Lyrics & Notes: Ric Neale Hasn't Heard Of You Either

Are You Listening
Saturated
Callin' Out My Name
So Much Time
Closer To The Sun
Brick By Brick
Something In Her Voice
2nd Date Song

ARE YOU LISTENING?

On your marks, get set, we're here again,
I'm fighting for forgiveness when I haven't done a thing to you.
It's no one's fault that words don't make amends,
There's so much love inside our hearts but we don't know who to send it to.
Doorstep disappointments can't afford to break our hearts,
I've got the love to lend for you to hear me out but are you listening?

CHORUS
To everything I have to say,
To every word in every way,
I'm yelling it out to you,
But are you listening?
It's really not that hard to download,
Not hidden away in secret code,
I'm spelling it out to you,
But are you listening?

Now I know love comes with it's own guarantee,
But it's barely even worth the conscience it lies heavy on.
And with this rider's lack of pedigree,
We could fall before the finish line without the will to carry on.
But turn this tired horse into a final furlong star,
And I'll will you to the winning post with open arms but are you listening?

CHORUS

Why not just drop me a line, you know exactly what I want to hear,
Put your heart in my hand, I'll do my best to keep away the tears,
And the voices that you hear,
But are you listening?
Milk it in the meantime and avoid the last hurrah,
Or cup your hand behind your ear,
And meet me in the middle with an open mind but are you listening?

CHORUS

"When I wrote this song I did a demo of the backing track and just sang any old doo be doo nonsense over the top just to give myself an idea of the melody and at this point some people thought that it sounded like the theme tune to Inspector Gadget, but I'll let you be the judge of that. Are you listening was the last song to be written for the album and was always intended to be the first track on the strength of its rather demonstrative title. I'd half finished a song with the same name a few years ago and always loved the title and not the song so when I came up with the musical idea it was the obvious choice. Lyrically it deals with a lot of the things that the album is about overall; relationships, people lying to themselves and each other, as well as having faith in what your instincts tell you to do. I don't know where the horse riding imagery is from in the second verse and pre-chorus but it seems to paint an interesting, if pointless, little picture.

From a musical perspective the idea was to have a verse in a minor key to suggest the problems within our characters relationship; this is cemented using a quite dissonant minor ninth feel throughout. The chorus would then be in the equivalent major key (i.e. E minor verse to E major chorus) to suggest hope in a resolution. This left me with the tricky task of linking the two, and the fruity modulation in the pre-chorus seems to do the trick, in fact it's one of my favourite bits on the album, especially the extended pre-chorus for the last time around. All this nonsense is a bit wasted unless you have a music degree and/or too much time on your hands. Oh yeah that is my ropey sounding mandolin playing throughout, sorry."

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SATURATED

Change a plan and break a promise,
Shared among deaf ears,
Then eat my own words 'cause no one else can hear.
Open up for new beginnings,
Then close down for repairs,
And lick my own words 'cause no one else is there.

In every life some rain must fall,
And I've learned that lesson well,
So I wait in vain at the window pain,
For another sunny spell,
And get saturated.

Move a deadline make excuses,
Out of sight and mind,
Then find the harsh words that no one else can find.

Take the reins and fight the forest,
Ride to pastures new,
Then sacrifice it all like no one else would do.

In every life some rain must fall,

And I'm treading water still,
But my heart will give in, when I feel I'm livin'
Under water 'til,
I get saturated.

How many times can a heart be broken,
Before it's unwilling to ever re open,
I've got a great idea if we can do it right,
I'm gonna take your hand and drift,
Drift into the light.

If in every life some rain must fall,
Then I'll learn that lesson well,
And in my submarine I'll dwell,
And I'll sit in hope, by the periscope,
For another sunny spell.

"Saturated was originally going to be the closing track but this seems to be a lot of people's favourite song so I figured I should put it nearer the beginning in case people turn it off before the end (e.g. record company scum). The song was originally loads slower but it was too dull, so I sped it up and changed the words. In fact I nicked the lyrics to another song that I wrote for the album called 'the best of it all' which was a really miserable dirge to be honest, but it did give me the idea to start the song a bit lost and down and then have a moment in the middle where things get more positive and we finish with the strength to fight against adversity, and make the best of it."

The 'move a deadline make excuses' is a clear reference to the fact that this album has taken about 1000 years to get off the ground.

PS. This song is not to be listened to by any of Tracey Chapman's lawyers."

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CALLIN' OUT MY NAME

I know how it feels to be down on you heels going nowhere,
And I know how it sucks to be down on your luck and alone,
So take a minute,
I know what to do,
It's only a matter of time until you see it too,

And we can leave it all behind,
We'll grab my car and we'll just drive,
And before long, we'll know what's wrong,
Maybe your heart has been callin' out my name.

