Chris Conway album - Unlocked Songs

Chris Conway - Unlocked Songs

1	A Song About Nothing
2	All About Me
3	Sleep Life Cycle
4	New Songs Now
5	Sky High Seventh Heaven
6	Love Song
7	Lets Go To Outer Space
8	Nightmare Journey
9	The Earth Child Returns
10	Ghosts
11	Be There
12	Strange Orbit Of Life
13	Round And Around

Chris Conway -	vocals, piano keyboards, acoustic & electric 9 string guitars, nylon string guitar, tin & low Irish whistles, kalimba, zither, kantele, theremin, tongue drum, bodhran, percussion, temple bells, chimes, drum loops.
+ special guests
Dan Britton -	bodhran - 4, 8
Neil Rabjohn -	cajon drum, percussion 1, 4, 7, 8, 12
Zorpinda Zorpin -	percussion, synthesizer - 3, 6, 11, 13

Chris Conway Unlocked Songs back

Released from captivity.
13th solo studio songs album and 13 tracks. Lockdown was a creative time bringing forth a strong set of diverse songs - singer-songwriter, bossas, piano ballads, Celtic tinged and more.

background
All these songs were written during the year of pandemic lockdown between March 16th 2020-2021. All except 2 songs which were rewritten from song material in the 90s.

Lockdown gave me kind of freedom in my songwriting - I wasn't writing for performance, or particularly with an album in mind. I used my piano for writing more - as live in small venues I would often not take a keyboard, so tended to write more songs on the guitar. My city Leicester didn't really ever fully unlock restrictions for a year so the streets were eerily quiet. I listened to a lot of music - in the spring I listened to US West Coast singer-songwriters, in the hot summer I listened to bossa nova songs, in the autumn more jazz, in the winter piano ballads. So the whole of my lockdown year is here.

In all the diversity of styles, I was surprised t find at the end of recording that many songs shared a common theme of cycles of life, beginnings and/or endings. Maybe lockdown subconsciously felt like the end of an era, or the start of another...

talking about the album

influences
David Crosby, Alan Stivell, Marcos Valle, Bob Lind, Donal Lunny, Richie Havens, Paul Kantner, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Jesse Colin Young, Teddy Randazzo, Little Anthony & The Imperials.

trivia
Sky High Seventh Heaven was originally written in the early 90s in 7:8 swing time but CC never played it live or recorded it as it was too hard to play. CC has rearranged it as a 7:8 bossa, and with a new bridge.

The Earth Child Returns was originally a song sung by CC with his Talking Fish band in the mid-90s. CC has totally changed the words and added a new bridge.

The photo of me on the back was taken at Brocks Hill Park in Oadby, which on a stroll made during lockdown.

This is CC's 13th studio solo songs album. If you include the 4 live albums it is his 17th solo songs album. If you include the 3 jazz songs albums then it is his 20th solo songs album :-)

CC's fave track - Be There

review
CHRIS CONWAY - Unlocked Songs
****
This is Leicester-based Chris Conway’s thirteenth collection of solo songs. Recorded during lockdown (ironically, Chris reckons the social restrictions facilitated a certain kind of freedom as a songwriter), he says, ‘In all the diversity of styles, I was surprised to find [when the recording was finished] that many songs shared a common theme… of cycles of life, beginnings and/or endings.’

There’s also the regular Conway mix of West Coast singer-songwriter (an impressive, despite the title, ‘A Song About Nothing’), jazz, bossa nova and Celtic styles threaded throughout, with some typical sci-fi humour (‘Let’s Go To Outer Space’) and rather more of his excellent piano than might otherwise have been expected. Lockdown time reminded Chris that the piano is indeed his first instrument, normally constrained in its use by guitar-based songwriting tailored to his live work.

Diverse, mellifluous, sophisticated and skilfully arranged and produced by this one-man band cum studio, Conway’s first solo songs album Sounds Like Rain in 1995 was an exceptionally fine calling card, and since then he has been consistently true to his musical vision. Unlocked Songs confirms yet again what an exceptional talent he is.

