one of that handful of jaw-droppingly compelling 'Oh! I WISH I'd written that!' songs. The only way to deal with them is to lean them and sing them, I've found - and have sung that song at many weddings and handfastings over the years, usually with my beloved harp.

I sang 'Siar...' at Chicago last June, acapella in a singing circle just on a whim, and later gave my copy of the lyric to Amy the fiddler-lady...

All my memories of Jack Hardy are fine ones, and I am sure those who've known him better and longer than I will have many many more. Rest well, dear bard, and bright blessings for you in the next place. And always, the story and the song.