no end

i remember democratic unionist leader Ian Paisley walked out of a meeting with Sinn Fein in 1997 and i decided to write a song that there is "no end" to the ongoing trouble in northern ireland. this encapsulates the anger of 1997, drumcree and life in northern ireland at the time. I wrote it with michael mcclelland one night, it came very easily and was probably the first song i ever penned about northern ireland. at the time it seemed like there was "no end", but there was...

written - bangor, october 1997

subject matter - ongoing troubles in northern ireland

written by - jonny scott blair and michael mcclelland

lyrics -

its hard to tell if its day or night
because everyone is kept in the dark
all around us the people are sleeping
despite what they think they know

papers only tell the truth
tv too, so what's the use?

i've looked everywhere and there is no end
the godfathers have control
i've looked all around and there is no answer
talking's no good without action
talking's no good without action

i've looked everywhere and there is no end
the godfathers have control
i've looked all around and there is no answer
talking's no good without action
talking's no good without action
smoking's no good without cancer

in this world with no heaven i'm writing the book with no end

(lyrics incomplete at present, some verses are lost)

it is now safe to return

inspired by the james bond film "the man with the golden gun", in summer 1999 i wrote this song. i was living in a small house with my parents in dundonald at the time and every week there was a james bond film on UTV. i taped them all, and took some lines or ideas maybe from "the man with the golden gun" and came up with this idea that the danger is over and we can return. i have no idea where in the film the idea came from. i only recently played the song in my bedroom for the first time in about 9 years.

written - august 1999

about - james bond the man with the golden gun

lyrics -

it is now safe to return
there are no bullets in my gun
in the sun my tears have dried
sends a shiver down my spine

it is now safe to return
defeat is mine to burn
in the rain i'm washed away
flooding out the enemy

i'm still not convinced this is the final curtain
i'll load up my gun until i know for certain
i've been down this road too many times already
so you think i'd know which way to go
so you think i'd learn which way to turn

it is now safe to return
all my innocence has gone
reputation still intact
pride forever in my heart

it is now safe to return
my freedom has been earned
windows smashed broken homes
someone else's danger zone

i'm still not convinced this is the final curtain
i'll load up my gun until i know for certain
i've been down this road too many times already
so you think i'd know which way to go
so you think i'd learn which way to turn

just a body in the road
just another pretty soul

it is now safe to return

international anthem

The idea for this lyric actually came back in 1997 while I was studying at Belvoir Tech. We had a discussion one day on separatism and the cutlural, political and economic differences between countries and people. I considered "what if everyone was the same?" and "what if there was an 'international anthem' instead of national ones?" so could live together in peace. There are things that represent every person on the planet, such as the need for food and drink to survive, the search for love and wanting to be happy. These basic human similarities were then turned into reality when I wrote the words in October 1998. Realising it basically is "an ocean wave to death", a "mindless countdown to retirement" and that through our employers we are "slaves to money then we die." So the song became an anthem for workers worldwide and maintained its global title. I still play it in my bedroom the odd time. It was while I was working at Tesco I wrote it. I hope people can relate to it. I particularly like the chorus.

written - 1998 (completed October)

lyrics -

monday morning comes too soon
and im sleeping on the moon
waiting for a lame excuse
to get up for orange juice

monday morning lasts too long
like a fool im working on
looking at my watch in shock
that its only 9 o'clock

now its friday afternoon
and ive nothing left to do
but collect my salary
i know ill spend on saturday

on the eve of a golden age im told
at the end of the rainbow theres no gold

monday mornings here again
and im nearly always late
waiting for an alibi
to defend my lack of pride

now its friday afternoon
and im sleeping on the moon
spending all my weekly wages
on things that fill a thousand pages

even in the sun defeat is cold
at the end of the rainbow theres no gold

on the eve of a golden age im told
at the end of the rainbow theres no gold

flushing range (the herald of free enterprise)

Believe it or not, but I started writing this song in 1987 and finished it in 2008. Why it took 21 years I don't know...It came about following the Zeebrugge ferry disaster in March 1987. That night I remember being glued to the BBC News and couldn't quite believe the scenes, people dying from hypothermia in freezing winter water off the coast of Belgium/Netherlands. The next day at school, Sally McKee our P3 teacher got us to do a news report on it. It really interested me, as did many tragedies during the 1980s, particularly those happening around me (Enniskillen bombing, Downpatrick UDR soldiers murder) and this one was the fault of "party time" ferry company (as far as the media and UK public were concerned) Townsend Thoresen. Ironic that the boat which capsized should be called "The Herald of Free Enterprise", when the very reason it sank was pursuit of money ahead of safety. The first line of the song was written in 1987, as was the melody. The rest came last year, when I started working on ferry boats for the first time, at Wightlink and my memory was jogged and I felt I could give this song some meaning.

I feel I've encapsulated the story of the disaster and at the same time, making a decent enough melody. I now work on the Condor Ferries Poole - Cherbourg/St. Malo/Guernsey/Jersey routes. Rest in peace all those innocent victims.

Written - in Bangor in 1987, and on Wightlink boat Cenred in 2008.