David White - RnR Magazine

track by track
	1. A Song About Nothing I had the main riff kicking around for a year or two, but no lyrics came to mind. I used to write songs very much influnced by David Crosby's chords & riffs, so this was a way to revisit that style. One day, failing to come up with lyrics, I said to myself that I had nothing to write about. Then I started having fun with the word Nothing, and the way we use it, and how it can lead to double meanings - eg "Nothing matters" can also mean "Nothing does matter". And then deeper thoughts arrived.
	2. All About Me This song came into my head whilst walking across the park. My first idea was a satire on songwriters always writing about themselves, but then another story came along with a little twist at the end.
	3. Sleep Life Cycle I've always been a night owl, always finding excuses for putting off bedtime. I realised the reasons for procrastinating sleep have changed in the different phases of my life.
	4. New Songs Now I started writing this song a few years ago too. It started out writing about life after the death of my brother. We had shared so many experiences, concerts, books, films etc I felt a real void. But I didn't want to write about that. I've always found it hard leaving things, places, and people behind. Endings of any kind really, in reality and fiction. Eventually I realised I wanted to write about coming out of the sadness of departures by singing new songs, and at last I finished it. There's a hint of BIG 60s songs in the chorus - like from Dusty Springfield or Little Anthony & The Imperials, but I wanted a Celtic feel too.
	5. Sky High Seventh Heaven A bossa nova in 7:8 time about should one go out with your best friend. I wrote it as a jazz song in 7:8 in the early 90s but never sang it live, as it was too hard to play! So I changed it to a bossa and added a new bridge, so it feels like a new song.
	6. Love Song A one word song about love. :-)
	7. Lets Go To Outer Space The only filk/sci-fi song on the album but it;s a BIG one! I wanted to get back to a 60s simple optimism of going to outer space. I kept the lyrics simple and fun like a surfing or pop song of the early 60s.
	8. Nightmare Journey This was a silly little ditty that I again wrote while walking across the park. I'd forgotten about it and found the words on my phone, then realised a Celtic beat feel would go with it.
	9. The Earth Child Returns The Earth Child refers to a witchlike lady who appeared in recurring dreams of my youth. She generally appears, sometimes young, or old, out of nowhere, and then takes me somewhere, or tells me to go somewhere. I've written about her in four other songs of mine. (Earth Child, Take Me Away, Life Magic & Love, and Call Of The Wild ). It suddenly dawned on me that the songs, in this order, she appears and child, lover, old lady, and ghost - a cycle of life. This inspired me to revisit her and tie it all together. The tune came from a song I used to play in the mid 90s with my band The Talking Fish, but I changed all the words and added a bridge, so this song feels new to me now.
	10. Ghosts Very much a lockdown song. Those days when I sometimes felt I was haunting my own house. It was written very quickly which only happens rarely.
	11. Be There A bossa song about a couple being there for eachother at the time of a global catastrophe. It sounds like it might be gloomy but it's a sweet song and one of my favourites on the album.
	12. Strange Orbit Of Life A piano jazz/soul ballad and with a big chorus. It's about reaching the end of the line and having to dig in and start again, and again, and that things come round again, and maybe even life. The "strange orbit" perhaps symbolises the strange lockdown year too in a way - my live music career stopped and I'd have to start again. I was also revisiting the bar room jazz songs I wote in the early 90s like on my Deja Blues album - I enjoyed playing a few on live streams and I tried to recapture that vibe a bit.
	13. Round And Around I do like a reprise and "Round and around" echoes the theme of cycles, endings and beginnings, and the chorus of my "hit" song The Alien Jellyfish Song!

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Songs For Dreamers

1. A Song About Nothing
Here is a song about nothing,
And how it can touch your heart.
Sometimes nothing can be a beginning.
And sometimes.... it's where you start.

I want to say something,
But I've got nothing to say,
Because nothing much,
Happened today.
But I want to whisper,
Sweet nothings to you,
Cos if we've got nothing in common,
We've got nothing to lose.

(chorus)
We're all on a hiding to nothing,
And the way ahead is hard to see.
But nothing really matters,
Til something … can set you free

If you want something for nothing
You’ve come to the wrong place.
But I could spin you some nonsense,
And keep a straight face.
I've got nothing to declare,
And nothing to regret,
But if you think you know nothing,
You aint seen nothing yet.

