An alphabetical index of 149 songs and instrumentals written
and recorded by Hugh Featherstone, as well as thirteen of Hugh's
songs not yet published as audio recordings (vinyl discs or CDs).
Song titles in yellow are linked to the lyrics of the first recorded version of the song on the respective discography page.
The "date" is the year in which the song was written.
"video" indicates that there is a video of the song on the Hugh Featherstone YouTube channel (see discs page).
From the garden fair
to the battlefield
to end our journey there
wounds unhealed
from the starving land
to the Milltown smog
we tried to understand
our Captain's log
yet I believe we're given a chance
yes I believe we're called on to dance in the new day
from the words of pawns
to the things they do
there's a gap that yawns
in me and you
from the mystic smile
to the sadistic mind
it's hard to reconcile
the things we find
yet I believe we're given a chance
yes I believe we're called on to dance in the new day
ten thousand dragons teeth
ten thousand horses too
lie waiting underneath
this gentle dew
we sucked the milk of death
were raised on history
yet dreamt with every breath
how things could be
still we believe we're given a chance
still we believe we're called on to dance in the new day
still we believe we're given a chance
still we believe we're called on to dance in the new day
from the battlefield
to the garden fair
I retrace our steps
to find you there
Girl in the second row
Hugh wrote:
"Bob Dylan wrote A hard rain's a gonna fall in the run up to the Cuban missile crisis, saying afterwards that he felt he needed to get everything in there, as it might be his last song. I had a similar epiphany during the Tschernobyl meltdown (during which I wrote Sing it while you can) and again, more recently, when the plant at Fukushima went critical following the great tsunami. The situation there is ongoing and still potentially deadly for us all, so that show is definitely not over.
In a state of muted and resigned panic (you probably had the same feeling), tinged with toxic deja vu, I poured out Girl in the second row in a single jet. It was an attempt to present the way my mind works when I write a song, where and how inspiration arrives, the love and respect I feel for the very process of creation. I dedicate it to an ideal listener, there's always one, this time it happens to be the girl in the second row. If I seem to be paying more attention to the text than the camera in this version, that's because the song is still new enough to be a little unsure on its legs in places."
Holly Square incident
Bill and Jody had a word or two They fell out down at the Green Canoe No one really knows how these things start Pretty soon we took the place apart
When the fight spilled out into the street Careful neighbours went and called the heat We all scattered when they came around, except for Jody Jody died that day on Holly Square
No one saw it though we all were there What a hero he could make you cry "Poor Jody such a talented guy Oo, Jody such a sweet, sweet guy"
Policeman Baxter kept us out of bed Trying to reconstruct it in his head But none of us could really help him much Too confused to see that fatal touch
"Who had the knife?" We each in turn deny "Plain to see that someone here’s telling a lie" Early morning when he sent us all home, except for Jody
Jody dead became a local star With close up coverage of his Ma and Pa Little Jody was their pride and joy "Poor Jody, such a sensitive boy Dear Jody, such a sensitive boy
Oh, Jody, such a good, good, good, boy"
With Jody gone there wasn't much to do We soon stopped meeting at the Green Canoe And policemen Baxter moved to Jericho Looking back, it seems so long ago No one talks about it anymore
Deep inside us, we locked the door I guess we all had our own lives to lead, except for Jody They built a drug-store where I hid the knife Last summer, Jody's girl became my wife
One night she asked me how did Jody die ... and I said "Poor Jody, such a talented guy Oo, Jody such a talented guy Yeah, Jody such a sweet, sweet guy" and she said:
"How I loved that boy, how I loved that boy Ooooo, how I loved that boy", she said ...
I believe
I believe that when you're near I'm better looking than Richard Gere He can't compete. I own your street
I believe that when you smile The world gets brighter for a while I can't resist. You must be kissed
And I believe the things you said Have built a castle in my head And I believe that's where we ought to live
I believe that when you go They tamper with my radio The whole day long, it plays your song ... for me
And I believe the things you said Have built a castle in my head And I believe that's where we ought to live
I believe without a doubt You make the moon and stars come out They disappear when you're not here ... with me
Lullaby for Noah
Instrumental
Hugh wrote:
"This was the first of a series of three instrumental compositions (so far!) written to celebrate our grandchildren. As a lullaby it actually works. I know, because I tried it out on the test subject himself. The partial capo used here is a device I'm returning to, now that they are available on the market. Previously (circa 1980) I manufactured my own, but they were rather capricious and awkward to work with."
One planet per person
Not yet puclished on disc. Hugh made a video for his YouTube channel, where he commented:
Created on September 26, 2009 using FlipShare.
Who remembers those 80's sweatshirts with "one planet, one people" written on them? Can one be a Baha'i and a misanthrope at the same time? Maybe, if this song is anything to go by.
