Nobody's Song, by David A. Harley

Nobody's Song

by David A. Harley

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

£7 GBP or more
Full Digital Discography

28

releases

Get all 28 David A. Harley releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Brookland Voices, The Road, In a Folkier Vein, Swan Songs, So Sound You Sleep (More Tears of Morning), Seven Years In The Sand (single), Nobody's Song, Marking Time - The 3rd Demo Album, and 20 more. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

£98.48 GBP or more (35% OFF)

1.	Nobody's Song 02:48	lyrics	buy track
I don’t own the songs I’m singing / They found me by the road And let me come along for the ride Sometimes they’re only wordplay / Sometimes they’re almost true Telling everybody’s history but mine There’s a soldier just returned / Forever damaged from the war There’s a sailor forever lost in time. Songs to lift your spirits / Songs to break your heart Telling everybody’s story but mine Maybe I was killing time / While time was killing me Ignoring all the people in my head Peering out of broken mirrors / To tell their broken tales All the people in my dreams and in my head A city sleeps in sunlight / A seascape in the storm A town that I might go back to some time Words I heard from lovers / For a lifetime or a night Singing anybody’s melody but mine Friends and lovers past and gone / Places I should be Dreams that died and others that came true Time we spent together / Too much time spent apart Someone gone forever, much too soon I was only killing time / While time was killing me Ignoring all the people in my head Peering out of broken mirrors / To tell their broken tales All the people in my dreams and in my bed I don’t own the song I’m singing / It found me by the road And let me come along for the ride Maybe it’s just wordplay / Perhaps it’s almost true Telling nobody’s story but mine
2.	A Perfect Cocktail 01:37	lyrics	buy track
Who's driving nails into my lonely bed? Who sent images scurrying through my head? You... And we mixed a perfect cocktail, you and I How come now my cup is dry? How come these days I drink so much alone? Who's to blame if I end up stoned? You... And we mixed a perfect cocktail, you and I How come now my cup is dry? Who leaves me here, lying all alone? Asks six weeks later why I didn't phone You... And we mixed a perfect cocktail, you and I How come now my cup is dry?
3.	Light Blue Affair 02:11	lyrics	buy track
It’s a bitter-sweet light blue affair Caught halfway between hope and despair A tear for joy or a twisted smile An elegant pose in the classic style That echoes reality It’s a strange ambiguity Caught between life and parody A stolen kiss, a moment of magic Frozen between the comic and tragic A haunting half-memory What can we tell from these soft-focus nights Of what might be real and exactly what’s right? What can we learn from what we might see On an under-developed transparency? Only the questions are clear Like “Where do we go from here?” It’s a bittersweet light blue affair A flash of future, of time we could share A tear for joy or a twisted smile An elegant pose in the classic style Transcending reality That can be what you want it to be
4.	The Day I Saved The World 02:26	lyrics	buy track
Once I believed that love / And good intentions Would win the day / And we would overcome Now I’ve learned it does no good / To lean on love and knock on wood Now you’re gone / And I’m the lonely one I found all the wrong things to do But just for one moment, loving you I could have saved the world Since I lost track of you / I’ve lost sight of a star or two But love’s a game / That tends to leave you scarred And though you say the story’s done / There’s still time to find the sun If you would only tell me / Where you are I found all the wrong things to do But just for one moment, loving you I could have saved the world
5.	Ghosts 03:35	lyrics	buy track
Let’s get down to cases before someone packs their bags And there’s nothing else to do but walk away. Please don’t say there’s nothing to talk over: that’s not true Unless you’d rather just call it a day… There’s a cuckoo in our love nest I can see him in your eyes When you’re looking straight at me It’s not always me you see Who is that ghost you recognized? Sometimes when we’re making love You seem confused about my name It seems I’m sharing you With someone else you knew Who’s gone, but not forgotten just the same If you need time to think it over You’re right, there’s nothing to explain But please don’t go burning your fingers On any old flames I’m not afraid of losing you I never had you anyway There always seemed to be A part of you that you kept from me Words you never cared to say
6.	When The Next Wave Breaks 04:37	lyrics	buy track
