out of focus

written -

lyrics -

you need to clear your head
you don't know what you need
you need to change your friends
cos they're your enemies

you don't know where to start
you don't know when to stop
you've been sending letters cos your voice is not enough

but you're only here on earth once
you might as well live it up
from the womb to the tomb
live everyday like the last

you don't care whats ahead
you cling to whats behind
you've been in the background
out of focus all along

you tried to tell the truth
it all came out as lies
you've broken every rule
you're changing your disguise

but you're only given one chance
you might as well live it up
from the cot until you rot
don't let the moments pass

WTC site

whilst touring new york in 2007, i visited the gruesome spot of 9.11, the twin towers, ground zero, the world trade centre, WTC site. it was a very sombre sad moving experience indeed. i put pen to paper almost immediately. you dont need me to tell you what the song is about.

written - 12.07.2007

about - 11.09.2001

lyrics -

what slow kamikaze in a fire to burn us out?
you see the empire state so silent
all your staten island lost was a crowd so open armed
you saw the empire state building

so your central park so green you cant recycle
if only 5th avenue was 5th
and this rockafeller has rocked so out of time
your subways are numbers, so you can count

all the bodies in this world you've never found
out why there's no need to even try
park place sunday wtc site

this smell reminds us in everyday we lose
you crossed the brooklyn bridge
and this museum you think its rotterdam anywhere
all you can drink tonight

your circle line is a boat and no way from a to b
your city always asleep
we photograph French statues you claim to be your own
so green i'm northern irish jade with envy

all the trains to grand central are never full
up to my eyes in baseball or
world trade centre wtc site
and i walk away wtc site

stepping stones to canada

i wrote this song in 2001 on my first trip to canada, but in fact the idea behind the song is one of the earliest memories in life i have. that is because when i was a child, i once had a dream where i walked on stepping stones to canada, from northern ireland. in reality there is no way that it can be done, as there are no stepping stones across the atlantic ocean, but i still love the idea, a dream like wisdom where it can be possible. just imagine it - walking on stepping stones to canada. then in 2001 i actually went to canada and was quite amazed by the three places i'd visited - toronto, niagara and winnipeg. walking through canada, the song came instantly and i was surprised that it totally turned out the way i wanted.

written - 2001

idea formed - 1984 ish

what its about - walking all the way to canada on stepping stones

lyrics -

you might not believe me
every photo shows my face
the first volcanic iceberg
the last developed state

on a bridge half underwater
on a sky bound submarine

i may have been dreaming
but i know i walked on stepping stones to canada

this place is amazing
every image is for real
another photo for my memory
another smile in my year

walking late downtown toronto
in the night club marathon

my eyes don't deceive me
because i know i walked on stepping stones to canada

god's sky above me
almost makes me feel at home
belfast's hidden beauty
shadowed on toronto's wall

walking late night time niagara
in the night club marathon

you might not believe me
but i know i walked on stepping stones to canada

higher

this song is one of my favourites. i wrote it in 2004 in bournemouth just on the way to my job working by the beach, with the sun beating down and my thoughts of a fun free world, this song came instantly and worked its way into my head. i changed the title a lot, even called it "bournemouth song" and "sun beats" before realising the song itself takes us higher...

written - summer 2004

where - bournemouth

on collection - only me (2004) and twenty five yer havin a laugh (2005)

lyrics -

SUN beats down DOWN down on me
every THOUSAND miles i go
love love LOVE don't come for FREE
that's ALL you'll need to know

rain BEATS down down down on ME
every THOUSAND miles i go
guns guns GUNS come shoot him down
pretty GRAVES all in a row

these days take me higher higher her higher her her
higher in the sun
higher in the rain
higher in the fun
higher in the pain

rain beats DOWN down down on me
every thousand MILES i go
world WORLD world sleeps peacefully
waiting for a wind to BLOW

time ticks TICKS ticks by so fast
every thousand miles i GO
memories won't EVER last
that's all you need to know

these days take me higher higher her higher her her
higher in the sun
higher in the rain
higher in the fun
higher in the pain

nothing's falling apart

this song is a negative for sure, something when everything goes wrong in life and you have to convince yourself that its not your fault and really....nothing is falling apart.

