Mandolin – George Blamey-Steeden

THE CIRCUS IS COMING TO TOWN

Artwork ‘La Belote’ by Nini Gollong

You saw the light when you lost your soul
Blind to the heavens you were on a roll
But suddenly your world went dark
The only thing left, a question mark

It happened then as it happens now
The Crescent Moon fights the Holy Cow
Face to face a death wish farce
The chances of peace on earth are sparse

But I’ve heard the circus is coming to town
The city cries out for its new crazy clown
And jugglers, strong men and a freak show
The people don’t know if they’re friend or foe?

Drips of salt water, the tears of the unknown
Lonely are the shadows – that means they died alone
Children of the puppet masters all bow in shame
They never could decide if life’s a battle or a game

I don’t think this weird title track from an earlier album of mine ever got posted on the blog. I think it fits the words above. I hope you enjoy;

If you liked that instrumental then the album is available for download from BANDCAMP at just £4.50 or foreign currency equivalent.

If you’re interested in my inexpensive PROMO VIDEOS FOR AUTHORS hit the link here or aim at the one at the top of this blog.

As ever, if any poets out there are interested in having their poems turned into songs then click here to check it out: POETRY TO SONG

If you are looking for all my other music then you’ll find it to download on BANDCAMP and at AMAZON when searching ‘Zoolon Audio Albums’or you can stream and/or make a playlist of it on SPOTIFY

If you’re interested in my book of lyrical verse, ‘LOOKING FOR REASONS’ (above) is available on Amazon, either as a paperback or on Kindle. The purchase prices have been cut right back, hence they’re not expensive. On Kindle Unlimited it’s even free!

If you’re thinking about new t-shirts, leggings, mugs and much more for yourself or as a gift, here’s my collection you might be interested in ZOOLON’S MERCHANDISE

AFTER THE STORM

I’m carrying the burden of your sanity
Hoping you won’t take it the wrong way
Coming in last is better than first
They say that every loser has their day

The beast rests deep inside the forest
The darkest places summon up no fear
Rays of hope they cannot penetrate
A canopy of words no one can hear

Dreams can survive upon remnants
Of beauty that exists in your mind’s eye
The truth is always the greater part of dreaming
And you know dreams, they just have to wave goodbye

So I’m carrying the burden of your sanity
Looking at this world in my own way
Knowing if I let the moment pass by
You’ll set the price that I can afford but never pay

But after the storm when all is quite
And the winds and the torrents subside
After the storm when the sun smiles again
You’ll survive, yes you’ll survive with eyes opened wide

Any musicians out there looking for BACKING TRACKS I’ve both high quality 20 track, 3 hour+ albums ‘Volume One’ and ‘Volume Two’ available to download on BANDCAMP at just £6.50 each or foreign currency equivalent.

If you’re interested in my inexpensive PROMO VIDEOS FOR AUTHORS hit the link here or aim at the one at the top of this blog.

As ever, if any poets out there are interested in having their poems turned into songs then click here to check it out: POETRY TO SONG

If you’re thinking about new t-shirts and similar for yourself, here’s my collection you might be interested in ZOOLON’S MERCHANDISE

DOVE OF PEACE

‘*The Dove Has Flown*‘ *by Gregory Anthony Stone*

I don’t want to see the big picture
I’d rather be left alone
I’m not the centre of your universe
It’s a pity the dove of peace has flown

Some say there are too many patriots
Some say freedom fighters are too few
Some say that it’s a bad omen
To hail a hero out of some loser we once knew

Go fight the way the rebels fight for freedom
Stealth by day and at night let it be
And though they’ll never know a victory
No empire conquers what it cannot see

They say ‘If you’re not with us you’re against us’
I guess that triggers a crusade
The moral code out of balance
The way of man that we’ve betrayed

I don’t want to see the big picture
I’d rather be left alone
I’m not the centre of your universe
We’re walking blind into the unknown

If you’re interested in my inexpensive PROMO VIDEOS FOR AUTHORS hit the link here or aim at the one at the top of this blog.

As ever, if any poets out there are interested in having their poems turned into songs then click here to check it out: POETRY TO SONG

If you’re thinking about new t-shirts and similar for yourself, here’s my collection you might be interested in ZOOLON’S MERCHANDISE

A HANDFUL OF STARS

‘Reaching to the Stars’ photo by Ares Nguyen

How can you run before you can walk?
How can you speak before you can talk?
How can you listen before you can hear?
How can you cry without just one tear?

How can you dream before you’re asleep?
How can you laugh when you ought to weep?
How can you touch before you can feel?
How do you know what you’re seeing is real?

How can you hate before you know love?
How can the eagle fly with the dove?
How can the mountains part for the sea?
How come in life’s prison you still feel free?

How can you try and yet always lose?
How can you cut and never get bruised?
How can you ache but never get hurt?
How come love rubs your face in the dirt?

