talis_kimberley

In which Talis does a Thing...

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:32:41 GMT

It's reached the stage where I've decided that I absolutely have to do what I can - whether it's 'enough' or not - towards a better future for this grey, crowded, unhappy little island. I love my country; I love the green fields and the apple trees and the standing stones and the woodlands. I even love the stone churches and the brass eagle lecturns, and I definitely love the morris dancing, the sense of irony, the tea, the self-deprecating humour, Dads' Army, The Good Life, David Attenborough, Morecambe and Wise, and 'after you' - 'no, after you'... onthe pavement outside the greengrocers'.

I do not love the greed, the ignorance, the 'I'm alright Jack', the vilifying of the old, the poor, the sick, the disabled and the vulnerable; I do not love the slick professional politicians who have never wiorked in a shop or been unemployed or faced homelessness or gone hungry so their child could eat.

I do not accept that as the eighth richest country on this planet we can afford nuclear weapons, oil wars, pay rises for MPs, tax havens for the rich, and subsidies for multinational corporations, but cannot afford human rights, or for our poorest to have a spare room for their kids or their medical equipment, cannot afford for the chronically sick and disabled to live in dignity with the care they need, cannot afford to give the poorest children a decent meal in the middle of the day.

I'm for adding my pebble to the pile. I'm joining a political party, and it's Green.

http://greenparty.org.uk/policies.html

Goodness knows I've been green-minded long enough - if you've heard the songs on 'The Hearth and the Hive' CD or seen me perform since, you'll know that. Somehow it hadn't translated into joining up. Yes, we're all fed up with politics. And doesn't it just suit the big parties to have us wander off shaking our heads and feeling helpless?

SONG: When I was Brave

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:43:37 GMT

Yes, I've signed the petitions. Yes, I liked her the original tomboy version too. But then, I would. I was such a tomboy myself as a girl... toying with alternative title 'Princess Enough'. Which do you think is the better title?

Usual thing... link and share if it takes your fancy. If I can shape up the tune maybe I'll get a scratch of it for Bandcamp.

WHEN I WAS BRAVE

In this dress I can run when I want to
In this dress I can ride so fast
In this dress I can use my bow
And I always hoped this dress would last
One day sure I’ll be older, one day
I’ll have charge of my grown-up life
That’s out there in the future waiting
Now it’s the bow and the wind and the knife and -

Didn’t I run? Didn’t I ride?
Didn’t I loose my arrows well?
Isn’t that just how girls behave?
And wasn’t I strong? Wasn’t I smart?
Wasn’t I who you used to be -
Back when I was brave?

Now this isn’t me, this isn’t right
This isn’t who my mirror shows
This isn’t even how I stand
I used to be strong, I used to be smart
Now where are my bow and arrows?
They’ve taken the courage from my hands

Didn’t I run? Didn’t I ride?
Didn’t I loose my arrows well?
Isn’t that just how girls behave?
And wasn’t I strong? Wasn’t I smart?
Wasn’t I princess enough for you -
Back when I was Brave?

And wasn’t I strong? Wasn’t I smart?
Wasn’t I princess enough...
Back when I was Brave?

___________________________________________________________

Words & music by & © Talis Kimberley 15^th May 2013

"...And Next Week, we Hear From the Ladies" FREE album on Bandcamp.com

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:56:18 GMT

I can now announce that my mad plan for International Womens' Day has come to fruition.

Behold, eight tracks (seven songs and a spoken word piece), six of which were scratch-tracked in my kitchen last night. I only even thought of doing this on Tuesday at Bradford on Avon Folk Club, when Rosie announced she was singing for the Lord Mayor of
Bristol on Friday... :-)

Here you'll find Cecilia, Jane, Elsie, Juliet, Penelope and others, all in scratchtrack form but none the worse for their hasty journey into the world of Bandcamp.

So, here you go. Free or name your price. Listen, link, share and enjoy as you will.

Two honourable mentions here: Mark, who cleaned up the audio at no notice at all, and Shawna, who bought it before I'd even announced it was out! Thank you, Mark, and thank you, Shawna!

http://t.co/kOV5WZQRZF

What I did Yesterday Evening....

