Lyrics
Songs from the forthcoming album
"Real, Here and Now"
Rainbow and the Whale
Along the Whitby Strand
The Gibbous Moon
In Real Terms
Dance Between the Raindrops
The Mirror
The Men from Mexico
Just Seventeen
Autumn
The Last Remaining Tree
Rainbow and the Whale, © John Drakes 2021
"In the Bible, the great flood cleansed the earth of all man's evil. A rainbow was sent to remind us it would never happen again. But we don't listen. Discarded fishing nets entangle thousands of sea creatures every year. The rainbow is watching, and waiting."
A rainbow came to follow me
I did wonder why
There's something that you need to see
I heard the rainbow cry
In colours there are promises
Sunshine after rain
That it would never come to this again
There before my very eyes
The rainbow danced for me
From the dark and gloomy skies
He dived into the sea
He dived to where down in the deep
No light had shone before
And he began to weep for what he saw
He said, time after time, I have watched you fail
But are you sorry, sorry for the whale?
At first he thought she was asleep
In quiet and sweet repose
But drowned in tangled nets will keep
Your eyes forever closed
No more to sing her song of love
That haunting melody
For she'll never leave the bottom of the sea
He said, time after time, I have watched you fail
But are you sorry, sorry for the whale?
Then the heavens opened
A voice came from The Lord
My promise never broken
But you, oh you have broken yours!
In angry clouds storms are made
As rainbow reappears
I see his colours slowly fade
Stained by rainbow tears
For this is how it all began
And this is how it ends
As waters rise above the land again
He said, time after time, I have watched you fail
But are you sorry, sorry for the whale?
He said, time after time, I have watched you fail
But are you sorry, sorry for the whale?
Along the Whitby Strand, © John Drakes 2018
"An old fashioned love story. A couple walk along the beach, holding hands, very much in love and planning for a life together. Up on the promenade an old couple watch them and smile, thinking back to the days when they too walked
... Along the Whitby Strand."
We walk along the Whitby Strand
Laughing, loving, holding hands
Sandy toes and tangled hair
A kiss in salty air
We'll write our names when tides recede
Near lapping waves and sighing seas
Pebble pen and paper sand
Lovers making plans
Sea breeze and salt water
Out along the Strand
Followed by our footprints
In the sand
They watch us shamelessly embrace
With wrinkled grins and sun browned face
The old ones with their knowing smiles
Remembering awhile
Serenaded by the sea
We wander far and aimlessly
Time has flown, the hours go by
Beneath a seagull sky
Sea breeze and salt water
Out along the Strand
Followed by our footprints
In the sand
When darkness falls and day is done
I'll lie with you ‘till morning comes
One day we'll walk with wedding bands
Along the Whitby Strand
One day we'll walk with wedding bands
Along the Whitby Strand
Sea breeze and salt water
Out along the Strand
Followed by our footprints
In the sand
One day we'll walk with wedding bands
Along the Whitby Strand
The Gibbous Moon, © John Drakes 2017
"A true story. I know this little boy well. It turned out all right for him in the end. No need to explain. It is all in the song. Sadly, all too many people can relate to this story."
Johnny hated daylight
How he hated day
He longed for the night to come
And take the day away
Gone was his childhood
His God given right
Mother and father
Bicker and fight
Underneath the stars
Morning comes too soon
Walking round for hours
Beneath the moon, the gibbous moon
Down the narrow lanes
He'd wander in the dark
Out where badgers shuffle
Out where foxes bark
Whispers in the wind
Small voice on the breeze
There he poured his heart out
Talking to the trees
Underneath the stars
Morning comes too soon
Walking round for hours
Beneath the moon, the gibbous moon
They talked about his state of mind
Said he was disturbed
Why he was the way he was
Saying not a word
Disappearing in the dark
Dark too dark to see
It cannot be to do with them
They argued bitterly
Away from all the fighting
Shouting and the tears
Talk of separation
Wasted married years
Lies and then more lies
Acrimonious rows
Affairs and accusations
Broken wedding vows
Underneath the stars
Morning comes too soon
Walking round for hours
Beneath the moon, the gibbous moon
In Real Terms, ©John Drakes 2024
"Homelessness should not exist in a caring society. This song was written for Paul, an old man who sleeps in a supermarket doorway."