I'm nothing but a ripple A stone thrown in the sea When the next wave breaks You can't tell where I've been There's a change in the weather There's a restless angry sea There's no changing you But there's surely been a change in me I'll take that lonesome highway By the light of a lonesome moon You know the sooner you start crying The sooner I'll be gone When the sun is going down And the moon begins to rise I'll be so far down the road There's no shadow left behind There might be just one woman Could make me want to stay If you were her, my bag Would not be packed today
7.	The Best Days Are Gone 02:35	lyrics	buy track
Sometimes I miss those other places where my lifestyle has been forged I might even miss this town when I've moved on Though I'm just turned 24, right now I'm feeling so much more When I get this weary feeling that the best days are gone The best days are gone Other times I felt so low and wanted what was lost Are hidden in a mist of golden days But mostly I was happy, though I didn't know it then Such strange tricks that hindsight plays Tricks that hindsight plays Nothing's as it seems to be, there's no one I can trust I want to wake and find myself a million years away And more than once or twice when just living wore me down I've wished I had the nerve to split and drift with the highway And drift with the highway There are names that I remember, many more that I forget All the girls I never had, too many that I lost One or two could make me cry at midnight all alone But when you go I think I'll miss you most And now you're gone, Lord knows I miss you most
8.	Sale Or Return 05:12	lyrics	buy track
Sale or Return Mister can I carry your bags? We took the same road and we both paid the fare Buddy can I carry your axe? We started out right and I know you still care And hey, can I carry your load? At least you still look like you’re bound somewhere I’ve talked to the hero who knew he was hip Who got too heavy to loosen his grip Who sold out his name to some strange ego trip And I know the glass eye looking into itself The fly blown in amber trapping dust on the shelf Conversations that tailed into stony silence Mister can I carry your bags? We took the same road and we both paid the fare Buddy can I carry your axe? We started out right and I know you still care And hey, can I carry your load? At least you still look like you’re bound somewhere I’ve seen how it is twisted out of the frame By the mythical muse that warps and maims A half-human soul into implacable aims And I’ve known a hero we all knew of old Who sold out his share of the silver and gold And still he can’t tune out the gall in his soul Mister can I carry your bags? We took the same road and we both paid the fare Buddy can I try your axe? We started out right and I know you still care And hey, can I carry your load? At least you still look like you’re bound somewhere So it’s down to the Tranny and the travelling band But somewhere we drew blank, something better we planned Is gone with the smithy and the shantyman So I sat and I drank and I listened to you Then I drank some more while the beat soaked through But I guess I just drank off my blue suede shoes And I know how it is kicking themes into shape In sleep-bleeding hours between two working days And I’m not here to say you should make that mistake No, there’s no point in crossing the bridges we burned But a few bands ago we talked in no terms Of sale or return
9.	Ice To The Flame 03:11	lyrics	buy track
Turn to the morning and trust to the dawn With the sun in your face take the chance to be born Leave all the leavings that time has outgrown Turn to the morning and trust to the dawn Ice to the flame, the sun to the rain I am Life, I am Death, and Love is my name Wind on the water, a blight on the heart The fall of the dice and the turn of the card Axe to the tree, the scythe to the corn Turn to the morning and trust to the dawn Ice to the flame, the sky to the sea All is One and All is in me Tongue to the bell, an end to the start Trust to time, lend an ear to your heart Wax to the candle and brass to the horn Turn to the morning and trust to the dawn Ice to the flame, the sun to the rain I am Life, I am Death, and Love is my name Rust to the sword, an edge to the blade The Healer, the Scourge, the Price to be Paid Love is the Singer and Love is the Song Turn to the morning and trust to the dawn Ice to the flame, the sky to the sea All is One and All is in Me Blood on the dagger, a fire in the veins The sweet and the bitter, rainbow and rain The Knight and the Jester, the Queen and the Pawn Turn to the morning and trust to the dawn Ice to the flame, the sun to the rain I am Life, I am Death and Love is my name
10.	Bread and Circuses 03:02	lyrics	buy track