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 10:51:50 GMT

...was to sing for the 'Trefoil Guild' - retired Guiders' group. These are ladies who've given much of their time and energy into making fun and educational things happen, mostly for other peoples' children. I was a Brownie and a Guide by turns myself, when I was much younger, and there was a certain demographic of energetic, capable older lady, who populated the ranks of Guiders, Sunday School leaders, the Church Choir, the Youth Group leadership, the Girls' Brigade leaders, and the dinner ladies at school. Often single, sometimes widowed, occasionally with their own husbands or families, they fuelled the local community with their energy, and I benefited from that as a girl.

I've written, in fact, of the particular generation of women for whom there were to be no husbands, following the war - those women who learned to do more than they had dared, and then kept on giving their time and love. They, and their younger sisters, were the bedrock of all those community groups when I was very young. Their daughters and heirs - figuratively if not in fact - were represented last night, and those of you who know of my secret vice that is the collecting of certain girls' books from the thirties and forties, will understand why I have such a fondness for such ladies.

* * *

For a change, I was completely solo, so I was able to play fast and loose with the form and tempo, throw in something brand new, and I didn't even MAKE a setlist! I had a ... list... and I picked from it as I went along. This only works for very friendly and low-key gigs, but I think I made it work last night. I sang:

The Common Bunting
Green Places
The Cinder Rock
This Isn't Newport
Can You Knit, Brave Boys?
Cloth of Gold
Spoon

and after more tea and sausage rolls:

Bag Ladies
Belling the Cat
Fourteen Hundred Hours
Keepsake Day
Cast On, Jenny (aka Every Stitch with Love)
The Grace and Gift

I rarely do 'Keepsake' these days - it's a very gentle little thing, and would be swamped on a stage with PA and lights, I feel. It worked well yesterday. I found myself whistling for 'The Cinder Rock' the part Simon would normally play, and that seemed to work. I flung the brand new one at them in a spirit of mishief, and rehearsed them all in the Dave-Clement-style 'Whoah!' that the end of each chorus somehow demands. I don't know why, but it does. It's an activist knitting shanty, and it was *great* fun to do.

Every future audience for whom I sing this will need to live up to the village's retired Guiders for enthusiasm in their 'Whoah!'

And I think I shall revisit the piece I wrote about the post-war ladies, and see whether it can grow a tune...

End of year review...

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:27:54 GMT

End of year catch-up... let’s have a look at 2012, shall we?

Well, I started the year with a LOT of gigs booked up, and the band expanded to 6 strong for a while, so rehearsing and arranging expanded to match for much of the year. As usual several of them were overnighters, some festivals, others simply far enough away that they made a good excuse to visit nearby friends for the night!

So, lots of gigs, good, right? Some lovely, a few I’d probably not do again, with honest hindsight. Top of the list in my memory was the gig in Lincoln, where the vibe was lovely, we played as well as we ever have, and all the green songs were just eaten up by the audience and stallholders at the event. We made new friends there, and spent time with old ones, and that was a joy. Band changes followed shortly, as we said goodbye to one bandmate, and another felt it wasn't right for her, so we dropped to three/four. In practice, we're mostly three now - Simon and Chantelle and me (with occasional Jan) - and we have done a lot of excellent work in this new and tighter lineup, stressing the harmonies and streamlining the instrumentation. Accordian’s out, bassoon’s back in and loving the fiddle parts, percussion’s lighter and tighter, and several songs have more schtick than they did when we first performed them. The Fforde Ffiesta (Spoons!) and Little Green Gathering (Steps of St Pauls, and Canterbury Tales, oh yes!) were also especially enjoyable gigs, alongside my Seattle coffeeshop gig at the Soul Food Cafe (all there on Youtube!) – in company of transpondial bandmates Dave Clement and Betsy Tinney on ‘Cello. However, Festival at the Edge takes the crown for, well, just having it all, really! (Shonaleigh Cumbers, Ruth Bramley, The Bailey Sisters, a romany vardo and Peter Chand’s fantastic grin...)

