Poems to Songs – Page 10 – George Blamey-Steeden

NEVER FORGOTTEN

‘Never Forgotten’

Mucking around with semi-protest song words on the guitar I suddenly realized I was playing to my ‘Rainbows End’ melody. Basically, I’d plagiarized myself. I’ve never done that before. Back to the drawing board.

ENGLAND, OH ENGLAND

At my door they try selling me their religion

Online they want my money to sell me fame

On the street, the Far Right are dishing out their flyers

I just smile; tell them I don’t play their racist game

England, oh England take a good look in the mirror

You’ll see you’re not a thieving Empire anymore

England, oh England you can’t turn the clock back

And rescue the glory of what never was before

Black or white we’re all of just the one race

Give us all an honest chance and lend a hand

Better that than bigotry and discrimination

You’ve lost the plot forever, my England

Here’s the YouTube version – all the songs – off the new album, ‘Devil’s Kiss’. Hope you enjoy;

If you’re interested in buying any or even the whole discography of my work (at a 50% discount) the links are below;

THE DAY I MET AN ANGEL

Pictures by mike 050

‘Une Grotte Quelque Part en Normandie’ by Zoolon

The little old bloke with the peaked cap walks the main road into town each day. He carries a big bag and picks up all the street rubbish. He never wears gloves. He’s round-shouldered and his trousers are too short. He doesn’t speak to anyone. He just swears to himself. I saw him again this morning. He was mumbling ‘bastards’ on a loop.

A bit further down road is a bus stop. There’s not a lot of call for it. It’s only two short stops away from the depot. Only people with walking sticks or don’t like walking wait there.

The girl with a Swastika tattoo on her neck had an old moped last week. This week she has a brand new Lambretta. It sounds like a swarm of angry bees. Maybe a bit smoother than that. Her moped used to sound like C-3PO with a chesty cough. She doesn’t do crash helmets. If ever people are waiting at the bus stop and there’s a massive puddle kerbside she aims at it and puts two-fingers up as she soaks them on her drive-by. I don’t know how that’s going to pan out now she has a Lambretta.

Opposite the doctors surgery, further down, a double-fronted Victorian lump. It doubles up as a knocking shop. That’s what I was told anyway. I had to ask what one of those was. I should have worked it out myself. It’s probably true that it is a knocking shop. A pretty pissed off girl – I think ‘pretty’ works both ways with this one – in just her dressing down rushed out of the front door, down the steps holding a massive kitchen knife. She shouts in a language I don’t know. The bloke she was chasing was now on the other side of the road. Running. He looked English. Most likely he is. She gave up the chase. I guess he never paid. Odd thing to see at 9am.

Further down, closer to the town centre, there’s the bloke with the two golden retrievers. I see him most days. The dogs each have a newspaper in their mouths. They always do. Makes them feel special. They are.

Just past the railway station there’s a giant horse chestnut tree. The Christian’s, an older bloke in a long black coat and a girl dressed like she’s time travelled here from a hundred years ago, stand under it handing out A5 glossy leaflets. I didn’t take one. They seem happy enough, even though it’s a cold day. A few weeks back when the conkers were falling off the tree they gave handing out leaflets a miss.

When I get to the post office a sweet little old lady is just exiting. I hold the heavy door open for her. She looks up at me, grabs the sleeve of my hoodie. Holds it tight as old hands can. Says, “No one does that anymore.” I say, “What?” thinking I might have done something wrong. She tells me that she likes it when a gentleman holds the door open for her. “Good manners” she says. Then I get what she meant. She gives me a whiter than white dentures Hollywood smile, squeezes the back of my hand like she’s ‘Super Old Lady’ then wanders off. An angel? I reckon so. I’ve never been called a gentleman before. Today’s song, ‘All Winter Long’ is for her. It’s the first track on my Rainbows End album. Hope you enjoy.