written - 2001 ish

about - title suggests

lyrics -

defeat is catching up on me
i feel i've lost the drive of youth
my ups are equalled by my downs
my lies dont ever hide the truth

the days are leaving me behind
there are no hills left to climb

nothing's falling apart
something's bound to go wrong
every candle I light ends up going out
every sky I see falls down on me

again i'm stripped of all belief
and almost dragged into defeat
my lows are equalled by my highs
my truth dont ever hide my lies

the keys are opening no doors
there are no rules any more

nothing's falling apart
something's bound to go wrong
every candle I light ends up going out
every sky I see falls down on me

nothing's falling apart
something's bound to go wrong
every candle I light ends up going out
every sky I see falls down on me

gunned down

written - 2004

about - fascism

lyrics -

even in my calmest state i'm more fascist than you
it matters where you come from
it doesn't matter what you do

i've seen it all - my water tap stopped running
dividing walls - we never know what's coming

gunned down without a fight
the men to put it right gunned down
politics is just a loaded rifle
these days a vote is basically a bullet

every ring of my telephone i'm a wanted man
you never lock your door at night
you never feel at home

my street's on fire - every councillor has asked for peace
smoke fills the air - innocent I never claimed to be

gunned down in broad daylight
the images of fright gunned down
parties are armed units
these days a speech prepares a murder

mussolini hyphonated
that horthy so cleverly created
this ultra ruling
your apricot thatcher wished she knew more fruit

guns guns guns it prepares a murder

she didn't waken early enough to catch the morning sun

written - november 2005

original title - cant have you/untitled

lyrics -

she didnt waken early enough
to catch the morning sun
her fates diverted her to me
these days we're dreaming of

i think i found my soul in her
in days that passed me by
my eyes bore slowly into her
her heart so clearly mine

and i'll hold your hand forever
in suns that never fade
if i could have you

she left her heart in camden town
awareness unaware
the forlorn sounds on promenades
an echo to declare

i know i lost my soul to her
in days from me she stole
our ways so naturally divide
her heart was never mine

and she's in my mind forever
when every effort fails
and i cant have you

she didnt waken early enough to catch the morning sun

far from losing you

this song i found again recently, i wrote it about my Mum and the time i spent away from her. we always worry of losing someone close to us and this was a fear. that was 5 years agao and for the first time i've re-assessed the lyrics and i can't quite fathom them. it was written in bournemouth in 2004, for a compilation called "room card only."

written - 4th july 2004

compilation - room card only (track 3)

about - mum, muriel blair scottne

lyrics -

a cold breeze of god's air
has left me unaware
the more i spend away
i never count the days
on every street i walk
i'm sinking in the lough
though my dreams may be impressive
i admit they're all so selfish

but now i realise
i didn't have a clue
and i'm praying i'm far from losing you

i should have seen it coming
why was i clock watching?
whenever my phone rings
it could be anything?
each knock on my door
i hope's a salesman
it was you who brought me up
only your tea fills my cup

i should have known
its not all good news
that's why i hope i'm far from losing you

i'm far from losing you
so don't go away

ghost town

written walking home in the cold from a night club in bangor, northern ireland, year 2000. everywhere was iced up and so dead. in fact there was no sign of life...i only found out later there was already a song called ghost town by the specials.

written - winter 2000

lyrics -

each cloud that lands on my shoulder
sure scares the hell out of me
each day i'm not getting older
it sure scares the hell out of me

footsteps in the dark
surround an empty heart
shadows fall
upon a hidden wall
nobody waits around in search of the ghost town

each sky is dark and unfriendly
it sure scares the shit out of me
each ghost endeavours to find me
it sure scares the hell out of me

lamposts in the wind
defend a devil from within
noises fade
until the silence waits
nobody hangs around in search of the ghost town

game over

written - 8/7/2004

in - bournemouth, dorset

collection - room card only (track 1)

subject matter - can be about love, defeat, the end of something, a football match or a cheesecake, favourite line is "when grown men are forced to cry, you know that its game over..."