I'm still loving my concertina though I am no better on it than I was a year ago. I played it for the carols in the pub again before Christmas, and I keep meaning to find ways to bring it into arrangements for songs. I've written several things I treasure this year – ‘Cecilia's Face’, after a trip to the Da Vinci exhibit, a series of songs inspired by BBC’s ‘Wartime Farm’, and ‘Second Born’, inspired by a workshop on ancient and Icelandic music, are foremost in my mind. My writing’s been as prolific as ever but I’ve slowed down on arranging them for band as we’ve been enjoying the existing extensive repertoire a great deal! Checking back, I see that ‘Can You Knit, Brave Boys’, ‘Canterbury Tales’ and ‘Common Ground’ are all this year’s vintage as well, plus the political ranty-shanty ‘Damned if you Don’t’, Autumn’s introspective ‘Dragonfly’, and the herbalist fantasy ‘Ladies of the Bower’.

I’m refocussing my gigs chiefly in the folk music world as a change from flitting between several other communities, so I'm doing my apprenticeship twenty years late, by attending folk clubs and taking floor spots to introduce my music to people. This is proving a positive step, and is great fun besides.

The garden shows nearly three years' neglect, and this 'Summer' was a great one for slugs. Call me Kali of the trowel. Organic, fast, unequivocal. However, thanks to two garden angels, I have found my garden mojo at last, and have tackled the potager again this Winter - when it's not raining. I hope for better gardening next year, and indeed expect it, now that I have some space clear, and a plan, and local friends to swap seeds, energies and ideas with.

There was rather more in the way of medical emergencies amongst my tribe than I strictly needed. Let's just say Longest Night came early this year. That made a few things... trickier, but we managed not to let anyone down, after all, with regard to gigs booked.

One of this year's changes in my thinking has been a growing awareness of the UK’s benefit cuts and the fact that they're targeted at the poorest and the sick and disabled. My friendlist here and elsenet has widened to include some very articulate and frank reading on such subjects. Please, if you think I'm exaggerating, go read 'Diary of a benefit Scrounger' (online blog) and other such. I am ashamed that in this country I have friends who work and haven't enough to live on, and others who are too ill to work and are having their living reduced and reduced along with their care allocation, in circumstances where they are made to battle the system repeatedly to get even the little the system says they are due.

I'm struggling to get all that into song, however...

Other random highlights of the year would include sitting round the new firepit singing with friends... a birthday party for a special sheep, a lovely visit to Shrewsbury (Laura's Tower! Must finish arranging that song!) and a house concert for Heather Dale - another, from 'Folk at the Green' for Dave Clement later on; my new black fair trade dress, many snuzzes with the boycats, red enamel pots from France, Ruth's dragons, singing rounds with the Bailey Sisters, Aquae Sulis with C, Avebury several times in assorted company, many more things I've forgotten, and others I'll remember after posting... it's been a year.

So much of the world is going to hell in a handbasket - even so, there are things we can all do: plant beans, build social capital, and make stuff happen.

Next year, I plan on better gardening, more local community stuff, more recording, more new songs brought to life, and performing with my splendid band at plenty of folk clubs and festivals.

...and maybe do a bit of patchwork in there as well. It's a good analogy for a lot of things, is patchwork, after all.

Song: Equal

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 22:06:25 GMT

EQUAL

In the dear old Church of England

I’m welcome to attend

I could help out with the cleaning

There are cassocks I could mend

I could make and serve the coffee

And all the while pretend

That this meant that I was equal after all...

As a candidate for Parliament

I’m welcome to apply

If I look well-groomed, wear decent shoes

And catch the camera’s eye

As the minister for motherhood

I would give strength to the lie

That said that I was equal after all...

On the radio each morning

I’m welcome to tune in

To the news and sport and commentary

With which the day begins

But in a gender-counting tally

‘S funny, women never win

So tell me that I’m equal after all...

Never mind, let’s watch this drama

Or a film if you prefer

Is the Bechdel Test so difficult?

Didn’t she say that to her?

Go on, tell me just one more time

‘Things are better than they were’;

And aren’t I nearly equal -

Why go on about this ‘equal’ –

You don’t hear men ask to be equal, after all!

Well, don’t you tell me that I’m equal

When I know this isn’t equal

Which means you’re not equal either, after all.

_____________________________________________________________

Words by & © Talis Kimberley 20^th November 2012

Song: Spacejunk

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 20:35:47 GMT

SPACEJUNK

Twinkle Twinkle little star, not very bright is what we are

Up above the world so high, all of our spacejunk filling the sky

Every probe and satellite we have sent to the starry night

Adds to the mess of junk up there far out of sight, though, so why should we care?