In this city of nightmares and dreams
He's looking at the news on a TV screen
And stares into a world beyond his means
His old grey coat lets in the snow
But the newsman said "Inflation's low
And you're better off in real terms
You're better off in real terms, don't you know"
But in real terms he's hungry
And in real terms he feels the cold
In real terms he's so angry
No one wants his story to be told
A haunted face in the window pane
A bitter wind that bears his name
And every day is just the same
Night comes down, it's time to go
He shivers and it's five below
But "you're better off in real terms
You're better off in real terms, don't you know"
But in real terms he's hungry
And in real terms he feels the cold
In real terms he's so angry
No one wants his story to be told
He stumbles down the street alone
To the doorway he calls his home
And a waiting bed of paving stones
Somewhere he hears a radio
The news is good, "Inflation's low
And you're better off in real terms
You're better off in real terms, don't you know"
But in real terms he's hungry
And in real terms he feels the cold
In real terms he's so angry
No one wants his story to be told
No one gives a damn or a care
Surrounded by misery, trapped by despair
He turns his eyes from those who stare
He's under a paper covered in snow
But the headlines read "Inflation's low
And you're better off in real terms
You're better off in real terms, don't you know"
But in real terms he's hungry
And in real terms he feels the cold
In real terms he's so angry
No one wants his story to be told
Dance Between the Raindrops, © John Drakes 2001
"Small problems in relationships are like raindrops. You can dance between them. But when the raindrops gang up, they become a storm. To avoid this emotional storm you have to run. You may not be able to be with someone, but can still love them for the rest of your life."
Though I can't be near you
You're always on my mind
Not a day goes I don't wonder
What I left behind
The journey that was broken
Reasons I don't know
But I just couldn't stay
I had to go
So dance between the raindrops
But run before the storm
These words I give with all my love
To keep you safe from harm
Down in disillusion
Deeper by the day
The storm that brings confusion
Made me lose my way
So my heart is calling
And I am lost in tears
That I will never know
The stolen years
So dance between the raindrops
But run before the storm
These words I give with all my love
To keep you safe from harm
Still that empty feeling
Haunts me from afar
Time can be for healing
But I wonder where you are
I wonder where you are
Where you are
Lessons learned in losing
A heavy price we pay
Love was made for bruising
It's always been that way
So the days are passing
And I cannot pretend
That this broken heart
Will ever mend
So dance between the raindrops
But run before the storm
These words I give with all my love
To keep you safe from harm
The Mirror, © John Drakes 2021
"I stopped to look in the mirror one time and found myself watching the face staring back at me. In it I could see all the joys and sorrows, the hopes and dreams of a life well lived. It was like seeing an old friend, in the face of a stranger."
Here I am
This is me
I am all
All that I can be
Still the same
But changing times
Can be seen
Between the lines, in the mirror
Long ago
I recall
I was young
I knew it all
Not for me
This growing old
So far away
We were told, is the mirror
The touch of grey you see on me, don't you know it means
A pocketful of memories and I'm running out of dreams
And I know
For I am here
Looking back
Back through all the years
Moving on
With measured pace
Brought me here
To this place, in the mirror
The touch of grey you see on me, don't you know it means
A pocketful of memories and I'm running out of dreams
Joy and sorrow
Hope, despair
Friends I've made
Love I've shared
Written in the face that stares at me
With these eyes
I have seen
With this mind
I have dreamed
And with this heart
I will give
To this life
I have lived, in the mirror
The touch of grey you see on me, don't you know it means
A pocketful of memories and I'm running out of dreams
The Men from Mexico, © John Drakes 2023
" A true story and one of the most moving experiences of my life. I joined a small group visiting the site of the famous 1972 Andes plane crash. A team of young rugby players and family and friends from Uruguay were stranded for 72 days without proper clothing or food at 12,500 feet in the high Andes mountains.
16 survived and 29 bodies are buried on the mountain. Each summer it is possible to go by horseback to the grave and memorial.