(chorus)

(bridge)
Sometimes you’re mind can feel too narrow,
Sometimes you need to the air to clear.
Every field needs time to lie fallow,
Sometimes you need to disappear.

You came into the world with nothing,
You're taking nothing when you go.
But there is a joy to be found on the road between,
And when you find it your heart will know.
You will know, you will know.

Sometimes nothing is something.
Sometimes nothing is real.
Sometimes nothing is just,
The way that you feel.
It’s not a comfortable feeling,
Between the highs and the lows.
But you can plant something in nothing.
And sometimes it grows.

(chorus)
Set you free.

So here is a song about nothing,
And how it can be your friend.
Sometimes nothing can be a beginning.
And sometimes.... it's it's the end..

CC - vocals, electric & acoustic 9 string guitars, electric piano, keyboards, drum loops
Neil Rabjohn - cymbals

2. All About Me
It’s one of those days when it’s all gone wrong
But the radio plays my favourite song,
It takes me to a place in the back my mind
When I seemed to have so much more time

(chorus)
You might say it was a song about life.
An allegorical tale of wrong and right.
Full of topical insight,
But it’s also a song - about me.
All about me.

Sometimes I pick up my old guitar
And I take it down to a music bar
I only know one song but I sing it loud
And for a moment I’m strong and I feel proud.

I hope they think it’s a song about life,
An allegorical tale of wrong and right
And that it’s full of topical insight
When its really a song - about me.
All about me.

(chorus)

(bridge)
Me, me, me,
It’s not really all about me,
You, you, you,
It might be about you, you you,
You, you, you,
Too.

The love of my life sings her songs on the stage.
She wrote every word, I know every page.
She’s pulled a big crowd, but she seeks me out.
And when we’re eye to eye we’re both in no doubt, that.

(chorus 2)
She’s not singing a song about life
An allegorical tale of wrong and right.
It’s not full of topical insight.
Coz it’s really a song,
The same little song
The song that she.... wrote for me.

All about me.
Coz she loves me so,
And its the only song I know how to play.
I heard it on the radio,
And now I heard her singing it on the stage,
All about me.

CC - vocals, piano, acoustic 9 string guitar, sampled double bass

3. Sleep Life Cycle
When I was a child I often said,
“I do not want to go to bed”
“I feel there’s something I might miss”
“Please, oh please just grant me this!”

And round and around go the minutes and hours,
And the days, and months, and years go round.

In my teens I felt the powers,
Of magic in the late night hours.
Imagination's tendrils creep,
And again postpone the time for sleep.

And round and around go the minutes and hours,
And the days, and months, and years go round.

In my twenties, thirties sounds and screens,
Showed me worlds I’d never seen.
Curious minds run long and late,
Sleep could wait, and would always wait.

And round and around go the minutes and hours,
And the days, and months, and years go round.

In middle age my sleep was light,
As stressful dreams would haunt the night,
So to avoid the nightly traps,
I’d procrastinate til I collapsed.

And round and around go the minutes and hours,
And the days, and months, and years go round.

One night, sometime down the line,
Sleep will call for me one last time,
And just this once I’ll reach for its bliss,
Saying, “Please oh please just grant me this”

CC - vocals, Irish tin whistle, zither, kantele, kalimba, tongue drum, keyboards, shaker, chimes
Zorpinda Zorpin - synthesizer drone, chimes

4. New Songs Now
On familiar streets of this old town,
As I'm walking up and down,
Ghosts whisper in my mind,
But I don't want to leave these streets behind,
Coz every road I walk, I walked with you.

Time plays tricks on you
When you have to start anew.
But the finish line is coming fast,
So I don’t want to dwell in the past,
But every now and then, I think of when,
There were days without end, til...

(chorus)
You took a part of me with you
Wherever you went
And I’m trying to make sense of the pieces
That I have left but it all feels wrong.

Your tune is long gone,
But mine still rambles on.
But somehow I’ve forgotten the words
To half of my songs, it sounds absurd,
But all the old songs that I knew, I sang to you,
When they were new – til...

(chorus)

(bridge)
So I'm singing new songs,
With words you never knew,
But I’ll sing them strong,
Til they ring true.
That make a new space,
A new place without you

Old friends are gathered round,
Friendly faces, friendly sounds.
Each voice tells their tail,
But as night draws on my face grows pale
Coz with every voice I hear, yours seems so near,
Then disappears.

