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You are here: Home / Writing / Lyrics / Nightjar

Nightjar

No One There

The pale sun leaves weaker shadows
As daylight wanes and gives in to the dark (dark dark dark)
People hurry into buildings for secret meetings
As the gates close in the park (park park park)

Behind the curtains silhouettes are disembodied
Dancing in the frame (frame frame frame)
And with all the conversations over
The quiet freezes like they never came (came came came)

Pull me up from deep inside this pillow
Feathers soft I lay my head in sorrow
There’s caverns dark and then there’s eyes that stare
And I hear fingers snapping but there’s no one there

Once upon a time with all the world before me
I moved toward the sun (sun sun sun)
But all that brightness, left me sightless
Made it hard to see where I had gone (gone gone gone)

And finally the simple questions
Turned into the ones you shouldn’t ask (ask ask ask)
And still the sharks have fools believing
As all forget the troubles in the past (past past past)

But fear is just an ugly face, who cannot
Win…unless you choose surrendering
Your value drops if you let go
You must hold on
The game is short but the lie is long

Oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh

Pull me up from deep inside this pillow
Feathers soft I lay my head in sorrow
There’s caverns dark and then there’s eyes that stare
And I hear fingers snapping but there’s no one there

 

More Is Less

I heard a rumour God was coming back
I said I didn’t know he’d been
Then I was cursed, unloved for what I lacked
Faith in something I’d not felt or seen
Even the angels enjoy a good cigar, they say
Tone deaf drunks sing sweet songs
Parades of people marching for what they are
Convinced that there’s a right and wrong
Boasting of knowledge for all
Seems though we’re crouched at the wall

I suppose we’re clever we build and we create
But we’re a badly designed machine
Uncontrolled and trusting as a snake
Yet loving kind and serene
There’s something I noticed in every walk of life
That people share no policy
Distinguished peasants and lovable rogues
We all beg to disagree
I don’t feel safe in my heart
Where is the end or the start

Desperation, it poked me with its stick
Inspiration threw a feast of thoughts
Desecration the world has just been sick
Delegations kiss long before they talk
Chemical seems more complex
Teachings show me more is less

 

Lullaby For The Lonely

Lullaby for the lonely

Luck is a myth
You reach the abyss
And you somersault to your death
You die in style
Deep in denial
Broken at the foot of the cliff

Wishing that you’d hid yourself away
Expectations rise and fall away

You’re driving blind
The road is mined
How many times can you lose
You can’t see the sun
You can’t get things done
So you bury yourself in the blues

Suddenly you find you’re standing still
You shiver but you can’t shrug off the chill

Lullaby for the lonely

There’s blood in your tears
A buzz in your ears
And all your faith is scattered over the floor
You pick up the pieces
And your golden fleeces
They don’t seem to exist anymore

You thought that you could manifest your dreams
And then you find you’re on the losing team

Lullaby for the lonely (Can’t you feel yourself falling apart)

 

The Sniper

The daylight won’t bother me
As I sink to the floor
The silence won’t smother me
As I break my own law…
And the hero’s in ecstasy
As he waves to the crowd
But the hero’s the enemy
As the truth is devoured

And underneath
We all know it
And I sit
And watch it happen

All this power and corruption
All these politics, lies and greed
And maybe, just maybe if I kill them
We can all be freed
I walk into the kitchen
I stand there at the sink
I gaze out of the window
And really start to think

And underneath
We all know it
And I sit
And let it happen

I’ve waved goodbye to the rational
With this democratic choice
For tonight I’m going national
With my only real voice
And this one’s for the nurses
And the soldiers and the rest
And corporate pollution
And all that I detest
And this one’s for the pleasure
Of disfiguring your face
And thanking you for making me
This justified disgrace

I used to sit
And watch it happen
But I just can’t
Let it happen

 

Feed Your Mind

In smoky museums of relics and strangers
Experts in brandy and rye
With unequalled wisdom of players and score lines
Statistics to dazzle the blind

Exchanging glances with the Germans and the Spanish
That slip in and out of your life
Throwing down their rucksacks on the sawdust floorboards
As they settle on a bottle of wine

At the end of the night
We all speak the same language
As you fall off your stool one more time
Then we all fall in love as we wave our farewells
Goodnight, goodnight

And they’re never seen again
For the tourists they are
They never come back to frequent your little bar
And you can’t deny
You gotta feed your mind

So you wake up that morning with a headache from Arabia
Handed down by Bedouins and slaves
And you look into the mirror and you wonder at the cost
And how much of the future you can save

With your friends all gone to India
And you’re losing on the lottery
If they buy a Bombay Gin for you
Can you contemplate sobriety
Tonight, tonight

