1. |
Emphasis
04:10
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Emphasis
If I get your drift, a line is not defined by the number of syllables it contains
One or many, the structure, as i understand it, basically remains
The key to writing songs is pretty simple, more or less
Just work out the syllables, that you have to stress
Primary stresses, secondary stresses
Do what you like but no stress excesses.
Preserve the natural shape of the language
If i understand you right, words are divided into four types,
There are the meaning words, like bagpipes and facewipes and Jack Snipes, and stars and stripes
These words should always be stressed, to convey the meaning best
Don’t let the grammaticals, the pronouns, the prepositions, be anything but suppressed
Primary stresses, secondary stresses
Do whatever you like but no stress excesses
Preserve the natural shape of the language
The grammaticals in particular, are a base, like velvet so black
On which the flashing gems of our stories are laid out to shine back to back
Our job as songwriters, if I might paraphrase
Is to organize the rhythms
Ready for the melody and the actual phrase
Preserve the natural shape of the language
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2. |
Mid-Life Crisis
05:08
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Well here I am, I'm half way through
I'm on my own, left to my own devices
I've thought about it, I've decided
That I will not have a mid-life crisis.
Everything is going fine, I'm in a good mood most the time
I'm on top of everything, that's the reason I can sing
All I've got to do is sing, there's nothing to fear
Nothing to fear.
I've been around, I know the score
I'm old enough to know just what the price is
I've weighed the odds and worked it out
There is no reason for a mid-life crisis.
The year's go by, it's no big deal, I've no big problems to conceal
Nothing's really changed at all, I see no writing on the wall
I'm certain I'm winning, the future is clear
You see that I'm grinning, there's nothing to fear
Nothing to fear.
I'm looking good and doing great
I've made a pact, there'll be no compromises
No explosions, no disasters
All under control, no mid-life crisis.
I've got a few grey hairs it's true, but I feel like I used to do
Sometimes I'm gazing into space, just say it once more to my face
I'm certain I'm winning, the future is clear
You see that I'm grinning, there's nothing to fear
Nothing to fear.
I will not have a mid-life crisis,
... will not have a mid-life crisis
... will not have a mid-life crisis
... will not have a mid-life crisis
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3. |
100,000 Deals
04:23
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There’s a lease on the colony
It runs out pretty soon
In 1997, in July, or is it June
It doesn’t really matter
They’ll take it anyway
They could leave us til next century
Or walk right in today.
Hongkong keeps on rolling
Money oils the wheels
There’s a 100,000 con-men here
A 100,000 deals.
We’re the biggest orange eaters
We drink more brandy too
We got over-crowding
But the ought to see the view
There’s hot nights, and gang fights
And San Miguel beers
We got silver cloud Rolls Royce’s
Coming out of our ears.
There’s nothing in the future
There’s nothing in the past
The disposable city
Nothing’s built to last
It’s hazy, it’s crazy
Everyone’s mad
But taking off from Kai Tak
Always makes me sad. chorus
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4. |
Mary Corrigan
04:02
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5. |
Front Page Lead
02:25
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It's a scoop, it's a story, it's got drive, it's got speed
It's a shock horror drama, that'll make your poor heart bleed
It's a must, stop the presses, oh, now this you've got to read
It's a ball-tearing monster, it's a front page lead.
You've got to get the facts right and you've got to write it quick
Just add a few fast cliches and it's bound to read real slick
You may wonder how one judges if a story's really hot
Does it grab you by the short and hairies? Write it on the spot.
It's said the subs are there to stop the errors creeping in
It seems to me they're there to help the dreaded gremlin
The way they spike and mutilate my stories shows they're fiends
Sub stands not for sub-editor, sub-human's what it means.
chorus
Before you all decide you want to be a journalist
You've got to learn to drink your fill and more and not get pissed
The job consumes your interest, can consume your life as well
The burnt-out journalist lives in a special kind of hell.
But the dinky-di reporter chases stories till he drops
While there's news left to be written, you can bet he never stops
Even when the paper's put to bed and the presses spring to life
You'll find the true-blue journalist still screaming to his wife:
chorus
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6. |
Life and Death
07:00
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Life and Death
This question of life and death.
It hangs over us all quietly
Gaining in contrast as the years go by
I decided a long time ago, to ignore it.
What would be the point
Of paying attention
Acknowledging its presence,
Allowing it to guide my actions.
Live life as if every day was your last
That makes sense
But it’s not the same as saying
I’m afraid of dying.
But I do assume that life
Is better than the alternative
Though there’s no way to prove it
One way or another.
The big questions
The Afterlife, Heaven, God
These are best left to philosophers
There are no answers.
So back to life, back to life.
I see myself on a plateau
Walking on a plateau, a wide and silent plateau
And I will stay on this path
For as long as i can.
No bell curve for me,
Thank you very much.
Aiming at 200, Aiming at 200,
As a minimum, and why not.
I’m an optimist
And that in itself is a choice.
I could choose to be a pessimist
But to what purpose?
I know deep down inside of me
That I’m really 28
Which is one year older than I was 5 years ago
So I cannot be accused of ignoring
The march of time.
To sum up, I intend to live forever
Or die in the attempt.
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7. |
Deep Knee
04:13
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8. |
The Road is Hard
03:44
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The Road is Hard
By Li Bai, translated and adapted by Graham Earnshaw
A golden flask of the clearest wine,
A jade plate stacked with food so fine
I stop mid-bite, put down my cup
I look around, my thoughts pent-up.
The Yellow River’s frozen hard,
The mountains - snowbound and barred
I sit and while away my time
Waiting for a chance to shine.
——————————————
The road is hard, the road is hard,
With many forks along the way
The road is hard, the road is hard,
Where am I now, so hard to say.
——————————————
I believe there’ll come a day
When the wind will push the waves away
I’ll hoist my sail into the sky
And sail the great seas wide and high.
But today the river’s frozen hard,
The mountains snowbound and barred
I sit and while away my time
Waiting for my chance to shine.
——————————————
The road is hard, the road is hard,
The road is hard, the road is hard,
The road is hard, the road is hard,
Where am I now, who is to say.
——————————————
I believe there’ll come a day
When the wind will push the waves away
I’ll hoist my sail into the sky
And sail the great seas wide and high.
But the river’s still frozen hard,
The mountains - snowbound and barred
I sit and while away my time
Waiting for my chance to shine.
Waiting for my chance to shine.Waiting for my chance to shine.
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Graham Earnshaw China
Graham Earnshaw is a businessman, writer & musician and publisher of Earnshaw Books. He has recorded a number of albums of his own songs, of which there are many. He fronted the best rock band in China 1979-1984, helped revive live music in Shanghai’s in the mid-1990s, and continues to write and perform whenever anyone will let him. He plays the guitar, the harmonica and the fool. ... more
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