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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."

1.

A rainbow came to follow me
I did wonder why
There's something that you need to see
I heard the rainbow cry

2.

In colours there are promises
Sunshine after rain
That it would never come to this again

3.

There before my very eyes
The rainbow danced for me
From the dark and gloomy skies
He dived into the sea

4.

He dived to where down in the deep
No light had shone before
And he began to weep for what he saw

Chorus:

He said, time after time, I have watched you fail
But are you sorry, sorry for the whale?

5.

At first he thought she was asleep
In quiet and sweet repose
But drowned in tangled nets will keep
Your eyes forever closed

6.

No more to sing her song of love
That haunting melody
For she'll never leave the bottom of the sea

Chorus:

He said, time after time, I have watched you fail
But are you sorry, sorry for the whale?

Bridge:

Then the heavens opened
A voice came from The Lord
My promise never broken
But you, oh you have broken yours!

7.

In angry clouds storms are made
As rainbow reappears
I see his colours slowly fade
Stained by rainbow tears

8.

For this is how it all began
And this is how it ends
As waters rise above the land again

Chorus:

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."

1.

We walk along the Whitby Strand
Laughing, loving, holding hands
Sandy toes and tangled hair
A kiss in salty air

2.

We'll write our names when tides recede
Near lapping waves and sighing seas
Pebble pen and paper sand
Lovers making plans

Chorus:

Sea breeze and salt water
Out along the Strand
Followed by our footprints
In the sand

3.

They watch us shamelessly embrace
With wrinkled grins and sun browned face
The old ones with their knowing smiles
Remembering awhile

4.

Serenaded by the sea
We wander far and aimlessly
Time has flown, the hours go by
Beneath a seagull sky

Chorus:

Sea breeze and salt water
Out along the Strand
Followed by our footprints
In the sand

5.

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

Chorus:

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."

1.

Johnny hated daylight
How he hated day
He longed for the night to come
And take the day away

2.

Gone was his childhood
His God given right
Mother and father
Bicker and fight

Chorus:

Underneath the stars
Morning comes too soon
Walking round for hours
Beneath the moon, the gibbous moon

3.

Down the narrow lanes
He'd wander in the dark
Out where badgers shuffle
Out where foxes bark

4.

Whispers in the wind
Small voice on the breeze
There he poured his heart out
Talking to the trees

Chorus:

Underneath the stars
Morning comes too soon
Walking round for hours
Beneath the moon, the gibbous moon

Bridge:

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

5.

Away from all the fighting
Shouting and the tears
Talk of separation
Wasted married years

6.

Lies and then more lies
Acrimonious rows
Affairs and accusations
Broken wedding vows

Chorus:

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."

1.

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

2.

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"

Chorus:

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

3.

A haunted face in the window pane
A bitter wind that bears his name
And every day is just the same

4.

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"

Chorus:

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

5.

He stumbles down the street alone
To the doorway he calls his home
And a waiting bed of paving stones

6.

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"

Chorus:

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

7.

No one gives a damn or a care
Surrounded by misery, trapped by despair
He turns his eyes from those who stare

8.

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"

Chorus:

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."

1.

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

2.

The journey that was broken
Reasons I don't know
But I just couldn't stay
I had to go

Chorus:

So dance between the raindrops
But run before the storm
These words I give with all my love
To keep you safe from harm

3.

Down in disillusion
Deeper by the day
The storm that brings confusion
Made me lose my way

4.

So my heart is calling
And I am lost in tears
That I will never know
The stolen years

Chorus:

So dance between the raindrops
But run before the storm
These words I give with all my love
To keep you safe from harm

Bridge:

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

5.

Lessons learned in losing
A heavy price we pay
Love was made for bruising
It's always been that way

6.

So the days are passing
And I cannot pretend
That this broken heart
Will ever mend

Chorus:

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."

1.

Here I am
This is me
I am all
All that I can be

2.

Still the same
But changing times
Can be seen
Between the lines, in the mirror

3.

Long ago
I recall
I was young
I knew it all

4.

Not for me
This growing old
So far away
We were told, is the mirror

Chorus:

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

5.

And I know
For I am here
Looking back
Back through all the years

6.

Moving on
With measured pace
Brought me here
To this place, in the mirror

Chorus:

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

Bridge:

Joy and sorrow
Hope, despair
Friends I've made
Love I've shared
Written in the face that stares at me

7.

With these eyes
I have seen
With this mind
I have dreamed

8.

And with this heart
I will give
To this life
I have lived, in the mirror

Chorus:

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"

1.

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

2.

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

Chorus:

All that I am, is all I can be
When I find the love inside of me

Bridge:

Silent were the mountains
Bright the stars above
I bowed my head in prayer
And felt the power of love

3.

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

4.

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

Chorus:

All that I am, is all I can be
When I find the love inside of me

Bridge:

Silent were the mountains
Bright the stars above
I bowed my head in prayer
And felt the power of love

5.

Something moved within me, on that Andes night
And I will be forever, bathed in love and light

Chorus:

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."

1.

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

Chorus:

And I am just seventeen, you know, I am just seventeen

2.

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?

Chorus:

And I am just seventeen, you know, I am just seventeen

Bridge:

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

Chorus:

And I am just seventeen, you know, I am just seventeen

3.

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

Chorus:

And I am just seventeen, you know, I am just seventeen

4.

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

Chorus:

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"

1.

The wild geese are leaving
Ever South they fly
Skeined in vee formation
Through cooling autumn skies

2.

Loud in ululation
Plaintive is their cry
Follow one another
On whispered wings and sighs

Chorus:

And I have come to know what is true
The colour of autumn is blue

3.

The journey long together
Silver by her side
Through the stormy oceans
And on the ripping tide

4.

Drawn by scented rivers
To the spawning grounds
On salmon redds and gravel beds
In ecstasy they drown

Chorus:

And I have come to know what is true
The colour of autumn is blue

Bridge:

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

5.

The dying days of summer
Time for moving on
Swallows and the martins
Symphonied in song

6.

Lined abreast for leaving
Africa they're bound
And empty skies will echo
The silence of their sound

Chorus:

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."

1.

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

2.

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

Chorus:

Still the mighty branches sweep low and wide
And still a mighty heart beats deep inside

3.

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

4.

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

Chorus:

Still the mighty branches sweep low and wide
And still a mighty heart beats deep inside

5.

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

Chorus:

Still the mighty branches sweep low and wide
And still a mighty heart beats deep inside