The lads are on the march again: adrenaline is surging Through the arteries of power The gutter press is snarling, waving flags and beating chests, From the safety of its concrete Dockland towers The price of bread is escalating and the jobs are getting scarce, But the circuses get bigger every year We might lose the World Cup, but God will give us back the Falklands Before the latest Royal new-born appears In the Corridors of Power, the game is Battleships: Sink a few and lose a few – that's Diplomacy The body count gets higher, the planes and ships get fewer The bereaved on both sides might agree That the game's not worth the candle standing by a single coffin But there's so much more at stake than death or life There's property and money and oil and mineral rights And loss of face, and patriotic pride. The bombs and missiles blossom, and the gunfire pounds and pounds The ears of friend and foe The Belgrano and the Santa Fe, the Sheffield and Sir Tristram Death by death the roll of honour grows Till the fighting fizzles out in bitter winter gales Far too late for so many mothers' sons The guns have fallen silent, but the words are bayonet-sharp And the propaganda war goes on The hawks are praising God across the tombstones of the dead A service is attended by the Queen The Prime Minister spits blood because a timid man of God Recalls the dead on both sides in 'victory' Peace in the South Atlantic; a bombing in Hyde Park Bloody warfare in the Lebanon We press on to self-destruction: even as this one war ends The killing still goes on and on and on
11.	From An Old Tin Cup 02:19	lyrics	buy track
I’ve got this feeling that can’t be bad I’ve seen the end of feeling sad Thanking fate for a little luck Drinking life from an old tin cup I had this dream that by and by My time would come for living high Eyes wide open for the best way up To drinking life from a golden cup But that’s all changed since you found your way Back into my heart where you used to stay Thanking fate for a little luck Still drinking life from an old tin cup There was sweet wine I used to sip Now I need the taste of your honey lips Thanking fate for a little luck Drinking life from an old tin cup One fine morning, pretty soon We’ll set sail on a poor man’s honeymoon Thanking fate for a little luck And drinking life from an old tin cup
12.	Thou Art My Lute 01:48	lyrics	buy track
Thou art my lute, by thee I sing,— My being is attuned to thee. Thou settest all my words a-wing, And meltest me to melody. Thou art my life, by thee I live, From thee proceed the joys I know; Sweetheart, thy hand has power to give The meed of love—the cup of woe. Thou art my love, by thee I lead My soul the paths of light along, From vale to vale, from mead to mead, And home it in the hills of song. My song, my soul, my life, my all, Why need I pray or make my plea, Since my petition cannot fall; For I’m already one with thee!
13.	Time On My Hands 02:00	lyrics	buy track
Time on my hands Time to think of a friend who changed one weekend Changed to a part of me Time to look back Cosily stoned by the fire / getting much higher Watching you watching me Time and again To think of caring for you / knowing I do Hoping you might for me Time on my hands No hangups and nothing to say but "We had our day" And the music goes on and on
14.	Whistle While You Walk (radio version) 03:28	lyrics	buy track
Sometimes you look into her eyes And you just want to talk Sometimes you have to see her Sometimes you just have to walk Just walk away Walk away And whistle while you walk away Sometimes you’re the heartbreak Sometimes you’re just broke And all your songs are lost In the space between the notes Sometimes you know you love her Sometimes you feel so cold Sometimes your heart is empty And you turn back to the road Sometimes you look into her eyes And you just want to talk Sometimes you have to see her Other times you just have to walk
15.	End Game 00:54	lyrics	buy track
I've been looking out for zero since I don't remember when Praying not to draw that same old blank again But it seems at last time passing tears your paper shield apart And love, the silver bullet, leaves its shrapnel in the heart M'dame, M'sieur, les jeux sont faits

about

A mixed bag, but slowly catching up with some of the songs I should have recorded properly years ago. Plus some lyrics that have only recently found a tune (notably the Falklands song, 40 years too late for most people to care), and yet another setting of a poem, this time by Paul Laurence Dunbar.

credits

released June 16, 2022

Guitars, bouzouki (don't blink or you'll miss it) and vocals by David A. Harley. Artwork by Katherine Morley.

license

about

David A. Harley England, UK

David Harley is a former professional musician, administrator, IT security editor, author and researcher, and former much else that is even less impressive. He now lives in Cornwall. More info at whealalice.com