Twinkle Twinkle little star, not very bright is what we are

Up above the world so high, all of our spacejunk filling the sky

Each new launch seeks passage through a highspeed layer of spacejunk stew

And in turn adds its own mass: one more obstacle the next must pass

Quite the tiniest bits of stuff travel at speeds giving force enough

(To) Punch straight through whate’er they meet and render the target incomplete

Twinkle Twinkle little star, not very bright is what we are

Up above the world so high, all of our spacejunk filling the sky

Space is not an infinite bin fit for keeping our spacejunk in

All’s held close by Earth’s own pull; what will we do when the skies are full?

Will our debris seal us here in one vast rotating sphere?

Twinkle twinkle and goodnight, we will have locked ourselves in tight

Up above the world so high, all of our spacejunk fills the sky

Twinkle Twinkle little star, not very bright is what we are

Here we’ll stand and here we’ll stay, the junk will ensure it remains that way

The best result may yet have been keeping the rest of the universe clean

_______________________________________________________________________

Words & music by & © Talis Kimberley 20th November 2012

Inspired by Wartime Farm, episode 3

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:49:32 GMT

At least, I think it was episode 3 - the farmers dreading the visit by the man from the Min of Ag, who could take their land from them if he felt they weren't farming it well enough. We heard of the farmer who stayed put, was besieged and shot, and died later in hospital of his wounds. I wonder how many stories of that nature never got widely told?

Tune's playing silly beggars on this one. Will catch up with scratch tracks soon, truly!

THERE’S A WAR ON

I walked the farm this morning as I’ve done these forty years

It’s not the bombs and bullets that inspires this sense of fear

And the fellow from the Ministry // he’s headed here

Don’t you know there’s a war on, don’t you know there’s a war on

I spent the night out ploughing while he spent the night in bed

We’ve culled our cherished herds, done every damnfool thing they said

And if they mean to take my farm they’d better shoot me dead

Don’t you know there’s a war on, don’t you know there’s a war on

They said: ‘Plough!’ I said: ‘It’s marginal land, far too wet to turn.’ //

Too late now; they’re grading us today, that bridge is burned

We’ve sown flax – though goodness knows if that will thrive, we’ve done our best //

Bent our backs – jumped through all the hoops for this unwelcome guest

They don’t sow the crops, they don’t work the land but it’s them as calls the

Shots and it’s out of our hands

Don’t you know there’s a war on, don’t you know there’s a war on

You’ll find me in the farmyard with my dogs and with my gun

I’ve worked as hard as any since this bloody war’s begun

Here he comes to grade me... and tell me how I’ve done

Don’t you know there’s a war on, don’t you know there’s a war on

I said don’t you know there’s a war on, don’t you know there’s a war on

________________________________________________________________________

Words by & © Talis Kimberley 1st October 2012

Inspired by Wartime Farm, episode 5

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:38:19 GMT

This was last week's episode - the segment where it was made clear that every bit of food the rats ate was one more bushel that the beleaguered merchant navy needed to bring ashore... no tune yet but I haven't gone looking yet.

MRS RAT

I charge you all good yeomen

That live on England’s farms

Take arms against the rats before

They do us all much harm

For every single bushel

The villains dare to eat

Is one more bushel added to

The burden of the fleet –

And it’s one more run in the teeth of Hitler’s guns

And it’s one more crew takes the risk for me and you

I charge you all good yeoman

That fight upon the land

The enemy are many and

The battle is at hand

Set traps, lay down the poison

Don’t let them settle, please

We don’t work night and day so Mrs

Rat can take her ease –

Set your traps, train your dogs, lay your poison, do your best

To rid England’s farms and granaries from this unwelcome guest.

I charge you all good yeomen

Whose brothers are at sea

Take arms against the rat before

They eat our hope of victory

For all the spoiled bushels

And all the eaten grain

Means one more merchant crew must

Run the gauntlet once again –

And it’s one more run in the teeth of Hitler’s guns

And it’s one more crew takes the risk for me and you

Set your traps, train your dogs, lay your poison, do your best

To rid England’s farms and granaries from this unwelcome guest.