I know what it means to have no one it seems you can turn to,
And I know how it's hard to regard life as cool when it's far from,
So take a minute,
Take a look around,
It's only a matter of time until I'm coming round,

So pack your bags, let down your hair,
Pull down that blind 'cause we won't care,
And before long, we'll know what's wrong,

Maybe your heart's been
Foolin' around cause you still haven't found quite the right one,
So if you fancy a chance at a little romance then you got one,
You got one, at least.
(repeat second chorus)

It's only a matter of time until you see the truth.

"There really aren't enough songs written in the 'acoustic-pop-disco-surf' genre in my opinion, so I wrote one. This song was written in one day with a hangover. I'd been out the night before to a rubbish club, dancing like an idiot with my mate Stacey. We had been adding 'seventies disco' claps to all the songs even when they didn't fit and realised that in my entire back catalogue there are no real opportunities to clap along. I was restringing my guitar and only had 4 strings on it when I fell over the riff that drives this song. The melody came from two fire engines that passed outside the window one after the other, their sirens basically played the verse melody as they passed by, all that was left for me to do was steal the prechorus from a Climie Fisher song that no one remembers and put some words in about the sexy girl who works in my bank, and I was pretty much finished."

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SO MUCH TIME

The things that we won't say,
The places that we won't go,
The hand holds I haven't tightened, as we don't cross the road,
To say what I am thinkin',
Would bring the whole house down.

And as the light begins to fade on all the love we never made,
I wonder for a second why I cared,
These nonchalantly toyed ideas, I kick around before they disappear,
And waste my time,
But I've got so much time to waste.
So much time to wait.

The times that we wont have,
The faces that we won't show,
The idiosyncrasies that only you and I wont know.

And in my non-committal way I love you more with each new day,
The torch I carry sparks my heart to feel,
I use these light to dull my fears they, they shine a while and then they disappear,
And waste my time,
But I've got so much time to waste.

The things I'll miss out on if I carry on doin' the same,
Watch from the sidelines or try for a chance in the game,

And as the crowd begin to roar and yell and laugh and scream for more,
I understand I'm far from ready yet,
Cause chances fade or end in tears or gather dust before they disappear,
And waste my time,
But I've got so much time to waste.

"I never really intended to use this song on the album. It was one that I wrote quite a while ago and demoed it and not many people heard. I lent my portable studio to Craig who did a proper job of remixing it and it sounded ace.

On the new recording I'm particularly pleased with the backing vocals, which sound like the Beach Boys on their song 'in my room'. We were also amused that Danny's only credit on the track is 'shaker' despite his many other talents. But what a fine job he does of it. The song is about how many fantasies that I chicken out of 'cause I'm such a putz. Whenever I like the look of someone I never have the guts to speak to them, in fact the album was very nearly called 'infatuation stations' for this reason."

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CLOSER TO THE SUN

Taken leave of all of our senses,
Give up keeping feet on the ground,
All the elements drop their defences,
Flora and fauna contractually bound,
Something beyond had pulled us together,
Two by two along the same road.

Finding answers to burn,
Climbing closer to the sun,

CHORUS
We'll trample the sky to dust, nothing to hide we're just closer to the sun.
A matter of time reflects love as we try to get closer to the sun.

Everyone knows that the journey's the best part,
Like a quest in some nursery rhyme,
And all that brings pauses to stall this things end,
Are welcome to join us around the next bend.

Chasing answers to burn,
Racing closer to the sun,
CHORUS

INSTRUMENTAL BIT

We'll trample the sky to dust, when we're closer to the sun,
A matter of time reflects love as we try to get closer, closer to the sun.

"Closer to the sun is one of my faves. The drumbeat throughout was done on my housemate's old cheap keyboards that I was idly fiddling with one afternoon. I realised that I'd never written a waltz before, and so much of the country music that I listen to uses it all the time. The 3/4 feel is not as obvious on the record as it is when I play it live, here if feels more like a 6/8.

The lyrics have a fairytale quality to them especially in the second verse. I was quite pleased with the line 'and all that brings pauses to stall this things end', which mirrors the nursery rhyme line 'and all the kings horses and all the kings men'.

There are words to the long end section but I decided not to use them on the record and left the 'chill out' feel for a while, and anyway, you're probably sick of my voice by this time. I do still sing them when I play it in my set."

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BRICK BY BRICK

Hang your heart upon the wall, where it always hung before,
Or did you dream it?
Join the club and frame the card, sign you name with best regard,
As if you mean it.

Shine the diamond chandelier, till all the faces reappear,
Glad and glistening,
And your reflection in the shovel, tries to warn you of the trouble,
But you're not listening.