(chorus)
Just wrong,
So I'm singing new songs,
Now.

CC - vocals, low & tin Irish whistle, acoustic 9 string guitar, piano, kalimba, keyboard bass, drum loops
Dan Britton - bodhran
Neil Rabjohn - cajon drum, cymbals

5. Sky High Seventh Heaven
You try to stop the way that you're feeling,
But your head it up on the ceiling
Why's her smile to very appealing,
To the glances that you steal.

You can't forget the way she forgave,
You keep replaying the look that she gave,
You, someone's dancing up on your grave,
She turnes the corner, suddenly...

(chorus)
There you go with that look in your eye,
And you're heaving a sigh,
That means there'll be no goodbyes,
To one who was just a very special friend,
Now that limitation ends,
And your spirits now are sent,
Sky high. (seventh heaven)

She's always at the back of your mind,
You try to move on but you still find,
It's just impossible to unwind,
When you're caught in the daily grind.

You want to spend the whole day at home,
Or some place that you can be alone,
Your heart is heavier than a stone,
You lift the phone and suddently

(chorus)

(bridge)
You know it's always on your mind.
You know it's on her mind too.
You both know your friendship's on the line.
It it too good to be true?
So will you see it through?
What you gonna do?

solo

Can't concentrate on things that you're doing,
All the time your mind is still stewing,
You feel maybe trouble is brewing,
Hard to tell the false from true,

You're living in a state of confusion,
You are coming to the conclusion,
That it's all been one big Illusion,
She walks in and suddenly.

(chorus)

CC - vocals, piano, nylon string guitar, keyboards, drum loops

6. Love Songs
Love.

CC - vocals, bells, chimes
Zorpinda Zorpin - chimes, synthesizer

7. Lets Go To Outer Space
Years ago I crashed my starship,
Stuck on Earth and no way to roam
But I’ve fixed it now and I wanna go home,
Don’t want to travel alone
You and me got a good thing going
Me being an alien might frighten you,
But if you go to the stars you’ll be an alien too.
It’s strange but true - what will you do?

(chorus)
Let’s go to outer space - I know how,
I want to see the starlight on your face - let’s go now.

Would you like to see a Martian sunset?
It’s not so very far
No need to be dress up, just come as you are
We'll follow the red star.
We can travel in my starship
I’ll pick you up at three
We should get to Mars in time for tea
How lucky are we - you’ll see.

(chorus)

(bridge)
Let’s go. - the Earth is too frustrating for us
Let’s go - the universe is waiting for us.
So much to see, so much I want to know
Let’s go, go , go, go, go, go!

There’s a groovy bar on Triton
Not many people know
With drinks that make your eyes and fingers glow.
Someone told me so.
A place on Pluto has cosmic music
We could dance the night away
If it gets too late we can always stay
Come home the next day - what do you say?

(chorus)

We could go a little further
The solar system seems so small
Maybe we won’t go back at all
If we’re having a ball.
Andromeda is calling to me
We could make a new future there
A whole new galaxy to share.
No worries or cares - do we dare?

(chorus)
Let’s go to outer space - I know how,
I want to see the starlight on your face
Far from the human race - let’s go to outer space.

Let’s go, let’s go - I wanna go, let’s go
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero – Let's go, lets go – I wanna go, do you wanna go?

(coda canon)
Lets go to outer space let's go, Want to see the startlight on your face.

CC - vocals, electric & acoustic 9 string, keyboards, theremin, drum loops, kalimba, temple bells.
NHeil Rabjohn - cymbals

8. Nighmare Journey
And it’s...
1 check my money
2 check the road
3 to get ready
4 to go
5 to accelerate
6 to stop
7 to remember what you forgot
8 turn round
9 to get home
10 waste 30 minutes on your phone
11 set off
12 get a new plan
13 stuck in a traffic jam
14 to curse
15 to cry
16 to think that you’re going to die
17 calm down
18 scream
19 wake up - it was all a dream.
20 - go back to 1

CC - vocals, tin Irish whistles, kalimba, tongue drum, shakers, keyboard drone.
Dan Britton - bodhran
Neil Rabjohn - cajon drum

9. The Earth Child Returns
The Earth Child has returned
And again she wants to know
Of all that that I have learned
From the magic she has shown me

She changes before my eyes
The child, the lover, grey lady, and ghost
In the dreams throughout my life
Did I learn all I was supposed to?

