Love & Madness


Love Song (Part 1).
Old Sod Sam Sits In Old Joe’s Chair.
Flee With Me (Be My Baby).  Gillian Thrilling-lyrics & vocals, Bill Ding-drums
The Shrink.
Mad Jack. Gillian Thrilling-vocals 
One Thing I Know. Gillian Thrilling-clarinet 
I Hope Everything’s All Right.   Gillian Thrilling-vocals
Sun Goin’ Down. Written by Son House
Love Song (Part 2). Gillian Thrilling-lyrics & vocals 
Bert’s Brainstorm.
click to access mp3s for download


 
 

I still had a few old songs left over that didn’t fit the theme of Horror Stories, which were either about love or madness.
All tracks recorded on a porta studio at High Hurstwood except “One Thing I Know” which was recorded at the flat in Broad Oak.
 Instruments used: guitar, bass, percussion, chair, chimes, plastic sheet, water tank.

Love Song
Gillian Thrilling – vocals on part 2.
This was a piece I’d been playing for a while. I performed it at the Jack Cade once, along with a free form guitar piece. I added lead, bass and percussion for part 1; and Gilly came up with the words for part 2.

Old Sod Sam Sits In Old Joe’s Chair
 This is an amalgamation of two old songs: Old Sod Sam, co-written with Dennis Martian, and originally performed by the Whaling Snails; and Old Joe’s Chair, co-written with Zark Starfish, and originally performed by the Mustard Mitts.

Old Sod Sam Sits In Old Joe’s Chair.
The sun was shining The chair was creaking.
Sam sipped coffee and listened to the unlucky insects
With eleven legs going clickety-click in a bingo linguistic cacophony.

Sam slept, and dreamt he was glowing in deep down, dark
Holes of warmth that pulsate with a sexual intensity.

Chair broke, Sam woke feeling quite weird.
As he looked around him everything disappeared.
Where’s Sam? Where’s Joe?
Don’t ask me, I don’t know.

Flee With Me (Be My Baby)
 With Gillian Thrilling – vocals, and Bill Ding – drums.
Originally performed by the Differents.
Another of Gilly’s student poems, except for the be my baby bit. I love the extended coda at the end.

Flee with me, far from this ugly life.
Shake off the ties that bind us, baby.
Hide away from all that blocks your path,
Let the undergrowth ring with your laughter.
You’ll never break those chains alone,
I have come to take you home,
Come my gypsy, flee with me.

Come on baby now be my baby,
Come on baby now be my baby,
Come on baby now be my baby,
Come on baby, be my baby now.

Let me take you down to the river
And greet the ferryman without a shiver.
Smiling as we ride the waves
Out of this endless maze, flee with me.
The tangled reeds will all come clear
There’ll be nothing left to fear
Cast off all your earthly cares.

Come on baby now be my baby,
Come on baby now be my baby,
Come on baby now be my baby,
Come on baby, be my baby now.

Let me see the twinkle in your eyes,
Your mouth free from worldly lies.
Dance for me with unshod feet
Our union complete, now we can fly.
We’ll fly as high as eagles dare
And build castles in the air
Come my gypsy, flee with me.

Come on baby now be my baby,
Come on baby now be my baby,
Come on baby now be my baby,
Come on baby, be my baby now.

Darling I love you. Darling I love you.
How do I love you? More than I could do.
You always said there were strong walls
But now you see those walls have gone.

The Shrink
Download MP3
 Started with an improvised bass line. This was the first time I’d tried this style properly – improvising on one instrument then try to fit the other instruments to it, while still keeping it fairly free. I’m quite pleased with the effect it achieves.

Mad Jack
 Gillian Thrilling – vocals.
This was a dream I had.

Mad jack was a strange old man, lived in the town of Netherham.
No one knows what he did, ‘cept make faces n’ scare the kids.
When Jack went to sleep, he cuddled up to a sheep.
The people wanted to put him away, ‘cos he used to always say:

I curse this town. I curse the lot o’ yers. I curse this whole town.
Curse me?  I curse the lot o’ yers.

Jack went for a walk one day, to a village a few miles away.
While he was gone they hatched a plan to get rid of this crazy man.
They took his sheep n’ cut its throat, n’ by its body they left a note.
“I killed her in a knife attack” was what they wrote, and signed it  ”Jack”.
Jack returned after some time, and stood accused of perpetrating a crime
He didn’t commit, ‘cos he wasn’t there; but the people, they just didn’t care.
They just wanted him out of the way so they would nevermore hear him say:

I curse this town. I curse the lot o’ yers. I curse this whole town.
Curse me?  I curse the lot o’ yers.

They called the guards and put him in jail, and refused to even give him bail.
They convened a court, and made him stand with chains and shackles on his hands.
The mob was baying for his blood n’ the charge was read out by the judge:
“You are hereby charged with killing a sheep, which we believe you used to keep.
Before we take you away, have you anything to say?”