Lyrics -

The herald the herald of free enterprise
In March 87 we saw it capsize
The heavens the heavens are weighing me down
The port of Zeebrugge this unknown town

The assistant bosun didn't close the bow doors
But "we're so happy to welcome you onboard"

I want to know what's happening in the world
A flushing range of failures a disease of sloppiness

The herald the herald of free enterprise
On the wings of an angel a devil looks down
A token a token for a cheap winter break
A drop in the ocean we've money to make

The assistant bosun didn't close the bow doors
But "we're so happy to welcome you onboard"

I want to know what's happening in the world
A flushing range of failures a disease of sloppiness

Its ironic that the ships' name the herald of
Free enterprise sank because the company put
Pursuit of money ahead of passenger safety

The assistant bosun didn't close the bow doors

Acoustic sofa version, bournemouth, august 2008:

rare bite of pressure

Back in September 1997 i had somewhat of a creative burst. A lot of things were happening in my life, such as:
- I had left school behind
- I had gone on a family holiday to Florida, USA
- I had started working
- I was 17 and starting to go to pubs
- I spent 5 days a week in my capital city of Belfast
I found myself inspired by many things around me, and between September 1997 - December 1997 I wrote quite a lot of lyrics. They were all inspired by youthfulness, growing up in Northern Ireland and the contrast between my two favourite bands: the blatant optimism of oasis versus the depressing pessimism of manic street preachers. This particular lyric of mine tries to encapsulate that late teen feel, mixed with a line or two about missed a good chance to put your team 1-0 up in a football match (in a rare bite of pressure, im down on my knees again).

The more I listen to this song as I've grown older, the more I understand what I meant and the more I realise it really doesn't seem like something I should have written aged 17. I could narrow it down to every line and tell you what they each mean, you can work out your Belfast grit from a line like "cry if you're not man enough, you can smile but I'm fed up."

The strangest thing of all was that the title and song idea came from a Salt cylinder in the kitchen where I studied at Belvoir in South Belfast, it said "rarebit" on it, and while describing a football match it turned into a "rare bit of pressure." "Bite" just sounded better.

Written - Belvoir Park/The Number 13 Bus, Belfast, Northern Ireland, October 1997

Subject Matter - Everything a 17 year old thought of

lyrics -

hope lies flat on a poisoned surface
everybody's feeling nervous
find yourself a moment of peace
in a war drenched society

cry if you're not man enough
you can smile but I'm fed up

in a rare bite of pressure
i'm down on my knees again
and just for good measure
i'm forfeiting love for fame

cold feet might as well be warm feet
on paracodol sunday mornings
find yourself a minute of wealth
in a state of downward health

troubles tastes all dangerous
don't avoid the obvious

in a rare bite of pressure
i'm losing my way again
my infinite pleasure
is closing its door again

in a rare bite of pressure
i'm down on my knees again
despite all my effort
looks kill in the face again

danger tastes all troublesome
fortune is a contagion

i want to do better but this rare bite of pressure is begging to differ

Acoustic version, bournemouth, 21st may 2009 -

out of love

I wrote this lyric back in 2001 for a good friend of mine at the time, who had just split up with his girlfriend. I felt for him, as I knew he had spent a lot of time and effort on this girl, yet it was all in vain as he was now "out of love." I played it to him once, just after the break up. As life takes us in different ways, I sadly have only seen him twice in the last 6 years, however one of these was in the Errigle Inn in Belfast for his 30th birthday. Bob, its for you...

Written - Late 2001

Lyrics -

You've fallen down a waterfall
I don't know what you dream
You make me laugh you make me cry
Someone else might scream

You poured your heart out to a girl who couldn't fill your heart
You took her to the end of time; she left you at the start

You've fallen in and out of love
Too much was not enough

I bet it broke your heart my friend
I bet it cut you deep
You spent your awake on someone else's sleep

You stalled your dreams all for this girl who couldn't fulfill your dreams
You took her to the end of time; she left you at the start

You've fallen in and out of love
Too much was not enough

You spent your lifetime
You were someone else's lifeline
You spent time that wasn't yours
On time forever hers

And in
And out of love
And in
And out of love
Too much was not enough

You've fallen down a waterfall
I don't know what you dream

you have your life (warszawa skies)

this is a lyric and song that i wrote in 2007 during my second visit to the polish capital of warszawa. i went to the top of the palace of culture and science and i wanted to encapsulate the fact that the stalin empire and communism was once the life here, and now the people "have their life back" is a sort of post communist way. the song for me is also a way of thanking my polish friends rafal, artur, piotr o and piotr p for their hospitality during this visit to poland.

written - the lolek bar, warszawa, august 2007

written by - jonny scott blair and rafal kowalczyk

collection - northern range (track 1)

about - warszawa, the palace of culture and science, the people there, the fall of communism and the happy go lucky spirit evident for all to see

lyrics -

yesterday i was a dog for a girl
waking up in a different world
showing them the best of you
showing them the worst of you

warsaw skies they wont rain on you
warsaw skies they wont rain on you

yesterday's african party
up on stage; false celebrity
showing them the best of you
showing them the worst of you

warsaw skies they wont rain on you
warsaw skies they wont rain on you

this your present from stalin's reign
and you have your life again
and your passion speaks a world to me
and your passion speaks a world of you

warsaw skies they wont rain on you
warsaw skies didnt rain on me

looking out for the lolek bar
a foreign dream can it stretch this far
and you bow to the friends youve made
and you bow to the friends youve made

warsaw skies they wont rain on you
warsaw skies they wont rain on you

acoustic version, bangor, northern ireland, september 2007:

a lyric a day

hi all, i'm jonny scott blair. welcome to my new blog. i have been writing lyrics, poems and songs for as long as i can remember. i have turned a lot of these into guitar based songs. on this new blog i plan to release a lyric a day from now on. these lyrics could be:
- a short poem
- a song i've recorded
- a song i've wrote
- a short lyric
- an idea
- a story
it is basically a creative blog from my mind.

it is 100% copyright jonny scott blair 1980 - 2009.

the lyrics are all mine as are the songs. i have creativity i want to get out of me. so have a read or a listen.

i cannot play guitar or sing well, it is the idea, the lyric and the creativity that counts for me.

anything and everything inspires me from meeting a new person, reading a book, buying a bar of chocolate or washing my hands. we can get happiness and inspiration from the simplest actions sometimes.

ENJOY and leave me a comment please...