Here's the big surprise, here's a chance to open you eyes,
And hear what opportunity cries.

CHORUS; and you can huff and puff and blow this place down, brick by brick.
And this house of cards will fall to the ground, stick by stick, stone by stone,
Brick by brick.

But you're the draft excluding man, with the wind chill factor plan,
But you should fear it,
The voices blow you side to side, you're safe and sound but deaf and blind,
So you don't hear it.

Here's the big surprise, here's a chance to drop your disguise,
And hear what opportunity cries.

CHORUS

Two by two, the lights say go and you just stall,
But common sense, is not that common after all,
After all that you have seen,
Through your sunglasses of green,
You know to much, you've lost your touch, so you watch out,
'cause here's the big surprise.

CHORUS

You know I'm right, you know I'm right

"I hereby apologise for the use of the words 'draft excluding' in this song. I am fully aware that my amateur pop star licence should be revoked at once for using such stupid/useless imagery. It does have some meaning - honest.

The idea of this song was inspired by this quote "a house of illusions is easy to build, but drafty to live in". I heard it on the radio whilst driving somewhere or another, unfortunately I didn't catch who said it. The quote is basically saying that you can't lie to yourself too long and well, you can't can you? This song also features Danny's favourite line, it's the one about common sense in the middle section.

'Here's the big surprise' oh and it is, isn't it, hey, modulating to the sub mediant major key? What a surprise indeed."

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SOMETHING IN HER VOICE

She's there when you need her, and she's there when you don't but the seed of doubt is sewn,
'cause when you leave her, do you leave her alone - or not?

If you're her one and only, how come she's been someone's primary number before,
So just subtract her slowly, and divide

CHORUS
There will be something in her voice that you wont like,
Some unfamiliar turn of phrase you wont recognise,
Something in the way that the telephone rings,
And now you've got to read between the lines.

And the postcards she sends you have all the right words, but the gaps between them scar,
'cause letters don't tend to the way that it hurts inside.

You're just the new addition, the equal to the square of the bed that you've made,
So feel the premonition multiply.

(CHORUS)

So take a look in her mechanical heart,
Would your denial really tear it apart?
Is there a spark that still burns?, is there a cog that still turns?,
Is there a truth that you'll never defeat, once she's a cheat is she always a cheat?

(repeat first prechorus and chorus)

you're gonna read between the lines,
you're gonna read between the lines,
there's something in her voice.

"This song is about nasty women who smell and are horrid. It describes this using a horrendous metaphor about maths in each prechorus ('new addition', 'primary number' etc).

It's just possible that I am the only man on earth that gets excited about the tonal structure of this song. Are we in D major? Are we in C# minor? Who knows? Who cares? I recorded this song with Danny and I got excited because he let me play the electric guitar, despite me being rubbish at it. The song originally had a huge brass part as it's riff, but due to time pressure we had to forget it and come up with the twin electric guitar parts, which are kinda fun in a 'new country' sorta way."

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2ND DATE SONG

I could be around if you want me to.
I could be around if you want me to.

The stage is set to go one way or another,
A tragic tale of love unveiled or a farce.
So I've prepared myself for all the consequences,
I've got wine for wonder and whisky for when you leave me on my own,

And I'm not asking for your world, I'm just asking for your time.

I could be around if you want me toI'll take any crumb that you're prepared to throw in my direction,
To chance upon your sugar lips and taste the oh so sweet confection.
To stroke your back, to kiss your neck,
To say the way I'm feelin' in words as romantic as they are direct.

And I'm not asking for your world I'm just asking for your time, just a little bit of your time.

I could be around if you want me to.
I could be around, it's up to you,
It's up to you,
It's up to you,
And I think you ought to know by now,

I could be around if you want me to.

"I wrote the melody to this song on a plane between New York and Reykjavik so that I would have something cool to say every time I play it live. I believe it makes me sound ace and exciting if I can say on stage that I have been to these places in a nonchalant off hand manner i.e. 'this is a song I wrote when I was flying between New York and Iceland'. I was aware that I am unlikely to be in this situation again so there was quite a lot of pressure to write something half decent whilst vomiting away the awful airline food.

I find that sometimes my songs have too many chords in so I forced myself to use only two in the whole song, right up until the little cadence at the end. This was probably the first song that was actually written for this album, I always knew that I wanted to do at least one track completely live and on my own with no over dubs, and I liked this quite jazzy feel. When we play this in the trio Jim plays with brushes like he did when we were in our jazz bands together years ago.

There are loads of songs about first dates and loads more about break ups, but the bit in the middle of a relationship is relatively uncharted in the pop music world, hence second date, which is usually more exciting than the first anyway."

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