The totally awful sound quality is thanks to the totally USELESS Flipshare software, it sounds great in the original version on my computer. Sorry, but the Flip people seem more interested in selling cool skins for their video cameras than in improving compatibility with YouTube. Any suggestions for solving this are welcome.
I love the human race but I don't like you please don't take it too personal it's just the things you do if you were far away I could love you too
because you'd be part of the human race and I love them through and through
one planet per person, that's what we need one planet per person, that's good enough for me one planet per person, that would be divine you'd love all the folks on yours
I'd love all the folks on mine one planet per person would suit me fine
I love the human race but they don't like me I give my opinion with a smiling face then they dare to disagree left handed people, right handed people
I just can't stand to see but apart from these two categories I love humanity
one planet per person, that's what we need one planet per person, that's good enough for me one planet per person, that would be divine you'd love all the folks on yours
I'd love all the folks on mine one planet per person would suit me fine
me and the neighbourhood we just can't agree if I had my own planet, I could live in unity
one planet per person, that's what we need one planet per person, that's good enough for me one planet per person, that would be divine you'd love all the folks on yours
I'd love all the folks on mine one planet per person would suit me fine one planet per person would suit me fine
Software zillionaire
Hugh wrote:
"Here's a song that has been floating around for a while, waiting for me to write it. Doing this set of videos finally forced me to finish it. The idea came from an interview I once read with a highly successful application developer (unfortunately I can't remember his name, but he's a very funny and thoughtful guy). Anyhow, he'd already made his pile in the first big hardware revolution of the raw and rowdy 1980s, when computing was in its infancy. Most of his pals retired rich, but he stuck around too long and lost everything, only to come back again, two decades later, even bigger than before.
The thing that got me thinking was when he said that striking it rich twice is very strange, because you really have no desire to live the kind of life you lived last time around ... in his case all parties and pools, indeed, if you do try to repeat your 'first act', then it's clear you've learned nothing. Instead you want to make something real with your wealth, something of use and service, something worth being remembered for. I recall him remarking that he used to live in Bel Air back then, but would never set foot there now if it could possibly be avoided."
Should have left in the 80s
Quit while you're ahead, they said, but I stayed on
Became a software zillionaire instead ... a software zillionaire!
Should have left in the 80s
Quit while you're ahead they said, but I stayed on
Became a software zillionaire, instead I wear Gucci
With an Aston and a place in Kent, I was lucky
There are better men without a cent
Scratch me, Susan,
I need to know I'm really there
Destroy me, darling,
Show me how you truly care ... for your software zillionaire!
I can handle the pressure
When everybody’s on my back and I can't run
Got to walk the walk and take the flack, and the hackers
A crazy pack of anarchists gonna melt you
If you fail to make their goody list
Slow down, junior
Go easy with that gold cuillière
You'll spoil the payoff
Be sure to live to sell your shares ... and be a software zillionaire!
I remember Wilko's jamborees
The parvenus and the wannabes
The fountains filled with cheap champagne
I'll never set a foot again inside Bel-Air ... now I'm a software zillionaire!
Should have left in the 80s
Quit while you're ahead, they said, but I stayed on
Became a software zillionaire instead ... a software zillionaire!
Walls to fall (The WeQ-Song)
(not released as a recording)
Written as the theme song for the "Walls to Fall" event, Berlin, November 2014 (see photo series 11, with video).
Don’t tell me you don’t feel it, we’ve known it from the start The wall is in your head; the bridge is in your heart It’s everything we came down here to say
Where there is a wall, there is a way
No time to call the papers, no time to call the cops They’re running out of headlines, we’re running out of jobs Words are shouted up and down the street Not a single word that we can eat
[Refrain:]
We tear down one, just to find another one We tear down ten while you build them up again The future could be bright enough for all But not while there are walls to fall!
Laws protect the ones who make them, even when they kill I guess it all looks perfect from your castle on the hill But right outside your garden is a world
The bricks that built your mansion can be hurled
"Equality" in poverty, "minorities" of power Maintaining dumb majorities for twenty cents an hour Is this the way you liberate the poor:
You tease them with the life they’re dying for?
[Refrain:]
We tear down one, just to find another one We tear down ten while you build them up again The future could be bright enough for all But not while there are walls to fall!
Walls between the races, walls between the creeds Walls between the people with their identical needs The "We" is so much stronger than the "I"
The things we share should open up the sky
[Refrain:]
We tear down one, just to find another one We tear down ten while you build them up again The future could be bright enough for all But not while there are walls to fall
Not – while – there – are – walls!
Walls to fall (The WeQ-Song)
Words and music by Hugh Featherstone.
Apart from thirteen songs, this songlist includes only songs and instrumentals that Hugh has so far released on vinyl discs and CDs.
He has written many, many more wonderful songs that the public has the right to hear.
Write to your member of parliament, start a petition, demand your right to hear them. Preferably before next Wednesday.