My albums on sale at Bandcamp;

NO PLACE FOR SHADOWS TO DANCE

DOVER CASTLE (2) ‘View from a cliff edge’ by Zoolon

The road leading up the castle is winding and steep. High granite stone walls either side. Some ancient overhanging trees blocking the daylight. No place for shadows to dance.

Most people drive up to the castle. The tourists off the cruise liners from places I’ve never been can afford the entrance fee. A lot of locals can’t. The American’s are enthusiastic tourists. They soak up history and eat cream teas. Most other visitors mainly take selfies and never wonder why.

On my way up I saw last night’s dead badger on the tarmac. Blood and guts. Road kill for the two magpies in love to feed off and live for another day.

In the castle grounds there is a flock of sheep that aren’t like any other sheep I’ve ever seen. Weight issues or maybe just an overload of wool? Unique? Probably not. They look bored most times. Camera shy as well. They don’t hang around in flocks. I like that idea.

On a good day, Calais is clearly visible from up here. On days when the clouds hang low or the sea mist grows high, you can’t even see the tip of your nose. The tip of my nose doesn’t interest me that much.

Most people forget to look up. iPhones have that effect. If they did look up they’d have seen that the sky was like a half drawn curtain. A hungry sun verses angry grey clouds. A stand-off. A nil-nil draw. No time added-on.

If people did make a habit of looking up they’d see at the very top of the castle, an old keep. A woman in a flowing red dress hangs out there. She doesn’t say a lot. She doesn’t do a lot. Just walks about, fretting and a bit frantic. A damsel in distress? I reckon so. An angry looking bloke dressed as a cavalier just stands there watching her like he’s issued her an ultimatum she’s not good with. They’re both ghosts. No one knows their names. I don’t think they got along then or now. I’ll maybe ask the magpies for their take on what’s going on up there. They’ll know.

Here’s an electronic instrumental I composed a while back. Today it’s for the ghost woman. It’s called ‘A Life’ and it’s from my Dream Rescuer album. I’m guessing the lady in red didn’t get much of a life;

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been reporting on my progress up the ReverbNation charts. I can now add to that. This morning I found out that Zoolon is No. 1 in the UK chart and, amazingly No. 18 in the Global chart – there are 4 million musicians on ReverbNation globally. I’m guessing staying No. 1 will be harder than getting there. As ever, my thanks to all the support I’ve had from you lovely people on WordPress. Thanks again. You’re great ~ Zoolon aka George

Checking it out it looks like this is one of the recent numbers that’s helped me along. It’s called ‘Tick Tock’;

The song is from ‘The Pigeons Are Switzerland’ EP which is available to purchase via the link below;

THE POWER OF HELLO

daisy (2) ‘One of a Kind’ by Zoolon

I was out early again. Poached eggs on toast to kick off a new day. Per usual there she was. This time dressed in all-in-one camouflage combats and a Che Guevara black beret with a red star on the front. Tucked in-between her shoulder-top and her neck she had a full on Mickey Mouse cuddly toy. She spoke to him all the time like he was alive. Her gentle sounding voice is louder than you’d think, so listening in is easy. It’s like she’s answering Mickey’s questions, only that can’t be.

I’d say she’s maybe twenty +/- a year. Has a perma smile. Everyone likes her. She looks like she should be on the front cover of a posh fashion magazine. Vogue is posh? I don’t really know these things.

Last time I saw her, it was a warmer day than yesterday. A crazy, off the wall long snow-white dress and one of those pointy cone hats princess’s in the Middle Ages had. I checked it out on Wiki. They’re called Hennin hats. This time it was a regular teddy bear tucked between shoulder-top and her neck who was asking the questions she was answering. I don’t think she wears the same clothes twice.

I got told that most days she starts out at the library. Makes a point of going inside to say hello to all the staff. She knows them all by name. They know her by name. Never borrows a book. Once they’ve all said hello back, she’s off down the high street. The charity shops and the cafes are the places she visits most. Says hello to the shop assistants and café staff. She knows them all by name as well. Once she gets a ‘hello’ back she moves on. On her travels, if she bumps into a dog she knows she lets whatever cuddly toy she has with her ask the dog a few questions. I’m not sure if she knows the names of the dogs. Probably she does.