The answers are hiding but easy to find
The clues all alive in the back of your mind
One day you’ll stumble never to fall
Don’t rely on the words ‘love conquers all’
Mad as it sounds go grab a handful of stars
Neptune, Pluto, Venus and Mars
Never let go and hold them tight to your heart
Let yesterday’s darkness take you back to the start

Here’s ‘Uplifting Groove – C Mixolydian’ (Guitar Jam Backing Track) from Guitar Jam, Vol. 1 – Backing Tracks by Zoolon Audio (that’s me!). I hope you enjoy;

If you’re interested in my inexpensive PROMO VIDEOS FOR AUTHORS hit the link here or aim at the one at the top of this blog.

As ever, if any poets out there are interested in having their poems turned into songs then click here to check it out: POETRY TO SONG

If you’re thinking about new t-shirts, leggings, mugs and much more for yourself or as a gift, here’s my collection you might be interested in ZOOLON’S MERCHANDISE

HUNTING ALONE

HUNTING ALONE

It’s only the end
It’s where you descend
When you can’t be bothered to speak
It’s a lazy old street
And the people you meet
Are either just boring or freak

‘What made you this way?’
That’s all they can say
But you don’t want to hear anymore
You’re out on your own
Timed out and alone
And you’re eyes; they just stare at the floor

‘I’m reaching the end’
That’s the message you send
When you’ve got nothing to say
In this life game of chess
The key to success
Is actually wanting to play

A long time ago
You put on a show
And made it look like you care
Now you hunt alone
All the chances you’ve blown
But you just don’t want to go there

You keep counting down time
You don’t say a word, you just mime
Love hangs by the tiniest thread
Your ship is running aground
And the port you were bound
Remains some lost place in your head

Time for music to fit in – I hope – with the words. This one from my Rainbow’s End album.

If you’re interested in my inexpensive PROMO VIDEOS FOR AUTHORS hit the link here or aim at the one at the top of this blog.

As ever, if any poets out there are interested in having their poems turned into songs then click here to check it out: POETRY TO SONG

If you’re thinking about new t-shirts and similar for yourself, here’s my collection you might be interested in ZOOLON’S MERCHANDISE

WEARING GOLD LEAF

WEARING GOLD LEAF

I played the guitar
You held the gun
You answered the questions
I answered none

Some days you played cool
Crowds you’d just hate
You smiled in the mirror
Thanking good fortune’s fate

Counting your blessings
Wearing gold leaf
From a roof top terrace
You fired your gun; wounded the chief

Last time I saw you
You’d swapped ammo for gold
I still play the guitar
Your story now told

Time for a song. Not one of mine this week. Here’s the work of unusual but amazing ‘Aurora’ singing her song ‘Murder Song – 5, 4, 3, 2, 1’. I hope you enjoy;

If you’re interested in my inexpensive PROMO VIDEOS FOR AUTHORS hit the link here or aim at the one at the top of this blog.

As ever, if any poets out there are interested in having their poems turned into songs then click here to check it out: POETRY TO SONG

If you’re thinking about new t-shirts and similar for yourself, here’s my collection you might be interested in ZOOLON’S MERCHANDISE

SHADOWS ON THE SEA

There’s a village not far from me called Capel-le-Ferne. Its name derives from the phrase ‘Chapel in the Ferns’. Proud locals often call it ‘The Village in the Clouds’. The rest of us call it ‘Capel-Le-Fog’ because it’s high up and every so often you can’t see a single thing there when the clouds stop over for awhile to take a rest. I like the village. It has a gentle feel. It is twinned with the commune of Oye-Plage in the Pas-de-Calais department in France, a place I know well.

A close family friend has recently settled in the village. He’s lucky as his place is very close to the cliff tops and all its views. A few days back he told me he’d stumbled across a pathway to the east that can get you straight to the harbour a few miles away. Armed with that information I thought I’d try it out. What I found was – to me at least – ‘Magic’.

En route I was lucky to see any number of bird varieties. I don’t think I’d been up close to Common Linnets before. Walking aside a field of gorse, there they hang out, all three of them flitting about the place. The males have orange breasts and are about the same size as sparrows. Just after that, the song of the Sky Larks. They’re a ground-dwelling bird and not that easy to spot. I heard them well before I saw them. The thought ‘natures sound art’ hit me. The males sing a complex song mainly to attract a mate – a bit like I imagine Romeo sung to Juliet on the balcony, only better. Much later, further up the coast, walking the narrow path perilously close to the cliff edge I spotted my first swallow of the spring. He or she – I wasn’t sure – had just crossed The Channel that separates England from France, 20 miles away. I have a theory that seeing the swallows arrive means a better weather to come.

*Waiting for the Swallow* – *France on the horizon*

Here’s some music that, I think, fits the walk I took. I hope you enjoy. It’s called ‘Hidden Beneath’ from my album, ‘The Forgotten Daughter Of Zeus’ – a mix of instrumental styles aimed at rest, reflection and thoughts. It’s available to download on BANDCAMP

I couldn’t finish this post without this Eels number, ‘I Like Birds’.

If you’re interested in my inexpensive PROMO VIDEOS FOR AUTHORS hit the link here or aim at the one at the top of this blog.

