1. |
KK
02:24
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KK
Am Em Am
Leave this sorry cafe
Em F Am
Flat white freezing in its cup
G Am
Where May is like December
B7 C#m G#m
Coats are drawn, the wind getting up
Eb E B7
Board a coach to the airport
A B
The Singapore flight leaves at ten
C G Am Em
This time tomorrow I'll be in Changi
F9 C G F G
En route to Kuching and then:
Sarawak to Sabah gazing out
On the China Sea, jungle and Sungai
Meandering like my fickle mind
with memories of Miri, Labuan and Brunei
All I want is a rumah on the beach
With wonton mee and Tiger beer
Afternoon thunder, cicadas and stray dogs
Chinese, Malay, far away from here
TJD
9/5/23
sungai: river
rumah: house
mee: noodles
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2. |
Combe Gibbet
02:43
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Combe Gibbet
Em Am Dm G
George Broomham and his lover Dorothy
Am Em F
Swaying high on the bare Ridgeway
Em Am Dm G
Hung for killing Martha and Robert
F G Am
Caught in the act on the Downs one day
Bb C Am Dm
Seen from the bushes by old Mad Thomas
Eb Bb Dm
Sentenced to death in '97
Bb C Am Dm
Gibbetted as a harsh warning to others
Bb C D7
That murder never leads to heaven
Now sheep graze in this lonely place
There's a plaque for paras trained in the war
Down the hill the remains of a Long Barrow
Kites and buzzards scouring the chalky floor
Five years back I walked from Faccombe to here
Then on to Buttermere and Sugglestone Down
Threatened by bulls on a hot June afternoon
Welcomed back by a distant church bells sound
G Em Am D
I was alone and afraid on that stark stone track
Dm C Dm
As though George and Dorothy were on my tail
Eb Bb F Cm
And Martha and Robert were begging me to save them
Bb C D7
And Thomas watching me all along the trail
TJD
5/4/2023
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3. |
Just The Fact
03:55
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Just The Fact
B A
Life is good
E F#m
Nothing to be sad about
Bm A C#7
But part of me says it's not enough
D E A Bm C#m F#m C#m
These the things that would make it perfect:
D F#m A B
Just the fact of being in Asia
C#7
Alone, dripping under a hot sun;
A C#m A C#m
Just the fact of a glass of red wine
Eb E B
waking, unable to recall what I had done;
Amaj7 D Amaj7
Just the fact of living in a cottage
C Bm Gm C
With noises at night making me wake with dread;
D Am
Just the fact of a cat to love me
C#7
Who'd kill baby animals, leave them on my bed.
B A E F#m
And maybe I should set the bar lower
Bm A C#7
Know there's no escape from this dreary dive
Gm Cm Gm G#
Watch fresh blossom fall like snowflakes
Cm Eb Dm7 G
Accept just the fact of being alive
TJD
15/5/23
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4. |
The Close
02:19
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The Close
Em Am Em Am
The breeze has an edge
Em Am Em Am
On this late May Monday
Dm Am G F
The cath strikes six, trees whisper
Bb F Am G
pigeons choo, a jogger huffs his way
C G F Em
Fragments of talking, some wise some inane
F G E7
The mighty stone like me listens not
F G Bb Am
content to watch the crescent moon
Dm Am Dm Am
smile at dogs and sun-touched rooftops
Sometimes, for an instant, all falls to silence,
the gabbling women stop to check their phones
There is no traffic, the wind draws its breath
St Swithun bids his brethren: 'Go home'
But noone obeys. the kestrels cry 'Stay!'
More chattering echoes, a gust chills my toes
Six Thirty sounds, a jet passes high above
Another day comes, another day goes.
TJD
29/5/23
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5. |
My Week
02:48
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My Week
Em D G Am
Nine months yearning for heat
Em G Am Em
To be back on the Tanjung shore
D C G Am
But three days in the city's swelter
Bm Am G Am
Have me begging for cold once more
x0760x x0540x
I tried to get to Compton Lock
F#m D Em
But scared heffers blocked my track
F#m Bm
'Knee-deep in the salt marsh'
A C#7
Squelching in flip-flops, no way back
My decking's like a storm-wrecked raft
Fencing like splintered masts
Pigeons have shat in the bird bath
Weeds become masters at last
We stagger along like scarecrows
hatted with straw-filled pins
lurch from one flat white to another
minds like strainers of rusty tin
TJD
14/6/23
'Knee-deep in the salt marsh' is from T.S. Eliot's Gerontion.