lyrics -

the dream has gone
the spirits died
gaze lonely at the sky
don't spare a thought
for those who ought
to give a reason why

you didn't think it would end so soon
you weren't really watching
when you see the stars fading away
you know that its game over

this lifes too short
the lists too long
you never get things done
walking home through the rain
you know you'll find the sun

you should've stopped to say goodbye
the moments passed away
when grown men are forced to cry
you know that its game over

you didn't bid your fond farewells
emotioned to your brim
amidst the drama of defeat
you almost missed game over

its like you lost a lifelong friend
each era's curtain falls
you didn't need to read the news
to find out its game over

demonheaded

written - 2004

lyrics -

nobody knows me and the pain i'm going through
days have passed me by without a smile
even though i've tried to explain my world to you
i chose to build my house on stoney ground

i look away into a faded sunset
all alone like a garden knome
i step across a barricaded culture
educated demon headed

spanish towns

In 2003 my parents and my kid brother booked a holiday to spain, a place called st. miguel on the spanish east coast fairly close to alicante. i decided to join them and took 5 days off work and booked flights. on the last day, they got an early flight and i had a day to kill. i spent the entire day as a lonely tourist in alicante, where i wandered the streets and looked out of place. i had already sweated myself out on the trip walking through la zenia, valencia and various other random spanish towns. i got chatting to ladies in alicante none of whom spoke very good english, although the song in the end was inspired by florencia, an argentinian working in a city centre bar in alicante. as mtv played a video for oasis song "don't go away" i put pen to paper and wrote "spanish towns"


written - august 2003

about - valencia, alicante and any spanish town or city really

lyrics -

i've had too many dreams today
that i can't get to sleep
in spanish towns i don't belong
i look so out of place

i had too much to drink today
it didn't go to waste
in spanish towns i'm losing all
my northern irish taste

in the sun i have been drinking
in the bars i have been thinking
all these spanish towns remind me of the war

i think i caught the sun today
the sweat was dripping down
i'm the outcast you don't meet
in every spanish town

i almost missed the bus today
i couldn't read the signs
my sense of humour less aware
of sense in spanish towns

through the streets i have been walking
to the locals i was talking
all these spanish towns look lonely as they are

in the bars i have been drinking
all the beers i have been sinking
all the spanish girls are smitten by my charm

i had too much to drink today
i had too much to drink
my ulster heart was wide awake
in spanish towns i think

in the sun i had been drinking
in the bars i had been thinking
all the spanish towns remind me of the war

i know the people

written - 28.03.2004

collection - only me (track 4)

lyrics -

can't see beyond the twilight
can't hear above the skylight
can't look around the moonlight's blinded me

can't seem to find the problem
can't laugh till i can't cry
can't feel myself explode - a bombed human

i don't recognise this place
each vision seems so false
i only know the people
i don't know what i've forgot

won't reach beyond the starlight
won't sink beneath the sea bed
won't find myself amongst the crimson skies

won't watch the sun go downward
won't catch the moon lit sky
won't care for global warming - greenhouse doubt

i've climbed into another world
it never feels the same
i think i know the people
i'm the image of repeat

i think i know the people
i'm the image of repeat
i'm the image of repeat

new jersey girls

As far as i recall this was the first time ever I put lyrics to music, and that was in late summer 1996. I only ever started to learn the guitar in 1996, my Dad always had one, but until Oasis came along, I was never compelled to pick it up and blast out a few tunes. So, "New Jersey Girls" is really my first ever song, and i still love it, because of the memory, the time, how easy it was to write and how basic it is. The song itself came about on a family holiday to Florida, USA in July 1996. It was my first ever time out of Europe, and although I had just turned 16, I still felt very young. While walking through Walt Disney World on my own one day, I joined a queue for something in one of the rides, soon my siste Cathy had joined me in the queue, and behind me were two very attractive girls. They looked about my age, one of them asked me something and that was it, I was talking away to them as the queue went down. I don't remember either of their names, but remember that both were so beautiful with gorgeous voices. As the queue went down they asked who I was with (except Cathy) and where I was from. I was with my family, but they had gone somewhere else with kid brother Daniel and when I said "Northern Ireland" they asked in total US accents "wow man, where is that?". Soon we had stopped talking, joined a ride separately and said our goodbyes. Cathy might remember the conversation actually.