Six young Mexicans and a priest were in the group and invited me to join a Mass for the Dead. It was deeply moving and, though I did not understand a word, the tears were soon rolling down my face. The love for each other first comes from finding it inside ourselves"
In the Cordillera, one December night
Came the men from Mexico, in the fading light
Far had they travelled to honour those who died
Buried oh so long ago on the mountainside
Standing by the doorway I watched the Mass begin
Someone took my arm and welcomed me within
Padre and the pilgrims, solemn words and signs
His body and His blood, the wafer and the wine
All that I am, is all I can be
When I find the love inside of me
Silent were the mountains
Bright the stars above
I bowed my head in prayer
And felt the power of love
So Holy was the worship, tears began to roll
Joined in rivers down my face, filled my very soul
I cried for all the mothers, the fathers and the friends
The sisters and the brothers, I cried for all of them
Then the Father blessed me, hand upon my head
A stranger to the words, but I knew what he had said
And they put their arms around me, those men from Mexico
How we cried and how we cried, how the tears did flow
All that I am, is all I can be
When I find the love inside of me
Silent were the mountains
Bright the stars above
I bowed my head in prayer
And felt the power of love
Something moved within me, on that Andes night
And I will be forever, bathed in love and light
All that I am, is all I can be
When I find the love inside of me
When I find the love inside of me
Just Seventeen, © John Drakes 2016
"A young boy, just turned seventeen, in the trenches during World War 1. I tried to imagine the horror of what he had to endure. Then, through a veil of tears, I wrote this."
Somewhere in the fields of France
I cannot tell you where
I lied about my age
So I could say that I was there
To fight for King and Country
As only soldiers can
Maybe to be a hero
Or just to be a man
And I am just seventeen, you know, I am just seventeen
The dreadful din of battle
Shells above me whine
The pounding of the heavy guns
But we must hold the line
Death is all around me
I hear the whistle blast
The lads are going over
Is it time at last?
And I am just seventeen, you know, I am just seventeen
Johnny took a rifle round
Out upon the killing ground
Tangled in the wire that held him
Helpless where he lay
He saw his life before him
And he heard the Angels calling
The dead cried out their warning
As his soul was whisked away
And I am just seventeen, you know, I am just seventeen
There are no words that can describe
The things that I have seen
The horrors of the battlefield
The dying and the screams
Mortars and the land mines
Bodies blown apart
Numbing all my senses
Tearing at my heart
And I am just seventeen, you know, I am just seventeen
If indeed I do survive
The bullets and the bombs
The dirty stinking trenches
The gas that rolls along
I will ask the question
Cannot war be banned?
And why the age of innocence
Died in No Man's Land
And I am just seventeen, you know, I am just seventeen
Autumn, © John Drakes 2016
"The soft muted colours of Autumn remind us of the sweet melancholy of the season.
So to Nature's palette I have added the colour blue"
The wild geese are leaving
Ever South they fly
Skeined in vee formation
Through cooling autumn skies
Loud in ululation
Plaintive is their cry
Follow one another
On whispered wings and sighs
And I have come to know what is true
The colour of autumn is blue
The journey long together
Silver by her side
Through the stormy oceans
And on the ripping tide
Drawn by scented rivers
To the spawning grounds
On salmon redds and gravel beds
In ecstasy they drown
And I have come to know what is true
The colour of autumn is blue
Blue like the green leaves
Yellowed into brown
Soft as falling tears
Gentle on the ground
Blue like the green leaves
Cinnamon and Gold
Withered into autumn
Wintered into old
The dying days of summer
Time for moving on
Swallows and the martins
Symphonied in song
Lined abreast for leaving
Africa they're bound
And empty skies will echo
The silence of their sound
And I have come to know what is true
The colour of autumn is blue
The Last Remaining Tree, © John Drakes 2017
"A bleak look into the future. We seem to have so little regard for nature and our planet.
Ever increasing human population, greed and indifference may make this come true.
In the song I see a wonderful old oak tree, maybe a thousand years old.
What are his feelings, his memories, or the stories he could tell?
He will have stood through storm and tempest. Through battles and wars.
His future now as uncertain as ours."
Some had seen it coming
In vain they prophesied
On bended knees they pleaded
On bended knees they cried
But by the deaf condemned
And the blind that had decreed
We'd gaze upon the last remaining tree
People came to wonder
People came to stare
Some they stood in silence
Others in despair
They hung their heads in sorrow
The shame was plain to see
Weeping for the last remaining tree
Still the mighty branches sweep low and wide
And still a mighty heart beats deep inside
He hears the sound of children
Laughter and their cries
Games they played around him
Beneath the summer skies
Echoes that remain
Just a distant memory
Lost within the last remaining tree
Climb among the branches
High on high they go
Breathless from the danger
Above the world below
Dizzy from the daring
But daring to be free
Cradled by the last remaining tree
Still the mighty branches sweep low and wide
And still a mighty heart beats deep inside
But sadness moves within him
Sap begins to flow
Winter turns to springtime
Sunshine melts the snow
And soon his autumn leaves
Will be tears we cannot see
Falling from the last remaining tree
Still the mighty branches sweep low and wide
And still a mighty heart beats deep inside