And your bookshelf’s looking sparse
And the television blares
And they’re travelling to Mars now as you fall off your chair
Don’t you wanna try?
You gotta feed your mind

Then you’re sitting on the boulevard with a girl from Argentina
Reading Le Monde in record time
And you can’t decide which entrée
As you peruse the menu
So you settle on the avocado lime

Then you’re sitting in your sportscar
With your number plates from Monaco
And you’re headed down the coast to catch a flight
And you wake up in the hospital
With your face unrecognisable
And the nurse just comes and switches off the light
She switches off the light
The light

And nobody remembers who is missing from the corner
But if I were you I’d listen when the light comes on to warn you
You better have a life
You gotta feed your mind

 

High Down Below

All this aching pain
Is it all in vein
You said the coldness came
Down below

And your perfect shield
And the words you wield
From your empty field
Where nothing grows

All of these visions that go through your head
For all of their beauty they’ll wind you up dead

That’s why you’ll find me high
You’ll find me high
You’ll find me high down below
You’ll find me high

Take the veil away
On your knees and pray
You’re in disarray
The future’s closed

So if you’re feeling numb
And if you do your sums
You’ll see the past has come
And you’re exposed

I tried to write a melody that you’d recognize
Just to draw attention to and open up your eyes

 

I Must’ve Fallen

Greenest eyes overbite
Skin like light what a sight
When I first saw you

Standing there unaware
Your neck bare yellow hair
I already adore you

Fingers long that linger on
Singer sings a song so long
Especially for you

I wonder if you’ll hear the riff
The lift, the voices drift
All over you

I must’ve fallen in love with you

Your mouth that moves and soothes
And chooses words and coos
I just wanna talk to you

If I’m awake for heaven’s sake
Let’s not make mistakes
I don’t wanna hide from you

So come to me this plea
From me to you to see
If you’ll let me inside of you

You’re a dream it seems
Soft serene velveteen
I just wanna sleep with you

I must’ve fallen in love with you (I really wanna see you)

 

The Love You Never Had

I take my place in line to be alone
There are millions in front of me I know
But every single action
Of the ultimate attraction
You can pretty much depend on going cold

Write a letter sprinkle it with stars
Enthusiastic lovers don’t go far
They fall and you can’t catch them
At least though you can match them
Everything’s worth less when its been sold

And if you recognise the cadence of a tune
And the perfume of your lover makes you swoon
And suddenly you’re spinning in the room

And you wake up on the sofa feeling sad
As you think of all the love you never had

If you ever want to fall in love again
You know it isn’t if it’s only when
On an unsuspecting corner
With nobody to warn you
And you know it fails 12 times out of 10
And wounded once again you struggle home
But somehow you just know you’ll be alone

So welcome to the war that never ends
Confusion is the message that it sends
If you sacrifice your lovers or your friends
And you really start to think you’re going mad
As you think of all the love you never had
And you really start to think you’re going mad
As you think of all the love you never had

 

Song For Victor Jara

If these walls could speak
Of the things that you done
Behind metal doors
The beast you’ve become

With your pliers and chains
And a gun in your hand
But I’d rather die
Than to kneel in the sand

Hear my song, sing along
Hear my song

History
Will condemn you I know
For my blood is wine
Though my agony’s slow

Every scar
That you tear in my face
Is a river of life
For the whole human race

Hear my song, sing along
Hear my song

Hail the light
Hail the kiss of your fist
I am laughing/crying out loud
As you’re breaking my wrist

You will live in fear
Because there’s thousands like me
Dare you see me die
With my dignity

Hear my song, sing along
Hear my song, sing along
Hear my song

 

A Game For Losers

Tired and worthless
Maudlin and mirthless
Losing heart in all things
Loveless and broken
Darkness awoken
I’m a bird without any wings

Something inside me
That’s been denied me
I can’t feel the blood in my veins
The night’s getting longer
And the pain’s getting stronger
And I can’t escape from these chains

When I first saw you it was afternoon
The sun picked you out like a jewel
And suddenly I lost my confidence
And it gave me the face of a fool

I paced and I pondered till finally
I decided that I couldn’t play
It’s a game for losers of which I am one
And that game I win everyday

Alone in a café
Sad and unhappy
Crippled by what went before
Just loss and destruction
Emotion’s corruption
All reason has flown out the door

Smoking and drinking
Negative thinking
Bearing a wound that won’t heal
I’m the Devil’s apprentice
Doing this sentence
With a pain that I can’t even feel

I blew out the candle as the morning came
And I wiped the tears from my eyes
But I kept on lying there into the day
My heart way too heavy to rise