But then on a stroke of fate, later I was enjoying an ice cream and I met them both again...these days I'd have asked for a drink, a date, a phone number, probably add as friend on facebook. Back then, that was it though. My two lovely New Jersey Girls had come and gone into the night. Of course I never saw them again, but I wrote this song that night in the hotel room. If you're out there, my two New Jersey Girls...this one's for you!

written - florida, usa, july 1996 (guitar added august 1996)

about - two beautiful new jersey girls

lyrics -

i don't see them anymore
and as the days go on
i think of my new jersey girls
and where have they gone

i've seen them twice but never since
where are my new jersey girls?
i need your comfort now

where are my new jersey girls?
where are my new jersey girls?
where are my new jersey girls?
i need your comfort now

i only have my memories
and as the days go by
i long for my new jersey girls
to fall from the sky

i hear them laugh
i see them smile
where are my new jersey girls?
i'm running out of time

where are my new jersey girls?
where are my new jersey girls?
where are my new jersey girls?
i need your comfort now

i would search the world
for my new jersey girls

new jersey girls come back to me

londonderry air

i owe this song to an old mate called chris ragg. chris used to live in londonderry, and i often visited him there, mainly in the year 2000. i spent some time on my own on days when chris was at work. during this time i scanned the walls and streets on both sides and enjoyed the place. it is northern ireland's second biggest city, both in size and population. it has a very interesting past and has sadly been caught up in the problems between protestants and catholics, but i wanted to portray a positive image, and i hope i achieved this. the song itself wasn't even meant to be typical of northern ireland, more a universal song on seeing and experiencing a new city and enjoying its vibrancy. i like the lines "the smiles on people's faces is a welcome sight" and "you might look like a stranger but you're not in danger."


written - march 2000

about - londonderry, northern ireland's second biggest city

lyrics -

no sky falls on me
as far as i can see
all roads seem to lead to prosperity

the bridge links the past
to the present at last
the smiles on people's faces is a welcome sight

and you might look like a stranger
but you're not in danger
walking through the fair londonderry air

all roads lead me home
an overturned traffic cone
all that's left of a terrorist war zone

and the river helps me
send myself to sleep
upon these walls they built a past unique

and you might feel you're an outcast
cos you're not in belfast
walking through the fair londonderry air

the smiles on people's faces is a welcome sight

and you might look like a stranger
but you're not in danger
walking through the fair londonderry air

acoustic version, june 2009:

everybody's army

this lyric was written in 2003 - 2004 and is about all the wars and useless fights in the world, when in reality we should all be sticking together as one on this planet and enjoying life. i could easily have called the song "nobody's war" as well.

written - 2003/2004

collection - only me (track 1)

lyrics -

too many people know me
i don't know who they are
the enemies so friendly
they'd never start the war

the rain just passes through me
i guess my soul is cleansed
the barricades before me
divide me from the rest

but everybody's army will fight nobody's war
don't be piggy in the middle
don't state what class you are

the world must have an ending
don't know where to begin
the message i'm not sending
looks like none of us will win

i thought you understood me
our tragedies comic
in time you will discover
our comedies tragic

but everybody's victory is someone else's end
don't enjoy the journey
don't never shake their hand

everybody's violence caused everybody's peace
don't pretend your war less
never lose your friends or choose your enemies

everybody's army will fight nobody's war
if you can't defend your birthright
you don't know who you are

if you can't defend your birthright
you don't know who you are

when the world stops

written - 12.04.2005

collection - twenty five your havin a laff (track 1)

lyrics -

we're getting old but most of us don't want to
we're always told the world won't spin around you
we're second best but some of us are selfish
we're scared of death because life is just too precious

walking through the years of you
i shed 5 million tears for you but i won't wait for you
when the world stops
so don't wait for me
when the world stops

we're rock'n'roll guitars replaced my girlfriend
we're lonely souls drenched in self importance
we're full of life as if each day's a funeral
the crimson sky bleeds out the pain of losing

standing at the edge of time
i dreamed i own this world of mine but i'm not prepared to wait for you
when the world stops
so don't wait for me
when the world stops