I curse this town. I curse the lot o’ yers. I curse this whole town.
Curse me?  I curse the lot o’ yers.

One brave man among the throng knew that this was all wrong.
He couldn’t stand by and see injustice done, after all, he was Jack’s son.
He said “listen folks, this isn’t fair. He didn’t do it, ‘cos he wasn’t there.
Mad Jack is innocent. I call on you all to repent.”
When they heard these words of blame the people hung their heads in shame.
They knew he hadn’t done it, so they told the judge to let Jack go.
Now every year on that date, the people, they all celebrate.
Take to the streets, n’ shout n’ cheer, n’ get tanked up on wine and beer.
In remembrance of the day they let Jack go, the people say:

I curse this town. I curse the lot o’ yers. I curse this whole town.
Curse me?  I curse the lot o’ yers.
I curse this town. I curse the lot o’ yers. I curse this whole town.
Curse me?  I curse the lot o’ yers.

One Thing I Know
 Gillian Thrilling – clarinet. Recorded at Broad Oak.
Originally had lyrics, but I thought it worked better without.

I Hope Everything’s Alright
 Gillian Thrilling – vocals. Originally performed by the Differents.
The intro was the germ of an idea for another song, and was put on last.

I don’t wanna walk away from trouble like the others do,
I just wanna talk about it baby, like we used To do.

I’ve got the time; tell me all your worries
Cos I know something’s on your mind, and I’ll lend you my ear
Like the time that we walked together, on that starry night.
I just hope everything’s all right with you, baby.

Sometimes you feel everyone’s against you,
And that no matter what we do, nothing seems to change.
Just remember I’m always here to help you in the fight.
I just hope everything’s all right with you, baby.

I hope everything’s all right; I hope everything’s all right,
I’ve just got to know.
I hope everything’s all right; I hope everything’s all right,
Please won’t you tell me it’s so?

If I could, I’d take the burden off your back
And throw it away, so you could stand and see the light.
Put your head on my shoulder, boy, and let me hold you tight.
I just hope everything’s all right with you, baby.
With you, baby.

Sun Goin’ Down
 Written by Son House, for me the greatest bluesman.
I had to record the vocals soon after I got up, in order to get a deep, rich tone. If I tried to do it later in the day I couldn’t get the same oomph.

Ah gits up in the mornin’ at the break of day;
Ah’m still huggin’ the pillow baby, where you used to lay.
Ah said just about the break of day.
Ah was huggin’ the pillow baby, where you used to lay.

Y’ know it’s a shame to love someone that don’t love you.
Look like you can’t get no satisfaction, don’t care what in the world you do.
It’s a low-down ol’ dirty shame.
Look like Ah can’t get no satisfaction, don’t care what in the world you do.

Ah went in my room; Ah sat down n’ cried.
Ah didn’t have the blues but Ah sure wasn’t satisfied.
Ah sat down n’ cried.
Ah didn’t have no blues, but ah sure wasn’t satisfied.

Looky here baby, what did you want me to do?
Ah spent all o’ my time just tryin’ to get along with you.
What did you want poor me to do?
Ah done spent all o’ my time just tryin’ to get along with you.

Now looky here baby, please don’t break my heart;
It’s so sad to say that the best of friends ’ll have to part.
Please don’t break my heart.
‘Cos it’s just so sad to say that the best of friends have to part.

My baby done gone left me sittin’ down in the back door cryin’.
Ah believe if ah don’t go crazy, well ah’m bound to lose my mind.
My baby done left me sittin’ down in the back door cryin’.
Ah said, if ah don’t go crazy, ah believe ah’m gonna lose my mind.

The sun is goin’ down; it’s bound to get lonesome here.
Look like you didn’t love me, look like you didn’t give no care.
The sun have gone down; it’s bound to get lonesome here.
Look like you didn’t love me, it looks like you didn’t give no care.

Ah cried last night, n’ that ol’ night before.
Ah’m gonna change my way of livin’ just so ah won’t have to cry no more.
Ah cried last night, ah said all that ol’ night before.
Ah’m gonna change my way of livin’ just so ah won’t have to cry no more.

Bert’s Brainstorm
Listen to the Fourfathers version

 I was walking home from Heathfield youth club to Cross in Hand one night when I found a scrap of paper with the first two lines on it. A few weeks later on the same walk I found another piece, in a different place and in a different handwriting, with the rest.

The cold wind felt like an iceberg, brief being pressed against my face;
An ice cold and cursing around my face.
Where am I? Er, what in heavens name is this?
Bert looked down upon the frozen waste.
All around him were many things, and also on the floor
Was something that I would describe as almost terrifyingly horrific:
Cold dormant features of the inner world
That I and I only found to have.
Extra deeds, yes; installed in the brain itself.
What?
Yes.
Fear it forever and back also:
Have got to get there.