Suddenly the night returned
And the blackness came into my room
It’s a game for losers where the crowd has left me
Lonely, disheartened, marooned

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Thanks to The Wernickis for a little glimpse into Thanks to The Wernickis for a little glimpse into their new New Mexico listening space 🌵 #nightjar #schoolkidsrecords
Redeyed lad of the lowlands 🎵 📷 @oliviaelek Redeyed lad of the lowlands 🎵

📷 @oliviaelektra 

#danelectro #danelectrobass #redeyerecords #pleasantrylane #pleasantrylanestudio
You usually don’t spend the day in the studio an You usually don’t spend the day in the studio and the night at a gig but if you put the studio next to the gig then there’s a greater chance. So @salimnourallah did just that, he put the gig and the studio next to each other and made it possible for me to spend the day recording and the evening playing live 🎵

📷 @drewliophoto 

#galacticheadquarters #happinessarecordlabel #pleasantrylanestudio #salimnourallah #oliviawillsonpiper
TO WHERE I AM NOW A visit in the studio today fro TO WHERE I AM NOW

A visit in the studio today from old mate Mark Burgess from The Chameleons who has been hanging in Texas recently. I was thinking about the two of us growing up in the northwest of England and all these years later finding ourselves in such an unlikely spot together. We fixed a few issues in the universe and I carried on recording some guitars until Mark had to leave. Mark had played at the Galactic Headquarters next to the studio this year as Olivia and I had four years ago and this reminded me to remind myself to remind everyone to remind their friends that we will be playing there with Salim on Saturday, New Year’s Eve, for the ultimate in intimate performance. You can get tickets here (follow link below).

CONTINUE READING: https://martywillson-piper.com/2022/12/to-where-i-am-now-1045

KEEP IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/mwillsonpiper

📷 @salimnourallah 

#markburgess #thechameleons #chameleonsvox #pleasantrylanestudio #happinessarecordlabel #martywillsonpiper #oliviawillsonpiper #moatband
📷 @argirgirl 📷 @argirgirl
TO WHERE I AM NOW Sadness manifested in a buildin TO WHERE I AM NOW

Sadness manifested in a building, today we went to visit Paisley Park. Prince built Paisley Park in Chanhassen, about twenty minutes southwest of Minneapolis. It opened in 1987 and he recorded his later albums there. Apart from Prince, REM also recorded and mixed Out Of Time there, recording Kate Pearson’s vocal on Shiny Happy People vocal. Madonna had Prince play guitar on three songs from Like A Prayer and the two co-wrote Love Song, finishing it remotely due to Madonna not being able to stand the cold weather and the rather desolate location of the studio. Of course, there are things around but it’s not in the city and it’s not in the countryside, it’s in a suburb, no distractions, just what Prince wanted.

CONTINUE READING: https://martywillson-piper.com/2022/12/to-where-i-am-now-1032

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📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
Marty & Pablo! 📷 Rod MacQuarrie Marty & Pablo!

📷 Rod MacQuarrie
At last, a proper door stop. 📷 @judgeschamber At last, a proper door stop.

📷 @judgeschamber 

#grammysitting 👵
🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵 31 December - DALL 🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵

31 December - DALLAS
7 January - CELINA
12 January - HOUSTON
14 January - AUSTIN
15 January - SAN ANTONIO

With @salimnourallah and @joereyesmusic

More info here: https://mailchi.mp/e47ede06acd6/texas-acoustic-dates
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"These are awesome sessions that I highly recommend for guitar players of all levels. Very informative, frank discussions on everything related to guitar and music in general. Definitely a must for anyone pursuing songwriting."
(Stephen G., VA, USA)

"Marty knows how to bypass scales and get to the heart of feel and timing. His musical knowledge spans multiple cultures and genres. Perhaps most importantly, Marty is a cool dude. I highly recommend his guitar guidance." (Jed B., MN, USA)

"Ok, so you’re sitting in your home and Marty is across the world but is actually right here teaching you how to play guitar and write songs. He is a delight to talk to and he is your teacher, meaning he wants to see you get something out of his lessons. You know he’s paying attention and wants to steer you in the right direction. I am so grateful and humbled that he offers his time in this manner. This is an amazing opportunity for anyone who admires anything from his enormous body of work. How often do you get to learn from somebody that inspired you in the first place? Amazing." (Ann S., CA, USA)

Missing

This is my stolen 1965 Rickenbacker 12-string, serial number EB157. If there’s any chance of this guitar coming back to me before I go to meet my maker, then that would be wonderful. Please contact me if you have any information.

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