Whatever place she stops at to say hello, she can’t move on until she gets a ‘hello’ back. OCD I guess. I also got told that all the library staff, the shop assistants and the café staff keep an eye out for her. Make sure she’s safe. There’re scumbags out there who might take liberties.

I know her name because I got told it. She doesn’t know mine. It’s good that so many decent people are looking out for her. She’s different from the rest of us. ‘Special’ in a good way. A happy way.

I didn’t compose this song for her, so I’ll dedicate it instead. My opening line, ‘How’s it feel living without demons?’ felt right for her.

By the way, I’d like to thank you all for visiting Zoolon on ReverbNation. It’s a decent platform to showcase music. I noticed today that I’ve cracked the top 20 and am at number 17 out of many thousands of artists in the ReverbNation UK chart. A lot of that is down to you kind bloggers. Thanks again for the support ~ George.

All my albums are available at Bandcamp including my discography via the link below;

POLE DANCER OR WEIGHTLIFTER?

montreil sized 2 ‘Branch Lines’ by Zoolon

This is all true. For reasons I won’t bore you with, at some stage most days I find myself visiting the local Post Office. It’s not a place that sparks creativity, that’s for sure. Quite the opposite. Generally I end up in a queue, often with a smelly person in front of me and someone sneezing at will or coughing their guts up stood behind me. Also it’s a place where people talk total rubbish.

So, there I was in the queue yesterday, minding my own business when I hear two women – a bit older than me I’m guessing, but not old, old. One says to the other, “What would you rather be, a pole dancer or a weightlifter?” I was thinking what an odd comparison when her friend answered, “A pole dancer because they get more tips. Which one would you choose?” Fair play I thought. Certainly to the best of my knowledge weightlifters probably don’t get tips that often. Anyway, the other one answers, “I think I’d be a taxi driver because I’m pretty sure they get more tips than pole dancers.”

I was left wondering why she included ‘weightlifters’ in the question in the first place, just before I lost the will to live realising that that was 10 minutes of my life I’d never get back.

Things got a bit better on the brain cell front when I overheard the bloke in a suit at the back of the queue shouting at someone on the other end of his mobile. What this bloke shouted was epic. It went like this, “I think you’ll find I’ve created more time.” ‘Created more time’!!!! Now that is major and I fully expected people would drop to their knees singing, ‘Hallelujah’ and start worshiping him. No one did though.

When I finally made it to the counter the woman who served me, I guessed from her emotionless expression, must be right up there when it comes to poker. Anyhow, throughout the whole of my transaction she never uttered a single word. Respect.

Time for a song. This one hasn’t been aired for ages. It’s the only published song from my discography where the lyric isn’t one I wrote. This one was a collaboration. It’s called ‘The Sunlight & The Dust’ from my Dream Rescuer album and it’s another that’s made its way to the headphones of ReverbNations curators. I live in hope, and hope you enjoy;

By the way, at the top of this blog post is the ‘Your Poetry to Song’ link. If any poets out there fancy having their work put into song then hopefully I’m your man. All you need to do to get a project under way is contact me via that link.

SUMMER DIED ON A SATURDAY

montreil5 (3) ‘The Ghosts of Summer Bid Farewell’

It’s good to be back. First some words and pics, then a brand new composition – a pre-release from the new album that should hopefully be out there come December. It’s an electronic instrumental called ‘Summer Died on a Saturday’. I hope you enjoy.

montreil5 (2) ‘Dressed to Impress’

SCORCHED LYRICS

Summer died on a Saturday

She was always heading for a fall

A rosebud in a cloak of thorns

No fuss, eyes shut, no curtain call

Through the window of addiction

A cloudy glass impediment

A crumbling headstone, premature?

Just tough luck or heaven sent?