(over) crowded london

i had been to london manys a time in life, and although i enjoy the general life and hussle and bustle of it, i often hate its lack of culture, identity and totally over crowdedness. in 2006 i finally moved to london, where i lived in shepherd's bush for a while, and worked in hammersmith for a pr agency, bite communications. this was when i saw the busy-ness of it, day in and day out and wrote the song/lyric "(over) crowded london". in this lyric, i hoped to capture the various spots of london where i visited and spent my days as well as people's business and the fact that on the tube/london underground, nobody talks to each other. the city has no real appeal in many aspects, and is in fact totally over crowded, for the only reason being there are lots of jobs there so people want to live there. see this as a guided tour of the uk's capital city...


written - 2006

collection - charing cross (track 1)

subject - as title suggests

lyrics -

people far and wide decide how much i pay for butter
walking through the underground these people know its winter
the man at the barrier could be a rock n roll star
people are too busy to pay each other compliments

we're not at the olympics bjt everybody's running
my aeroplane's in clouds above over crowded london

countries unapparent just a maze of pretty people
shopping at oxford street just to be fashionable
snow at monument station so white i'm invisible
i clutch a coffee which i bought at lesiz q

the man reading the tube map can't pretend he's cultured
the union flag will always fly over crowded london

democracy has brought this town a city drug
collected thoughts at charing cross too personal to say
this tower was built before all england changed
trafys q a fitting sign that everything remains

this lady wouldn't know a pub if tj bernard hit her
another glimpse of innocence over crowded london

posing for a photo i'm a false celebrity
the sky so dark at regent's park the blackness is obscene
a bus can take you anywhere i pay a man for busking
at covent garden i couldn't find the garden

i stand out from the crowd because i stand out from the crowd
but no-one stops to notice me
over crowded london

where's the hall at whitehall? no queen at queensway
i should have bought an all day travelcard
the man wears blue for millwall the surrey quay's unlocked
somehow those who work here wouldn't want to live here

i had some egg and bacon at piccadilly station
this town should really call itself over crowded london

i notice the central line doesn't go to centre
at custom house they never checked my passport
half the underground is actually overground
at oxford circus i couldn't find the circus

i stand out from the crowd because i stand out from the crowd
but no-one stops to notice me
over crowded london

** please note that the northern line ironically goes the most south. that city confuses the hell out of me.

ACOUSTIC VERSION, Bangor, Northern Ireland, September 2007:


ACOUSTIC PART VERSION, Wood Lane, London, England, August 2006:


ACOUSTIC EARLY VERSION, Bournemouth, England, March 2006:

my feet don't touch the ground

in the year 2000, i wrote this song about being in love, even though i had never been in love at the time (and in fact it was only during 2009 that i finally fell in love). the song is about a person who goes un-noticed because of love. nothing else is important in life any more because that person has love. hence the lines where they dont need an umbrella in the rain and being camouflage in every background. this is one of my personal favourites.

written - 2000

subject - being in love

lyrics -

drugs are not on my diet
without sleep i'm dayless
defeat is closer than victory
i pretend to enjoy your company

but i'm camouflage in every background
when i stop loving you my feet don't touch the ground
du da du da du
oooh du da du da du

my calendar is empty
same goes for my diary
i press balance enquiry
the cash machine ignores me

at posh awards i'm teetotal
the end is never close
my feet don't touch the ground
du da du da du
oooh du da du da du

in desert suns i've no shadow
in rain - no umbrella
in snow - no duffelcoat
my feet don't touch the ground


but i'm camouflage in every background
when i stop loving you my feet don't touch the ground
du da du da du
oooh du da du da du

for sleeping dogs

this song came from an "only fools and horses" episode i watched, called "sleeping dogs lie." the song is about feeling its the end of something.

lyrics -

i find myself staring at the clouds
in average health and full of pride
i wrote this song for sleeping dogs

i'm singing this song like this is the end
it's all because i've no dreams left
i'm singing this song like this is the end
might as well be

i buy a drink to quench my thirst
each sip is worth a journey home
i wrote this one for sleeping dogs

i'm singing this song like this is the end
it's all because i've no dreams left
i'm singing this song like this is the end
might as well be