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6. |
Car Boot
02:43
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Car Boot
A E D A
Up at eight, drive to the Lido
A G F#m
Walk to the old cattle market
A E D A
First stop at Mitch's burger van
D A F#m E
Hot dog, bacon roll, a mug of tea with it
Bm A E
Sit with Tink, chat to his old crowd
D A F#m D
George with his bible is fast asleep
F#m Bm
A shy old pensioner from Hinton Ampner
A C#7
Dodgy Dave has baccy going cheap
I'm looking for Ming, Faberge and Vermeer
but would settle for a cricket bat and cheap perfume
If I buy more crockery I'll get into trouble
I can get gee-gaws to hide in my room
Tables present sets of worn-out tools
Souvenirs from cold northern beach resorts
LP's from bands like Showaddywaddy
Coffee-makers, footbaths, regretted when bought
Bbmaj7/A A
Most of the junk will end up back here
F#m Bm
After sitting in a drawer for another decade
Bbmaj7 C Dm
But they'll bring a sliver of joy for a day
Gm C Dm
Battered they survive while their owners fade
TJD
2/7/23
Bbmaj7/A: x0323x
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7. |
Watercress Line
02:16
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Watercress Line
C G Dm
I wish I was here in '55
Dm Am
When trains chuffed by every hour
C G
And we were free, glad to be alive
Dm Am
And you could smoke in the restaurant car
Bb C Dm
Yes I remember Ropley
Dm Am Dm Am
Scrap-saved engines loved by buffs
Bb
A sunny afternoon in late July
F Am D
Old men and children, the huff and puff
Early Autumn winds shake the chestnut trees
But it's the only sound once the line is clear
The cafe sells hot food and strong English tea
I can sit wishing I never have to leave here
40's posters promote the boat train
to Calais, places so far away
But it's in the Itchen valley I'll remain
F Am F Am D
Sitting here dreaming on a perfect summer's day
TJD
29/7/23
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8. |
July 18th
04:04
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July 18
Bm F#m
I woke in terror
D A D F#m G A
Bitter to have to face the welcome sun
F#m Bm D Em
Limped to the Cathedral Eucharist
C G Em A
Prayed for myself and memory of Jane Austen
C#m Bm
The reading was from Corinthians
A F#m Bm
'The greatest of these is Love'
C#m D
But I saw through the glass darkly
F#m A D E
Knew words would never be enough
But my accountant rescued me
Assured me things would be alright
An Angel sent by my Higher Power
To infuse me with his healing light
I cycled to the swimming pool
unphased when the gears fell off my bike
Wallowed and foundered like a buffalo
skipped home feeling as fit as a pike
Ate Mama noodles, brie and crackers
drank cocnut water and Naaafi tea
Spent an hour on my bed with chequered dreams
My fairy chimes woke to comfort me
Marched up old St Giles' Hill
Steep as Cendana but without macaques
Marvelled at Knapweed and Dog's Mercury
Exhausted but glad to be there and back
A F#m
I felt like seven days had been rolled into one
D C#m Bm
Days of misery, redeemed, brought full circle
D A F#m G
The story of my life like a Russian novel
D A C#7
Beginning with Kafka, ending with Gogol
TJD 19/7/23
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9. |
Cowes Haikus
04:56
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Cowes Haikus
"Grape and Grain Tour" waits
Old couples don't like to be
called alcoholics
Solings glide past us
Straining to make Egypt Point
Eager for their tea
Rosetta Cottage
Randolph wooed his Jennie here
Was his life Solent?
Red Jet whisks us home
after our stiff legs give up
A poor seagull dies
Pass Regal Princess
New Yorkers want to visit
Home of Titanic
TJD
20/5/23
1. x0765x x0760x, c#m7 x0355x x2x002 Asus4 A
2. x0444x x0455x xx0333 D C Am D Am
3.C G Dm7 F, C G F, Bb C Dm
4. Em D Em, F#m Bm C#7
5. Bb, F, F Bb F Bb
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10. |
September 2023 Haikus
04:57
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September 2023
Goliath sleeps now
Warm breeze breaks soft silence
Waiting chuff of steam
Blackberries soft now
Beseech hikers to pick them
One last sweet crumble
The cafe is closed
No volunteers here to help
They'd rather drive trains
Swallows fly past South
August gone, they seek the sun
Please take me with you
My painting is crap
I have no patience to draw
Sloppy is my style
TJD 2/9/23
Passers-By
Some look happy, but most do not
Sad, grumpy and purposeful
Overweight and confused, often with a dog
Tattoos, bikes, rucksacks, youths with agendas
Old men stagger behind angular wives
Some demented, mostly unappreciated
Only the Asians have their lives in order
The English cling on to the sad deception
they are in control, are prosperous and free
As if bubble tea is some kind of luxury
And mobility scooters can travel the world
Pets try to bring comfort
But howl like abandoned babies behind Iceland
I feel like joining in, us poor things
TJD 19/8/23
1. x0321x x3x010 3xx000 x0x210, 3xx003 Dm7 C G, Am D G x32003
2. G D F/D G/D F/D, Am F Am
3. Am E7 Am E7 Am Dm7 Am E7, F C Am E7 Am E7
4. Am G/A Am Am D/A Am G F Am
5. G G/F# Em Am, G D G, G G/F# Em D C D
6. Am Dm7 Em7 Dm7 Am7
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Toby Darling Penang, Malaysia
Amateur enthusiast.
Feel free to do anything you want with these tracks, I am not interested in making money from music.
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