(chorus)
The past and future whisper at my door
When my fears are dancing round the floor
My strange companion takes me to the shore
And disappears as always
Leaving me stronger and forever wanting more

The child taught me rebirth
The lover taught me to live in the now
The Grey Lady showed me the Earth
The ghost then showed me when and how to get away

(chorus)

(bridge)
There's so much I want to show you
But you vanish as soon as you arrive
I'd really like to get to know you
But I want to keep the mystery alive

solo

Now the four become the one
And there is silence for a while
I show her all that I have done
And I see all her faces smiling at me

CC - vocals, low Irish whistle, acoustic 9 string guitar, piano, keyboards.
.

10. Ghosts
There is a ghost
That haunts this house
Who looks just like
I used to be.
Before I was tired
Before the world was crazy
And I had no worry’s
To trouble me.

There is a ghost
That's haunting me
Who looks just like
I hoped I’d be
On top of it all,
Ideas flowing
Just like a bird
Flying free

There is a ghost
That haunts this world
Looking like the world
Was meant to be
Kindness to all
A peaceful Earth
With unpolluted
Land and sea

Ghosts of the past
Ghosts of what might’ve been
Ghosts of the future
Ghosts of dreams

I am the ghost
That haunts this house
I am the ghost
that’s haunting me
I am the ghost
That haunts this world
I think that it’s time
To set the ghosts free

CC - vocals, piano, sampled double bass

11. Be There
The time may not be right
But it’s the only time we have
If we can still laugh together
We’ll make it through the night, alright.
If we run aground,
And even if our ship is sinking down,
I will be there for you,
You - you will be there - for me..

The night is growing dark.
The wind is blowing cold.
Just one more talk together.
Once more around the park, til dark.
Then home in to the warm,
By the fireside just before the storm.
You will be there for me,
I – I will be there for you

The world is full of confusion,
The future's a mystery
But all we’ve got is you and me,
And that's all the certainty I need,
Me and you,
You and me,

There’s no more left to say,
There's nothing we can do.
To turn in the right direction,
A world that’s lost it’s way, today.
So look me in the eye
And I will tell you why I know that I,
I will be there for you,
You - you will be here for me,
We – we will be there, be there, be there....
Eternally.

CC - vocals nylon string guitar, acoustic 9 string guitar, piano, sampled bass, hand drum, drum loops, chimes

12. Strange Orbit Of Life
I guess I’ve got to start again now
That’s how it seems
Now that I’ve just seen
All my precious dreams hit the ground
But I’m not quite as down
As I thought it be
Strange how little
They really meant to me
In reality

I guess I’ve got to start again now
I’ve done it before
I’ don’t know how many times,
I’ve not been keeping score with it all
But I’m having a ball
In a funny kind of way,
Laughing at things
That I used to say
In those far off days.
But I know today

(chorus)
That all comes round again
Like the day follows the night
And it comes round fast, so hold on tight
On this strange orbit of life.

(bridge)
I don't know exactly what I'm gonna do.
I'm not a quitter, well that's not always been true.
I guess I could panic, and run around town.
Or wait til my turn on the wheel comes around.

solo

Guess I gotta gotta, yes I gotta gotta
Guess I gotta gotta gotta gotta start again now
I’ve got a new plan
I’ve got some fresh ideas
But no one will understand what I mean
Or they'll think that they’ve seen
It all before
Like a clown going round
a revolving door.
Just once more.
But I know for sure.

(chorus)
And it all comes round again
Like the night follows the day
And it's coming round soon, come what may,
So it's time once again for me to say

I guess I’ve got to start again now

CC - vocals, piano, sampled double bass, drum loops

13. Round And Around
Round and around...

Chris Conway - vocals, Irish tin whistle, zither, kantele, kalimba, tongue drum, keyboards, chimes, shaker, temple bells
Zorpinda Zorpin - synthesizer drone, chimes

love & peace & outer space