_________________________________________________________________

Words by & © Talis Kimberley 15^th October 2012

Inspired by Wartime Farm, episode 4

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:30:14 GMT

It's the segment about the Bevin Boys that got me from this one... I have a tune for this, and it's a cracking tune too, but in absence of ascratch track yet, I'm catching up by sharing the lyrics...

THE CINDER ROCK

Got my marching orders in the morning post today

When the brindled pups arrive, I’ll be long miles away

Don’t expect a postcard from the desert or the Rhine

Mama’s youngest gets to go where no sun ever shines

John and Jack and James and Joe get called up and off they go

Peter, Eric, Sam and Ned learning how to shoot men dead

George, he gets a piece of sky, has the knack and loves to fly

Bevin says – god rot his soul – I must go and fetch the coal.

The King gives you a uniform to make you look a man

I get told to turn up in the oldest clothes I can

Strangers think I’m conchie and this copper wants to know

Why I’m out of uniform – I’ll tell him where to go.

John and Jack and James and Joe get called up and off they go

Peter, Eric, Sam and Ned learning how to shoot men dead

George, he gets a piece of sky, has the knack and loves to fly

Bevin says – god rot his soul – I must go and fetch the coal.

Out of ten conscripted men the Army’s taken nine

Last one out the bag gets told he’s working down the mine.

Take your shot at glory then stand your battleground

Mine’s a different story where the cinder rock is found

John and Joe and James and Jack – went to fight and won’t be back

Peter, Eric, Ned and Sam don’t remember who I am

George, he got his piece of sky, died the way that heroes die

And Bevin says – god rot his soul – I must keep on fetching coal...

John and Jack and James and Joe get called up and off they go

Peter, Eric, Sam and Ned learning how to shoot men dead

George, he gets a piece of sky, has the knack and loves to fly

Bevin says – god rot his soul – I must go and fetch the coal.

Take away the Fuhrer’s toys; with coal you got from Bevin’s boys.

___________________________________________________________

Words & music by & © Talis Kimberley 5^th October 2012

Song: Five Gold Rings

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:57:37 GMT

Well, it'll be a song if it grows a tune. But in the meantime, here are the words...

* * *

FIVE GOLD RINGS

Oh what a five-ring circus, roll up, roll up to see

It’s world-wide peace and harmony galore

There’s a new and shiny pool down where the lido used to be

But I can’t afford to swim there anymore.

We love our seaside semi and we like to watch the boats

The public park’s our favourite place to walk

But now they’ve built a wall there hiding anything that floats

We’ve lived here forty years, but money talks

Community means ‘those who buy the tickets’, it appears

Perhaps they’d like to charge us too for listening to the cheers?

Five gold rings: the law forbids I name it.

Five gold rings: the trademark’s nailed down.

Five gold rings: they’ve bought the right to claim it for their own and send their

Circus through our villages and towns.

Who’s pulling on the strings?

‘Cos they’re attached to five gold rings.

My Gramps loved his allotment and it kept him fit and strong

For a hundred years that’s what the land was for

But they bulldozed eighty gardens that had been ours all along

And Grandpa doesn’t plant things anymore

‘Perpetuity’ no longer means forever, so it seems

And Grandpa’s not too active now, but there’s gardens in his dreams:

Five gold rings: the law forbids I name it.

Five gold rings: the trademark’s nailed down.

Five gold rings: they’ve bought the right to claim it for their own and send their

Circus through our villages and towns;

Who’s pulling on the strings?

‘Cos they’re attached to five gold rings.

Fire up the corporate lawyers with the words ‘cease and desist’

Tell knitters that they denigrate the games

Our sponsors’ cash investment needs protection after all

Fizzy drinks, fast food and chocolate bear their names

And let’s have lots of music, and we won’t shell out a bean

They’ll be glad to play for nothing, won’t they? ‘Least it gets them seen!

Oh what a five-ring circus, roll up, roll up to see

It’s world-wide peace and harmony galore

There’s a new and shiny pool down where the lido used to be

But I can’t afford to swim there anymore.

_____________________________________________________________________

Words by & © Talis Kimberley 22^nd June 2012

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!

______________________________________________________________________

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!'