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Goodbye to all that’s gone before

I keep memories of you under lock and key

You left me wanting so much more

Next the new composition;

Here the link to my albums at Bandcamp;

1860 – ‘FRANCE HAS GOT TALENT’

rain

‘Summer Storm in Pas-de-Calais’ by Zoolon

The first song ever recorded. That’s a big thing. These days, we take our music for granted forgetting that before we were able to capture sound all there was, was live music and birdsong. No piece of music could be duplicated exactly the same as each performance of even the most basic of melodies would never sound the same twice. So, here we go. The very first song ever recorded. In 1860 the Frenchman, Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville (Ed to his close mates; bewilderment to most others), invented – although, at the time he overlooked the all-important playback facility – a piece of kit and recorded ‘Au Clair De La Lune’. Thanks to today’s technology we can now listen to it. The name of the girl singing is not known. I just hope for her sake she didn’t give up her day job. Here we go;

Right, some sound art using samples. I posted some of these when I first started blogging. My album, from 4 years ago, ‘Cosa Nostra’ is a sound art concept album. I themed it around a traditional ‘Romeo & Juliet’ type story. The track from the album I’m posting today is called, ‘Coming to the New Lands’. It’s the fourth scene of the concept. The basic story is better explained using this extract from the album cover notes;

Cosa Nostra: He grew up on Sicily the eldest son of a Mafia Don. She too, the daughter of his father’s fiercest rival. As children they played together although their parents knew nothing of this. Eventually they fell in love – a clandestine affair. There came a day when her father discovered their secret. She had brought shame upon her family. That shame couldn’t go unpunished. Her father ordered she be shot dead – an execution. Her own brother the executioner. Her lover found the body. That day he discovered grief, anger and thoughts of revenge.

The executioner took flight to New York to seek shelter and income running his family’s business affairs there. For his part the lover followed the executioner there. He took an ocean liner across the Atlantic. Once in the city he set a plan to kill the man who had murdered his girl.

Each scene was composed as first-person observations of the eldest son. ‘Coming to the New Lands’ is aimed to reflect his first experience of being overwhelmed in a big city like New York, before he gets his act together and goes on the hunt for revenge. Hope you enjoy;

https://soundcloud.com/george-blamey-steeden/scene-4-coming-to-the-new

Now for something special – the new number just released by Florence + The Machine – Sky Full Of Song. I promise you’ll love this!

As of about now, I have also posted a new piece on the Morality Part blog. Morality Park is a collective of fine poets, writers and artists. They are worth a visit. Here’s the link Morality Park

DIRECTION WARS

(a photo I took of the Rebel’s ‘This Way, That Way’ sign a couple of weeks ago)

DIRECTION WARS

Episode V

‘THE DIRECTION SIGN’S FIGHT BACK’

A long, long time ago

far, far away, quite near the cliff edge

just off Folkestone High Street it was a period of civil war

Under the leadership of Daft Tom Tom

The Satnav Empire were hell bent on making

all the crap old Road Directions Signs redundant forever more

The ‘Direction Signs’ Rebels, led by Princess Roadmapeah

were fighting back. Armed with just a few ‘THAT WAY, THIS WAY SIGNS’

their aim was to undermine The Satnav Empire by confusing all Satnav users

thus buying themselves a little time to organize the fight back that might save the day

The only problem with this plan devised by The Rebel’s own young Luke Bicycle Lane Walker?

It’s a load of rubbish!

Enough of that. Time for some music. This one is called ‘Hooked’ and it’s from the new album. I hope you enjoy;

https://soundcloud.com/zoolon/hooked

Also, Zoolon has had a great review on Bandcamp for the Rainbows End album;

“‘Rainbows End’ follows in step with Zoolon’s album, ‘Dream Rescuer’ having a marvelous kaleidoscope of sound. It’s a beautiful blend of music, each track flows brilliantly into the next. The album captures the surreal nature of the past, present and future. While the lyrics are subtle they’re emotionally charged and quite powerful, begging us to look at love and loss of both the person and the planet. Highly recommended. Favorite track: All Winter Long.”

Here’s the link to Bandcamp if you feel like adding the Rainbows End album to your music collection;