As ever, if any poets out there are interested in having their poems turned into songs then click here to check it out: POETRY TO SONG

If you’re thinking about new t-shirts and similar for yourself, here’s my collection you might be interested in ZOOLON’S MERCHANDISE

DON’T HATE THE PLAYER, HATE THE GAME

A local cemetery I never knew existed

DON’T HATE THE PLAYER, HATE THE GAME

I liked you so much better
When your story was untold
Now you go backward looking forward
Believing all that glitters is really gold

You keep your demons in a suitcase
An arrow in your heart
You’re crying out for plan B
But the game has yet to start

You’re trapped in endless dreamland
I don’t understand one half of what you say
You think you are the hunter
You can’t see that you’re the prey

I remember when you were someone
There’s still time for you to be so much more
You’ve a heart and soul inside of you
Just don’t leave them at fame’s door

I don’t know if you’re listening
But it matters all the same
When I tell you what I’m thinking
Don’t hate the player; hate the game

An easy to the ear Backing Track. I hope you enjoy;

If you’re interested in my inexpensive PROMO VIDEOS FOR AUTHORS hit the link here or aim at the one at the top of this blog.

As ever, if any poets out there are interested in having their poems turned into songs then click here to check it out: POETRY TO SONG

If you’re thinking about new t-shirts and similar for yourself, here’s my collection you might be interested in ZOOLON’S MERCHANDISE

NUMBER 85

Yesterday at the farm down the road I had a chat with Number 85. We got on OK but our conversation was a one-sided affair. Because of that I thought I’d ask the lamb a few easy questions. It went like this. “What would you call a long rigid piece of metal?” The lamb answered, “Bar.” Next, “What would you call a counter in a pub?” Answer, “Bar”. Then “Another word for ‘obstacle’ please?” “Bar” said the lamb. And lastly, “Name a short section into which a piece of music is divided?” The lamb nailed it, saying, “Bar.” That’s one clever lamb.

THE CHATTER OF THE MINDLESS

The innocence of madness spells regret
An arrogance of kindness tells me it’s not over yet
Not over until its end is reached
Not over until the whale is washed up upon the beach

The impotence of passion cuts my flesh
The gentle bliss of ignorance keeps inflamed wounds fresh
And the chatter of the mindless in distress
Like white noise in some headphones just sounds a total mess

The sorry dance of others playing games
A maze of insinuation playing havoc with the sane
And Joan of Arc’s cold vision strikes a chord
Violins and mediation, or drum beats and the sword?

The mist of prosecution clouds my case
The only thing I’m guilty of is remembering your face
You left behind your favour but not your grace
Does all your returned mail get to end up in deep space?

So just who claims the higher ground?
You’re still taking prisoners even though you have been crowned
The Monarch of all that you survey?
If you’re being truthful you’d have it no other way

Disillusioned martyrs run for cover
Don’t want to share a grave with some radicalised brother
It’s for the best you lock away their guns
Bombs and poor excuses won’t save any mother’s son
Bombs and poor excuses save no one
Bombs and poor excuses hit and run

Short of creativity I scrolled back to 2013. I’d just started uni. The words above were a mock-up lyrical verse I never got around to use for a song. I’m still trying to work out if it’s got legs.

If you’re interested in my inexpensive PROMO VIDEOS FOR AUTHORS hit the link here or aim at the one at the top of this blog.

As ever, if any poets out there are interested in having their poems turned into songs then click here to check it out: POETRY TO SONG

If you’re thinking about new t-shirts and similar for yourself, here’s my collection you might be interested in ZOOLON’S MERCHANDISE

AN EMPTY HALL

This spoof mag cover from about ten years ago was found in a pile of old stuff. I’d almost forgotten it, and my long hair and glasses back then when making music was just that – making music.

AN EMPTY HALL

I never saw the crossroads on last year’s map
Should I take the left turn or the right?
Straight ahead all I can see is a never-ending trap
As the sun shuts its eyes and says ‘goodnight’

That’s the time the dreams open a doorway
Grey shadows all dressed up in colours black
I’d swap my dreams for those shadows any day
Dreams seem so much better looking back

‘Time Out’ for now stares me in the face
I need space like you need drink and food
I don’t want to leave you without a trace
And join the broken, workless multitude

Indifference on the menu for tomorrow
I locked a daydream away just yesterday
Circumstance is an empty hall show
A place where shadows smile and look away

Larry’s given up the old guitar
Kate the mandolin
And Finn sold his accordion
No more ‘Busking in Berlin‘

Regarding the mentions in the above, first, my piece, ‘Time Out’ then next an old song of mine, ‘Busking in Berlin’. I hope you enjoy;

If you’re interested in my inexpensive PROMO VIDEOS FOR AUTHORS hit the link here or aim at the one at the top of this blog.

As ever, if any poets out there are interested in having their poems turned into songs then click here to check it out: POETRY TO SONG

If you’re thinking about new t-shirts and similar for yourself, here’s my collection you might be interested in ZOOLON’S MERCHANDISE